No.111 2.7.93-10.20.96, 1997
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Scope and Contents
This book is described by Charles Bernstein as"The Borscht belt meets concept art in this delirious digest of obsessive gaiety, this useless collection of perishable information, this wily catalog of everyday life, this alphabetic bestiary of the ribs, joints, sinews, and bones of language's alluring lore. {This] could be the longest, and maybe the last, list poem of the 20th century. On the way, Goldsmith has reinvented prosody - conting by 1's 2's 3's, and up - as he inventories the raring rush of rippling, or is it ripping?, words: inchoate yet coalescing, a fractal romp on just this side of virtual reality." All the phrases end in sounds end in the sound R and are organized alphabetically by syllable-count beginning with A, aar, air and ending with a "7,228 syllable tour de force of astonishing proportions. But in the spirit of George Perec...Goldsmith uses these rules to expose the reader/listener/viewer to the marvels and vagaries of language in the late twentieth century. What we talk about, how we look at things, how we actually communicate - Goldsmith's eye and ear for contemporary argot is near perfect," writes Marjorie Perloff. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.
Dates
- Creation: 1997
Creator
- Goldsmith, Kenneth (Person)
Extent
0 See container summary (1 soft cover book (606 pages)) ; 20.4 x 14.2 x 4 cm
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Physical Location
alpha shelf
Custodial History
The Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, gift from Ruth and Marvin A. Sackner and the Sackner Family Partnership.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Goldsmith, 1997.
General
Published: Great Barrington, Massachusetts : The Figures. Signed by: Kenneth Goldsmith (b.c.- inside front cover). Inscription: For Ruth & Marvin with appreciation for many years of encouragement & support. Nationality of creator: American. General: 990 copies of 1000 total copies. General: Added by: RED; updated by: MARVIN.
Genre / Form
Repository Details
Part of the The Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry Repository
125 W. Washington St.
Main Library
Iowa City Iowa 52242 United States
319-335-5921