From the preface to a recent volume of poems:
Most of the following poems are experiments written mainly to see how the language of consumer society can provide an aesthetic experience. Some readers accustomed to “workshop poetry” or mainstream verse will likely find these poems strange, even awkward. They might even doubt that these poems are poetry. If that reader is you, try not to let preconceived notions of poetry get in the way of having a good time. Ask yourself as you read this book if these poems—and the commodity language of which they are made—convey human passions, human characters, and human experiences. If the answer is “yes,” then allow yourself the pleasure of over-turning pre-established codes of decision.Here’s the original. I didn’t say how recent this was. And I know that my transmogrification is a cheap trick. But it is interesting how the gestures W.W. makes in his “Advertisement” are similar to gestures made by many poets today. It takes only an updating of the jargon, a tweaking of the interests. Of course, there are notable differences, such as that string of “human” adjectives. Still it was fun to run with Rothenberg’s point.
