Review 4: Carousel Issue 20
08/02/07 16:35 Filed in: Books
Carousel is
unfortunately not going to go beyond a trial issue, such was my
disappointment. I'll first say that the journal is put together
well and that the art was pretty interesting. I'll counter that by
saying that there were all of 2 poems that I a) understood and b)
therefore enjoyed.
Those of you who know me know that I enjoy poetry, but as I read more and more currently produced stuff, it is becoming apparent that my tastes are out of fashion. I'm not going to type out any example poems because it would be bad for copyright reasons and annoying to have to look at any of these poems again. Nevertheless, the breed of poetry that Carousel has chosen to espouse is the obscure, obtuse, post-modern variety that glories in its own artistichoodiness. That doesn't mean I like sugary, moralistic, reductive, Chicken-Soup-for-the-Soup slop -- on the contrary. Even though I can talk poetry, I want to be able to walk into any poem and feel moved somehow, that I understood something, and that further rereading will only deepen my appreciation of the piece. I don't want to have to consult my Dictionary of Obscure and Oblique Literary Reference to figure out where a quote is coming from. I read the whole issue twice, and reread several of the poems further to make sure I wasn't been hasty in my dismissal. Instead I only became more certain that most of the writers were completely high on their own bullshit. Writing like this, with its Ezra Pound "make it new" obsession, has thrown out any notion of storytelling, narrative voice or evocative metaphor in favour of the "look how bloody weird I am" competition that has gripped the art world now and then.
No thanks.
Those of you who know me know that I enjoy poetry, but as I read more and more currently produced stuff, it is becoming apparent that my tastes are out of fashion. I'm not going to type out any example poems because it would be bad for copyright reasons and annoying to have to look at any of these poems again. Nevertheless, the breed of poetry that Carousel has chosen to espouse is the obscure, obtuse, post-modern variety that glories in its own artistichoodiness. That doesn't mean I like sugary, moralistic, reductive, Chicken-Soup-for-the-Soup slop -- on the contrary. Even though I can talk poetry, I want to be able to walk into any poem and feel moved somehow, that I understood something, and that further rereading will only deepen my appreciation of the piece. I don't want to have to consult my Dictionary of Obscure and Oblique Literary Reference to figure out where a quote is coming from. I read the whole issue twice, and reread several of the poems further to make sure I wasn't been hasty in my dismissal. Instead I only became more certain that most of the writers were completely high on their own bullshit. Writing like this, with its Ezra Pound "make it new" obsession, has thrown out any notion of storytelling, narrative voice or evocative metaphor in favour of the "look how bloody weird I am" competition that has gripped the art world now and then.
No thanks.
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