It begins in the book : writing the material poem
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2009
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It Begins in the Book: writing the material poem comprises practice-led
research in the form of three creative projects, and a thesis. Its central
question is how the theory and practice surrounding the materiality of
language can be applied in the context of poetic practice.
The first of the three creative projects is The Material Poem: an e-anthology
of media-specific writing and text-based art, published in mid-2007.
The second, The Homeless Gods, is an online poem-world developed using
Flash. The third and final work is Conversions, an exhibition of Chinese
poetry in translation. I explore the processes underpinning them through
dedicated project assessments. All projects are in some way collaborative
and all parties are duly acknowledged.
The thesis formulates a model by which these works (and other literary
endeavours engaged with the materiality of language) can be critically
assessed.
The first proposition is that we must move beyond materiality’s purely
formal meaning. Accordingly, I have developed a three-pronged model
of materiality that centres on the following questions: what enables, and
how does, a reader to respond to a literary work (material basis); what
socio-cultural forces influence the relationship between writers, readers
and the language-object (materialism); and finally, the actual material
expression (or materiality) of a language-object. This is the subject of
the first chapter.
The subject of the second chapter is how this model might be applied
to a specific literary genre, poetry. Drawing on texts by Huisman,
Riffaterre and Perloff, I argue that poetry’s material basis is driven by its
visual interface, its localised semiotic systems and, in the case of certain
poetic traditions, ultimately indeterminate meaning. This material basis
differs vastly from that of most other literary genres, indicating potential
for experimentation with poetry’s material form.
The third and final chapter centres on this assessment. Having established
that interactivity and interface are emblematic of poetry’s material
basis, I revisit the conceptual and creative work of artists/architects
Arakawa and Gins to develop a model of materiality that echoes their
concepts of terrain, landing sites and perception stations. In turn, this
provides me with the required critical framework to revisit and reassess
my creative projects as complete “language-objects”.
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