Last June, I attended a Conceptual Poetry Conference at the University of Arizona Tucson. Now, a year later, Kenneth Goldsmith has edited the current issue of Poetry, Flarf and Conceptual Writing in Poetry Magazine : Harriet the Blog …published by the Poetry Foundation, much of which is also available on-line at Harriet the Blog (Flarf and Conceptual Writing in Poetry Magazine : Harriet the Blog …) and written the following essay,
Flarf is Dionysus. Conceptual Writing is Apollo.
An introduction to the 21st Century’s most controversial poetry movements. In this essay, Goldsmith asks,
With so much available language, does anyone really need to write more? Instead, let’s just process what exists. Language as matter; language as material. How much did you say that paragraph weighed?
Our immersive digital environment demands new responses from writers. What does it mean to be a poet in the Internet age?
His answer includes:
These two movements, Flarf and Conceptual Writing, each formed over the past five years, are direct investigations to that end. And as different as they are, they have surprisingly come up with a set of similar solutions.
What is conceptual poetry? Goldsmith offers up a primer in this extensive pdf here. In his Poetry essay, he compares and contrasts Flarf with Conceptual Writing:
Yet for as much as the two movements have in common, they are very different. Unlike Conceptual Writing, where procedure may have as much to do with meaning as the form and content, Flarf is quasi-procedural and improvisatory. Many of the poems are “sculpted” from the results of Internet searches, often using words and phrases that the poet has gleaned from poems posted by other poets to the Flarflist e-mail listserv. By contrast Conceptual Writers try to emulate the workings and processes of the machine, feeling that the results will be good if the concept and execution of the poetic machine are good; there is no tolerance for improvisation or spontaneity.
Flarf plays Dionysus to Conceptual Writing’s Apollo. Flarf uses traditional poetic tropes (“taste” and “subjectivity”) and forms (stanza and verse) to turn these conventions inside out. Conceptual Writing rarely “looks” like poetry and uses its own subjectivity to construct a linguistic machine that words may be poured into; it cares little for the outcome. Flarf is hilarious. Conceptual Writing is dry.
During my stay in Tucson and after, I wrote a series of posts about my experiences there and my attempts to understand this kind of poetry better which you can find at the end of this post.
In Tucson, I met many of the poets Goldsmith mentions in his essay and pdf or features in this issue, including LA poet, Vanessa Place who wrote the poem below. (Please note: I am struggling to get the stanza breaks to “stick;” you may choose to read and view the poem Miss Scarlett here.)
Miss Scarlett
by Vanessa Place
Celebrating Independence
Above is a Muppet version of celebrating Independence Day; and here’s the FFArtRiders version:
On the “Fossil Fuel Free Ride” July 3, we visited Bell Arts up the Avenue, Sylvia White and V2 in midtown, and Art City back near the Avenue. 
I was too busy keeping the ride rolling and neglected to get photos; fortunately, Mark was able to shoot while we rode!
After the ride, we picked up hot dogs, chips, vegies, and beer for an after party at Art City where Steve TV had reinvented an art installation, and Russell and crew cleaned the place up for us. Art City is always magical but sunset in summer is a special time indeed for us to enjoy the glow of the ride.
Marialyce brought homemade lemonade concentrate to combine with the ice water Jason brought over earlier, and the Big Monkey BBQ’d the dogs. A number of new and old friends meandered over to Art City after the performance pieces at Sylvia White, and many of us hung out until almost midnight.
Not sure where the NEXT after party will be yet, but the next RIDE is the Animal Fair Ride August 7!
The crowded street shows the Push’em Pull’em Parade where a few thousand families walked Main from near our house to the July 4 street fair downhill in downtown; this photo is close to the tail end of the parade–the Big Monkey and the small boy are wearing the blue wigs. (Go Dodgers!)
Happy Independence Day, USA! Enjoy the fireworks, everyone! I know we will!
Support “pay as you drive” legislation before July 9; DON’T sign petitions to undercut Prop 103!
