Romanticism:
1. How is the Romantic construction of the Sublime reflected in the ideological, conceptual and linguistic construction of the texts under consideration in this Romanticism reader? Discuss one or two examples...
Post-/modernism
1. What are the key features of High Modernism and what was the ‘movements’ agenda with regards language use?
2. How can you identify Modernist texts?
3. Is post-modernism an extension or refutation of Modernism?
4. What is ‘Beat’ poetry ?
5. What is the link between Beat poetry and blues, Beat poetry and rap?
6. What is it about both Beat poetry and rap that has provoked censorship?
Postmodernism in
ReplyDeleteLITERATURE
- A literary movement, which replaced modernity and differs from it as much originality as a variety of elements, citationality immersed in a culture that reflects the complexity, randomness, detsentrirovannost the modern world, "the spirit of literature," the late 20th century, literature of the era of world wars, scientific and technological revolution and the information "explosion".
Most theorists are opposed to attempts to present postmodernism as a decomposition product of modernism. Post-modernism and modernity for them - only mutually complementary types of thinking, worldview, like the coexistence of a "harmonious" Apollonian and "destructive" Dionysian beginnings in antiquity, or of Confucianism and Taoism in ancient China. However, in this pluralistic, trying on all the assessment, in their view, can only postmodernism.
"Postmodernism there is out there - writes Wolfgang Welsch - where the practice of fundamental plurality of languages."
The theory of postmodernism has been created based on the concept of one of the most influential contemporary philosophers (as well as a cultural literary, semiotics, linguistics) by Jacques Derrida. According to Derrida, "the world - is the text ',' text - the only possible model of reality." The second most important theorist of poststructuralism is considered to be a philosopher, Michel Foucault, culture expert. His position is often seen as the continuation of Nietzsche's line of thinking. Thus, for Foucault, the history - the scale of the manifestations of human madness, total chaos unconscious.
Other followers of Derrida's (they are the same - and the associates, and opponents, and self-theorists) in France - Gilles Deleuze, Julia Kristeva, Roland Barthes. In the United States - Yale School (Yale University).
(Retrived from http://www.pergam-club.ru/book/5275)
Literary Postmodernism is often called "quotational literature." Thus, the novel quote Jacques Rive Ladies from A. (1979) consists of 750 borrowed passages from 408 authors. Playing with quotations creates a so-called intertextuality. According R.Barta, she "can not be reduced to the problem of sources and influences, it is a general field of anonymous formulas whose origin is rarely found, unconscious, or automatic citations being given without the quotes." In other words, the author just seems that he creates, but in reality it is the culture works through it, using as his weapon. This idea is not new: during the sunset of the Roman Empire literary fashion asking the so-called "tsentony" - a variety of excerpts from famous literature, philosophy, folklore, and other writings.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete4. What is ‘Beat’ poetry ?
ReplyDeleteAfter the second World War, the Beat Generation, known to be a group of bohemian artists and literary figures emerged with San Francisco and New York as its centre in the mid-1950s. It contains a small group of unconventional authors and poets who produced beat poetry. They tried to liberate an individuality by taking primitive poverty and escaping from the modern industrial society. As the U.S. economy recovered from the Great Depression and life seemed to be great with an economic abundance but there were movements of politics and societies seeking too much of material civilisation, that is, there were the postwar culture of conformity and materialism. (Garcia, n.d.) As a result, young people started to express an angry backlash by taking concrete actions against it. "Central elements of 'Beat' culture included experimentation with drugs, alternative forms of sexuality, an interest in Eastern religion, a rejection of materialism, and the idealizing of exuberant, unexpurgated means of expression and being." (Wikipedia, n.d.)
In the mid-1950s to 1960s, such individualism and antiestablishment (or sociopathic feeling) were supported by a free-form style of writing represented as 'Beat poetry' which was popular in the artists' haven, the bohemian capital, Greenwich Village of New York, also known as the East Coast birthplace of the Beat movement and San Francisco. Those people made Beat poetry to seek personal faith and value and they also wished to change the spirit emptied modern society. (Garcia, n.d.) Some of the best-known literature works of beat poet involves Allen Ginsberg's poem 'Howl' and William S. Burroughs's book 'Naked Lunch' which both became controversial subjects of obscenity trials later on. "The members of the Beat Generation developed a reputation as new bohemian hedonists, who celebrated non-conformity and spontaneous creativity" (Wikipedia, n.d.) For the reason of its obscenity, Many older generation people at the time kept themselves away from the themes of beat poetry, because they thought those poets were rather negligent and immoral. Nevertheless, the bohemian hedonists from the Beat Generation are often assembled in San Francisco to perform Beat poetry.
