Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Poetry Against Poetry During National Poetry Month Is a Great Idea

Edward Albee a great playwright and astute thinker about the game of life believes that one should never do praxis. Praxis is the expected, even a right turn off of expectation is still praxis. Art is not meant to fulfill praxis...as it has already been filled by expectation. Art that surprises and opens even contradicts itself (as Whitman might add) seems very much the point of Art. So posting poems against poetry in national Poetry Month has that slightly creepy, very humorous, and intellectual quality of mis-direction in its purpose. It is contrary to praxis. Argument increases the value of its subject...like an economics of ideas. The market value of a debated idea is greater than one accepted blindly or ignored entirely. Poems against poetry are good for poetry. And I am all for that. Now what would be nice is a posting of poems against poems against poetry.

At Slate Pinsky submits poems against poetry to the public...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I can't help suspecting that Pinsky ripped off the title of a series of poems, Poems Against Poetry, that I've had on the Web for quite a number of years now. You can see the series, now numbering three poems (If You Should Ever Turn Your Pen, Thank God Poetry Is Not My Vice, and Just How Addled Must Someone Be) at:

http://www.callihan.com/poems/against/poetry.htm