Entry 460 — I’m an Avant Garde Poet
Geof Huth recently claimed at his blog that there’s no such thing as avant garde poetry–because (as I understand him) all poetry issues from prior poetry. He instantly persuaded me of the existence of avant garde poetry, about which I’d been previously skeptical because nothing significantly new seemed to have been happening or even capable of happening in the arts anymore. I still believe the latter but what I suddenly realized is that “avant garde” means, or should mean, not significantly new but merely more new than the status quo. As, for instance, my mathematical and cryptograhic poetry are. I’m with Geof, though, in not thinking that considering onelf avant garde is that big a deal. An avant garde poet is not necessarily superior to a status quo poet.
Supporting Note: if Finnegans Wake was not avant garde, what was it? (I would add that it’s still avant garde.