02 ScottThurston.pmd Adair in been mostwidelyusedinrecentcriticism.It wasfirst coinedbythepoetGilbert introduction totheiranthology read inrecentyears. examinesRichardThis article CaddelandPeter Quartermain’s 1998 Innovative Poetry inBritain hasundergoneconsiderablechangeinhow itispublishedand ABSTRACT Caddel, Peter Sheppard, Robert Quartermain, poética. PALABRAS Bergvall (n.1962)yAndrea Brady(n.1974) Sheppardfin deilustrareldinamismoylavariedadestapoesía:Robert (n.1955),Caroline presentaeltrabajodetresla tradicióndedisensión.El poetasinnovadores artículo conel tales conceptosseincluyen:lapoéticadeldesplazamiento,políticasdeidentidadbritánicay de1988asu antología Quartermain estudialaintroduccióndeRichardútiles enestecampo,elpresente CaddelyPeter artículo paraexaminarconceptos ha experimentadocambiosconsiderables.Comopuntodepartida En losúltimosaños,lamaneradepublicaryleerpoesíainnovadora enelReino Unido RESUMEN Caddel, Peter Sheppard, Robert Quartermain, poetics. KEY Brady (b. 1974),inorder toillustratethedynamicrangeofthiswriting. three innovative Sheppard poets:Robert (b politics ofBritishidentity, andthetraditionofdissent. introducestheworkof The article thefield. cepts usefulinsurveying These conceptsinclude:thepoeticsofdisplacement, the paralleltradition. cally innovative, neo-modernist,non-mainstream, post-avant,postmodernist,and under ahostofguises:avant-garde, experimental,formallyinnovative, linguisti- tive Poetry, Irefer tothepoeticwritingswhichhaveappeared inBritain andIreland undergone ahugetransformationinhow itispublishedandreceived. By Innova-
WORDS
Innovative Poetry inBritain ischanging.Over thelasttenyears,ithas CLAVE Pages : Andrea Brady, British poetry, Caroline Bergvall,Innovative Poetry, Richard : Andrea Brady, poesíabritánica,CarolineBergvall, poesíainnovadora, Richard INNOVATIVE POETRY INBRITAIN TODAY magazineinreference toRobert Sheppard’s thata new assertion R EVISTA 15 1 C Of thesemultipleepithets,“linguisticallyinnovative” has ANARIA
OTHER: BritishandIrish Poetry since1970 DE E University ofSalford STUDIOS Scott Thurston OTHER: BritishandIrish Poetry since1970 I . 1955),CarolineBergvall (b. 1962)andAndrea NGLESES , 60;April 2010,pp. 15-30 09/06/2010, 11:18 , toderive con- . Entre
INNOVATIVE POETRY IN BRITAIN TODAY 15 02 ScottThurston.pmd
SCOTT THURSTON 16 Everywhere: Linguistically Innovative Poetry by Women inNorth America &the UK (1988), whichwere followed intheninetiesby appear inthelateeightieswere active. ity Street, Oystercatcher, Veer Books, West House, andBarque, allofwhichremain ers Forum, Equipage,Object Permanence, Stride, Salt, Shearsman, Etruscan, Real- small presses publishingtheinnovative workthroughouttheperiodinclude: Writ- Shadow Train ing uptothisevent hasarguedthat: bytheArtsCouncil.Peterat interventions inhisaccountoftheeventslead- Barry meeting on26thMarch 1977theavant-garde groupwalkedout Allen Fisher, MacSweeney. andBarry LeeHarwood However, ataGeneral Council Review at thePoetry Society. For thesixyears preceding, thesocietyanditsjournal Revival 1960-1975.” derivesfromnotoriousevents The significanceof1977partly which poetandcriticEricMottram British Poetry hadcelebratedinhisessay“The poetry hademergedsince1977 poetry press publisher), name)hasbeenoperatingsince1977" (Adair 68). a satisfactory 3.1 (April 2000):25-36. Irish Poetry since1970 and Peter Quartermain’s 1998introduction totheiranthology pre-1977, IwillexamineRichardthough Iwillnotexcavate thishistory Caddel like Sheppard’s ing. beganintheeightieswithlittlemagazines The earliestoutletsforthispoetry cally innovative,” ofthiswrit- asamore economicalwayofpointingtothehistory Robert Sheppard andmyselfdecidedtouse“innovative,” ratherthan“linguisti- count. from theperspectiveofinnovative camp—the “neo-modernists” ofBarry’s ac- Fragmente were runbyradicalandexperimentalpoetsincludingMottram, BobCobbing, Anthologies have alsohadakeyroleinestablishingthefield. The firstto 3 2 1 The tracesofthis“rift” continuetobevisiblethepresent dayand,al- ter-revolution” 1) ofthe1950s.(Barry the“anti-modernist whosoughttofurther tion,” andtheneo-conservatives, coun- to continuethe1960srevival oftheearlytwentieth-century’s “modernist revolu- BritishPoetry,rary polarizingtheriftbetween“neo-modernists,” whosought The conflictatthePoetry ofcontempo- Society wasakeymomentinthehistory In settingupthefirstacademicjournaldedicatedtothisfieldin2009, Other notablemagazineswouldinclude: Gilbert Adair begantheletter:“Linguisticallyinnovative (forwhichwehaven’t poetry yet Atermusedby poet-publisher Ken Edwards “The inhisarticle Two Poetries,” and , Quid Great Works Parataxis Pages 16 , Shearsman , , asameansofillustratingsometheongoingissuesatstake Reality Studios . 3 More recent magazinesare predominately onlinesuchas , Terrible Work , Oasis A Various Art 2 (Adair 68)whichwasdistinctfromtheperiod , Folded Sheets and and Angel Exhaust Object Permanence and Intercapillary Space (1987), and And Floating Capital . 09/06/2010, 11:18 followed by The New BritishPoetry (now operatingasasmall OTHER: British and en masse . Some ofthekey (1991), First Offense inprotest Angelaki Out of Poetry , 02 ScottThurston.pmd Modernist Poetics called the“Movement Orthodoxy.” tion to“mainstream” or“official” intheUK,orwhatRobert Sheppard poetry has (2007). 