Post modernist poetics: Four views

Pos mode nis poe ics: Fou iews Ke in Powe Poe y as c ea ion, u ning o e he g ound o he man, ' he plo ', ' he g ea my h' is he ic ion o wha man is. H. D. ... he a duous pa h o appea ances. Heidegge A poe ic is no me ely a w i ing code bu an a i ude owa ds li e. I hews ision & pushes language owa ds i s on ie s. Ame ican poe y explo es possibili ies &p oduces poe s ha sha e he audaci y ha ypi ies hei socie y. Cul u al, mili a y, & economic supe io i y on a wo ld scale gi es hei language i s edge & con idence. The Ame¬ ican poe speaks he ongue o powe . The wo ld has o lis en. His e bs h ea en economic sanc ions o V-8 bombe s. He has a echnology ha gi es him immedia e access o in o ma ion & lea es he wo ld's image-bank a his disposal. In an a luen socie y he ules a e in a¬ iably c ass & simplis ic: do wha you like bu don' ock he boa . Al hough he indi idual poe can do li le o co e he c azed an ics o his pa icula jumbo je , he can, a leas , use i s ene gy o his own ends, making o i he occasion o disco e ing he la en meaning o his wo ld. In he six ies he poe sha ed in he p o es agains a se ies o social & poli ical injus ices. Ginsbe g, Bly & Le e o all w o e again he mu ¬ de ous emp iness ha uelled he Vie nam Wa . LeRoi Jones e used o use whi e publishe s o whi e dis ibu ion ci cui s & hus echoed he black wi hd awal om he 'G ea Socie y'. Ye poe y has no powe 51 o implemen wha i ad oca es, & since i y all oo easily subsides in o ges u e. A sha pe ocus was equi ed, some hing whe e wo d & ac could me ge. The poe e u ned inwa ds owa ds he oo s o his li e & language, o he place in which a man li ed & o he con ou s ha o med his speech. He sough o de ine a base om which he could ma k ou his limi s. Pa adoxically a socie y cushioned by ansien illu¬ sions & buil on un es ained ma e ial ambi ion has gi en bi h o a poe ic ision demanding cla i y & spi i ual egene a ion: a poe ic o immanence. The mo e is, hen, owa ds an ac i e language, o wha C eeley has called a p ocess o w i ing ha made bo h he hing said & he way o saying i an in eg al e en ': he p oposi ion, Ge ha d is o ge i s aigh , igh om he s a (Olson) They wan , in o he wo ds, a language ha enac s a he han one ha desc ibes. Ye he ac emains ha a a ime when poe s ha e, as Robe Duncan pu s i , a esponsabili y no o seek e ec , a g ea many o hem con inue o do p ecisely ha in almos e e y line. The 'poe y es ablishmen ' is s ill all oo o en domina ed by conce ns o in e¬ llec ual dazzle, o p o iding ex s o an 'explica ion de ex e'. Richa d Howa d's Alone in Ame ica, one o he ew ex ensi e s udies we ha e o Ame ican poe y a e 1950, shows jus how en enched his a i ude is In a lis o o y-one poe s he manages o exclude Duncan, Olson, Po n, McClu e, Ro henbe g, Oppen, Zuko sky in a ou o such names as Bowe s, Finkel, Moss & Weiss. I 's a pe e se selec ion wi h a ma ked p e e ence o ska ing on b illian bu b i le su aces. I would like in his essay o alk o poe s who a gue ha a poe y wi hou ene gy is a poe y wi hou need, o poe s who ad ance owa ds an ad en u e. A poem, like a man, is a becoming, pa o he 'will o change'. E e y momen o li e is a s uggle o come o li e, & he poem sha es his s uggle o achie e a o m ha con inces. Fo m, consequen ly, ma¬ ni es s i sel as an immedia e ela ionship wi h a pa icula in p ocess. C eeley wan s us o deal wi h he p ima y e ms o expe ience. He wan s us 'naked' in ou own condi ion, 'in ha necessa y eshness, howe e exposed, because all hings a e pa icula & eali y i sel is he speci ic con en o an ins an 's possibili y'. We can ind, pe haps, nume ous examples o he ene gy cha ge behind his no a ional p oce- 52 du e in Fielding Dawson's collec ion