Konyves, Tom

e-artexte

An#edited#version#of#this#essay#can#be#found#in#“Language#Acts:#Anglo8Québec#Poetry,#1976#to#the#21st#Century”,#edited#By#Jason#Camlot#and#Todd#Swift,#Vehicule#Press,#2007,#p.1588160##For#more#info:##http://www.vehiculepress.com/titles/419.html#!THE!EFFECT!ON!THE!AUDIENCE!WAS!NOT!MEANT!TO!BE!SATISFYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TOM!KONYVES!#When#I# left#Montreal#for#New#York#in#1975,#I#was#leaving#behind#more#than#a#broken#marriage#and#a#mind8numbing#dead8end#job#with#a#trash8tabloid#publishing#syndicate.#I#had#also#spent#six#years#wrestling#with#the#possibility#that#the#reason#I#persisted#in#writing#poems#had#little#to#do#with#the#cynicism#of#a#disillusioned#graduate#of#Concordia’s#English#Lit#program.##Far#from#the#reach#of#academia,#in#the#dark,#smoke8filled#“open#reading”#rooms#on#Bleecker#St.,#I#began#to#discover#that#the#small#still#voice#within#was#indeed#the#authentic#voice#of#a#poet,#whose#works#did#not#need#the#colour#and#sound#of#the#“tradition”#to#be#valid.#Living# in#New#York,#my#poems#were#turning#from#lyrical#meditations#to#surreal#snapshots#or#“micro8dramas”.#These#new#poems#were#“experimental”,#but#they#were#also#expressing#the#freedom#I#was#feeling,#so#I#mixed#brief# streams#of# consciousness#with#deliberate#wordplay,# juxtaposed# abstractions# to# images# of#the# fleeting# present,# combined# journalese# and# fantasy,# deconstructed# the# flatness# of# everyday#speech#to#render#it# ironic#if#not#outright#meaningless,#all#ultimately#the#application#of#a#Dadaist#principle#—#the#union#of#opposites.#Months#later,#I#returned#to#Montreal#and,#having#walked#and#talked#with#Allen#Ginsberg,#with#half#a#book#of# fresh#poems#under#my#arm,# I#knew#I#had#more#than#enough#enthusiasm#to#storm#my#hometown.##Back# in# Montreal,# I# made# the# rounds# of# readings# and,# almost# immediately,# met# Bob# Galvin,# a#displaced#New#Yorker,#who#introduced#me#to#another#American,#the#young#poet#Ken#Norris.#We#became#friends,#and#our#circle#quickly#grew#to#include#the#seven#poets#who#eventually#got#tagged#The#Vehicule#Poets#–#by#Wynne#Francis,#an#English#prof#at#Concordia.###At#first,#the###group’s###get8togethers#were#spent#in#talking#about#poetry#and#socializing.#As#we#exulted#in#our#camaraderie,#I#began#to#believe#that#the#poems#we#wanted#to#read#and#hear,#the#poems#we#were#all#yearning#for,#had#never#been#written;# that# all# the#master#poets#put# together# could#not# create# the#poems#we#needed,#the#poems#we#so#yearned#for#–#so#we#had#to#write#them.##We# agreed# on# some# basic# principles:# that# poetry# should# reflect# the# new# (contemporary)# in#content# and# form;# that# experimentation# should# be# encouraged;# that# conservatism# and#traditionalism# should# be# dismissed# and# openly# opposed;# and# that# poetry# should# reach# its#audience#in#a#more#immediate#way.##We#watched# our# poems# appear# in# public# almost# immediately# after#we#wrote# them# –# our# first#poetry#magazine#was# the#mimeographed#Mouse'Eggs.# Poetry#was# alive,# and#Montreal#was# the#right#place#to#be#a#poet.#I#was#feeling#the#freedom#poetry#is#after.#Experimenting#with#form#could#never#have#become#so#attractive#in#isolation;#I#was#having#serious#fun!#There#were#so#many#ways#to#express#a#poem#that#I#began#running,#running#until#I#ran#off#the#page#into#visual#performance,#eventually#video.#And#I#kept#asking,#what#has#not#yet#been#done?##The# group# was# for# the# opposite# of# isolation;# therefore# it# was# inevitable# that# we# would# write#collaborative#poetry.