Saturday, May 02, 2009

Snorkel #9


As we like to say over at dumbfoundry, Snorkel #9 'is now fresh'.

This issue features poems by Nicholas Messenger, Adrian Wiggins, Aleksandra Lane, Kerrin P. Sharpe, Louise Wallace, Sarah Anderson, Cameron Griffiths, Elizabeth Allen, Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle, Joan Fleming, Jule Treneer, Mary Cresswell and Ingrid Horrocks.

My poem repackaging 'evil' is also in there, along with a note on how the poem came into being.

Thanks to Cath Vidler for letting my poem tag along for the ride.

9 comments:

  1. "repackaging evil"
    I hate the word marketing, it just makes me feel sick. I think it evil, marketers do evil things.
    It is one of the crappiest stuff of society, it is a lie disguised as a truth, a bad thing disguised as good thing.
    It shows that there is an unlimited amount of limited people, and takes advantage of it.
    PD:check out the magazine addbusters

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  2. Yeah, I first discovered the adbusting phenomenon when I read Naomi Klein's 'No Logo' many years ago. I had a quick look at the current magazine online - it has the theme 'Endgame Strategies'. Looks very interesting.

    There was a BBC series called 'The Century of the Self' which looked at how the theories of psychoanalysis were applied in the development of public relations, focus groups and contemporary marketing strategies. I'd definitely recommend it. You can watch it on Google Video.

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  3. i like how you contrast the contemporary form with traditional, naturual imagery and lexicon. it's interesting and works very well.

    also: introductions are awesome, heh. it makes me think of 19th century romanticism or something. again, very traditional but presented with an extremely contemporary bent. great stuff.

    :)

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  4. Thanks, dc.

    For some reason, at this time of year (moving into winter) I tend to have a bit of an existential crisis and ask myself why the hell I'm pursuing poetry at all. Or at least, that's happened for the last two years.

    So I'm glad you see positives in what I'm doing, cos sometimes I struggle to see them myself!

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  5. You are much more talented than you think, or accept. My two best friends are artist, one of them is the best from my country and still he suffers like shit, he feels a fake, that hes work is worthless, that he is not finding himself, he is not finding his path, and I do not know what else.
    I think for us scientist it is easier in a way, if you do good at publications and congress, eran money (I do not want to be a millionaire), and accomplish some thing, in my case for example programming an algorithm. I think the key is right there, I have the tangible and concrete proof that I did something good, sadly you never do. Cause people telling you that you are talented or smart or whatever is insignificant for real scientist or artists (we care about being recognized, but we care about our work most of all).
    Hope it helps stu.

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  6. Thanks, Mariana. I'm sure this period of disillusionment will pass, like everything passes.

    I guess ultimately what I come to question is the value of what I do, both for myself and for others. I question my motivations and intentions for writing poetry. It becomes a question of ethics, where I consider ditching poetry in favour of acting on the social and environmental ills I see around me. Perhaps I can do both, but there are only so many hours in the day; it's a matter of priorities. The Australian poet Judith Wright did both, but it seems that as she got older her priorities shifted: she gave less weight to poetry and more weight to activism, although her poetry could be a vehicle for her views.

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  7. I read this today, and thought it might help you
    "
    Conscious thought is like a spotlight on a decision. It illuminates very brightly, but only a particular, narrow aspect of the problem. Unconscious thought, on the other hand, is more like a child’s night light, casting a dim light on the entire decision space without focusing in on any one particular thing. "

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  8. Thanks for linking to this. I love reading your work, and the entire issue is quite fine.

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  9. Thanks Mariana and Dana. :)

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