Visible Language

What happened? Which events caused such a sudden, total change? Why are the borders between “poetry” and “music” so shortened? Why has the pregnancy of the word left the area of signified for that of signifier? These are some of the issues addressed by this author.

The role of the image in experimental poetry is examined through an exploration of poetic reference to human sensory experience. From this vantage point, “True Heritage” differentiates sound images from visual images in poetry.

Using extracts from poets and critics alike, the author lets them speak directly, through quotation and poetic offering, demonstrating the pros and cons of aurality in poetic performance. The central question is: How does technology influence poetry and performance? A secondary question concerns the locus of creativity — is it in the poem itself or the technological investigation. Diverse international artists are presented; Henri Chopin, Stelarc, Robert Wilson, Orlan and others, while the critical writings of Walter Benjamin, Jean Baudrillard and Paul Virilio provide a counterpoint.

An examination of the writings of multimedia practitioner Henri Chopin and the critic Roland Barthes form the core of this essay. Both question the limits of language and the ineffability of human experience. The role of the technological is contrasted to that of the body itself.

Arguing that modernization of expression is indispensible to modernization of perception, the author locates the origins of sound poetry in dada and futurism. While a precise definition is impossible for sound poetry, the problem of visual representation of sound or other sensory modalities, other than the visual, is examined. All this is by way of preamble to a discussion of Hungarian poetry’s long history of musicality in which particular poets are cited. The context of avant-garde development, as colored by politics, both hot and cold, is also explored.

After providing three “anti-definitions” which locate sound poetry by specifying what it is not, a new term is introduced, “intersign.” Intersign poetry does not priviledge sound, but focuses on new integrative sound-vision presented by technology through digital means. Technology-based poetry is traced to French experiments in the 1950s. Following a brief history of poetic development, intersign poetry is contrasted with sound poetry and positioned relative to multimedia and hypermedia. The engagement of the audience is viewed as a critical component in exploring meaning and sensory development.

Looking specifically at experimental poetry in Catalonia during the past decade, the author pays particular attention to live performance. The variety and liveliness of the poetry events described portray a vital community of poetic interest and action. The chronology describes events and participants.

A brief history of the development of scores for sound poetry during the twentieth century is presented. The work of Hugo Ball, Raoul Hausmann and Kurt Schwitters is the focus for the early part of the century. From mid-century to end, the work of Franz Mon, Carlfriedrich Claus and Valeri Scherstjanoi is the focus.

Not writing but voice is the essence of polypoetry or sound poetry — the voice with its direct, organic possibilities of expression whether technologically amplified or manipulated or not. Focusing on live performance, the interrelatedness of audience and poet is essential. While the voice is primary, the interaction with image is also essential. The author avoids “fusion” in which the identity and character of various poetic components become confused and lost.

Ten years after its writing, the Manifesto of Polypoetry is examined anew. The original goal of the manifesto was to theorize the performance of sound. Six statements from the manifesto are examined in the context of a decade of change and development. The importance of technology is restated along with a discussion of time, editing, rhythm and poetic practitioners associated with excellence in various techniques or perspectives.