Friday, February 06, 2004

I take Kent's quiz.
   Quiz #1

1) Can a poem have a blueprint? Yes, but it always goes astray.
2) Does a door connect the inside and outside? A poem is a Moebius Strip. It doesn't have an inside & an outside.
3) What kind of door should it be: swinging or sliding? It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.
4) Is there plumbing and where does it go? Only grad students need to worry (--& they should).

   Quiz #2

1) Is a dactyl a brick or a gargoyle? A gargoyle is a kind of brick. A dactyl is just a figment of a grammarian's imagination. Justify. See "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird".
2) What is the relationship of engineering to poetic architecture? When a bridge falls down, people sometimes die. When a poem falls down, the poet sometimes wins prizes. Is the architect-poet responsible for designing a structure that can actually be built? In his dreams. If so, why? Denial is a way of life.
3) Can concepts of architectural acoustics (reflection, diffusion, diffraction of waves) be applied to poetry...? (snip) Perhaps concepts of an imaginary physics--analogous to occult anatomy--which are what "aesthetics" & "poetics" prefigure, might be. But so far, mostly what we have is imitation. Whether yes or no, explain. Poems are writ by fools like me, but only the anonymous scop of "Beowulf" can make a tree.
5) Are words in a poem a) rooms b) furniture c) walls d) vestibules e) windows f) corridors g) other? Are the organs of your body separate, except in the functional sense? Explain. Change one letter, & it's a different poem.

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