As much as possible, we ride our bikes to get around and commute in town. You’ll see a group of us in our patriotic best out tonight riding around to various galleries for First Friday rather than the standard practice of driving.
But in California, it doesn’t really matter how many miles you drive a year when it comes to car insurance costs–no matter how much less you drive under 12,000 miles a year, you pay the same basic amount as anyone else.
This could change if insurance regulators have their way and the public supports them enough in a face off against a powerful, well funded, and very profitable insurance industry.
That would mean it’s up to you–and you have until July 9 to post your comments to the state legislature. Read more…
Ahh yes, getting warmed up for playa bike rides with the First Friday ArtRide tomorrow night! Meet up with us at the Son Jon Road City yard parking lot before 5:30 or from 530-6pm, OR outside or inside the Artists Union Gallery or the bar at Aloha or C St restaurant along the Ventura Beach Promenade.
And here’s a cool reduce-reuse-recycle idea for the Playa bound:
Big lumberyards wrap their bales of lumber in huge tarps for shipping, which the yards (like Builder’s Supply on 72nd in Omaha, NE) throw away. The tarps are huge, black or tan on one side & white with company logo on the other side. A Burner asked to have some & they said all she wanted, and that they work for tent flooring as well.
These are not just plastic sheets, they’re the regular fiber tarp like the blue stuff you buy at the hardware store. They’re great for a lot of pruposes including tacking around the front of camp to keep from tracking in so much dust. They’d also be good for windblock or additional shade.
And if you start on this now, you’ll have plenty of time to customize them! Anyone else got great playa tips? Post them here please and post on the ePlaya Q&A/Tips and Tricks forum (http://bit.ly/sqJx9)
Can’t wait to get your Playa going? Join the Do Lab July 11 for a FUNdraiser in LA for their Playa installation Read more…
June Wrap Up : : July What’s Up
June 2009 has been and gone; another month’s worth of days and nights spent. And what did I do here on this blog? What was the big news here last month? What in the world did I write and did you read in 9, 370 page views in those 43 posts last month–one every day and then some–to total almost 100,000 page views since November 2007?
WordCamp SF 2009 (and getting my posts on it linked to Blog Herald and to WordPress’s Wordcamp SF post), First Friday ArtRides in June and July, Burning Man exploits and art as always, and last but not least, my application to be the Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent. The hit posts for last month and of all time are listed below.
Summer is a time for outdoor concerts, vacations, BBQs, bike rides, camping, growing gardens. Being close to LA means there are lots of great events going on 1-2 hours away from free concerts at many of the museums and public spaces like the Santa Monica Pier and Grand Performances downtown to Shakespeare and street fairs.
This weekend the country erupts in Fireworks and patriotic displays of affection. Around here, July 4 highlights are always the free show up in Santa Barbara off Stearns Wharf and the Rotary show at Ventura College which costs unless you find a spot outside the field.
If you go to Santa Barbara, be sure to drop by the grand opening of the new Fishnet store and gallery which my friend Jenessa is involved with–she’s been tie dying and sewingup a storm and I am sure her creations will be a hit! (Beware of traffic headed to Michael Jackson’s Neverland for the public viewing!)
Poetry-wise, I’ll be at the Artists Union Gallery for Robert Peake read July 14. As I get a chance to post about other literary and artistic events, you know I will!
We’re most excited about the Fossil Fuel Free Ride July 3; join us at 5:30pm as the moon rises on the Ventura Promenade for a 6pm ride around town with stops at various art spaces and followed by an after party! The moon will be bright and almost full for the ride. Other July astronomy highlights, according to my trusty Tidelog:
F July 3: Earth at Aphelion
T July 7: full moon; penumbral lunar eclipse (not much to notice)
T July 20: new moon; solar eclipse–umbral shadow lands in India, crosses, Nepal, Bhutan, Mynamar, China, southern Pacific Ocean
Astrology-wise, according to Astrology.com, “Uranus, the planet of rebellion, turns retrograde today July 1.
