I don't work or teach at a university/college, but it seems to me that many
of my main allies and friends in digital poetry and generative art do. The
people teaching poetry--be it digital or otherwise--and/or generative art,
etc, do seem to distinguish between art and scholarship. Which is a useful
distinction. They value an artist's art but that doesn't make an artist a
scholar who should be hired at a university. And, of course, yes, the
scholars affiliated with universities tend to have access to far more
resources and even better access to publication, in some instances, and
travel to conferences, etc, than independent artists. But, at the end of the
day, experienced people inside and outside of universities look at the art
in considering the value of art, not the letters attached to the name.
Also, while on the subject, I suppose there is a distinction between
"intellectualising" poetry and "thinking about" poetry. I do enjoy thinking
about poetry and confess I look for interesting thinking about poetry in
poetry itself.
ja
http://vispo.com
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