Reading Uncreative Writing - Conceptualism, Expression, and the Lyric

This book examines Uncreative Writing-the catch-all term to describe Neo-Conceptualism, Flarf and related avant-garde movements in contemporary North American poetry-against a decade of controversy. David Kaufman analyzes texts by Kenneth Goldsmith, Vanessa Place, Robert Fitterman, Ara Shirinyan, Craig Dworkin, Dan Farrell and Katie Degentesh to demonstrate that Uncreative Writing is not a revolutionary break from lyric tradition as its proponents claim. Nor is it a racist, reactionary capitulation to neo-liberalism as its detractors argue. Rather, this monograph shows that Uncreative Writing's real innovations and weaknesses become clearest when read in the context of the very lyric that it claims to have left behind.

List of contents

1 Introduction.- 2 The Author as Collector: Kenneth Goldsmith's Aestheticism.- 3 Isn't It All Just Bullshit?": From Uncreative Writing to Warhol and Back.- 4 Writing While White: Uncreative Writing, Racism and Disavowal.- 5 For Expression: Uncreative Writing, Affect and Critique.- 6 Approaching The Transsubjective: How To Do Things With the MMPI.- 7 Conclusion.

About the author

David Kaufmann teaches literature at George Mason University. He is the author of The Business of Common Life (1995) and Telling Stories: Philip Guston's Later Works  (2010), as well as a number of articles on poetry and theory.

Summary

Provides a new perspective on contemporary accounts of the lyric poem Analyzes the often controversial points of view surrounding uncreative writing Explores Neo-Conceptualist writings relationship with aesthetics and affect

Product details

• Authors: David Kaufmann
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.2018
• EAN: 9783319872827
• ISBN: 978-3-31-987282-7
• No. of pages: 169
• Dimensions: 149 mm x 211 mm x 12 mm
• Weight: 242 g
• Illustrations: VII, 169 p.
• Series: Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Literaturtheorie, B, Literaturwissenschaft: 1900 bis 2000, Poetry, Creative Writing, Contemporary Literature, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literary theory, Poetry and Poetics, Literature, Modern—20th century, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, Literature, Modern—21st century, Literature—Philosophy, Creative writing & creative writing guides