Poetic Architecture by Kent Johnson

Poetic Architecture:

A series of twelve progressively more difficult quizzes, with two unexpected pieces of correspondence, dedicated to the © onceptual Poetries and its Others Symposium [University of Arizona Poetry Center, May, 2008], whose artfully designed program guide, complete with © onceptual Poet photos and bios detailing book publications and academic affiliations, rivals that of any exhibit brochure of any Fine Arts Museum of the world, for which we should be thankful, of course, as such instructive over-the-top irony is rare, even for our current avant-garde scene, where an exorbitant surplus of unintentionally staged moments of Dramatic Irony so often makes one gape in dazed wonder, as if the vista were Dubai, or something of the sort. 

 Am I writing this? Maybe I am, and maybe I’m not.

I’m a Conceptual Poet, after all…

Let me just say that I have shared these “Quizzes” with a few of my fellow Conceptual poets (including Charles “Chuckles” Bernstein and Christian “The Bible” Bok), and we all agree they are worthless sophomoric exercises–a fact hardly surprising, since Kent Johnson’s resentment-filled forays over the past few years are consistently shallow, misinformed, and shrill. (And hey, Kent, by the way, speaking of ©, I see that you have ©’d the book! What’s up with that , Mr. Pure? Care to explain??)

In other words, and at the risk of sounding extreme, I strongly encourage readers to ignore this ridiculous piece of attention-seeking dilettantish drivel.

Now, let’s get on with the real work.

—Kenneth Goldsmith

 

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Kent Johnson

Kent Johnson asked the publisher to write a bio for him. The publisher had initially said: ‘Kent Johnson is the secret name of god.” Kent wrote back and said, ‘Geoffrey, I just noticed the bio you did for me. Pal, on one level I love it, it’s so weird, but on another level I fear it will make me seem more megalomaniac than I currently am. How about this: Kent Johnson is currently on sabbatical from his job in Illinois and is teaching English Lit for Beginners and Grammar at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Book Information:

· Paperback: 48 pages
· Binding: Perfect-Bound
· Publisher: BlazeVOX [books]
· ISBN: 1-934289-32-9

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Poetic Architecture by Kent Johnson With Photography by Geoffrey Gatza Book Preview