Gabriel Gudding Scares Me

Angela Genusa, I was reading your blog and you had me cracking up about ten times with the new visuals. DON'T DELETE THIS TIME!! Is it a woman thing? New outfit for each meal? We guys will live in the same sweater until the skin gets like that shed snake-skin down in a leg cast....

I was reading that interesting exchange with Gabriel, Nada, Matt et. al....

Gabriel's analysis and grasp of movement dynamics frightened me. It was so terrifyingly lucid.

If there must be a movement...and here I hear Wally intoning "If there must be a god... (funny, sad poem that one)....then at least L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Inc. had a noble agenda. I agree with Gabriel's assessment of that too.

I mean, that was an intellectually rigorous avant-garde. Nobody can dispute that and not sound like an ass.

I mean take out Rough Trades and head-check the rhetoric. The attack mode is beautiful..."For with Rehnquist/ & Meese, the only one with rights/ are the unborn and the police. & reigning over all, / the Great Communicator--master of deceit."

And of course, noble sentiments and memorable poetry like that aside, the question of whether poetry does indeed make nothing happen (outside of poetry, in this country) is probably moot. We all know the answer to that one.

So what's left?

Apostolic succession and consolidation of reputation.

And that's what you see now. And yesterday. And tomorrow.

Consolidation of reputation ain't that bad. It's what writers do, or try to do.

But the apostolic succession? I guess it comes down to whether you use Scope after the blowjob or just like the taste.

Everything's an acquired taste? Maybe?

But even though I didn't like what the ancient Greeks did with malformed babies, I wouldn't think it would be so terrible when it comes to poetry movements lol.

Because we're not talking like real babies.

That idea that there must be an apostolic succession just gets silly sometimes. Does Dad give the keys to the car if Junior is a huffing phreak? Even with all that silver spraypaint all over his face like that and the insane giggle?

It would be nice to say it's over now. The Movement Thing. We're all just people again. YAY!

Buy Junior a scooter. He can learn to drive when he's forty-nine. Everyone goes at their own pace.

And I agree with Angela 'bout the "avant-garde" barf factor. If I was doing that I'm stopping now. It's all arriere-garde anyway.

But if the apostolic thing is abandoned and the Misbegotten Thing gets tossed off the cliff...

The correct "Swollen Foot" will still get found by the correct shepherd.

Poetry has an Olivia Newton John Muse or something that will come out singing and rescue the right baby.

Every poetry movement is a weird menagerie.

There are strong writers nested in there. Nada Gordon is always a rewarding read for me. And others.

It's really none of anybody's business what any writer does. It's none of mine.

So I admit this is BLATHAH.

But everyone can see the Apostolic Succession thing, and I think that's what embarrasses the better writers out there.

Language poetry aristocracy should just decide to give all their cultural capital to homeless poets in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

It would be a good thing.

Tori Spelling probably is a bitch. We don't have proof, but I bet she is.