1933-79 Origins oftheUnderground: British Poetry between andIncident Apocryphon Light, British Poetry Duncan’sinclude Andrew trilogyofbooks: (1996), “major journals,‘literaries” publishinghouses[...]reviewing andotherelementsof consumption” (xv). They alsoarguethatsuchworkhasbeenprivilegedbythe poem as“a closed,monolinealutterance,demandinglittleofthereader butpassive difficulties,” itdoesnotprevent themfrom characterisingthe typicalmainstream in thestatement“generalisation aboutsuch(oftennebulous)groups isfraughtwith and Hampsoneditedcollection Australia andNew Zealand aswelltheUK. Poemsernist BritishandIrish Poetrytury (2007) alongsideSheppard’s (1999), Generation)” (xv). and Simon Armitage” andtheir“attendant collectives (Movement, Martians, New it asa“narrow poetsfrom PhilipLarkintoCraigRaine lineageofcontemporary nor to“dismiss itasdevoid ofworth” (xv). Nevertheless, theydoattempttodefine is nottheirintentiontodescribeindetailthedevelopmentof“this ‘mainstream’” mightseemslightlycontradictory,this view claimthatit CaddelandQuartermain system approachtoculture, aninsistenceonasingle‘great tradition’”(xv). Whilst istic, fragmentingandevolving” andyetcontainingwithinitselfa“unitary, closed- Caddel andPeter ofBritish offeraview cultureandsocietyas“plural- Quartermain ates (Duffy andMotion)—the most prestigious officialpost inBritish poetry. Ann Duffy, Tony HarrisonandDon Paterson. This listincludesthecurrent andprevious poetlaure- effect ofastableego” (Sheppard, moments ofexperience.Its insistenceupontone,andthespeakingvoice,strivestomaintain ence andgrammaticalsyntacticcohesion.[...]Its favours anempiricallyricismofdiscrete poetry C.H. Sissonand W.S. Graham. tant Modernist precursors oftheinnovative work insectionsdevoted toNicholas Moore, J.W. Hendry, vative” bothtoBritish writersandtheAmerican writersassociatedwithLanguagePoetry. Foil: DefiningPoetry 1985-2000 4 Many criticalaccountsofInnovative Poetry itinopposi- tendtoconstruct The developingcriticalliterature onInnovative Poetry includestheBarry 6 5 4 7
Some other contemporary mainstream Some poetsare: othercontemporary Andrew Motion, Wendy Cope,Carol Movement “The Orthodoxy, ofclosure, narrativecoher- oritsnorm,privilegesapoetry Editedby poetandnovelist Iain Sinclair, thisanthologyalsorehabilitated someimpor- The editor, poet Maggie O’Sullivan, uniquelywhoappliedtheterm“linguisticallyinno- (2008); Tony Lopez’s Conductors ofChaos (2004), whichincludesinnovative poetsfromNorth America,Canada, (2003), (2004)andIan Davidson’s 7 Although Caddel and Quartermain qualifytheir argumentagain AlthoughCaddelandQuartermain 17 Centre andPeriphery inModern British Poetry (2001) Poetry The Poetry of Saying (1996), Meaning Performance New British Poetries 2). . The mostrecent is 6 5 In theirintroductionto
OTHER: British andIrish Poetry since1970 (2000) and The Failure inModern ofConservatism Ideas ofSpace inContemporary Poetry (2005). Other important works (2005).Otherimportant (1993)andBarry’s (2006),AnthonyMellors’ Anthology of Anthology Twentieth-Cen- Vanishing Points: New Mod- 09/06/2010, 11:18 OTHER (2005)and Poetry Wars , Richard Late
INNOVATIVE POETRY IN BRITAIN TODAY 17 02 ScottThurston.pmd
SCOTT THURSTON 18 ing their view of the plurality of contemporary British ofthepluralitycontemporary society,ing theirview theyarguethat extend theirargumenttoencompassapoeticsofnationalidentity(xviii).Re-assert- that “there isnocommonpoliticsofpoeticform,northere ofopposition,”they ter-force: “oppositional tomuchofthatmainstream” (xv). With thequalification their introductionbutpresent thealternativeor“other” asakindofcoun- poetry awardssyllabi andmajorliterary (xv). criticism,educational the media,”towhichlistmightbeaddedmainstream literary oppositional view oftheworldthatitattributestomainstream,oppositional view itnevertheless Whilst there therisk ofreproducing thebinary isadangerthatthisargument runs “centrality” oftraditionandfocusing insteadonlocaldissentaround themargins. derlying thispoeticsby identifyinghow can LanguagePoetry, reiterate CaddelandQuartermain thepoliticalimpulseun- ofdislodgement”a poetry (xx).Ultimatelytheyarguethatthetaskofpoetisto because itshunsreaching conclusionsor adumbratingawholenessofvision[...]It is praxis” (xx).Such work maylookfragmentedandincomplete,be“unsatisfying displacement” thattakesmultipleformsincluding“dislocated languageandreading innovative work, arguingthatthiscomplexculturalsituationcallsfora“poetics of identification betweenthispoeticsofidentityandthe make acrucial and thus“conjectural, inventedandinventive,notintrinsic” (xix).At thispointthey arguethatidentityhasnowQuartermain becomeamatterof“personal necessity” cance” andtheirmeaningbecomes“localratherthan‘cultural’” (xix).Caddeland like “British,” “English,”or“Irish” sothatthey“transcend ethnicoriginorsignifi- Caddel and Quartermain makenoexplicitclaimsforinnovationCaddel andQuartermain persein This analysisestablishesthepositionofinnovative workasresisting the real andunreal, authentic andfake[etc.](xx) diversity andmultiplicitybydividingtheworldintosuchbinariesasusthem, upon itsmoralandculturallegitimationbytradition.