Reading
S*an D. Henry-Smith + julie ezelle patton
What’s going on in independently published, avant-garde and experimental U.S. poetry today? What forms of poetry have emerged in the wake of the financial crisis, amid the rise of fascism, the resurgence of the left, and the renewed social antagonisms produced by the dehumanization and destitution of late global capitalism? What is the current shape of formally inventive and socially engaged poetry? What—if any—is the contemporary shape of what historian Michael Denning has referred to as the cultural front, the side of the collective fight against fascism taking place through media and the arts?
"The future exists for the most part in the present" aims to situate poetry in our current social, economic and political conjuncture. We want to think hard about who’s writing it, who’s reading it, what it’s good for, what’s new and different, and how the contemporary landscape of experimental and avant-garde poetry relates to other creative and liberatory traditions. Drawing on the insight from Bernadette Mayer’s Utopia that gives the symposium its title, we’re eager to think materially and speculatively about the present by gathering in community to tend to poetry’s ability to shape new imaginaries—ones where formal inquiry remains inseparable from the social and political stakes of the future.
The symposium will unfold over three evenings, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., on Monday, November 2; Wednesday, November 4; and Friday, November 6. Each evening will take up a distinct question in relation to the symposium's larger concerns. Tickets may be purchased for individual evenings ($10) or for the symposium as a whole ($25). To receive the discounted symposium pass, select and add a ticket to each evening to your cart and the discount will automatically be applied.
Monday, November 2: POETRY AND THE PRESENT
What is the current shape of formally inventive and socially engaged poetry, what is it useful for at this conjecture, and whom does it bring together? Moderated by Mirene Arsanios, this panel will feature responses from poets Kaleem Hawa, Fred Moten, and Nora Treatbaby and Rosie Stockton.
Wednesday, November 4: CULTURE AND THE LEFT
What—if any—is the contemporary shape of what historian Michael Denning has referred to as the cultural front, the side of the collective fight against fascism taking place through media and the arts, in particular, literary arts? What possibilities exist now for anti-capitalist literature and radical consciousness? How does the contemporary landscape of experimental and avant-garde poetry relate to other creative and liberatory traditions? Artists and organizers Amy De’Ath, Tongo Eisen-Martin, and Ciarán Finlayson will think through these urgent questions, in a panel moderated by Mirene Arsanios.
Friday, November 6: THE SPECULATIVE FUTURE
What does formal innovation look like today? What internal necessity drives it, and how does it register the rifts and dissonances of our present crisis? What does the future look like from within our artistic and political present, and what kinds of collective imaginaries are being shaped at this moment? Artists Patrick DeDauw, Nile Harris, and Early Shinada will take up these questions together, in a panel moderated by Kay Gabriel.
This event will also be livestreamed for free on The Poetry Project's YouTube channel.
