The onion union

Nov 17, 2005 11:12

Every self-published poem on the internet is a revolutionary anarchic act. We reject the capitalist economic system when we say, "This is free ( Read more... )

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markormarky November 17 2005, 17:17:58 UTC
Every self-published poem on the internet is a revolutionary anarchic act.
yes and that's a beautiful concept, allowing even unreadable efforts some legitimacy unto themselves. and i am fine with that; pointing out the important distinction between the act itself and content, and thereby pointing out a different criteria of value for each, is not just whimsical but geopolitical.

it's a great standard concerning art of all fields and those who make it. and the fact that the value of the act itself comes from an objective judgement, i think, only increases the validity of value for content, which remains (ultimately) subjective.

on a wholistic level, the rebirth of poetry on the internet, therefore, is a MAJOR atom-bomb in the War nurturing the value of the individual.

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shuck_spit November 17 2005, 17:52:02 UTC
it's a great standard concerning art of all fields...

Well, yes, and how wonderful it would be if all art forms were able to equally embrace the internet. But it is precisely because poetry has no economic weight (we're not all going to be rock stars, Mark) that we have nothing to lose by posting it to the 'net. A painter, a musician, a moviemaker: the stakes are higher for them.

...two other factors, perhaps: 1. the ease of publishing text online (as opposed to, I don't know, a ballet) 2. the low cost of producing poetry (in that it requires no specialized equipment)....

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markormarky November 17 2005, 18:33:17 UTC
the low cost of producing poetry (in that it requires no specialized equipment)

ha i think producing poetry on a continual basis requires specialized equipment indeed: an admirable pair of balls ;-D

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pharm1215 November 20 2005, 17:51:47 UTC
I second this!

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god_andthe_muse November 17 2005, 17:20:23 UTC
sweet. Everytime I click the "post" button, I'm giving the finger to W. and the whole facistadministration.

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_ruse November 17 2005, 18:21:21 UTC
I agree with this, to some degree, and obviously we all know there's no money in poetry. I'm thinking particularly about d.a. levy, a poet who shunned copyright laws, who didn't care if anyone reproduced his work, stole it, whatever—and yet how when his poems, self-published during his life, were collected in the last 10 years or so, the logo of a publisher is on the spine and ... what do you know? They hold the copyright to the book. Strange. Fucked up.

Also, where does this put online journals? How do they factor in to this anarchism or do you think they are profiting by it?—via advertisements, pop-up windows, the like.

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shuck_spit November 17 2005, 18:54:25 UTC
Let me see here - there's definately some need to equivocate (with respect to the Internet, not self-publishing).

First of all, the Internet preferences certain classes over others. And while the cost of publishing on, say, lj, is nil, the cost of accessing it is unequally distributed--because the big hunk of circuitry sitting in front of you obviously has a cost. And although libraries are pretty good for internet access, they are imperfect as well (small towns, the non-west)

And of course, the journaling community hosts make money. Or if you host your own site, the domain registry makes money, and the server makes money. But I wouldn't say that any of these players are profiting from poetry, per se... but of course, thy are profiting from the internet in general, which raises an interesting point about my romanticizing the internet in general...

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herb_lehman November 17 2005, 20:42:20 UTC
I really enjoyed what you wrote - but I'm curious, why "onion union"? Because we're all so poor, we want to cry?

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shuck_spit November 17 2005, 20:57:58 UTC
Ha! I used it first a few months ago in a derogatory way - about a friend who refused to really open up. But, I think the onion metaphor is always about layers, unravelling, peeling away, etc. And the sound. Admit it: "onion union" has a certain ring to it. The only emperor is the emporer of ice cream, therefore the only union is the onion union. Hmm...

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anonymous November 18 2005, 01:34:18 UTC
This isn't related. I miss you. I want to go home for the holidays.

Emily

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shuck_spit November 18 2005, 03:28:30 UTC
I will come home. You know I will. Now? I can't. You know I would. Soon, my love. Soon.

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