[...] They thusironout ofthehegemony,tion ofpoliticalrule, existenceresidesinandrelies whosevery intelligibility (andofsyntax)thatthemselvesconstitutetheintellectuallegitima- andlinguistictraditionreinforce notionsof the normativeimpulsesofliterary In awaycomparabletotherhetoricalstrategiesofearlyphaseAmeri- all externalclaimstoauthorityorauthenticity. (xx) tribalisationthatissuspiciousof polyglossia, characterisedby akindofvoluntary continual change,ofcomplexandintenselyproblematised hybriditiesand role)aspositioningtheselfinashiftingworldof the politicalhasanimportant tell itasis,notsomuchclaiminganidentityforpoliticalreasons (thoughclearly This stateofaffairstherefore tocomplicatetheconnotationsofterms starts as indicesofnationalidentityandauthenticity. (xix) linguistic, ethical,andreligious traditionsassociatedwiththemcannolongerserve ness ofunified“culture” aswell thentheartistic cannolongerbeasserted, if anolderexperienceofidentitycannolongerbeaffirmed,earlierdistinct- 18 09/06/2010, 11:18 02 ScottThurston.pmd of theterm Britishtemporary identity, albeitinalessovertly oppositionalway. poetics seemsresponsivetoCaddelandQuartermain’s analysis ofthestatecon- saying andthesaid” and,inthisway, Sheppard’s interestinasocialandethical the otherderivesfromEmmanuelLevinas’ conceptofthedistinctionbetween“the techniques andsocialorientationofthework” (1). The notionoftheopennessto level, an“understanding ofthevarietiesopennesstootherimpliedby the and Vološinov, “the dialogicnature ofallutterance” necessary and,ontheethical social levelofSheppard’s analysis,thisconcernswhathedescribesas,afterBakhtin one IwillfocusonlaterinrelationtoSheppard’s poeticwriting.In termsofthe linkage” is,inasense,more positivetermforaccountingdiscontinuityand main’s interestinapoeticsofdisplacement,althoughSheppard’s term“creative anddefamiliarization”etic artifice (1),thuscompatiblewithCaddelandQuarter- niques ofindeterminacyanddiscontinuity, ofcollageand creative linkage,ofpo- levels: thetechnical,socialandethical. The technicallevelconcerns“tech- Ulli Freer andMaggie O’Sullivan. Roy Fisher, BobCobbing,LeeHarwood, Tom Raworth,AllenFisher, Adrian Clarke, ofInnovativeof thehistory Poetry, includingdetailedexaminations ofthework Discontents 1950-2000 publisher andlecturer. His criticalstudy Innovative Poetry intheUKthroughhiswork asapoet,critic,editor, reviewer, writers offerarepresentative sampleofthedynamicrangeInnovative Poetry today. not appearuntilaftertheanthologywascomplete. Taken togetherhowever, these not includedtherein;andAndrea Brady (b. 1974),whosefirstpublishedworkdid creative writingteaching. 1962), whosenameismentionedintheintroductionto Sheppard (b. 1955),whoseworkisanthologisedin illustrate thepoeticsofCaddelandQuartermain”s provocative manifesto:Robert power structures. of negotiatingthecomplexitycurrentreality andofresisting hegemonic poeticsthatCaddelandQuartermain valueasaway tural, inventiveanddisruptive MacDiarmid andBasil Bunting. licensestheconjec- This traditioniswhatinpart Thomas” precursors (xvii)aswell ofDavid asthetwentieth-century Jones, Hugh which stretches backto “Clare,Blake, Smart, and thetwo Vaughans, Henry and positions innovative poeticswithinahistoricalcontextoftraditiondissent creative/creative2.php>. Subject Centre at: INNOVATIVE POETRY IN BRITAIN TODAY 19 02 ScottThurston.pmd SCOTT THURSTON 20 focus)” (36). of identity(theyusethesamematerialsandshare somethingofthesamepoetic link works whichare “stylistically dissimilar,” therebyfostering“a difference born er’s experience: of “Metapoetics.” Sheppard’s foundationalopeningdefinitionis: Poetics” (1999),heproduced over seventydefinitionsofpoeticsundertheheading Sequencing andtheNew 2”andwhichappearsin Endofthe “The Twentieth A Century: Text forReaders and Writers,” whichissubtitled“Poetic therefore bedeterminedretrospectively organising continuitiesI’ve oftensensedbetweentextsofmine” (36).Strands can not onlytoproliferate texts,buttoproliferatethelinksbetweenthem,a“schema collected as Blues produced hisown textsofpoetics,somewhichIwillconsiderbelow. poetics ofidentity. Sheppard hasnotonlywrittencriticallyonpoetics,butalso with CaddelandQuartermain’s viewofthe“conjectural, inventedandinventive” poeticsiscomparable awareness nature oftheself-reflexive, ofliterary constructive they thinkknow” (100). andallows creativeThis writing“dialogue withitself” tred discourse”—provisional andcontingent—whichletswriters“question what ofpoeticsasa“writer-cen-throughout hismanifolddefinitionsistheimportance manticism by Shelley, Wordsworth andColeridge. forSheppardWhat iscrucial which mightinclude,forexample,thefamousessaysandprefacesofBritish Ro- guage describes inanearlierpoeticstext,“Poetic Sequencing andtheNew” in 10,” “Entries3,”“For Patricia Farrell 4”and“Unwritings 6.”