Stigma 2001: "A New Hope"

[I posted this to alienated.net over a year ago and thought I'd repost it here. It's in an appendix of my book Fashionable Noise -- I just sent the final proofs back, it should be off to the printer in a few weeks. It's a spoof on something David Larsen posted to the Buffalo Poetics list in favor of self-published art books, which of course I support, but not as an absolute.]

2001 has seen th exaustion of everything. Most importnt: th exaustion of creativity.

We hav gotn too clevr. It's time to dum down a bit, relax and let th riting on th wal speak for US.

Th previus jenrations hav had ther chance to turn windo-dresng (th spectacl, th social) into revlatry moments, but hav faild. Th cause: th persnl signatur.

Th signatur has lead/led to th lording of specialized nolej ---- about politics, about filosofy, about poetic form ---- over th readr. This has stonewalled th posbility of a new readrship for poetry, and so must stop.

Today, a tecnlojicl storm is rajing, th result of wich wil be th ultmat democratization of poetry.

Therfor, we advocate/advocat th foloing radicl actions in th creation of poems...

1.1 Authr and publishr shal be th same persn, but wil not expend any cost in printng or distribution. Rathr, publishr shal oprate as parasite, and poems shal be created with a mind to extant forms of publishng that hav activ distribution processes in place ---- th internet, th bookstor, th mail ordr catlog. Specialty markets shal be avoidd, as wel as th negativ econmy of th poet/publisher.

2.2 As a corolry to principl 1.1, al poems shal be ritn with a mind to internet publication (even if they not apear ther), since it is th one cost-fre method of distribution availbl, and it is social. "Involvd" poems, not to mention "life works," ar unacceptbl. Al poems must take advantaj of th moment, and ar not constructd for posterity or th used book trade. Th plug may be puld any day on cultur; th poem must be prepared.

3.3 No text in a poem shal be "orijnl"; only th use of FOUND TEXTS shal be permitd. These texts can be editd ---- collaged, erased, reversd ---- but nothing stemng from th inr sanctm of th author's memry and sentmnts is acceptbl.

4.4 As a corolry to principl 3.3, only FOUND IMAGES shal be permitd. As for wethr orijnl imajs by th author's hand ---- childhood drawngs, doodls skechd out during half-concius moments at th ofice ---- qualify as "found" is a matr of particulr instnce. Certnly no drawngs intendd specificly for th work shal be permitd; only intentionl manipulations ((digitizations, filtrs, juxtapositions)).

5.5 In dijitl works, we disuade th use of "sound" unless it is directly linkd to th action of th poem. Loops ar to be avoidd at al costs, as ar clipngs from classicl symfnis and anything that detracts from concentration on th intrface. Of corse, only FOUND SOUND is permitd ---- ripd from CDs, mp3s, and th city streets ---- no orijnl "scors." (In print works, we disuade th use of special papers, special bindngs, and champion only those typs of materials that reflect th specificity of th production jenre ---- se next point.)

6.6 Litry jenres ---- th fable, th lyric, th epic ---- shal be replaced by th jenres of infrmation distribution ---- th newspaper, th e-comerce site, th chat room ---- or games ---- th puzl, th arcade game, role-playng games.

7.7 No abstractions ar permitd ---- "no ideas but in things," but also no incoate conceptul paradigms, no constructivist formalisms, no scolastic digressions or hairsplitting over termnolojy. Al words shal be in color.

8.8 As a corolry to principl 7.7 NO WORKS ABOUT "WRITING" and NO WORKS ABOUT DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY ar permitd. These typs of ritings ar realy translations, undr th gise of disclosur, of th ego into new forms. Th "esthetics of infrmation" is just a slik atemt to translate th sublimity of th cathedral to th computer screen; distnce between vewr and object must be abolishd.

9.9 [Put yr own dogma here. But use it, watevr it is. That's wy this is fun.]

10.10 Th author's name shal not apear on th work. Therfor, we advocate/advocat th use of made up names, especialy those that resembl corprations (such as "YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES"), anmls ("Panda Ber"), or caractrs from works of sience fiction ("Roy Batty").

Th supreme goal is to force th truth out of my words and imajs ---- wich is to say, th INTERFACE. We swer to do so by al th means availbl and at th cost of any good taste and any esthetic considrations.

Synd,
"Curius" Jorj Wunsch
Dorothy Aschenback "Imagiste"
Jean "Democracy Bulevard" Hancoque

Posted by Brian Stefans at February 26, 2003 09:01 PM