"Slamming the Sonnet", Jayne Fenton Keane. Reviewed By Doug Poole |
BMP4 nzpoetsonline |
BMP4 nzpoetsonline |
Tumeke, this site rocks, I wanna tell you that "The Stalking Tongue Book II; Slamming the Sonnet" is the Poetry site for the Summer/Winter of 2002. I should tell you Jayne Fenton Keane tops my list of cutting edge Poets/ Artists. Jayne consistently pushes poetry into the now - it's not a hobby for English heads of department, Angst ridden teenagers and aging songwriters OK. Poetry belongs to the people, a cliche? Perhaps, but Poetry Slams are all about the best poet as voted, on the night. Not necessarily the best creds, rep or egos. I gather Ginsberg didn't think much of slams, 'Bop Sh'bam' mocks a poetry movement that I guess, this poet was also cynical about. "Slamming the Sonnet" makes it quite clear what this movement is all about. - Now I'm a believer! Let me break it down... "Slam" "Slamming the Sonnet" showcases the editorial talent of JFK in particular. Slamming John Donne against Sage Francis!! The poignancy of how language has changed, nothing is so stunningly obvious. The multimedia experience pushes this fact into you reality faster and harder than tame reading alone. Shane Koyczan versus Dylan Thomas, no contest? Depending on your age bias or taste the outcome is not so clear cut. This is true chaos theory in practice - Oh yes. Voting and realising that your vote has an outcome, pulls the experience into a complete ending that somehow makes you feel whole, that you have had your say after the poets have had theirs. - Felt good to give John Powers my vote! "Audition" Surrealist poetry often so hard to write, is as easy as selecting random words. Easier than capturing fleeting random thoughts? Play for yourself and draw your own conclusions. The concept is as much a work of art as poetry. This is like turning a landscape upside down. This is writing poetry without control - done the right way trust me...grin. But again Audition is an individual experience, you can be as structured or as un-structured as you like - I love it ! "Open Mic" Big Cock, reading Blake's "The Garden of Love" to Kerouac, with wailing 50's muzak swinging "Cockroach". Tennyson's "The Eagle", techno funk treatment from Interval, to Henry Rollins (Guitarless- Whoa!) "Everything". Open Mic is diverse, eclectic, everything a great experience should be. Again this showcases JFK's talent for editorial perfection...Challenge the audience, push the audience in a new direction, blow the audience away. "Feature Poet" The traditional form of poetry in text, rounds this multimedia experience off, in no way dulling the cutting edge, but rather honing it even further. The range of poets is full and resonant. The ability for the reader to leave comments, again embraces the reader as an audience, something this site does with incredible efficiency. JFK's eye for works which stimulate is at work here. A good editor brings a poet's best out with flare and subtle understanding. Slamming has been critiqued, like all new art forms. But "Slamming" is here to stay like it or not. Poetry has many forms and this new movement has a right to be embraced, critiqued, but never overlooked. It is hard not to get excited about this new movement, bringing new life to poetry. For reclusive poets such as myself, sit back and admire the talent and courage of these artists. Poetry is no longer just forming patterns of words on a page, it is also setting fire to the stage! Malo! Doug Poole 10 February 2002 |