(284).AsSheppard opening ofeachtext.For example,thepoem“Re:Entries” isalsotitled:“Dialogue (389). These strandsare indicatedbyanumberingsystemwhichappearsatthe as anetworkor“net/(k)not-work(s)” oftexts“interrelatedbymultilinear‘strands’” , publishedinseveralvolumesthroughouttheeightiesandninetiesnow (1999),writtenwhilst 9 Thus thenetwork isawriter-centred whichhasallowed structure, Sheppard hang thingson,toweave thingsthrough,albeitknottily. (35-36) ways. [...] series ofstrandstextsinsequences,somethingthatcouldberead inanumberof I wantedatitlethatwouldallow metoorder, re-order anddisorder atextor Sheppard’s majorachievementasapoetishislongwork By poetics,Sheppard of“writings isreferring tothehistory aboutwriting” the future. (99) act ofwriting,gatheringfromthepastandothers,speculatively castinginto Poetics are theproductsofprocessreflectionuponwritings,and The process withthispoeticswork ofmakingstrandsextendseven intoanothertitled Complete TwentiethBlues Century 9 However, Sheppard affectingtheread- alsoanticipatesthisstructuring 20 Twentieth Blues Century Twentieth Blues Century isessentiallynotaboutanything;itaformto and Complete Twentieth Blues Century as parts ofongoingsequences, andcan asparts (2008). Sheppard describestheproject wasongoing: 09/06/2010, 11:18 Twentieth Century , 331-350. Far Lan- 02 ScottThurston.pmd slogans andphrasesdiscussingthepoeticsofwork underway: rative describingasexuallyengagedcoupleistraversed byreconfigured political both continuity taneous awarenessofbothsimilarity difficult todemonstrateprecisely becauseofitssubtlety. The effectliesinasimul- sothattheypersuadeby connectionsthatform. thenew disruptive, This isnotthesameasjuxtaposition—thelinksmustappearbothmore linkage therefore isameansbywhichdisparatematerialsmaybeyoked together. link upwitha rials: “Linking theUnlinkable” are themselves reconfigured andlinkedwithothermate- barbaric. AsSheppard quotesDerrida:“Ifthere issomewhere a ethical writingwhichargueswithAdorno’s afterAuschwitz notionthatpoetry is linkage” ofphrases(asopposedtothe“authority ofthesentence”), asamodelof and Jacques Derrida’s reply tothislecture, Sheppard sketchesapoeticsofthe“creative the workofJean-François Lyotard in“Discussions, orphrasing‘after Auschwitz’” the textuallevelaswellatstructural in ground forhisnotionof“creative linkage,”aprinciple,ashehints,thatoperatesat to gobeyond andprepares themorenegativepoeticsofCaddelandQuartermain the mainstream poem.Sheppard’s intentiontocreate“new continuities” however, seems “passive consumption” argueisthe thatCaddelandQuartermain intheprocessofmakingmeaning,analternativeto his orheractiveparticipation also extendsthispoeticstoencompassadesiredeffectonthereader ofencouraging discontinuity thatworksagainsttheimpliedclosure ofthemainstream poem.He of displacementanddislodgementtotheextentthatitisinterested inaprincipleof In Sheppard’s poetry, butis theeffectofcreative linkage feelspervasive energy. To create, above all,newcontinuities.(37) tual schema,toeducatedesire,notfulfilitinamerely emptyingof entertaining intorelating differences,tosabotagepercep- activate thereaderintoparticipation, them, thoughthat’s oftenstillthepractice. The aim,however, hasnotchanged:to text: theprincipleofdiscontinuityhangsbetweentextsnot,necessarily, within The satisfactionofclosure mightbedelayedaseffectivelyinanindeterminate A fewstanzaslater, thephrases whicharguethecaseforcreative linkagein the moment;familiarbreaks anew(Sheppard, listens toBraxton, readsAdorno, judges surrendered she match perceptionherservices diversation tolinksketch a Investing inpeopledamagedhistory In anothertextofpoeticsentitled“LinkingtheUnlinkable,” aresponse to Sheppard’s positionhere canbelinkedtoCaddelandQuartermain’s poetics off mapswhichabsolutelyrefuse linkage— ethically withhernamewalkingpuns To make linksofcontractualobligation one mustmakelinkswithAuschwitz and discontinuity. In Book4ofthe 21 and differencewithinatext’s development, Twentieth Blues Century ” (Sheppard, The Lores Complete 09/06/2010, 11:18 , forexample,anar- 181) raison d’être One must Far 54). Creative . itmust and ofthe less INNOVATIVE POETRY IN BRITAIN TODAY 21 02 ScottThurston.pmd SCOTT THURSTON 22 Blake couldconnectto“ the textcapableofconstitutingnewcontinuities.In suchareadingthereference to modes ofthoughtcanberesolved intoanintegritywhichmakesthemovement of statements whichappearmore theoretical. However, despite thedifferences, these description ofadomesticscenegiveswaytomore abstractreflections andthen the unfoldingsentences: constantly beinginvitedtocreate contextswhichresolve discontinuitiesbetween of William Burroughs—enables akindofreading betweenthelines,where oneis sinister conclusion—how informationtechnologycanfacilitate terrorism. linkage here reinforces the senseof“times” asepochorageandyolksittoamore own mightevoke theonlineversionofBritish newspaper context, tobelinkedtogetherhere with“virtual times.” This latterphraseonits capitalised words “Are a Terror” suggestaphrasethathasbeentornfromanother State oreven religiouscontrol over sexualpractices.In theconcludingline or intervention ternal /lores,” mightbe,forexample,military where intervention discourse tothetext,ambiguouslysuggestingthat“intervention” is“bless’d inex- around theotherphrases. The words “sin” and“bless’d” addapinchofChristian todevelopamorelanguage andmappingthusstart complextextureofassociation The legalisticovertones of“contractual obligation” andthelinkingofwalking, with otherphrasessuchas“contractual obligation” and“walking puns/offmaps.” come straightfrom“LinkingtheUnlinkable” buthere isbrokenupandlinked ethically withhername[...]whichabsolutelyrefuse linkage” whichmighthave tence” ofLanguagePoetry, and yet, whilst ittakesadvantage oftheparsimony