I enjoyed the Interview with Wang Ping. It was fun. I like that she seeks the meaning of language by examining the root and its meaning. By doing this, she can find the perfect word that can reveal so much. I liked how Ping thinks of words as a playground that need to be played with and enjoyed. This made me think of my daughter playing with her Lego's and blocks. Each piece is a root word or a fundamental part of language that can be repeatedly manipulated and shifted to create new art.
What caught my eye in The Iowa Review was it's description. I liked that the review's purpose is to publish American work that is new but sticks to the ideas of traditional literature. I guess I am just one of those old die-hards. It is difficult for me to enjoy literature that is too far off of traditional idealogy. The more we, as a culture, break from our past traditions, morals, and ethics, the more we open ourselves to destruction. Look back to "The US Coming of Age," The Roaring Twenties. Drinking, movie-going, dancing, and shorter dresses and bobbed hair led to a fast break from tradition. Tradition such as caring for your neighbor and watching after his/her kids if you see them outside is a dying luxury in a world that is too fast, self-centered and selfish. Love for thy neighbor is almost nonexistant. I have neighbors that I have never met. Used to, families Knew everyone around the block, when there was trouble, when they needed food brought, when they needed prayer, etc. At least, for now, there are literary conservationists that set some boundaries in the work they put out there.
I chose another interview to comment on today. I have really enjoyed the interviews the most of all from the poetry resource list. I enjoy the voice of the writer, what goes through their minds when it comes to creating their work, and through this, I have learned a thing or two about writing. I read the Mez interview. To be honest, I don't understand her "mezangelle" language or work. If an exerpt of her net.art had not been translated, I wouldn't have gotten the meaning. E poetry is a controversial new genre. You can take it or leave it. One thing that Mez said that I enjoyed when asked, "What should good net art contain in your opinion?" Mez replied,
'I think it's probably easier to give my opinion on what 'bad' [or non-engaging] net.art is, and just work backwards. Work that puts the latest software/technique first [at the expense of the overall aesthetic/conceptual impact] or that panders to the established art market/bandwagon whilst making little effort to explore the medium [graphic designed made-to-order net.'art'] just doesn't grab me. Net.art that utilizes the very grain and grit of the network, that stretches preconceived artistic notions, that makes me unsure of the very principles that govern the interface/project, that throws a reliance on hackneyed dataface terminology out the window and creates its own, that blasts open my intellect and sensory faculties is what it should be all about.'
I liked her honesty. I think she articulated what we have all been trying to wrap our minds around when it comes to e poetry.
5 comments:
The Wang Ping article was eye opening for me. I was intrigued that she found more freedom in writing poetry in English rather than her native language. The concept of words as a playground is just awesome!
I'll have to take a look at the Mez interview. I don't think I've spent time there, yet, so it's nice to know what to expect.
I also need to go back and take a look at the Iowa Review. It's great that there are sites to fit the wide palette of readers that exist in our society, though my own personal preferences probably run pretty close to yours.
I enjoyed your comments on the Wang Ping article. I like that she takes the words and breaks them down to find out about the word. I think we need to get back to that way of looking at words so we dont' lose this facet with texting becoming so popular. Knowing about words is like knowing about your family. We all like to know our heritage. Great post.
Responses to A Day in the Life
Your blog about Wang Ping is quite interesting because of the writer’s examination of words to ensure utilizing the precise diction essential to convey the meaning(s) sought. I plan to review this interview at some time to delve deeper into the psyche of Ping. As well, the Iowa Review seems to provide a review of traditionally constructed poetry which is unlike the e-poetry and net.art Mez creates. I, too, read the Mez interview and was left thinking of how mysterious she appears to be. Honestly, I believe she enjoys evoking the unknown as it relates to whom she is and what her work does, completely. Or, maybe that is the point. She does not strike me as one who is avoiding controversy, and her work definitely destroys the established boundaries of traditional poetry/art. I was fascinated, as you were, with her description of good poetry/art. I think it is true that good work is intellectually stimulating and displays an innovativeness that exemplifies the perplex construction of that work.
Wang Ping is amazing. She totally was able to find herself in an atmosphere where she was supposed to assimilate. Her ideas and courage really helped me to redefine the approach that I bring to ESL students during our time of poetry and writing in general. Thanks for sharing.
I checked out Wang Ping's interview also and was just as impressed. The fact that she gets an inspiration from "scandalous characters" I thought was very funny. I guess it takes all kinds of thoughts to get us going (writing).
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