The Language Book

"Ok murky in alter all end, unpredictable day, with rainshine any degree night, the sun kin warm and hot. Enough stone or other jugs lineup of whatever is In Through Out That's light as much as known Differences evanesce Like, where and/or what on the equator might be french or spanish Longitude and latitude, yep yep sure Americana."--Larry Eigner, commentary on a selection from Ger­trude Stein's Tender Buttons

This selection of essays and poetry from the first three volumes of L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E magazine dis­cusses a "spectrum of writing that places its attention primarily on language and ways of making meaning, that takes for granted neither vocabulary, grammar, process, shape, syntax, program, nor sub­ject matter." (Bernstein and Andrews) The various writers shun labels, slogans, or catch-phrases; their exploration of the ways that meanings and values are re­vealed through the written word is in­tended to open the field of poetic activity, not close it.

The common thread of these essays is the multitude and scope of words' refer­ential powers--denotative, connotative, and associational; and studying these powers is ultimately a social and political activity as well as an aesthetic one.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809311062
• ISBN13: 9780809311064
• Release Date: February 1984
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Whitman Sampler, of sorts

A distillation of a journal published a couple decades ago, this enjoyable collection offers brief essays from a number of writers. Each piece presents a distinct, if sometimes quirky, entry way into the world of L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E poetry. Prepare to have your mind warped. Prepare to laugh, and prepare to confront some dense, but rewarding prose.

Fascinating

Bernstein is one of the great poets in the world today and this is a brilliant insight into the poetics of the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E "school". If you have any serious interest in poetry and poetics, you should read this book.