88ers: At the end of a long paper (long because it was on the topic--Howe's Dickinson and feminism--that permitted longishness) one student in 88 wrote the following totally relevant remark: Al-I am sorry this paper is so long, but - "who polices questions of [paper length]? After having read so much on the language poets, I found this essay difficult to write. Realizing that my mind works much faster than my ability to express its contents, I have become obsessed with my own language choices and deliberate over every word that I print on a page or type on a screen. In fact, at this very moment I wonder if I am expressing myself with the most effective words possible. Look what you have done to me! I hope that someday modern technology produces a machine where you can attach electrodes to your temples and have your brainwaves, your exact thoughts, immediately transcribed onto a computer microchip. That way, I could avoid the obstacle of language. No matter how fast my mind races, nor how far - the computer would pick up every imaginative (or not-so-imaginative) detail. Here's hoping.... I don't know about the "modern technology" part but I do know that "becom[ing] obsessed with [our] own language choices" is, in my view, a responsible, moral, political project! Know full well the implications (however inevitable) of placing a jar in Tennessee, a flag on the moon, saying "Leora" when you "mean" so much more than "l," "e," "o," "r," "a," which are arbitrarily accidentally-almost chosen letters. (This last point is why I like MacLow's poem-performance of 960 words plus letters made from his dead friend's name.) --Al
Document URL: http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/lang-consciousness.html
Last modified: Wednesday, 18-Jul-2007 16:27:07 EDT