in andcut-uptechniques,ormore persuasively, thenon-sequitursof“new sen- text fortheseabstractionsbeingfeltbyanarrator. encounter throughthe“suddenly opendoor” whichsuggestsa moreconcrete con- Other,”with termslike“The “erotic” and“thanatognomonic,” andyet framesthis this extractconstitutesasignificantshiftinregister tothepsychological/medical, endeavours. might alsobeareflection onthefuture ofliterary The finalsentenceof literature andlanguage. That “particulars matter” yetultimatelybecome“dust” “interpretations” and“history” allsuggestacontextofreading andthinkingabout In thisextract,localcontextsare rapidlysetupandmoved onfrom:a the suddenlyopendoor, eroticorthanatognomonic. (Sheppard, by thelightpouringcontaminatedresponsibilitywas startled oritslackthrough andblowfall invisibletoearth, inthesand:alteregodust. The Other, invisible, ofthelastsoakedstage.Particularsskids theinterpretations, thishistory matter, was anotheraffairaltogether. Somewhere Ihearthemurmurof Grunting atherheadresting onacopyofBlake’s poems,thewrong propernoun The text“Variation and Themes”—a prosepoemdedicatedtothememory One cantraceanalmostcontinuousstatementhereof“To makelinks[...] timesArelores, a virtual Terror. (Sheppard, bless’dno sinintervention inexternal Creative linkagemight besaidtohave itsrootsinBurroughs’ famousfold- 22 book thirteen ” asaunitofliterature. Words such as“noun,” Complete 09/06/2010, 11:18 82) The Times book thirteen Complete , yet creative 251) , which 02 ScottThurston.pmd May 2008. poetics” andgoesontolistthequestionsthathave motivatedherwork as: as“performativity/linguisticade ofthetwenty-firstcentury &bodilyidentities/ Writing,” of hermostcomprehensive statementsofpoeticstodate,“Social Engagementof performances”arts aswell asgeneratingvisualandwrittentextsforthepage.In one England since1989.Bergvallworks acrosswhatshecalls“sited textwork” and“mixed- becauseBergvallisofFrench-Norwegianpartly nationalitiesandhasbeenbasedin describe, the radicalisedpoeticsof(national)identitythatCaddelandQuartermain whilst itcanalsobethoughtofasdissentinginvariousways,compared to Sheppard—and aresultingshared suspicionofauthority. CarolineBergvall’s work, tracebackthroughwriterssuchas Quartermain William Blake—a keyinfluencefor it urgesustoattendtheimages,situationsandproblemsofthatworld. our mostfundamentalapproachestomakingsenseoftheworldatsametimeas we canstillrecognise. The poemtherefore forces ustoconfrontandengagewith images feeldeliberatelypoised,calculatedandargued:precise fragmentsofaworld poem asmerely arbitrarily andperpetuallyopentointerpretation—its ideasand clusions. However, atthesametime,we arealsonotencouragedtodismissthe the procedure isultimatelyopen-ended—weare notinvitedtodrawanyfinalcon- movement ofreading. Ideas andsituationsare created, linkedanddevelopedbut kind ofnegativecapabilityinwhichmeaningisbothmadeandundonethe cohere despiteitsdiscontinuities.Instead, thereadingprocessislikelytoinvolvea reading willinsistonconstantlysearching forwaysinwhichtomakethepoem principle toinvitethereadermakenewconnections,itisunlikelythata“good” originally intendedtobeencountered.Asthepiecedevelops, textappearsineach box inorder tostage,asitwere, theactualspacesofhouseinwhichtextwas publication ofthework,Bergvall hasdesignedeachpagewithalargesquare text exhibitionsuse.In thedigital phones, ratherlikemanyconventional gallery art sented asa“guided tour” aroundahouseinLondontobelistenedonhead- Éclat takeplacearein whichexistenceandthemakingofart inseparable.Her 1996work , whichhassincebeenrepublished asadigitalchapbook,wasoriginallypre- Sheppard’s work invitesalinktothedissentingtraditionthatCaddeland For Bergvall, questionsoflanguage, bodyandidentity, andthespace-times Space itselfbecomesafieldofwork.(Bergvall,“Social” 4) Exploration ofephemeralitytraces/sites. ethnicity. [...] bodily spaceonwhatIcallmyown body. Ormybodies.My sex.My gender. My Body representation asaspace.[...]Restrictions and actionsofsocialreadings Use ofmultipleformsandspacesinscription.[...] The questionofmultiplelanguages.[...] 10 Originallydelivered asaconference paperattheUniversity ofArizona Poetry Center, 30 10 Bergvall sumsuptheconcernsofherpracticeasapoetinfirstdec- 23 09/06/2010, 11:18 INNOVATIVE POETRY IN BRITAIN TODAY 23 02 ScottThurston.pmd SCOTT THURSTON 24 concerned withsexandsexualitydevelops: exclusively withnowordscarry atall.Afractured visualinterventions narrative guage actsinsideandoutsidethespacedelimitedbytextbox,somepages asthe textdevelops.Lan- and more ofanimpliedlinguisticdecorum disruptive presents uswithatextwhichalmostfillsthe“room”: temporal arrangementofthesequenceroom-pages. The third pageforexample, Thus languageappearsinsomewaytobeactingspace,aswell aswithinthe “room” withconsiderablevariationinthesize,styleandarrangementofwords. ing aversionofidentityas“conjectural, inventedandinventive,not intrinsic.” and knowing tone. whilst alsosimultaneouslyfloutingtheserulesbythenonstandard orthography ofaculture, ofatourguide, aswelltheinstructions guage orthesocialrules ofalan- thatmightconstitutethegrammaticalrules a capitulationtoinstructions beleftwit”—somewhat archlyimplying or whatkindoflanguwouldweothrwise tive “we” shespeaksforare “pleased [...]by andlargetokindlybestuckinstructs