o sho , s o ies, The Man who Changed O e nigh . Dawson makes he Ame ican idiom ac as a coun¬ e poin o he shee p esence o he black & Pue o Rican kids on he s ee : They all s eamed along he s ee loud mou hing & badmou hing a lo o hings & people, in hei hea e o he s ee s, as hey mo ed o s oops & luncheone es, & he IRT & BMT subway a Union Squa e. They we e loud, agg essi e, & sexually lag an . The black & PR gi ls we e plump, a , skinny & well-buil , oo, in igh swea e s & mini-ski s, as he boys eaked in sneak, ee-shi s, & igh black pan s walking all, keeping he neighbou hood on edge. Simila ly Olson makes o he ac o speech a 'high-ene gy cons uc ' : He le him naked he man said, and nakedness is wha one means ha all s a up o he eye & soul as hough i had ne e happened be o e The poe 's ole is o unc ion as a nexus o ene gy, p ehending he ene gies o he wo ld abou him. The laying down o he wo ds, he ph asing, low om he hy hms &cadences o he poe 's own body. B ea h acqui es a new signi icance. I se es as a measu e o ou in¬ ol emen in he wo ld ou side, egis e ing bo h physical e o & he g aph o ou emo ions. E ymologically b ea h also ela es o soul & spi i . Snyde e e s o 'inspi a ion' as a aking in o he wo ld & o 'expi a ion' as he e u ning o ones's p esence o he wo ld. Olson in¬ sis s ha b ea h is he mos in ima e o egis e s, accu a ely measu ing he way in which he poe 's ene gies a e engaged. I ca ches & weighs sounds in wha e e o m hey ake, as syllable, as wo d, as line: he Hea , by way o he B ea h, o he Line McClu e e e s di ec ly o wha he e ms a 'body-language': 'Wha comes s aigh h ough he ne es & synapses o he body wi hou e¬ ci cula ion & channellings o habi & cus om — s aigh om he spi i & unbu e ed'. I 's a iew ha owes much o Olson's concep o 'P o- 53 p iocep ion', by which he means 'sensibili y wi hin he o ganism by mo emen o i s own issues', o o say i mo e simply he body's own knowledge o i sel . Poe y pushes a he on ie s o wha e e ange o expe ience is ' isible' o an age. I 's a pulse o ou ma ix o iewing, e ching mea¬ ning om he mu mu ing o he shell we li e in. I would like now o concen a e speci ically on ou poe s & he no ions ha unde lie some o hei mos ecen ex s. I. Robe Duncan Fo Duncan he unique con ibu ion o poe y o man is i s eenac - men o he in isible o de o he Cosmos. The poem is an au onomous li e- o m, pa o he ongoing e olu ion o o ms. I 's no a mimesis o li e, i has li e. He de ines he poem as he mode whe eby we become conscious o ' hings as po en ials o making he uni e se eal ... celeb a ing o e oking ... wha is'. The poe , li ing wi hin his 'shell o mu mu ings', hea s he meanings & in isible o de ha su ound him as po en ials. He doesn' c ea e hem, he disco e s hem. The poem is a s uggle o make li e ac ual. The poe wo ks wi h wha is ac ually happening — as e en , as memo y, as imagina i e associa ion. He deals wi h wha e e comes in o he a ea o composi ion, o he ' ield' as Olson accu a ely chooses o call i . He has o ake immedia e decisions con¬ ce ning he ensions o he wo d bo h as sound & as idea, & he se¬ pa a e pa s o he poem assume, in hei la ge iden i y, ela ed & inally in e changeable oles. 'The a is ... wo ks wi h all pa s o he poem as polysemous, aking each hing o he composi ion as gene a i e o meaning, a esponse o & a con ibu ion o he building o o m'. Duncan sees! he wo d as much mo e han simply a pa o speech ca ying an idea o pa o an idea, as a as he's conce ned he wo d li es & has an u ge o c ea e. 'The uni e se s i es o be wha i uly is o be. 