#As# a#matter# of# fact,# the# first# night#we# really# came# together#was#when#we#followed#a#few#beers#with#a#blank#sheet#of#paper#which#we#passed#around#for#a#couple#of#lines.##What# made# the# Vehicule# Poets# unique# was# this# collaboration.# Our# Collaborations' created#Partnerships,#at#times#a#rare#Union;#there#was#a#sense#of#Solidarity,#we#exulted#in#the#Camaraderie,#at# the#gallery#meetings#we#displayed#Comradeship,# in#our#private# lives#we#were'Close,#we#were#Friends.##The# support# of# the# group# certainly# facilitated#my# efforts# in# collaborative# work.# The# one# (and#only)#performance#of#Drummer'Boy'Raga:'Red'Light,'Green'Light#was#satisfying#partly#because#I#initiated# it,# witnessed# its# evolution,# and# saw# it# through# to# its# performance;# but# sharing# a#collaborative#spirit#was#such#a#unique#feeling#that#I#continued#working#with#other#poets,#artists,#and#musicians#for#many#more#years.#My#performance#oriented#poems#culminated#in#working#in#video,# creating# "videopoems"# –# the# word# I# used# in# 1978# –# again# with# the# support# and#participation#of#the#others.##When#I#discovered#Dada,#my#biggest#surprise#was#that#I#hadn’t#known#of#it#earlier.##It#fit#well#with#my#cynical,#deconstructive# side,#with# the#word#permutations# I#had# learned# from#Cabalist# texts,#with# the#performance#art# I#was#witnessing#at#The#Vehicule#Art#Gallery,# and#with#my#obsessive#love# of# word8play# (my# magazine# Hh# was# named# for# “Hobbyhorse”,# the# French# definition# of##“Dada”).# ## Dada# ## had# ## played# ## itself# ## out# ## primarily# ## in# ## French;# I# believed# there# was# still#unexplored#territory#in#English.##Once#we#accepted#the#fact#that#we#were#an#identifiable#group,#we#began#to#explore#ways#we#could#express# ourselves:# publishing#magazines# and# books,# broadsides# and# chapbooks# on# a# frequent#basis,# and#of# course,# collaborating/performing# together.#But#all# these#activities# resulted# from#a#common#meeting#space,#the#Vehicule#Art#Gallery.##As# members# of# the# Vehicule# Art# Gallery,# we# vacillated# between# obsessive# involvement# in# the#gallery’s#affairs#and#utter#boredom#with#it.#Our#reading#series#was#a#common#responsibility,#but#the#highly#politicized#environment#at#the#gallery#resulted#only#in#strengthening#the#bond#between#us,#the#poets#of#Vehicule.#As#we#became#familiar#with#the#operations#of#the#gallery,#we#learned#the#advantages# and# disadvantages# of# organization.# We# also# witnessed# the# use# and# abuse# of#administrative#power#and#artist#politics.##On# the# positive# side,# I# can’t# overemphasize# the# significance# of# arriving# at# the# space# to# find# a#thought8provoking,# if# not# shocking,# exhibition# of# young# experimental# visual# artists;# as# well# as#meeting# and# getting# to# know# painters,# sculptors,#musicians,# performance# artists,# video# artists,#dancers# from# all# over# the# world.# The# atmosphere# was# almost# always# intense,# electric.# It# was#inevitable# that# we# would# examine# our# own# expression,# poetry,# in# the# light# of# what# we# were#seeing# around#us.#Unlike#university# faculty# lounges,# libraries# and#bookstores,# the# gallery#made#poetry#come#alive;#it#was#more#than#just#a#venue#for#readings.#(Coffee#houses#were#different,#but#ultimately#the#poets#there#did#not#control#the#space.#At#Vehicule,#we#did.)##A#printing#press#donated#by#the#artist#Tom#Dean#became#Vehicule#Press,#through#which#we#began#to#publish#our#books.