How Long Is the Present: Selected Talk Poems of David Antin (Recencies Series: Research and Recovery in Twentieth-Century American Poetics)

"Poet, performance artist, and critic David Antin invented the "talk poem." He insisted that his poems be oral and created in front of a live audience, in a specific time and place, with the transcription of the performance adjusted for print by presenting it not in prose but in short units interrupted by white spaces to indicate verbal pauses with little or no punctuation. In this book editor Stephen Fredman provides critical introductions to a selection of talk poems from Antin's now out-of-print collections in conjunction with a new interview with the author. As Fredman points out, Antin's work is a form in conceptual writing that has influenced a generation of experimental poets. His talk poems are essential for classroom and scholarly discussions about modernism, postmodernism, and poetry--offering an opportunity to strengthen the tie between science and the humanities"-- Provided by publisher

Poet, performance artist, and critic David Antin invented the “talk poem.” He insists that his poems be oral and created in front of a live audience, in a specific time and place, with the transcription of the performance adjusted for print by presenting it not in prose but in clumps of words without justified margins or punctuation, peppered with white spaces that indicate pauses.

In this book, editor Stephen Fredman provides a critical introduction to a selection of talk poems from three out-of-print collections, accompanied by a new interview with the author. As Fredman points out, Antin’s work is a form of conceptual writing that has influenced generations of experimental poets and prose writers. His profound and humorous talk poems are essential for classroom and scholarly discussions of the arts in modernism and postmodernism—offering as well an invitation to strengthen the ties between the sciences and the humanities.

Poet, performance artist, and critic David Antin invented the "talk poem." He insists that his poems be oral and created in front of a live audience, in a specific time and place, with the transcription of the performance adjusted for print by presenting it not in prose but in clumps of words without justified margins or punctuation, peppered with white spaces that indicate pauses. In this book, editor Stephen Fredman provides a critical introduction to a selection of talk poems from three out-of-print collections, accompanied by a new interview with the author. As Fredman points out, Antin's work is a form of conceptual writing that has influenced generations of experimental poets and prose writers. His profound and humorous talk poems are essential for classroom and scholarly discussions of the arts in modernism and postmodernism—offering as well an invitation to strengthen the ties between the sciences and the humanities.