Uranus is the oddball of the solar system. For starters, it rolls along its side — on its equator — instead of spinning upright in its orbit the way planets typically do. Uranus is also in retrograde for more than half of the year. This means it is only direct for two weeks, and is retrograde for about five months out of every Earth year.
Astrologically, Uranus liberates you from the shackles of convention and applies pressure to change whatever is stagnant in your life. Uranus rules electromagnetic energy and is like a lightning storm that creates chaos as it cleans the air, revealing a fresh new world once the storm has cleared.
But when Uranus is retrograde, expect the unexpected. Wonderful and startling surprises are very possible. This retrograde may set your wild side free, or it could make a notoriously outgoing person uncharacteristically shy.
To know exactly what to expect, review the placement of Uranus in your birth chart. If Uranus is direct in a chart, intuitive and inventive impulses flow on a regular basis. However, when Uranus is retrograde in a birth chart, rebellious urges tend to bottle up and then burst forth, seemingly out of nowhere. A retrograde period seems to reawaken freedom urges within individuals, causing them to suddenly and unconsciously rebel against any ruts or confinement in life. Is Uranus retrograde in your birth chart? Should you be on guard against your own rebellious tendencies in the following months to come?
The Lunar eclipse Tuesday July 7 is in my sign, Capricorn, about which Astrology.com says:
The second lunar eclipse of 2009 takes place on July 7, signaling the beginning of a dramatic eclipse period. A solar eclipse occurs on July 21 and then another lunar eclipse happens on August 5. A lunar eclipse always occurs during a full Moon, when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, casting its shadow on the Moon. Eclipses also come in pairs.
We tend to be more emotionally expressive during a full Moon, and this time around, that bright orb in the night sky is no exception! This won’t be a boring month and you’ll want to keep your eyes and ears open so that you can take full advantage of the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls. This is a time to stand back and assess your goals. Your career/work life gets a lot of attention now, and with Saturn making a helpful aspect, you just may get the support you’ve been hoping for! The Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Aquarius, which will be exact on July 10, boosts your optimism. While the eclipse in practical Capricorn keeps your feet on the ground, this idealistic duo reminds you to dream big!
The solar eclipse July 21 is in cancer, and it’s in the same place as it was 19 years ago so to get a clue about what’s going on today, take a trip down memory lane about where YOU were 19 years ago and what you were facing. For me, 19 years ago was also my Saturn returns. That year was the start of a whole new direction in my life, the beginning of a huge upheaval.
What else does this eclipse have in store for you? According to astrology.com means:
Get ready for drama! A total eclipse of the Sun will occur in the sign of Cancer on July 21-22. Although this eclipse will only be visible in northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, this is the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in the twenty-first century. This total eclipse will last for up to 6 minutes and 39 seconds; will not be surpassed in duration again until June 13, 2132!
A Solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is exactly between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the solar rays from reaching us. From ancient times to the modern-day world, solar eclipses have heralded spectacular events and drama! This eclipse occurs in the last degree of Cancer — and brings all the Cancerian energies of home, family, nurturing, caring, maternal instincts, emotions and sensitivity into focus.
Eclipses always occur in pairs. While a lunar eclipse brings the past into the present to see what works, a solar eclipse brings the future to present and triggers new potentials. Since Cancer rules family, home and vocation these areas will take center stage during this eclipse.
What does the eclipse mean for you? Since this eclipse occurs in the sign of Cancer, its impact will feel different depending on which House Cancer is positioned in your birth chart. Where the eclipse falls in the chart is significant, as the energies expressed by its house placement will show the areas of life that are affected by the new beginning that is implied.
If your Sun sign or Ascendant is Cancer, almost every part of your life will be affected. If Cancer is in your First or Seventh House, you will focus on yourself, your marriage or your relationship. If it is situated in the Second or Eight House, your earnings or joint finances will be impacted. If it is the Third or Ninth House, travel or educational pursuits are highlighted. In the Fourth or Tenth House, home and career will be front and center. Eclipses in the Fifth or Eleventh House put the spotlight on self-expression, children, groups and organizations. Finally, eclipses in the Sixth or Twelfth House put the focus on health, work and service. Wisdom holds that events that are triggered by an eclipse usually take six months to unfold, so you can expect this process of change to continue. The opportunity to break old patterns will present themselves as you make changes.