'The poem ha mo es me when I w i e is an ac i e p esence in which I wo k. I am no conce ned whe he i is a good 01 bad likeness o some con en ion men hold; o he Wo d is o me Li ing Flesh & he body o my own hough & eeling, my own p esence, becomes he ehicle o he p ocess o gene ic in o ma ion.' The wo ds s o e meanings beyond hei su ace sense. 'Fo wo ds a e no hough s bu ideas in hings, & he poe mus a end no o wha he means o say bu o wha wha he says means.' 54 Ye he wo d i sel is, o cou se, made up o a mul iplici y o ele¬ men s, & hus we a e o ced back again o he no ion o o m wi hin o m & he in e dependence o all he di e se pa s: The owels a e physical co ido s o he imagina ion emi ing passiona ely b ea hs o lame Despi e he he o ic Duncan simply means ha he owels can lead he mo emen o he poem, ha he poe mus lis en o he pa icula music unde hand & ecognise ha i has i s own oli ion. The poem is, he e¬ o e, an o ganism, pa o an ecology o o ms. Duncan speaks o i in he ollowing e ms: 'I has ne e seemed o me ha he ue o m o a poem was a con en ion o an ideal o o m, bu , as in li e, a o m ha ing i s in o ma ion in he language o ou human expe ience, as ou bodies ha e hei in o ma ion in he li e-code o he species & ou spi i in he c ea i e will ... The beginning o he poem s i s in e e y a ea o my consciousness, o he DNA code i will use owa d i s inca na ion is a code o essou ces my li e pa e n i sel ca ies; no only hough & eeling bu all he ne ous & isce al & muscula in elligences o he body a e mo ed. Awakening, lis ening, seeing, sen¬ sing, — o wo k wi h he mo ing weigh & du a ion o mo emen ; o coope a e in he a oused p ocess. A ending. F om he i s inspi a ion, b ea hing wi h he new b ea h. Man's my hs mo e in his poe y as hey mo e in his his o y, as in he mo phology o his body all his ancien e olu ion is ehea sed & ind idual; all o he e eb a e ima gina ion mo es o c ea e i sel anew in his spine.' Dan e E udes, his mos ecen wo k, achie es a wonde ully modu¬ la ed e ela ion o his p ocess a wo k: a poe ic elabo a ed wi hin ' he swa m o human speech', o ally in une wi h i s music, an in ima e lowing o ideas: he bu imi a es in noises ha he makes his speech in e e y sense he wo ld su oundng him Body & mind se e hus as sounding-boa ds: o speak my mind un olds he sec e o he hea b ea he wo d o i , ake soundings in he passage ou 55 He mo es back in o his childhood, li ing in a su ge o p esences: om he language we i s hea d endea men s whispe ings in an song & e e ies a wo ld we wan ed o go ou in o o come o ou sel es in o, o ganiza ions in he sound o hem e ging upon meaning Duncan belie s ha he child seizes he unde lying essences a he han he su ace subjec ma e . The s o y p o ides meanings & om hem he child can make he wo ld eal o himsel . The o m is uly wha he poe makes o wha is happening: I is he o dina ion o he whole in each e en in en ou a bu o a icula e & know he di ec ion o jus ice h u & h u He alks o his usion! be ween poe & poem in his supe b essay T u h & Li e o My h: 'Bo h poem & poe a e pa o an ongoing cosmic o de whe e he body cells, he e bal uni s, a e only pa o he la ge o de : i I ake he u h o hings o be he u h o hei belongingness o his o m o o ms, ha ing i s comple ion in he end o ime & space, su ely beyond my indi idual comp ehension, in my poe ics I le go o s i ing o claim some au hen ici y ha a ises om he s o e o human expe ience acknowledged in he language ha gi es wha e e dep h o my own expe ience, a eel o o m acknowledged in is own incep ion o be no mo e han eeling ... I is no ha I ake he na u e o man, my own na u e, o be w i en in a sec e key, bu belie ing all C ea ion o be in p ocess an e olu ion & e ela ion o I sel , & he meaning o he pa s, meaning o all de ini ions, o be posi ed inally in a o ali y o esonances, I hold oo ha he meaning & o m o any poem is momen¬ ous, yes: bu has i s mo i e beyond he