hidden assumptionsthatexclude others. The narratoralsosuggeststhatthecollec- reinforcing thenotionofasocialandlinguisticspacethatproceeds onsharedbut notassumd...behr” asif a slightlyironicnarratorwhocommands“What abruptly,and otherscurtailed mosttellingly withthefragment“langu,”constructs round ofobservations.” The extenttowhichvowels are droppedoutofsomewords knowledging herown “foreignness” spacefora“short assheoccupiesthisparticular something whichimpliesakindof“foreign” “occupation,” asifthespeakerisac- formance (now you seeit,now youdon’t). There isalsoahint thatthetouris gently parodiestheconventionsofguidedtourandevenmagician’s per- are beinginvitedtoreadinanon-linearfashionfrom theoutset. This introduction [...]COME”alsodemonstratehowtalised words, we spellingafragmented“WEL the original,thattextformsanearregular squareshapeonthepage. The capi- The piecemightbethoughtofinCaddelandQuartermain’s termsasoffer- not bethoughtinthedark”, whostr ors, skinningmesoftlywithher, skinningmesoftly, thensays“some thingsbest She (howappearstobe) says“yeah whynot” whoproceedsto suckoutmyinteri- The “langu” thatweare “leftwit” throughout Notice how, even intranscribingthisfromthecarefully-presented layoutof left wit.(Bergvall, be of languwouldweotherwise orwhatkind stuck toinstructs we byandlargetokindlybe pleasedarenot hrsinceforver y... don’. What notassumd...be Nowof observations. yo. s...now the foreign round guidedashort WEL isanoccupationCOMEto 24 Éclat 7) etches meacrosstheroom.(Bergvall, Éclat 09/06/2010, 11:18 only becomesstranger Éclat 13) 02 ScottThurston.pmd accent: conducted withBergvall in2008,shespokeofherconcernswiththequestion the throat?[...]Catismyspeech’s accent” (Bergvall,“Social” I 1).In aninterview throat” (Bergvall, “Social” 1).She asks“what ifIwere todecidetalkwithacatin scribe how inFrench, one doesnotclearone’s throat,butone“hasacatinthe ralised speakingbody” (Bergvall, “Social” 1).Bergvall developsthisanalogytode- or impossibilityofmonoglossicpossessionbyonenaturalisedlanguage,natu- tongue’” point,Bergvall asastarting glossesthisstatementassignifying“the refusal Spivak’s “‘you mustclearyourthroat, own space,spitoutthemother identity hasputBergvallinacriticalrelationship tomonolingualism.CitingGayatri up asbilingualinFrench andNorwegian, therole oflanguageinconstructing Éclat identity thatseesmarginalisationaspotentialratherthanrestrictive (Bergvall, now that’s whatI’d callmorphing”—again seemingtoadvocateaprotean modelof ing aclimacticsexscene,thepoemconcludes:“girls makeagorgeousmargin[...] tity forBergvall isinevitably boundupwithgenderandsexualidentityand,follow- face tookfarlongerthanexpected” (Bergvall, the roomandwhatisinit:“I’m besidemyself,” “the workonthishere construction has tobepresentineach“room” whilstalsoacceptinghow oneisinturnmadeby of ourreconstructed flesh?”(Bergvall, question thatitalsoasksitself:“Wonder aboutthelong-termsocialarrangements itsaddressee—andof theimaginationasitconstructs inthiswayforegrounds a Each pageof power sits,alsoinandthroughlanguage”: broader concernwith“the examinationofidentity andoftheframeworksinwhich muchaware ofthebody’sone very ofBergvall’s language—ispart role inarticulating Cropper 55). whichinitsfirstsection“Croup” announcesitselfas: As apluri-lingualspeakerofFrench, Norwegian andEnglish, andbrought granted somehow. (Bergvalland Thurston) and yetImightbetakenforgranted. When wepresent ourselveswetake itfor tomywriting.Nothing important So Ithoughtallthatwasreally very isagiven tity isnotsoclear, onthecontrary, itcanseemmore likeanimposedframework. aspects.Ifyou’rewell asitspotentiallyliberatory gay, aspectof iden- theliberatory pointsistoinvestigateidentity,One ofthestarting itsprison,as itsframework, This registeringoftherole ofaccentinspeech—somethingwhichmakes is goingtoplaceyoualwaysasthisandthat.(Bergvall Thurston) supposed tospeaklikethis,thisideaofhavinganaccentandthat How doyouyourselfassumeanumberofthingsinrelation toidentity, that you’re French hyphenNorwegian writer. Someone bordering on,never settld,whos ofmyselfasabilingual,binational,dispersd,ssipated, A sketch,aportrait-outline Many ofthesethemesare exploredmostdirectly inBergvall’s recent book Éclat creates situation—simultaneously populatingtherooms anew 25 Éclat 14). To inmaking participate Éclat 31,42). The questionofiden- 09/06/2010, 11:18 Éclat one INNOVATIVE POETRY IN BRITAIN TODAY 25 02 ScottThurston.pmd SCOTT THURSTON 26 wegian, theNorwegian textprintedinred: tween body, identityandlanguagebyofferingabilingualtextinEnglishNor- which seemsclosesttoBergvall’s own practice(Bergvall, the languagepracticethat“creases thebordrs, boundaries,edges,limbos” rules, “serial orpatterndwork syntax[...]resist [...]rugged bearwitness,”althoughitis andwritingthatBergvallstrategies inart mayhave witnessedduringthisperiod: ofthissectionunfoldswhatreadslikeanaccountvariouscreativefinal part sumptions familiartostandard bearers ofalanguage” (Bergvall, ofthe“somaticnant,” althoughthenarratorislatermore wary andculturalpre- guage forthenextstageofdevelopment: “itsignsoneasily, seemsadaptiv, reso- sexd inthisway” (Bergvall, out inonelettre thenbtorntopiecesbythenext[...]Nono nobodybelanguaged the trialsoffindingone’s