#The#press,#the#performance/reading#space,#the#video#recording#equipment,#the# gallery# network,# the# resident# and# visiting# artists,# the# communication# tools# (access# to#telephone,#mass#mailings,#stationary),#not#only#enabled#us#to#participate# in#an# #active#art#scene,#promote# each# other’s#work,# and# keep# up# to# date# on# contemporary# art# issues,# but# also# to# take#poetry#wherever#we#desired.#We#also#became#aware#of#the#power#of#the#group#–#allowing#us#to#reach#farther,#inside#and#out.##In# 1977,# poetry# was# still# writing# and# reading.# While# some# performance# artists# were#experimenting# with# poetry# at# alternative# galleries# and# performance# spaces,# the# mainstream#poetry#scene#was#–#not#unexpectedly#–#print8oriented.#The#Canada#Council,#wielding#significant#power#through#its#grants#to#poets,#defined#poetry#primarily#by#the#publication#of#poetry#in#book#form—#48#pages#minimum.##While#organizing#a#reading#series#at#Vehicule,#I#had#specific#tasks:#invite#the#poets,#print#posters,#write#press# releases,# set# up# chairs,# introduce# the# reader,#make# coffee# for# the# intermission,# sell#books,#fill#out#forms#for#the#poet#to#get#paid#and#lock#the#doors#after#everyone#left.#Sometimes#we#set#up#the#video#camera#and#documented#the#reading.#My#interest#in#video#began#when#I#realized#that# once# framed,# the# poet# did# not#move# out# of# the# frame,# and# an# audio# recording# could# have#served#equally#well.##The#medium#of#video#was#not#being#challenged#or#explored#by#poetry.#Poems#were#for'the'page#and#for'the'ear.#There#were#poems#for'the'eye#–#experiments#in#concrete#poetry,#conceived#with#the# page# in# mind.# Letters,# words# or# phrases# were# blown# up,# cut# up,# strewn# across# the# page,#upside# down,# backwards,# sideways,# out# of# order,# stenciled,# outlined;# typefaces# were# mixed,#picture# and# text# were# juxtaposed;# finally,# collages# appeared# as# poems.# Minimalist# art# thus#explored#poetry#and#the#experience#of#a#poem.#The#experimental#artists#at#the#time#were#fiercely#interested#in#the#non8narrative,#producing#mostly#conceptual#works,#culminating#in#not#one#but#two#new# forms—#performance'art# and# installations.#The#video#artists#were#creating#conceptual#works#(video#as#fishbowl),#bizarre#exhibitionist# fictions#(performances#created#uniquely#for#the#eye#of#the#camera),#or#a#combination#of#the#two#(video#monitor#as#participant).##I#saw#two#distinct#directions#for#poetry:#towards#the#page#and#away#from#the#page.#Choosing#the#latter#meant#severing#ties#with#the#majority#of#poets,#which#ultimately#meant#being#marginalized#or#simply#ignored.#The#fact#was#that#the#mood#was#favouring#the#new#(or#so#it#appeared#within#the# friendly# confines# of# the# gallery)# and# the#medium# of# video# was# accessible# at# the# gallery.# I#approached#video#with#concerns#about#the#poet#as#performer#as#well#as#a#trial#ground#for#a#novel#treatment#of# text.# I# immediately# liked# the# fact# that,#unlike# the#poem#on# the#page,# I#was#able# to#unravel#the#poem#at#my#own#speed.#What#finally#differentiated#my#videopoems#from#poetry#and#video#art#was#this#ability#to#simultaneously#present#a#work#and#also#question#the#role#of#the#poet.###

The Effect on the Audience Was Not Meant to Be Satisfying

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The Effect on the Audience Was Not Meant to Be Satisfying

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