conscious & pe sonal in en o ealiza ion o he poe . My poe y has, as my indi idual body has, i s own in e io sys ema ic s uc u e ega dless o 'me'. Fo Duncan poe y is: 'a place o i s pe mission' 'an e e nal pas u e olded in all hough ' 56 II. Robe C eeley C eeley sees he poem as he immedia e & in ima e measu e o ex¬ pe ience, no a e lec ion on i bu a way o being in i : Measu es ways o being in one's li e happy o unhappy ne e dead o i The ins an is bo h shape & law, li e ally he way a man de ines him¬ sel wi hin he su ounding ield o ac i i y. Man li es & akes place wi hin wha Cage calls 'a o al ield o non- ocused mul iplici y'. The o m o he man & o he poem a e consequences o he way his ield is deal wi h. C eeley acknowledges how Olson succeeded in chan¬ ging his no ion o he no mal idea o p og ession in a poem: 'seeing a poem as a ield ... we assume a sense ha poin s o one basic meams o cohe ence; a ele an & ac ual ension be ween di e s pa s p esen , o come o (in his sense only) wha we call he 'whole'. 'Man c ea es wi hin a changing eali y & as he e ms o eali y change he e ms o consciousness mus also change o s op man being o e whelmed. Choice p oduces he ension, he cohe ing we call ' o m'. Ye C eeley ejec s he poem as a ehicle o a i udes, a guing ha his hough s necessa¬ ily in o m he poem & p o ide i s essen ial clima e. I a poem is made in o a s e che o ideas hen he poem ails because he eal u gency o occasion lies somewhe e ou side i . 'A poe y denies i s end in any desc ip i e ac , I mean any ac which lea es he a en ion ou side he poem. Ou ange canno exis use ully wi hou i s objec s, bu a des¬ c ip ion o hem is also a pe pe ua ion. The e is ha con usion —one wan s he hing o ac on, & ye ha es i . Desc ip ion does no hing, i includes he objec — i nei he ha es no lo es.' To use Pound's ph ase, i 's he 'quali y o emo ion' ha ma e s. I 's no wha he poem alks abou ha is signi ican , bu ' he senses & he in ensi y o he emo ion hus engende ed'. C eeley wan s he poem o exis in i s Own igh & ha 's impossible as long as some subjec signi ican ly elsewhe e is in ol ed. 'The e had' he obse es, ' o be an independence de i ed om he ac ha wo ds a e hings oo': he e is whe e he e is 57 This isn' o say ha C eeley doesn' ha e his pa icula obsessions: T can ecognize looking back ha some conce ns ha e been pe sis en : he e ms o ma iage, ela ions be ween man & woman, sense o isola ion, sense o place in he in ima e measu e'. I 's an accu a e lo¬ ca ing o heme. C eeley's way o expe iencing emo ion is o igh en i up, o make he synapses in o au sp ings. Pe sonal ela ionships a e exposed, abused e en: 'I wan i all, so I end a imes, unde s an¬ dably, o exhaus my iends — keep pushing, pushing, pushing ... I so lo e he in ensi y o people ha I can' le any hing s op un il i 's li e ally exhaus ed': I hink I g ow ensions like lowe s in a wood whe e nobody goes. Each wound is pe ec encloses i sel in a iny impe cep ible blossom making pain. Pain is a lowe , like ha one like his one, like ha one, like his one. The poem is no an a gumen bu an e en . The i s line is a li e al sensa ion. The lowe s a e ensions. They ake he shape o pain. C eeley is expe iencing he ea ul plucking o himsel by himsel . The sensa ion can be aced back o echoes bu ied in he mys e y & meanings o a childhood game 'I lo e you, I lo e you no '. He inds he same wild plucking, he same p esence o e o igh on op o him. The inal line is close o he skin, i s h ea imminen . Olson's dic um is clea ly ele an : ' ha which exis s h ough i sel is wha is called meaning'. And i 's C eeley himsel who adds u he elabo a ion: ' ha kind o meaning, ha kind o signi ica ion, is wha a poem is. I does so exis h ough i sel , h ough he agency o i s own ac i i y: he¬ e o e is, he e o e, has meaning'. Fo C eeley wo ds a e no manne isms o in ol emen bu con¬ ou s o sel . 