identityimmediatelyunderthreat: new-found “to flesh relationship withFrench isalsoboundupwithsexualawakeninganddiscovery and brisk winter, enlangnorskvinter” (Bergvall, linguistic puns:“Voila sheledmetotheriver, eaupressed medown,” “a long ship withNorwegian, words fromtheselanguagesappear, oftenexploitingcross- ofherfirstengagementswithFrenchtells thestory andspeaksaboutherrelation- registers theothernessofherEnglish accentbydropping outvowels, and,asshe makes againstoppression (andrepression) initsmanyguises. a waywhichseemsfundamentallydissentingandanti-authoritarian inthestandit topositiontheselfina“shiftingengaged withtrying worldofcontinualchange” in Bergvall’s suggest,butcertainly and Quartermain poeticsinthisbook are much very telling maynotbesomuch“claiming anidentityforpoliticalreasons,” asCaddel may “arise insomeormanyofus” (Bergvall, bodies likelanguagessimplydisappear-”and,iftheydisappear, theynevertheless embodiment, languageandselfhoodare utterlyentangledwithoneanother: “Some would remain inthetransitfromotherlanguages?”(Bergvall, keep onesbodyasown [...]could Imakesure thatwhatIcalledmybody fact aseriesofanswerstoquestionstatedattheopeningtext:“how doesone were neverfree tospeaktheirbody” (Bergvall, a bodyastheirown [...]somenever hadachancetoknow theirbody[...]some series ofongoingchallengestotheembodiedself:“some neverhadachancetofeel not overtly celebratethisnomadism,norjudgeitnegatively. Asin The secondsectionofthebook,“Crop,” dramatisestherelationshipbe- The sentencesthatfollow useaparallel syntacticstructure whichevokesa Cropper som aldrihaddeenkropp dekunnekalesinegenførdenblerevet (Bergvall, bort. Some neverhadabodytocalltheirown before itwastakenaway— This restless movement isconveyedinacarefully qualifiedwaythatdoes level, mustmove oncan’t move in.(Bergvall, to move bypoliticsorsocialcircumstance,thisbeingdebatableatapsychological changed codeslikecountriesinafree-to-roam White European fashion,notforcd 10) 26 Cropper 4).It ishowever English whichoffersalan- Cropper Cropper Cropper Cropper 3,4).More revealingly, Bergvall’s 12).Atthispointthepoem’s 09/06/2010, 11:18 11). The sentencesare in 2-3) Cropper Cropper Cropper 8). Éclat 10). Thus 5,7). The , Bergvall 02 ScottThurston.pmd parallel withimagesandideasconnectedtothepresent. Asthepoemdeclares: which diversematerialscombineandattentiontohistoricalmaterialdevelops in this poemtherefore proceeds inamannernotunlikeSheppard’s creative linkage,in Iraq andalsomore recently inthebombingofGazastrip. Brady’s argumentin modern counterpart White Phosphorous,usedinFallujah during theinvasion of in thepoemisGreek weapon—whichislinkedtoits fire —anancientincendiary references frommanydifferentments, alongsideliterary periods.Acentralimage to onlineblogentriesquotingfromdeclassifiedUSDefense docu- Department interview Iconductedwithherin2009: interview identify.tradition ofdissentthatCaddelandQuartermain AsBrady saidinan ject Permanence muchbelongingtothe andherworkcanalsoberead asvery mostly beenpublishedinpamphletformbysmallpresses suchasBarque andOb- documenting audiorecordings ofinnovative poets. Press, andherdirectorshipoftheArchive oftheNow, anonlinedigitalarchive liesinherworkwithKestonSutherlandBritish asco-publisherofBarque poetry elegybuthercontributiontocontemporary English funerary seventeenth-century she wasborninPhiladelphia,USA.AsanearlyModern scholarshehasworkedon tion. In ourinterview, Brady introducedthepoemasfollows: highlighted passageshyperlinkedtoresearch materialthatinformed itscomposi- Essay onObscurity andIllumination andoneofitskeyformaldevices. the subjectofherpoetry Andrea Brady isanotherinternationalistwhohasmadetheUKherhome— its lightintodarkestEnglish,ofhistory Thumbs thehandbearing Tracking Wildfire (Brady and Thurston) devices. ofincendiary history deavour withamuchmoreviolentandtortured en- ness andenlightenmentconnecttheethereal worldofintellectualandartistic transformation] [...],andtothinkabouthow metaphorsofillumination,bright- Wildfire For Brady, thepluralityofdiscoursesthatsheworksonasacritic isboth tions ofreaders andscholars.(Brady and Thurston) and theenvisioningofanalternativethatmightbeexcavatedbyfuture genera- academia, thatweare writingintothehistoricalrecord some kindsofresistance brightly-lit, cornersofBritish obscure waysinoursmall,notvery working invery discourses fromtheearlymodernperiod.[...]It offersthehope,forthoseofus andmyscholarshipistoexcavate thatpluralityof I thinktheaimofmypoetry 11 Viewable at: INNOVATIVE POETRY IN BRITAIN TODAY 27 02 ScottThurston.pmd SCOTT THURSTON 28 safe from destruction (Brady,safe fromdestruction “Creative Method,” barbecue inwhichfire istamedinthegrillwhilstsubjectrelaxes—momentarily lounger” intheabove lines—suggestingaprosperousdomesticsceneofgarden tion andthegrowth ofcapitalism,” animageofwhichmightbethe“grill and “fire’s tendencytospread andconsume” to“the interconnectionofviolentinnova- with whichBrady linksherresearchinto White Phosphorous. The shockofthese translated as“martyr” or“witness”— suggeststhecontextofinvasionIraq, consequences ofwar. The inclusionoftheArabicword “shuhada” —whichmaybe which holdsoutlittlehopeforthefuture. itselfasadestructive,consumingprocess,likefire, eat inward, imagineshistory than, asmaybeheard