[New-Poetry] when metacriticism goes bad

[jforjames at aol.com]

I agree there's some good stuff in the give and take. Harriet a blog I often check in with, because it seems to make a point of having disparate set of characters doing blogging. Where else would you find A.E. Stallings, Major Jackson, Christian Bok, et al,?in any sort of proximity or potential colloquy.

I resist the need to strictly define 'post avant' (and thus fence out?certain poets) in such an early stage of its emergence. I know these categorizations can be useful in identifying trends and fashions, but it makes me crazy when people get territorial before time has a chance to settle things out a bit. The 'post' prefix,?being a graft from 'post-modern'?means or certainly implies a?wide and unwieldy?set of practices. So does the list of names matter as much as trying?to identify some?of the practices that might be in play under heading 'post avant'? 

Pedigree?also seems?to matter too much.?Or maybe it's like Adam getting to name the animals. Their can only be one Adam, it seems.?

Finnegan

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Lott <chris.lott at gmail.com>
Bcc: jforjames at aol.com
Sent: Sat, 9 Feb 2008 6:33 pm
Subject: Re: [New-Poetry] when metacriticism goes bad




On the whole, I found it to be quite an interesting discussion. I am
inclined to be averse to Mlinko based on some past correspondence,
which may be the source of my perception that she was basically
subjected to a good old-fashioned smackdown for about the first half
of the argument, then it took a strange turn that I don't really
understand and I no longer know what either she nor Shepherd think.

I see her as having an outsized and idealized view of writing poetry
as a historical political act. I'm sure she would point out how
misguided I am. Maybe it comes from being too young to have
experienced it and living in a time where that kind of thing is so
impossible as to seem that it must have ever been so. It seems to me
that when politics enters the picture, the poetry gets shoved out the
back door.

c


On Feb 8, 2008 6:00 PM,  <jforjames at aol.com> wrote:
> http://poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2008/02/who_you_callin_postavant.html
>
>  You wouldn't know a 'post avant' if one hit you in head.
>
>  I was 'post avant' before you were a gleam in your mama's eye.
>
>  Some of my best friends are 'post avants'.
>
>  'Post avant' up yours!
>
>  ________________________________
>  More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail!
>
> _______________________________________________
> New-Poetry mailing list
> New-Poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu
> http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/new-poetry
>
>



-- 
Chris Lott
_______________________________________________
New-Poetry mailing list
New-Poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu
http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/new-poetry


________________________________________________________________________
More new features than ever.  Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/pipermail/new-poetry/attachments/20080210/3d9840e4/attachment.html