They had some themes that dealt with, for example, liberation for black people and homosexuals. Their literary movements seemed a bit immoderate. In short, Beat Generation is a collective term for 'Lost generation' that young people caused a radical literary movement after World War II.
This whole historical events of Beat Generation made me wonder why this form of writing was called Beat poetry. Some people say because the writers felt beaten and tired by lack of societal values and materialism. Other people, meanwhile, say that it represents the musical beat of jazz in spoken recital. (Garcia, n.d.) Still, there might be other reason.
References
Beat Generation. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 12, 2012, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_Generation
Garcia, M. (n.d.). What is beat poetry?. Retrieved June 13, 2012,
from wise GEEK website: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-beat-
poetry.htm
5. What is the link between Beat poetry and blues, Beat poetry and rap?
ReplyDeleteAmerican poet, Robert Pinsky says; “(American poetry) has a profound role of both engaging and resisting the rather sandburgesque giant of a society that is at once dazzling and banal, provincial and global, menacing and hopeful. Poetry's voice participates in that society and its culture but by its nature also resists them. Singular when they are plural, memory driven when they are heedless, personal when they are impersonal...” (Pinsky, R. 2002.) I think this concept is pretty key to understanding the potential that poetry has as an influential voice of subcultures and minorities to a wider audience.
I keep a copy of Howl and Other Poems by my bed. There's also Kerouac's 'On the Road' floating around my house as well as a few of Burrough's novels and they serve as a constantly refreshing source of inspiration for my own various forms of self-expression. The artists who made up the Beat generation and their writings embodied cultural liberation, optimism, erotic humor, frankness, continuous energy and invention that broke out of the stifling constraints of conservative America in the 1950s. Beat poetry espoused the idealization of exhuberant, unexpurgated means of expression and being. It was a celebration of non-conformity and spontaneous creativity as well as a regection of the conventions of highly formalized written language. Ginsberg helped liberalize publishing when he battled against an obscenity trial (and won) as he hurled his radical voice against the institues of America while jumping up and down on stage in jazz clubs reciting 'Howl' as “the rest of the culture was under a collective hallucinatory yoke” (Waldman, A. 1996. p xxi.). He and his peers had a lot to say about the state of society, homosexuality, drugs and rebellion, As well as making comments on violence, war and the pitfalls of capitalism. All of which were pretty taboo topics. Moving into new generations, others such as Bob Dylan and Eminem have done similar, and thus, a link between Beat poetry and the Blues and Beat poetry and Rap can begin to take form. Although, both Rap and the Blues have much older origins than Beat poetry- all three are protest movements that have come from a disssatisfaction with western (American) society at large- and have relevance in contemporary society- past the limits of censorship.
(my other post, continued!)
ReplyDelete“Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think that you will find
When death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul...”
(Dylan, B. 1963)
Beat poetry is characterized by experimentation. It is boistrous and proud and sings against cynisicm, apathy, injustice, deception, compromise, racism, consumerism, war, evils and cons of all kinds. (Waldman, A. 1996.) Blues is characterized by an overwhelming sadness- stemming from the opression of black slaves in the southern States of America. Rap in part, makes a commodity out of anger as African roles were supressed and forbidden in America.. so in protest, rap was born. Ginsberg says the following:
“Rapping and Styling out, deep in the jungle so to speak. That's the early form of rap in America, that's the old tradition – the tradition with hyperbole and exaggeration, insult the, make insults to the parents of your rival. And whoever gets mad loses the game. So it seems to me that probably the whites have lost the game [laughter] in America because they got mad over pure words and thoughts when the words were intentionally hyperbolic and exaggerated, part of the tradition of exaggerated, uh, humor of rhyme...”
