pwoermd

thideang

pwoermd:

any one-word poem, such as Aram Saroyan’s famous "lighght" or Jonathan Brannen's "pigeoneon".

{This word pwoermd is a veritable pwoermd itself, since the "pw" at its beginning mirrors the "md" at the end, leaving the pseudo-archai-poetic "oer" in the middle of the word.}

Geof Huth
05/18/1987

"There was no night but eyelids."

...............................................................................................................
After seeing a call for submissions via Repugno Selects where it's specified there's a preference for work that's "in the world", a.k.a. 'street publishing'- and that which goes with it: layers upon layers stapled or glued or stickystuck such to be weathered and ripped and crumbling and torn-down or looked at or laughed at or mad at or simply ignored; the visible degradation of language everchanging with gains & losses and involved with the different temporal versions of actualism and possibilism of meaningfulness or nonmeaningfulness. Perhaps these worldly mini-installations could be called "conceptual realism"? Regardless, the mag concept is a unique one in that the worldliness of the poem-object is it's main thrust and overriding theme. It sure gotta fire under my ass something fierce and feverish!

It's something I've been thinking of for awhile, a throwback to punk-rock flyering and the element of public space - even the ephemerality of it is appealing. I haven't checked back on the stuff I stapled, but I'm pretty sure the takedown time was fairly quick.

Another vital element which is specified in the call, is the trace of the hand in the work - an inevitable reaction against the dominance of the ghostmachine. The computer is of course an invaluable tool and can produce results never-before-seen, but the brut rawness of a handmade poem-object retains a certain aura of urgent energy. I decided it would be best to staple up the originals and let them cook in the sunlight on Atlanta telepoles stringing comwire sidewalk to sidewalk to streetside. After this 'run in the field', I realized quickly I need to getta good recipe for wheatpaste so as not be limited to stapleable surfaces - and larger size formats would be possible.

The thing about thideang came about thinking on this 'being in the world'. Repugno's call for work and the manner it was themed, reminded me of Olson's open-field which in turn reminded me of William Carlos Williams' famous maxim "no ideas but in things". Not only can ideas be in things, they can also be on things!

Repugno has done one up one those golden oldies :
Actual Field.

The actuality of being 'in the field' physically merging idea to thing. The fact that it's vispo highlights the conceptual complexity of signmaking (or signtaking) structures and becomes the perfect vehicle for the marriage of idea to thing - actually existing in the world unto itself. It really is an exciting operation to carry out - I want to thank Repugno for the kick-in-the-ass prompt and give a big ups, SALUT!

As Gary Snyder has written:

each rock a word

a creek-washed stone

Granite: ingrained

The direct treatment of things with ideas is possible and just as Williams flower split
the rocks.
(with a linebreak)

saxifrage
saxifrage
saxifrage
___________________________________saxifrage______________


1373, from O.Fr. saxifrage (13c.), from L.L. saxifraga "kind of herb," from L. saxifraga herba, lit. "a rock-breaking herb," from saxifragus "stonebreaking," from saxum "stone, rock" + frag-, root of frangere "to break"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The concrete topology of the natural (or solid/made) object meshed in materiality with the evocative object - the visuolinguistic immediacy of transfer, made more uncanny by 'being out of place' by being in place.

the paradox of

space

The geography of place and exploring range thru actual fabricability in the sense of an active artisan forging constructs in the everyday environment with intent of adding yet more strands to unravel from the many weavings woven into the fissury fabric of language - warping and wefting yet further washings upon the wordhord,
sometimes even wordless.


.
.


.

.

For further reading on pwoermds & suchlike mnmlsm:
A v. interesting writtup of " less-is-more-or-less "
via Jim Murdoch.