1
the poignancy of yesterday’s sky
all the guys carry on repeating it
slowly fading w/ their tats n
toothless dogs
2 Homoousios
(a) Corrosive: A Conceptual Poem © Vanessa Place
The life & misfortunes of an indigent wretch
inscribed upon her back w/ knifepoint / razor
as a unique p-o-d edition financed
by paying the wretch as little as she’ll take
(b) Mess: A Conceptual Poem © Kenny Goldsmith
Everything I touch
turns to gold
(c) Thanks: A Conceptual Poem © Peter Philpott
All your language use today
3
Starting with what?
& only that patterning?
Why those decisions?
& all those endless questions?
4
Lobet von Herzen das schlechte Gedächtnis des Himmels!
Und daß er nicht
Weiß euren Nam’ noch Gesicht
Niemand weiß, daß ihr noch da seid.
Brecht, p 120 “Großer Dankchoral”
5 Where the Poets Meet
G M Hopkins Lincrusta
glossed intense dark maroon
6 What Is To Be Done?
Strip Out Solutions Our Speciality
Phone Now Without Obligation!
7 It Made Me Scream
There’s nothing holding us here, I swear
the urgency of this situation – how patient
the warm evening air full of smells
its pollution obscured by reflections
shimmering prettily
China Miéville, Perdido Street Station (Pan Books, 2000), pp 855-860
8 A Sense of the Ruptured Moment
The swifts are gone – this sky silent
under it though can be heard how
sudden flocks of peacocks flutter
leaping in joy about the buddleia
9 Mr Motley Continued with His Philosophical Ramblings, His Ruminations on Mongrel Theory
“You too are the bastard-zone, Ms Lin! Your art takes place where your understanding and your ignorance blur.”
Miéville, op cit, p 141 (likewise subheadings for subsections 8 & 9)
10
At the horror of this world’s empty vastness
inconsequentiality of the cruelty that plays
the ephemerality of all concepts to encounter this
we are swifts in summer, maybe flocking butterflies
having fun in this garden now.
The light steals away
what life is this now
then?
3 “A Conceptual Poem”: lots could be said here. Robert Archambeau, “Charmless and Interesting: What Conceptual Poetry Lacks and What It’s Got” (available on the Poetry Foundation website at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2013/08/charming-and-interesting-what-conceptual-poetry-lacks-and-what-its-got/) says much of it. Try also Vanessa Place’s “I is not a subject (Parts 1-5)” on the same site at http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/author/vanessa-place/. Oh, she’s bracing, alright!
5 Where the Poets Meet: is, remember, Writers Forum Workshop – New Series, at The Fox, 28–30 Paul Street, Shoreditch EC2A 4LB. Arrive 3.30 for 4–6 pm workshop. For more information email Antony John at antonyjohnfrancisAThotmail@com. Usual room for workshop is first floor function room – its ceiling here described.