Language writing

This week I'm reading Bob Perelman and Ron Silliman. Perelman's _The Marginalization of Poetry_ (1996)--only the first two chapters, so far--is the key text. Silliman's response (1997) is an add-on to provoke a bit more thought from me. Both Perelman and Silliman write against binary thinking (the either/or), and both are more or less effectively trapped in their own binary thinking. Silliman points out Perelman's caught up in the academic/critical context with his Princeton U. Press book, and then Silliman sets out to describe what might have been a book for _poets_ instead of academicians.

Still, though, Silliman does articulate clearly what he sees as the problem with Perelman's approach. Silliman uses Grenier's _Sentences_ and other writings to show how total the focus/import of language writing is on _presence_ and how central to achieving _presence_ is the absence of meaning, the absence of _aboutness_ and _value_. And _presence_ is what Benjamin's _aura_ is.

Some names: Ron Silliman, Ann Lauterbach, Juliana Spahr, Steve Evans, Bob Perelman, Rae Armantrout, David Melnick, Bruce Andrews, Steve Benson, Kit Robinson, Lyn Hejinian, Carla Harryman, Barrett Watten, Kenneth Goldsmith, Craig Dworkin, Fanny Howe, Susan Howe, Charles Bernstein, Hannah Weiner, Spicer,

Some anthologies: Allen. _New American Poetry, 1945-1960_ Silliman. _In the American Tree: Language Realism Poetry_ Messerli. _"Language" Poetries: An Anthology_ Hoover. _Postmdern American Poetry (1st ed. 1994 and 2nd ed) Swenson and St. John. _American Hybrid_

 Some precursors: Stein, Zukofsky, Oppen,