I have to give a presentation relating to a school or "ism" in poetry, and after reading through some articles and what not, I have decided that I wanted to look at the similarities that the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E school shares with other schools of thought.

One of the things my presentation has to include is a reading of a poem and analysis of how it relates to my subject, so I either need a L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poem that transcends the school or a poem that borrows from the school heavily.

I was reading that John Ashbury wrote in a very similar fashion yet didn't fully buy into the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E school of thought. So does anyone have any poems/ links/ direction to help me out? Any and all help is appreciated, thanks!

There is a discussion of the topic here:

[www.writing.upenn.edu] />
Too esoteric for my taste, but you might find something useful.


Les

Tim, have you searched L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E as an exact phrase on Google? You’ll find various sites that might be helpful, including:

www.poetrypreviews.com/poets/language.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_poets

Lots of links, including a link in the first to John Ashbery.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2005 02:27PM by IanB.

From:

[www.poetrypreviews.com] />

As McGann continues in the same essay, L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E P=O=E=T=S experimented with form and diction, ultimately bringing organization/form to where previously none (or little in the sense of being a poetic work) was found. He quotes advice given to budding L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E P=O=E=T=S by poet Bernadette Mayer in her work, "Experiments":


Systematically derange the language, for example, write a work consisting only of prepositional phrases, or, add a gerundive to every line of an already existing piece of prose or poetry, etc.

Get a group of words (make a list or select at random); then form these words (only) into a piece of writing—whatever the words allow. Let them demand their own form, and/or: Use certain words in a set way, like, the same word in every line, or in a certain place in every paragraph, etc. Design words.

Write what cannot be written, for example, compose an index. (Read an index as a poem).

Attempt writing in a state of mind that seems least congenial.

Consider word & letter as forms—the concretistic distortion of a text, for example, too many o's or a multiplicity of thin letters (illftiii, etc.)

Attempt to eliminate all connotation from a piece of writing & vice versa.

Work your ass off to change the language & don't ever get famous.


What is a synonym for 'poppycock', Alex.

What is a synonym for 'poppycock'

Seems like Bernadette Mayer was bidding fair to become one.

Attempt to eliminate all connotation from a piece of writing & vice versa.

Did she really give any thought to what she meant by 'vice versa' here?!

To describe L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry as a 'school of thought' strikes me as a grave exaggeration. It appears that some American writers had just become so tired of life they couldn't think of anything more creative than to bring on a lingustic Apocalypse Now. I'm sorry if my earlier post implied any endorsement. As Mister Kurtz said, "The horror! The horror!"

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2005 08:57PM by IanB.