5 mar 2006

It Ain't Your Parents' Bad Poetry, But...:

"Those of you who write *actual* poetry will probably not be familiar with the term "flarf," and will undoubtedly *not* find it rewarding to be enlightened on the subject."

This is closed-minded and presumes quite a bit. It is the very exemplification of closed-mindedness. Not only are these readers presumed not to know about flarf, but they are presumed not to be the least bit curious. If you write *real poetry, you won't be interested in a particular parodic form of poetry that has emerged recently. Huh? Why not? I imagine some people who prefer more mainstream work will think flarf is a hoot , or a valuable contribution to poetry, and others won't.

The argument from ignorance: "desprecia cuanto ignora" as Machado would say.

3 comentarios:

Matthew Schmeer dijo...

Thanks for this...it'll help me explain to my creative writing students why poetry should go beyond the mere personal.

Mike Hauser dijo...

Abramson's whole arguement is sabotaged by the 'actual poetry' remark. It just makes me think of someone saying 'Now this is poetry!'. Its the sentiment of one who operates with a formula in mind, whether they know or not. And anything outside the formula is mocked.

Jonathan dijo...

I agree. It is kind of sad that he doesn't even realize it.