Do you know where Cancer is in your birth chart, and how it impacts your life?
Top 15 Posts for 30 days ending 2009-07-01:
9, 370 total page views
2009-06-01 to Today
| To date: 98, 100 page views | ||
|---|---|---|
| Posts w/over 1000 Views | ||
| Inspirational: Next Lunar Eclipse |
5,029 | |
| Last Day of 2008: Saturn Retrograde |
2,925 | |
| Chris Ringland’s Ebenezer Shiraz 2006: |
1,950 | |
| Trick Out Your Burning Man Bike: |
1,637 | |
| Great Barrier Reef Fun Activities |
1,284 | |
| Is America’s Shakespeare Bruce |
1,208 | |
| Google Voice Transforms Your Phones | 1,172 | |
| POEM I am a scary smelly skeleton pirate | 1,086 | |
| on being a mom…a poem | 1,030 |
Dear Art Predator,
This Independence Day, we have a lot to celebrate — including a major victory for our planet.
The historic vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act in the House of Representatives last Friday moves this bill to the Senate. Now, we must continue to build momentum and work for its passage.
Just as our founders struggled to achieve our nation’s independence, we must encourage our leaders to stand up to the entrenched special interests in another struggle of great historical importance — the fight for our energy independence.
Tell Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell that you support bold action on clean energy legislation. This July 4th, declare your energy independence and demand that they work to do the same in the Senate.
Declare your energy independence to Senators Reid and McConnell. Read more…
I heard a rumor that Liberace is joining us for the Fossil Fuel Free First Friday ArtRide this Friday, July 3–and he’s wearing this absolutely smashing sparkly red, white, and blue number on the Ride! I know, it’s just toooo wonderful! We’ll stop traffic with Liberace in the lead in this get-up!
What will you wear? Red white & blue? Stars & stripes? Or will you come as a dinosaur? (Yes, I’m talking to you, Tracy!) Flags and pinwheels are fun to fly off the back of your bike, and shirts with the Ventura Bicycle Union logo on them are always in style. (A $25 donation to the VBU on Friday gets you a shirt and a membership!)
We meet at 5:30pm on the Promenade outside or inside Aloha, and we ride at 6pm around the downtown area going to different art galleries, including the Bell Arts Factory, 432 Ventura Avenue:
 THE LAO
A Snapshot View
RIVER
–
SPIRIT
–
PEOPLE
in the
TOOL ROOM
GALLERY
Photo by Richard Newsham
RICHARD NEWSHAM & CATHY FORTUNA – THE LAO
 Richard Newsham is the Marketing Specialist for the Community Services Department in the City of Ventura. Through the years his support for the artists in the community has been invaluable. Now it’s time to turn the tables on Newsham, and to show his talents to us. He’s a poet whose work is often inspired by the paintings, poetry and sculpture of other artists as well as ‘the unique’ in people, both at home and abroad. For First Friday, July 3, Newsham finally shares his favorite things with us at the Bell Arts Factory – Tool Room Gallery.
Newsham partnered with friend Cathy Fortuna, to travel to Laos, and to produce a snapshot’s view of life along the Mekong. River/Spirit/People, is the subject of a photo exhibit, with touches of poetry and a splash of colorful weavings of the region. Friday, July 3, is the reception for the first City employee to exhibit at the Tool Room Gallery. The installation is the work of artist Sarah Kalvin who curates the venue. The reception is from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, with light refreshments. The exhibit runs from July 3 to July 26. Gallery hours are by appointment, call: 805.653.1174. Bell Arts Factory is located on Ventura’s Westside at 432 N. Ventura Ave.