'Speech is an asse ion o one man, by one man, since each speech has i s own cha ac e ha p oduces o m'. The sound & he ac o saying canno be sepa a ed om wha is said. I 's he same poin ha William Ca los Williams makes so pe suasi ely in his Au o¬ biog aphy: 'The poe hinks wi h his poem in ha lies his hough , & 58 ha in i sel is he p o undi y.' C eeley, in much he same way, s esses ha he eal in ensi y lies in he song & ha he hea s he melody long be o e he eaches an unde s anding as o wha i all migh mean: ' he o ganiza ion o poe y has mo ed oo a u he a icula ion in which hy hmic s uc u e now becomes no only e iden bu a p ima y cohe¬ ence in he o al o ganiza ion o wha 's being expe ienced: Who am I iden i y singing Bi ds singing measu e dis ance in e als be ween echo silence Iden i y comes when he wo ds mo e in he measu es o song. Bu C eeley is no alking abou some mys e ious seconda y le el o mea¬ ning, he means an in eg a ed ac —bo h sound & seman ic meaning: «Since wo ds a e he ma e ial, & wo ds ha e meaning in o he senses, ha ac also has pe inence. Bu I do no eel ha hing in language we call a poem has o do wi h a li e al issue o seman ic meaning. Ye ha aspec o meaning is a ma e ial also, & clea ly en e s in o he issue o image, o s a emen , o all such a ec s o some hing said': Ligh weighs ligh , o he hand o he eye eel i in wo places. Meaning has o be es ed & C eeley accep s Wi gens ein's p oposi¬ ion ha meaning is use & ha usage cohe es alue. T adi ion is in essence an aspec o wha anyone is now hinking, & no wha someone once hough . Rede ini ion akes place when he si ua ions a e ense & d ama ic enough o make he old linguis ic o de c umble. C eeley uses no so much common wo ds bu a 'common mode o add ess, he way o speaking ha 's commonly me wi h in con e sa ion ... ha ac in a poem is e y dis inc om ha ac in con e sa ion. And I hink wha eally was gained om ha sense o sou ce in common speech was he ecog¬ ni ion ha he in ima e knowing o a way o speaking ... wha 's gained in ha way ... o e s he kind o in ensi y ha poe y peculia ly admi s.' 59 o men.' This is a c ucial dis inc ion o McClu e. The in ellec i i y akes i s essen ial sus enance om medi a ion &physical expe ience; in o ma ion om books & media is simply a seconda y sou ce. The indi idual has o se abou ealising his own physical expe ience. Bio- alchemical in es iga ions — conce ns wi h he shapes & meanings o bodies — a e insepa able om poe ics: we a e hun e s o p o ein g ail nue o alchemis s man, woman & babe dee , bea & i us, cyp ess wo ms & bac e ium ... McClu e is calling o a i al des uc u ing o ou sys em. He goes back o e olu iona y o igins in an a emp o ge i igh , quo ing H. T. Odum in suppo o his a gumen : 'I he o igin o li e was a s ep by s ep capsula ion o molecules in he sea ... he ea lies o ms mus ha e been so la ge & had so li le s uc u ing ha hey ha e le li le in he ossil eco d': And so we s e ch ou i is a muscula sensa ion om he neck & shoulde s h ough he a m And we a e no in sea ch o poe y bu luck ha in en illion Milky Ways ha make a molecule wi hin ou ches o a billion ea he ed songs sung om ho seback on a bison hun we e beams o ligh lash he e & he e & make new colo s ou o dus wha we emi in Fields o Though The human o ganism s ill possesses clea aces o i s paleoli hic pas . We ha dly know amy hing o he way in which ai s, needs, u ges, e ained om e olu iona y expe ience condi ion ou beha iou oday. So a as inna e esponses a e conce ned hey a e s ill he ones ha had de eloped aeons ago o adap mankind o condi ons ha hen p e¬ ailed