I have to admit I get a little concerned sometimes when debates and discussions in poetry take place without enough respect. Prime example? The latest 'theses' nailed to his door (!) by the bad boy of late modernism, Keston Sutherland. Now, far be it from me to deny that Mr. Sutherland is a clever chap. He clearly has a way with words. But what he doesn't seem to realize is that an avant-garde takes time, thought, and above all, yes (boo!) money to put together. When someone like Kenny Goldsmith has been putting in the hours with potential sponsors and donors year after year at the coal face -- and, let's face it guys, there's only so much rubber chicken you can eat! -- it's just lazy and disrespectful for someone like Sutherland to think that all this careful work can be overthrown just by a few specious aphorisms on a blog. Christian Bok made this point in a great tweet lately, and the word he found for Sutherland -- 'fulminates' -- captures it nicely. It's not that I don't think that Sutherland is right about the reality of the subject or the soul, if that's what he's trying to say (not always sure what he is trying to say). Hell, I'd have to agree with him -- after all, it's my job to ensure that the things (souls, that is) are distributed to their proper circles in a cost-effective and appropriate manner. But the fact is that it's just embarrassing to see all this stated so aggressively in public -- as though modernism had never happened. 'J.C.' in the TLS has some great points to make here, especially about how it was OK for James Joyce to behave badly in Finnegans Wake, but isn't it time we all, you know, grew up now? Calm down, dear!!! LOL. OK, back to the day job at the ferry crossing!


http://afieryflyingroule.tumblr.com/post/49378474736/keston-sutherland-theses-on-antisubjectivist-dogma#