I particularly enjoyed the preamble of this fine concrete poem. The sense of place is strong. Reptition, rhyme, and sidewalk construction all combine in a felicitous harmony that suggests walking. Random stains, and withered leaves, made me weep with the poignancy of life and death. But the lone ciggy butt is the most complex of this poem’s many ineffable moments. I will call the number provided to voice my approval.

I'm very happy about this.

Dear Doug,

This is why I was happy to see you had joined Harriet. Well, one of the reasons anyway. I took a crowded seminar with you once where you were a visiting instructor, and these years later some of your bemused observations--one about metaphor in particular--there's something in your tone--will still creep into my head and make me burst out laughing if I think about them. This post cracked me up. Thanks for the levity.

Very funny! I only wish the "Obey" shot sported an image of Ken Goldsmith or Charles Bernstein instead of Uncle Sam....

Excellent job, Mr. Powell! Now, does this mean I have to try my hand at real poetry?

Along the lines of your piece, check out the Dieku's (haikus constructed entirely from the words on tombstones, photographically):

http://poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/06/dieku_1.html

Yer pal,
Kenny G

Dear Kenny,

Real poetry, schmeal poetry. To quote the great Billy Joel, "don't go changing to try and please me." I really do like you just the way you are.

I think K.G. ought now to try his hand at memoir - conceptual techniques are arguably what artists like James Frey engage in. Or better yet: journalism.

Hilarious. I love this post.

This made me smile. A lot. Thanks for this, D.A.!

--Oliver

i know concrete poetry when i see it. and it's not carved in stone.

I think we're ready for the post-conceptual now. It will no doubt involve appropriating other people's appropriations.

And, of course, it will have to be effable.

Lawd Hamercy!
Kelly Clarkson!
Eddie Murphy!

By coinkydink, maybe?

Geof Huth's "Textual Imagination in Albany."

I actually rather like it, and actually, I've made poems by wandering round shopping arcades, raiding newspaper adverts and assembling lines taken from a horoscope.

I didn't know it was called "conceptual poetry", though. I always thought it was the grand old tradtition of "collage..."

Collage, or mosaic. I like this "thing" too. It reminds me of a high school art assignment I had: make art. But I was lazy, so here's what I did. I found an old board, spread glue on it, and placed a glass jar on it. Then I threw a cinder block out a second-story window onto the board and glass. Voila - mosaic. The concept was? Laziness.

This is really nice, but I have to say it doesn't quite meet the criteria for genuine Conceptual Poetry. We at the CPC (Conceptual Poetry Consortium) have established certain guidelines for appropriate appropriation - and we have designated a number of apropos proprietary "sites" where such poppiations may legitimately take place, or, as they used to say (when machines could talk) "happen".

My dog Fluffy has kindly emailed me the list of these "sites", which I will just paste in here, as soon as I get my Deluxe Titanium-Alloy 4-D Cut & Paster up & running (I borrowed Fluffy's can of WD-40 to do this - Fluffy, I promise I will get this back to you! Don't bark right now! I'm appropriating! Outside!)

OK, here are the "sites" :

Holiday Inn, Tahoma CA
Marriott Inn, Phoenix AZ
4 Seasons, Denver CO
2 Seasons, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Marriott Inn @ Hasta Lumbago Resort, Puerto Vallarta Mexico
Holiday Inn, San Diego CA
4 Seasons, Duluth MN (wait - I mean 2 Seasons, Duluth MN)

As you will note as you peruse this brief note, these "sites" do not include the approved "times" when your potential pre-conceived in-embryo Concept Art may take place. This is because the exact dates & times of the Conceptual Art Consortium Approved Conference Events have not yet been determined (pending funding, funding pending).

So as you plan your next Conceptual Art piece, please keep in mind that official approval of your project will depend on appropriate "siting", based of course on pending funding pending; and so as you prepare your Concepts for Art, please keep this in mind - if there' still room in your "mind".

Personally, I tend to believe that the only poetry that is truly and definitely bad poetry is that which it bores the poet to create-- but maybe I'm a snob.

"Life, friends, is boring..." sayeth St. John Berryman. You know hard work just might be boring, and yet just might result in work whose goodness is hard-earned. Is poetry for people with short attention spans? Maybe so nowadays.