punningly, forlife.Its conclusionthatthe“edges ofhistory” quent —albeitironic—“simple thesis” isonethat“distilled forstrife,”rather process” notonlyofmatches,butpoetry, isalsoambivalentinthattheconse- itself decays. That herintentinthepoemisperhapsto“unlock themanufacturing/ decay” indecayasmuch it maybeobserved —ambiguouslyposingthathistory Phosphorous. What alsoemergesinthisprocess isBrady’s in awareness of“history ture ofmatchesintotheongoingsetconnectionswithGreek fire and White Old Ford, theuseofdifferent thusinserting kindsofphosphorousinthemanufac- ney, describesthemistreatment in ofworkers andMay attheBryant matchfactory in EastLondon. This account,illustratedby photographsBrady madeonherjour- what Brady describesasaSituationist “derive” sheconductedinBow andOld Ford posted ontheinternet: figuresof imageswithviewing appendedtothem,asiftheyarepictures orvideos 12 The imaginedoractualimagesdescribedhere suggesttheatrocities and about tobeshot. Viewed 18,135times.(Brady, “Chronic,” One God,becauseheknewwas Man making“Shuhada” sign:thereis Old mankilledwithdaughters;familyrecognised. 30,411times. viewed Partially eaten bydogs.viewed:32,144times. Person with disability:prostheticsabove body. Eaten bydogs.viewed:17,809times. Eaten bydogs.viewed:36,560times. The phrase“lightintodarkest English” ishyperlinkedtoanaccountof are eatinginward asfire.(Brady, “Pyrotechne,” of history, pastgrillandlounger distilled forstrife:thattheedgesof process andreveal asimplethesis in decay, tounlockthemanufacturing One ofthemostdisturbingpassagesinpoemoffersalistdescriptions From thesection“Meat”: “fire makes itselfthroughdestruction.” 28 12 In anotetothepoem,Brady links Tracking Tracking 09/06/2010, 11:18 ). ) Tracking ) 02 ScottThurston.pmd now?” asifthere are dangersin the artistic persona.” the artistic etry certainly provide certainly achallengetothe“Mainstreametry Orthodoxy,” totheextent evoked earlier.again ofthedevouringprocessesfire andhistory relations undercapitalismthatusethemselvesupquickly—the“burn” suggestive vapour thatengulfsthepoet,byconsumingitsown mass,isakintoeconomic sees beforeher, orsomethingelse. The punontheword “spending” hintsthatthe out attemptingtoilluminateaspectsofit(Brady, “In Law” “Alchemistry,” oflife(Brady,actual obscurityanddifficultyoftheworld,oneisclosertotruth of obscuritytobringitall/life”—suggesting that,inattemptingtoreflect the etic writing(Brady and Thurston). Atonepointthepoemacknowledges the“power sion betweenilluminationandobscuritythatisperhapsakeyhistoricaltraitofpo- Wildfire callsthe“materialinterview andpoliticalcontextwhichmakesitpossible,” of Sheppard’s “virtual timesArea Terror.” phenomenon whichitishard with,andapotentialillustration tofeelcomfortable consumption ofthespectacledeathtooccuronanunprecedented scale—a the factthatmoderntechnologyallows thiswidespread, instantaneousandprivate man desiretowitnessandunderstanddeathinthesefigures, onealsocannotescape to findandidentifyrelations lostinconflict. Whilst onemightrecognisethehu- aremany oftheviewings andhow by thesimplyprurient manybypeopleseeking oftheseimages. with thelargenumbersofviewings We arelefttospeculatehow er’s imaginationtogenerateahorrificpicture. Secondly, anadditionalimpactemerges image—almost nomorethanatitle,occasionallycomment—theyallow theread- lines istwo-fold.Firstly theyshockbecause,inofferingthebarest descriptionsofan cloud of White PhosphorousorPlatonic fury, work—but alsoevoke thepossibilitythatthisnarratorisalsoblinded,asifina something of“blinding” brilliance—whichmayresemble thepoet’s hopesforthe (Brady, “Thrown Fire,” is bothimposeduponformsofpoliticalinformationandalsowrecked bythem poem dashedontopoliticaldensity”—the word “dashed” suggesting thatthepoem asan“experimentalalso playsitselfoutinlineswhichevoketheprojectunderway / isself-consciousabouthow itcomesintobeingthroughanunresolvedten- These three writerstakentogetherasexemplars ofaBritish Innovative Po- In itsattempttoinscribepoeticactivityintowhatBrady elsewhere inthe These linespunontheidiom“to score ablinder” whichmeanstoachieve its burnIthinkI’m seeingthefuture? (Brady, Fire,” “Thrown myself inallthisvapourquicklyspending have Iscored ablinder, blind orrun 13 In the interview Brady as“a explains Platonic In fury theinterview flameorfire thatthreatens toengulf Tracking 29 ). However, elsewhere itasks:“isobscurity amoraloption Tracking only ). In thesamesectionnarratorasks: presentingtheobscure difficultyofrealitywith- 13 notsure whetheritisthefuture she Tracking 09/06/2010, 11:18 Tracking ). This argument ). This ) Tracking INNOVATIVE POETRY IN BRITAIN TODAY 29 02 ScottThurston.pmd SCOTT THURSTON 30 S B —— “Social Engagementof Writing.” 2008.30Nov 2009. Liverpool: Liverpool UP, 2005. HURSTON . Southampton: Torque, 2008. . Great Wilbraham: Salt, 2007. UARTERMAIN HURSTON Angelaki . Unpublished transcript,2009. interview WORKS CITED . Unpublished transcript,2008. interview , eds. 3.1(April 2000):25-36. Pages OTHER: British andIrish Poetry since1970 (1988):65-72. . Great Wilbraham: Salt, 2008. New BritishPoetries: The ScopeofthePossible Creative Writing Conference 1999Proceed- 09/06/2010, 11:18 Modern Poetry Conference, 1974 . Exeter: Stride, 1999. . Dispatx, 2007.30 . Hano- . .