Poetic Terrorism and the Politics of Spoken Word

Abstract

Late teen, early 1980s, and first gorging on poetry because it was the only thing that made sense, I became deeply enthused by hearing poems, as much as by reading them: to experience poetry as immanent, in synaesthetic plenty, all writing, reading, listening, speaking, watching, touching, tasting and smelling of poetry was involved. Poets whose work was about all the things language could do, and all the ways of doing it, really appealed to me. Among Canadian poets, I was not left wanting. Amazing work had already been achieved in the experimental spirit of the sixties and seventies: sound, visual, concrete and performance poetry; experimental theatre; choral and improvised forms; dub; and small press activism had all contributed to a robust literary environment. Best of all, we had great mentors and lots of critical work published to base our work on, to push the envelope toward an ever-more imaginative and unbridled poetic passion. One could follow the work of bpNichol, Steve McCaffery, Lillian Allen, bill bissett, Roy Kiyooka and so many more, set free to consider far-reaching visions of poetry’s future. It was this openness to experimentation, this breadth of imagination, that made Canadian poetry a wonderful ride that cost very little money and took you a long way.