Section 1: Health (A Lecture)

Sekiso Osho asked, "How can you proceed on further from the top of a hundred-foot pole?" Another eminent teacher of old said, "You, who sit on the top of a hundred-foot pole, although you have entered the Way you are not yet genuine. Proceed on from the top of the pole, and you will show your whole body in the ten directions."






































"Consider yourself addressing an audience with considerable knowledge of poetry, both practice and theory, both contemporary and historical."
(University of Iowa MFA Exam prompt, 2009)


"Its social substance is precisely what is spontaneous in it, what does not simply follow from the existing conditions at the time..."
(Theodor Adorno, On Lyric Poetry and Society)


"They will be buried by laughter."
(Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Commonwealth)




































I will be addressing an audience with considerable knowledge.

As a member of this audience, I know that we can often have a difficult time seeing the unknown.

(And if the unknown is, in this case, an audience without considerable knowledge?)



































SECTION I


HEALTH

a lecture



























1

You see there are a few things we need to talk about | but what I am going to start with here | is local poetry | because as of now local poetry is looked down on | when I think | it should be the opposite

how does poetry work | in today’s institutions you may ask | one publishes a book of poetry or two and that qualifies you | for certain occupations in which you are encouraged to write more poetry | all of this poetry | is available more or less widely | and your name can be increasingly known | and this helps you be a “successful poet” | now

if you are an “unsuccessful poet” | or just a person | you write but maybe | only those immediately around you | say in your community | hear it | you are not successful | maybe | because you are speaking to non-poets | other people around you | local concerns | things in your town | I don’t know | but you do not write for national contests etc.

what might we value | about this devalued brand
how might it | be important
because it can’t be important just by virtue of being "lesser" | (in quality) | (whose) | but rather | where is the good work that goes unwritten | that is yet to be written | might this be an important kind of work | how might it be important

for one it might resist certain habits of address | or non-address | "rhetorical aphasia" | of the so-called mainstream | or streams | that is | it might address itself differently | which could be useful | if we consider address | a useful issue | I for one | am sometimes bored with the concerns | of the poetry community | not that they aren’t | interesting | but that, sometimes | they don’t have enough limits to make them exciting | sustainably | in terms | of health

what is health | this is a good question | this is the second thing I want to talk about | what is health | and what does it mean | for poets | right now I think for many people it means | being unhealthy | which I think makes for “good poems” | but maybe | unhealthy poems | what do we want | a poem to do



a local healthy poetry | would not assume it is more important | than you | its appeal would be generous | first and foremost | this would be cool | and interesting

how does one be generous | in a poem | what do you have to give | why do we want that | from a poem | for a poem

perhaps we are thinking of the poem’s health here





















2

this leads us somewhere interesting | that is | it leads us | out of the poem | or should i say | further in | the poem | is also led out of itself | why | is it healthy for the poem to be led out of itself | and what does being let out of itself | mean

for one | it would mean changing | this talk would have to maybe at a certain point | stop looking as it now does | and sounding as it now does | and it would have to change in terms of its sound and tone i guess | and this would hold some readers’ interest | but maybe not others' | i.e. people who like poems | may like this game of change | people who get frustrated with poems | may not | but it could also change in such a way as to grab both | now | the question remains | or actually grows stronger | how does the poem change | in a way that is healthy | the second point

is related to this | “being let out of itself“ | i.e. into the world | i.e. | how does a poem do that

this may be a question | of where the poem comes from | or how it is situated
this is an old question, too, I think | but let’s ask it | differently

what can a poem do | today | in our world

what is it doing

right now i believe | as one who writes poems | it exists as a kind of checkpoint it is a living checkpoint | in language | through which some pass | and gain power | some of this power | is social | though it happens in language | it is very powerful this power

some of the power | is negative | that is | it undoes the power of language | and invests it in something else | it deposes language | now | the fact of this | is very cool | but something that also passes | back into the first kind of power almost instantly | woooooooo

what to do about that | is i think | the question i am asking

and i think it really has to do with audience | with address | with where this is headed | this is something i think that certain bodies of philosophy and poetry have dealt with | pretty insufficiently | or rather | new forms have not yet found their way into power | also | because it’s a tough thing | i.e. how would that look to have true negative power in power | i think this is also | a question people have been asking | trying to do | only to fail and have it slip straight back | there are many | many people i like reading | people who are directly invested in this idea and maybe pay less attention
to their situate-ion

generally | still | i do think the dream | for me | maybe for you i don’t know | i am suggesting this | is that i could write a kind of poetry | that my high school students could be equally (tho differently) moved by | enjoy | feel empowered by

perhaps the negative power | the real negative power | negative power that can take power | whatever | let’s just have some of the non-poets | non power holders involved | speaking | reading | included | and there are many who are invested in this too | only | they're not here | i.e. this is a power organism | designed to infiltrate | itself | you see | who would reasonably | be interested in this | except those seeking power | ok | so here we are | there is this other idea

that power is not “bad” | that good folks need to take it | i think there is much truth to this | i distrust it | but i also trust it in a certain way | the problem is of course “good” | i think | children are good

are we to write for children?

























3

a healthy poem | does not care how good it sounds
but loves | when it sounds good

similarly | i teach better | when i forget the dumb stuff | i just did | but remember | if i just sounded good | my students like that | a poem likes

when it is healthy | it likes to move | poems like exercise | they like being vulnerable | they like being said | some people

are afraid to say their poems | as if the poem will get angry at them | as if they could say it “wrong” | this is | of course | what you always do | i.e. fuck up | you are always fucking up | your poems | but then you are there and can bend everything back and then something has just happened

I was telling someone the other night that I like high school students | because they have developed their bullshit detector for other people | quite well | but they have not yet | fully developed it for themselves | so as an instructor | one can point out their bullshit quite easily | the occasions often present themselves | and the students like that | because you are doing their favorite thing | their new favorite thing | you can even turn bullshit calling | on yourself | which is quite impressive to them | that everyone is full of shit | even their teacher | so doing something wrong | is always instructive







[INTRO] [SECTION I] [SECTION II] [INTERLUDE] [SECTION III]