Relationships With Poets

Folks,

As I’ve been doing lately, I will be keeping this short. This blog post will serve as a springboard for actual conversation. More often than not, we – the authors – are usually opening up a discussion board to the readers of our blog rather than reporting on our own insights; however, I’ve noticed that – again, more often than not – discussions don’t really happen.  That’s ok, I suppose; after all, I’m assuming the readership of this blog is composed mainly of English majors and literature aficionados – many of which are introverts.  Today is different, though. If you are reading this, I implore you to comment on the question I will pose today.

I read two articles today about the role of the poet and the role of the reader in “witness poetry.” I’m not going to get into what the article had to say, but I am wondering what you all think about the role of the poet and the reader. I know most of you all have read Roland Barthes and the structuralists, (haha, that sounds like an 80s pop band) so I’m sure most of you are familiar with the whole death of the author thing. For the sake of this discussion, let’s assume that the author has a purpose aside from writing poetry. Let’s also assume that the reader is not the creator of the meaning behind the poetry. In short, let’s assume there is a sort of symbiosis between the poet and the receiver of the poetry.

So, what is the role of the poet? What is the role of the reader of poetry? What is the nature of the relationship between pet and reader? Does poetry in a historical context change the role of the poet and the receiver of poetry? I’m sure you all have thought about this to some extent, but if not, now’s the time. Please let me know what you think about these sorts of questions. Are they even worth asking? Who knows.

I’m looking forward to your responses.

J

Aristotle is Dead...But I Think We All Knew That

Later today I'll be meeting up with Rainamoinen to do some writing. I bring this up because we're writing for a purpose. We're going to be drafting a story for what might one day be a video game. Yes, nerdy -- I know, but bear with me.

We're doing this because we've noticed a trend in the video game market. As Rainamoinen has pointed out time after time, especially in a few of his earlier blogs, the video game landscape is drastically changing. What once relied on story-line and characterization has now morphed into a different sort of beast -- a best relying primarily on aesthetic and cosmetic value. Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm the first guy to jump at a good aesthetic. I think, as a writer, I'm quick to comment on the role a certain aesthetic plays in an overarching story; aesthetic, after all, is a conscious choice one makes in order to implicitly add to a narrative. However, aesthetic is a mode - a vehicle, if you will. Aesthetic cannot carry the weight of artistic value, alone. Aesthetic needs to be married to a rich, lustrous text in order to play a significant role in any form of writing, multi-modal or not.

This is something that has been bugging me lately -- this strange shift in thinking where story and character are secondary to the way something looks. I understand that the "attention span" of Americans has become somewhat shorter, but one must consider the people who still need substance in order to enjoy a text. This trend extends past video games, I'm afraid, and now the literary landscape of modern America has, too, shifted towards more shallow works. If one is not looking for valueable, artistic merit such as the works of small literary magazines, the readily available contemporary literature -- this is a sweeping generalization, I know -- tends to be works like Twilight or Clive Cussler novels. Rarely do I see anything of substance on the top 10 lists in bookstores such as Barnes & Noble.

Before this becomes a rant, though, I'll stop myself. I want to know what you all think about the declination of values in literature. Why has popular literature become so empty? Why don't we see great works on the best-seller lists? I know the answer is not simple, but I think it's something worth addressing. Apparently, Aristotle is dead -- figuratively, I mean. How could this shit have happened? Let me know your thoughts, people.

Regards,

JF