http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2009/01/la-hiatus/ A blog from the Poetry Foundation where contemporary poets debate classic and contemporary poetry from America and around the world. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:37:21 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2009/01/la-hiatus/#comment-6593 Kent Johnson Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:17:57 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=1212#comment-6593 Cathy Park Hong is right: The Museum of Jurassic Technology is a poet's museum... However, it does appear to be the rule today that poets, mainstream and avant alike, must ever exhibit themselves as if they were in the Smithsonian, under glass, accompanied by authenticating brass plaque... Perhaps the better, largely untried task for poets is not to write odes "to" or "about" the MJT, but to write *inside* that project's spirit, prepositionally emulating its strange interferences of origin and authenticity? [note: our so-called "Conceptual poetry," certified by those brass plaques it so eagerly attaches to its products, is the exact opposite of this spirit.] For those not familiar, the best introduction to David Wilson's masterpiece-in-process is Lawrence Weschler's Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder (1995). Kent Cathy Park Hong is right: The Museum of Jurassic Technology is a poet’s museum…
However, it does appear to be the rule today that poets, mainstream and avant alike, must ever exhibit themselves as if they were in the Smithsonian, under glass, accompanied by authenticating brass plaque…
Perhaps the better, largely untried task for poets is not to write odes “to” or “about” the MJT, but to write *inside* that project’s spirit, prepositionally emulating its strange interferences of origin and authenticity? [note: our so-called "Conceptual poetry," certified by those brass plaques it so eagerly attaches to its products, is the exact opposite of this spirit.]
For those not familiar, the best introduction to David Wilson’s masterpiece-in-process is Lawrence Weschler’s Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder (1995).
Kent

]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2009/01/la-hiatus/#comment-6592 wg Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:23:43 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=1212#comment-6592 I've tried writing about the MJT. It's very very hard. I’ve tried writing about the MJT. It’s very very hard.

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