Saturday, December 6, 2008

A Poem

Winter river bank
Massive labyrinth rises --
Mike Brown dead and gone

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I must say, the concision of poetry, particularly of the haiku form, seems almost antithetical to what is most determinative of the labyrinth: its labyrinthine nature.

Perhaps a novel of Pynchon-esque scope would be more apropos for use in an homage.


Just a thought...

Mark said...

Benny, thanks for the comments. Anyone else have any thoughts on whether the haiku form and the labyrinth can amenably coexist?

Anonymous said...

That a horrid poem. Haikus are lame. Go eat a Kashi bar, jerk.

Anonymous said...

Quantity is not the issue, Benny.

Poetry, especially in the hyper-condensation of the haiku, is as much about what is NOT uttered as what is uttered.

The nature of the labyrinth, in fact, is its mystery--what Stephon Crete has termed the labyrinth's "resonant opaqueness."

Behind the haiku's putative transparency are dense veils of occlusion, much like the hedges and walls that define labyrinths.

Gollesten has also written extensively on the occlusive nature of the labyrinth. I recommended you read Gollesten's little known but powerful essay, "Labyrinth as Occlusion: Sight, Mind, and the Illusion of Labyrinth Disclosure."

Anonymous said...

I think the sestina may be the ideal form for labyrinth poetry.

Anonymous said...

Benny - You are very ill informed. Even Basho, the master of the haiku form, utilized labyrinths as leitmotif. Take, for example, this little known haiku from the post-Edo period:

The minotaur is sharpening
It's horns in the scent
Of the basalt.

Anonymous said...

Does labyrinth have three syllables? I'm not certain that it does. Your poem might be kaput.

Anonymous said...

Jessica, it is dangerous to be a haiku purist. Westerners have long misunderstood the syllabic nature of the haiku, just another example of the West's botched appropriation of Eastern ideas.

Anonymous said...

Gollesten's Labyrinth as Occlusion is a fascinating treat, if you can find a copy. Myopic at times, but Gollesten's work has often been characterized as belligerently focused. We have two on reserve here and I would be more than willing to produce copies for all those interested. Contact me by e-mail.

--Fran

Alex said...

I saw a German first edition of Gollesten's Horizon... go for €8,257 a few months ago. It's getting damn hard to be a Gollesten completist.

John K. said...

Alex, Stephon Crete claims to have a first edition. Seems funny, because he has thoroughly abandoned all of Gollesten's principles. Stephon claims its exclusively ideological, but I smell more personal strain.

Anonymous said...

I like the part of that poem where it says that Mike Brown is dead. LOL!!!

Anonymous said...

Dylan makes an excellent point. The haiku of Japan is very different from what your junior high social studies teacher taught you. In Japanese there are no syllables, they use a unit of measurement called 'on'. Though similiar, a Japanese word that sounds like two syllables might actually contain four. All languages aren't created equally, poetry evolves organically from the words, not the other way around.
So stick to iambic pentameter, whitey.

Anonymous said...

I appreciate your insights into Japanese language and poetry. But I cringe to hear you say "all languages aren't created equally." What kind of a statement is that?

Anonymous said...

Given the international scope of labyrinth studies, it seems absolutely absurd to me that one would attempt to execute a self-contained expression of its form in a poem like this. I'm reminded of the primary fallacy of the Agrarians here (i.e. there can be no truly mimetic, autonomous regionalism). Trans-Atlantic studies anyone?