The Tool Room Gallery is a new addition to the arts facility that exhibits
renowned individuals and innovative newcomers.
 |
|
A MEDITATION INSTALLATION
IN THE JANET ADDISON COMMUNITY ROOM
FIRST FRIDAY – JULY 3, 2009 – 6:00 to 9:00 PM  |
And we may get as far east as Midtown’s V2 to see “In the Mood: Part 2:”
As much as I love Erik Reel’s work which we saw at Seabreeze on our March and April ArtRides, I don’t think we’ll stop at Stoneworks to see his show–we get too many flat tires when we go there! We may get to Laurel Street to Seabreeze and to Art and Soul Ceramic Studios–you’ll have to come along and see!
Then follow us to the afterparty where we’ll enjoy beer donated by Anacapa Brewery, music, and food! Bring $10 to donate to the VBU for all you care to eat and drink.
Saturday morning July 4 is the Rotary Club’s “Push ’em Pull ’em Parade;” park at the San Jon Road City of Ventura Maintenance Yard and walk with us up Chrisman to the start of the parade near Chrisman and Main. Later that afternoon, I heard a rumor about a Stars and Bars ride–about 10 miles round trip including a ride out to the Harbor. We’ll be the ones in the Ventura Bicycle Union shirts!
More Friday themed rides:
Aug. 7: Animal Fair Ride
Sept 4: Full Moon Critical Manners Ride
Oct. 2: Critical Manners Mustache Ride
Oct. 30: Ghost Ride
Nov. 6: Super Heroes Ride
Dec. 4: Santacon Ride
Holly Holly
I dreamt of you
your name was on
the tip of my tongue
when I awoke.
You have a baby coming
and when I thought of
you when I awoke
with your name in mind
I heard your daughter’s name–
Emily. Emily–it’s a nice
name. Is it the name
you plan on calling her?
I’d always thought you’d name
a daughter after your mother
your mother who died
when you were a girl
your mother who has no
first name as far as
I know you’ve always
referred to her as Mom.
Baby baby how are you?
Were you calling to me
across the night
wanting me to say hello
to your mom for you?
I wrote this as part of the 3:15 Experiment back in 2007 when my friend Holly was pregnant; less a few weeks later, she did indeed deiver a baby girl who she named Ella. I visted them last weekend, so they’re fresh on my mind. For more poetry, ride the train!
So this is for Sky, and all those other adults and kids who were, and are, out there strumming and thrashing their guitars in garages everywhere, driving the neighbors nuts and causing a horrific amount of racket in hopes of hitting the Big Time.
And this is especially for all those musicians who are now beginning to pass on from this world, with little notice and even less mention.
This afternoon at 4pm at Dockweiler Beach, LA regional Burners will gather to BBQ Newbies; I think a similar activity is going on in SF this weekend as well. Folks are gearing up and getting ready for the BIG EVENT in the desert which happens the week before Labor Day; to see more pictures by Ian Lauder like the one here, check out his on-line gallery of BM08 shots, including 360 degree shots of center camp. Check it out:
http://www.ianlauder.com/jethead/burning_man.htm
Speaking of CENTER CAMP: What to do when you get out there? PARTICIPATE! Not spectate. There are a myriad ways that people do so; here’s a few ways to get on stage in Center Camp, how to volunteer to help keep the events there going, and how to go postal at BRC PO 2.0, thanks to the fine folks at Jack Rabbit Speaks.
BURNING MAN 2009 CENTER CAMP CAFE – PERFORMANCE STAGE, AERIAL ACTS & SPEAKER SERIES
According to Sleepless, Queen of the Cafe Performance Stages:
“The Cafe is a venue that bursts with a universe of art and unusual creative expression.
A musical stage features participants playing conversation-friendly world and instrumental music during the day; and at night hosts an incredible range of exciting performance — from classical dance to rock, opera to marching bands and funk to psychedelic. A spoken word stage features poetry readings, soap-box rants, comedy, slam poetry and theatrical productions. Read more…
art predator 