bu which ha e long ceased o exis . E idence o his can be seen, o example, in he way he body mobilises i sel be o e ea o dange : €6 Mycelia Pluck ou mycelia o social pe sonali y om mamml s yle Neoli hic ac s in mime o o u e Tu ning, wis ing, e y as . Pain dis o s om pain. Poli ics is doomed & mea is ee o eel so pleasu es beams scen s as es & inhe i ance o sel om sel es. The in e sec ions o he memo y a e poin s. A ne . Wi hin — o go en hings McClu e's poe y akes in he su ounding wo ld & wha e e is aken in is gi en back in al e ed condi ion. As Dubos obse es 'e e y hing we pe cei e & in e p e by hinking p ocesses 'becomes ansla ed in o o ganic p ocesses'. McClu e seeks o e eal & o explo e he language o hese p ocesses. His 99 Theses b ing he eye o ocus: 1 12 17 23 35 51 60 68 70 81 99 Man is a ca ni o e expe iencing himsel The socie x is a cage o he mammal. The wol sings The physiological body is pu e spi i The e is no in elligence bu in elligences Mea is hough Re ol is biological The e is one languace — ges u e, oice, & ib a ion o body The body is el land Madness is empo a y & na u al Mea is mo ing ca e in he solid ai Le me conclude my ema ks wi h a b ie men ion o wo o he wo ks ha ha e appea ed in he las ew yea s ha also explo e he possibili ies o 'open' o m. Paul Blackbu ns's Jou nals a e an in ima e eco d o how he aces up o he agic issues o his li e. They show us his lo e o place & pe son, & his knowledge o app oaching dea h om illness. The pe cep ions low, he ins an is he e en . Robe Kelly no es in his in oduc ion o he Jou nals: 'Wha o m can be disco¬ e ed as one mo es h ough li e? So his o ms a e always inno a i e, some imes mime ic (because he lo ed desc ip ions & people & simple 67 alinemen s & ca alogues), bu mo e o en di ec ly exp essi e o hei in e ac ion o he hing seen wi h he man seeing's. He migh ha e been alking o Blackbu n's 'La Lisie e': How we mo e abou he weal h o iendships: oo o en a he edge o i How a e, he mo e o cen e whe e we li e Sal age, ha wo d. Each o us s ands shyly a he edge o woods ea ing he alley cha y o he sun wai ing This essay has a gued a p e e ence o he poem as p ocess a he han as he obje i e co ela i e o a complex expe ience whe e he poem ep esen s some hing ou side i sel & can be ecognised by any eade equipped wi h simila knowledge. The no ion o poem as p o¬ cess insis s on he ac ha he poem e e s o no hing ou side i sel . I is on ologically unique, & is he issue o a p ima y ac i i y o he mind o c ea i e imagina ion. In he Loom Kelly shows, o example, how in he s ands o language he ac i i y o lo e can ind i s ma e: a poe y ha disco e s i s meaning in he ac : Bu he shape o lo e like he loom o mo ning could cas be o e i a ligh on he shape o hings made eale by he goal owa ds which i & I & all hope ul hings we e mo ing. To make lo e. The pain was eal, & wa ps me s ill — bu ha was eale e e y hing led o you. The connec ion is oo delica e o s ess €8 THE TEXTS Robe Duncan: Dan e, The Ins i u e o Fu he S udies, Bu alo, 1974 The T u h & Li e o My h, Sumac, 1968. Robe C eeley: Thi y Things, Black Spa ow, San a Bá ba a, 1974 Away, Black Spa ow, 1976. Quick G aph, Fou Seasons Founda ion, 1970. Con¬ ex s o Poe y, Fou Season® Founda ion, 1973. Ed Do n: Gunslinge , Wingbow, 1976. The Poe , The People, The Spi i , Talonbooks, 1976. Recollec ions o G an Apache ia, Tu le Island, Be keley, 1974. Michael McClu e: Ra e Angel, Black Spa ow, 1974. Sep embe Black¬ be ies, New Di ec ions, 1975. Jagua Skies, New Di ec ions, 1976. Mea Science Essays, Ci y Ligh s, 1966. Paul Blackbu n: Jou nals, Black Spa ow, 1976. Robe Kelly: The Loom, Black Spa ow, 1976. Fielding Dawson: The Man Who Changed O e nigh , Black Spa ow, 1976. 69