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| I don't think this is conceptual poetry, but it looks good. |
I think that conceptual poetry should drop its modifier and call itself poetry, plain and simple. In fact, this is happening as we speak. Sometimes it's used as a term of disparagement by "traditional" poets to make it seem somehow less than "true" poetry. This same phenomenon took place in the world of visual art about a century ago (Armory Show, etc.), and in various forms it's been happening for all of human history. Conceptual art still gets lampooned in the popular press, but it has for quite a long time been fully established in the critical canon. It is no longer an outlier. Increasingly it's simply called art. This will eventually happen with poetry, but it's not going to happen tomorrow. Certain poets and artists are moving this forward in a fashion that unsettles the settled world of academic poetry. Below is a sample. Go to ubuweb for more upon more.
In case you miss the feast below, visit this vending machine: Conceptual Poetry for Dummies. And if you can't take in the whole meal below, be sure to savor the main course.
READING MENU
March 27
Pre-Game
Starter
John Baldessari's well-known piece deserves a closer and longer look, so look closer and longer.
Main Course
Read carefully Kenneth Goldsmith's brief introduction (xvii-xxii). Read this like you knew there was going to be a pop quiz on it. Also read Craig Dworkin's essay that follows Goldsmith's in the book, "The Fate of Echo". It's rather long, so you might choose to read it selectively. Find the key concepts.
Go crazy and take notes.
Desert
You can take one bite or you can eat
the whole thing.
Still hungry? Jumbo Slice!
IHOP at 5 in the Morning
Brunch?
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