I thought I would share my thesis proposal, originally written in spring 2013. … The thesis shall be a poetry manuscript, titled “Pareidolia has landed.” The manuscript will contain various explorations into constraint-based poetry, including erasures and other author-created constraints. The emphasis, therefore, shall be that the methods of poetry-making are just as significant as […]
What is space/silence/‘nothing’?
October 30, 2013 by
Back in February of 2012, I wrote the following “response paper” for a class on form and theory of poetry. I thought it might be worth sharing. Don’t worry if you are unfamiliar with whom I reference or the texts I reference; the point is sharing the thoughts. … On some notes last week, I […]
What is “authenticity,” especially in unconventional work? Part 2
October 30, 2013 by
In a previous post, I discussed “authenticity” versus “integrity,” saying that integrity is in reference to an internal assessment while authenticity is more of an external assessment/comparison. And now I look again at this question: if the work does not come directly from the self, what gives it its “justification,” what it can be measured […]
What is “authenticity,” especially in unconventional work? Part 1
October 9, 2013 by
When I have spoken of work lateral to the self, you/someone may have wondered: what provides a basis of “truth” for the work? If the work does not come directly from the self, what gives it its justification, what it can be measured against—how can it “check out”? When work comes directly from the self, […]
The pleasures of the ’Pataphysical novel: The Exploits & Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician
September 30, 2013 by
My previous post on this subject focused on The Supermale. I had mentioned Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician, and now I’ll discuss the pleasures of its overt ’pataphysicality. Regarding Dr. Faustroll himself: Doctor Faustroll was sixty-three years old when he was born in Circassia in 1898 (the 20th Century was [-2] years old). Anomalies are […]
The pleasures of the ’Pataphysical novel: The Supermale
September 30, 2013 by
In a previous post, I considered what makes fiction a page-turner and how a page-turner often is richer in plot than language. But there is another factor I want to mention: the value of a novel creating its own system of reality. In other words, its own metaphysics. In still more other words, perhaps its […]
Thoughts on fiction/the novel: when the emphasis is on “story”
June 19, 2013 by
I admit that these days it isn’t often that I seek out fiction voluntarily—usually the fiction I read are assigned texts. Sometimes these are page-turners: plot-driven quick-reads. While “I couldn’t put it down” is frequently a form of praise, if that’s the main thing I can say about it, for me, it means the plot […]
How a poem transcends its materiality to become a poem
June 12, 2013 by
Back in April of 2012, I wrote the following “response paper” for a class on form and theory of poetry. I thought it might be worth sharing. Don’t worry if you are unfamiliar with whom I reference or the texts I reference; the point is sharing the thoughts. … While reading Heidegger’s essay “The Thing” […]
Why you should know of ’Pataphysics, Part 2
June 7, 2013 by
You may want to read part 1 first. Andrew Hugill says in ‘Pataphysics: A Useless Guide: It is generally agreed that [pataphysics] lies around the roots of many of the key artistic and cultural developments of the twentieth century, including absurdism, Dada, futurism, surrealism, situationism, and others…. You may wonder, if that is the case, […]
Why you should know of ’Pataphysics, Part 1
May 30, 2013 by
Because we think of definitions as a form of knowledge, I suppose I should tell you what ’pataphysics is defined as if I am to construct premises that ultimately answer this post’s title. Whew. Well, in ‘Pataphysics: A Useless Guide, Andrew Hugill says: To understand pataphysics is to fail to understand pataphysics. To define it […]