(Ginsberg, A.1995)
To intentionally provoke people by saying things directly, is surely the best way to make them sit up and listen- because it's hard not to when something is making you uncomfortable. Furthermore, I think it is important to make a note on the idea that poetry recited in the vernacular has verbal energy and the power to connect to people in a way that more formal, structured language that is confined to literature does not. In an interview I read with Ginsberg, he touches upon the Buddhist concept of the ordinary mind being the highest mind...”So, in a sense, ordinary speech is the highest speech and there are phrases in idiomantic speech, vernacular speech that penetrate in every direction, aesthetically or intellectually, but are also commonly understood...” Technique is not everything... As is said of Emininem, “this is language used as people use it now. Or how they want to. If they could.” (Rolls, J. 2003) To further defend the artistic merit of such language, “Attention to sound in poetry demands performance, physical and practical work to enhance the listening process...” Spoken word is a powerful form of poetry- translating it to verbal energy implies a complexity of intellectual, emotional and physical effort. (Gordon, J. 2004)
(and more... sorry! I didn't realise it was so long!!!)
ReplyDeleteI have so much more to say about my burning passion for the Beats but I have yet to write my Essay about T.S Eliot, so I'll leave my already-too-long ramble where it is and finish with a music video I stumbled upon of Allen Ginsberg reciting one of his later poems, 'Ballad of the Skeletons' with Paul McCartney accompanying him on guitar. This dude is my hero.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U3q3dqmmQE
** also.. has anybody else read Naked Lunch? I read it a couple of years ago and remember how thrilling it wa]s but also how perverted I felt sitting on the bus with the book open on my lap- fearful that some unsuspecting stranger would look over my shoulder and see me engrossed in sentances such as: “A nigra hangs from cotton wood in front of the old Court house... wimpering women catch his sperm in vaginal teeth”...
*** You should watch the movie “Howl” and perve on James Franco playing Ginsberg while you listen to the poem. There's a really cool doco about William Burroughs too- it's called 'A Man Within' and it's really an hour and a half of so of people talking about what he was like- intercepted with footage of him. Patti Smith even makes an appearance. I LOVE THE BEATS!!!!!!!%*^@(%&!@(!
References:
Dylan, B. (1963). The Freewheeling Bob Dylan. US: Special Rider Music
Ginsberg, A. (1995). On Rap. US: Hibbet Radio.
Ginsberg, A. (1956). Howl and Other Poems. San Francisco: City Light Books.
Gordon, J. (2004). Verbal Energy: attending to poetry. English in Education. Vol.38 No.1.
Pinsky, R. 2002. Democracy, Culture and the Voice of Poetry, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Rolls, J. (4 Jul, 2003). Streets Ahead in his Art. The Scotsman.
Waldman, A, (Ed.) Ginsberg, A. (Forward) 1996. The Beat Book. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambala Publications, Inc.
Wikipedia.org/beatgeneration
More from me- in reply to David's curiosity over why the 'beat' generation is called that...
ReplyDeleteI was reading a great collection of stories and poems by Beat authors, in a book aptly titled 'The Beat Book' (Waldman, A. 1996.)According to Ginsberg(who wrote the introducion to this book), The Phrase “beat Generation” arose from a conversation that Jack Kerouac was having with a friend in 1948. In the 'hip language' of the time the word 'beat' is a carnival, subculture term, much used to voice statements such as: “man i'm beat,” meaning without money or a place to stay. It could also refer to those “who walked all night with shoes full of blood on the snow bank docks waiting for a door in the East River to open to a room full of steam heat and opium” (Ginsberg, A. 1956)
… so “beat was interpreted in various circles to mean emptied out, exhausted, and at the same time wide open and receptive to vision.
Misuse of the word in media (interpreted it as meaning 'beat as in beat of the drums, a “loser” without humble intelligence, “the beat goes on...) led to Kerouac pointing out it's connection to words like beatific and beatitude which refer to the necessary darkness that preceded the opening up to light and giving room for relligious illumination. (Ginsberg,1996, pp.xiv)
Ginsberg, A. (1956). Howl and Other Poems. San Francisco: City Light Books
Waldman, A, (Ed.) Ginsberg, A. (Forward) 1996. The Beat Book. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambala Publications, Inc.
Hi. Thanks for this nice comment.
DeleteInterestingly, the meaning of Beat Generation seemed to be ambiguous. Like you've mentioned that the term emerged from a conversation Jack Kerouac had wit his friend, some other people also said that Kerouac, the pioneer of Beat Generation and originator of the hippie movement, made up the term for just his group of friends in that field.
And from what you said, I wonder why the meaning of 'Beat' as in beat of the drums is a misuse of the word..