The promise and pitfall of Postmodernism: The Argotist Online

The Argotist Online

Imagine the following disclaimer after accessing the online version of the New York Times: Some readers have pointed out that the text on the site is difficult to read. To remedy this, there is a freeware program called Readability that lets you change various aspects of a site's presentation and layout for easier reading.

Given the New York Times' reputation for journalistic excellence, most subscribers would, with mild annoyance, forgive and accommodate the inconvenience.

Unfortunately, this is not something novice websites should risk assuming; lazily asking users to download fix-it patch ware, which is exactly what I discovered upon first viewing The Argotist Online, successor to the now defunct The Argotist arts magazine.

It should come as no surprise to those intent on creating a successful website that first time visitors often predict and judge the quality of a site's content based on nothing more than a shallow, casual glance. If the site fails to attract readers based on an initial impression of ease, function, and accessibility, and regardless of how brilliant and insightful the site's content may be, viewer traffic will hardly extend beyond an immediate circle of friends, colleagues and contributors.

Added to The Argotist Online's garish fluorescent yellow disclaimer, is its use of muted white font against a black background, with bright green and blue highlights for works and titles featured; were I not obligated to appraise the entirety of The Argotist Online, I'd have missed indefinitely much that is good about the site's published content.

The Argotist Online is devoted exclusively to poetry and poetics, and what I appreciate most about Jeffrey Side's website is the studied care taken to explore and legitimate a set of philosophies particular to the style of postmodern poetry he's chosen to promote. Two such articles stand out; first is Jeffrey Side's 'Empirical and Non-Empirical Identifiers,' a superb discussion comparing the limitations and elements of conventional, signs based poetry (distinguished by its use of metaphors, similes, and grammatical syntax, to list just a few) to an experimental poetry utilizing inter-textuality, among various other techniques, as a means to invite reader participation in the generation and negotiation of meaning:

Aside from suggesting some further critical tools that may be of use to criticism there is also the possibility that this undertaking will have artistic value in that it may encourage the individual reader to ultimately decide upon the meaning of a poetic text, either unconsciously or by volition. By "volition" I mean the conscious determination of the reader to decide upon any one of a number of associations the words and phrases of any given sentence suggest, and to choose this particular association as the constituent of meaning despite its being the less obvious or appropriate choice (in comparison to the others) given the complete denotative meaning the sentence's lexis implies. This sort of practice is possible because the poetic text is arguably without intentionality: both in the sense of having no meaning inherently, and of the impossibility of its having an authorial intent conferred upon it.

The second article is Eric Denut's interview with Charles Bernstein, Regan Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, who offers a compelling defense against the critics of postmodern poetry:

Poetry's social function is to imagine how language works within its culture, while pursuing a critique of the culture; this suggests that poetry can be a countermeasure to the reinforcement of cultural values at the heart of both popular entertainment and consumer politics.

While The Argotist Online boasts an intriguing and distinguished collection of essays, interviews, and articles, exploring a wide array of topics on the philosophy, aesthetics, and cultural significance of poetry, the quality of the poems presented is mixed at best.

Postmodern poetry is immediately problematic; the line that separates effective and meticulously wrought grammatical and stylistic innovation from the slapdash practitioner who breaks rules for no other reason than their inability to first adhere to the rules of convention is fine indeed. Regrettably, there is simply too much mediocre poetry to sift through to warrant a prolonged search for the few jewels that do exist.

Why women should rule the world: Belladonna

Belladonna

Other than a vague and nondescript email address of the purported editor, located in small print at the bottom of Belladonna's main page, one can only assume a quiet, passive-aggressive ensemble of feminist agitators bent on surreptitiously initiating a matriarchal new world order, one word at a time. Of course, I'm being absurd, but Belladonna is indeed a literary online journal focused on the various issues concerning all things Woman. Now, before I delve into a review of Belladonna, I feel compelled to sincerely and emphatically state my wholesale support of anything having to do with feminism; the history of discrimination, oppression, and prejudice women have endured, and continue to endure, should always warrant serious discussion, address, and activism.

After reading Belladonna's description tag posted on an online directory, I expected a bold, incisive, and unabashed exploration of feminist leaning fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and criticism. So too was I under the immediate assumption that the site's appearance would, with equal gusto, challenge many of the accepted conventions of online literary layout and design.

Unfortunately, I was instantly disappointed in Belladonna's unappealing home page; a slapdash of two columns composed of headers inscribed in rectangular buttons against an unflattering, cut-and-paste, black marbled backdrop. Equally frustrating is the site's want of an organized and easily accessible table of contents; with most internet users accustomed to any number of readily convenient, intuitive, and immediately recognizable browsing features, Belladonna's dizzying arrangement is simply unacceptable (it only takes one second of first time user frustration to discourage further exploration).

After agonizing through various pages for at least fifteen minutes, it's clear that Belladonna is essentially a forum where writers congregate to test and practice their craft in a format based on the Japanese manga series, "From Eroica With Love," first popularized by Yasuko Aoike. Limited to a certain number of characters, and loosely structured around a particular set of themes, the writers of Belladonna take alternate turns to fashion, shape, and continue the story almost any which way they please. But then why should readers care, especially when such a format so easily lends itself to attracting an inconsistent collection of writers, many poor, some decent, and even fewer, great?

One of Belladonna's better writers is the anonymously named, "The Disreputable Duck," whose flash fiction contribution, "Moth Attack," offers a humorous and intriguing addition to the Eroica series:

Dorian Red Gloria, the Earl of Gloria, watched idly as his young nephew Philip puttered around the room. Being openly homosexual, Dorian wasn't planning on siring a child, and was thus considering other possibilities for an heir. Philip was his sister Elizabeth's oldest son, and a promising candidate. It was not often that he saw Philip, since the boy's mother was always suspicious that Dorian would be a bad influence. However, ten-year-old Philip was far more interested in his current hobby of pet bugs than in emulating his gay uncle. Dorian was hoping it was just a phase. He'd rather the next Earl of Gloria not be a bug geek.

Full of sexual innuendo, the Duck deftly juggles historical allusion and literary whim while subtly challenging some of the traditional roles assigned to gender identity.

Belladonna also includes several critiques and analyses; one of my favorites being the section entitled, "Gynotopias," which examines the competing perspectives and treatments in literature of both all-male worlds and all-female worlds.

I truly hope the persons responsible for maintaining Belladonna's web presence re-examine the nature of how the site is designed and organized. Although there is much good writing and analysis to be discovered, Belladonna's lack of focus and intuitive design severely hinders its intended goal of attracting and sustaining an audience.

The struggle to sustain and innovate, Arbutus

Arbutus: Reviews & Criticism

It would be inconsiderate and cruel not to admire, respect, and encourage any undergraduate's attempt to pursue and establish a serious literary publication. That then undergraduate students Jeremy Voigt and Jordan Hartt created a respectable online literary site, Arbutus, featuring fiction, non-fiction and poetry, is a wonderful testament not only to the enduring appeal of literature in all its forms, but also to the passion and commitment of its young practitioners. But that was back in 2000, and after ten years of being online Arbutus has neither matured into, nor carved out, a sophisticated and insightful literary presence. Yet this is not to suggest that Arbutus is entirely bereft of technical skill and analytical depth. In fact, most of its articles and samples of works featured do exhibit earnest literary care and endeavor. Take for example, Anselm Parlatore's review of poet Anita K. Boyle's "Bamboo equals Loon":

It is a robust and bracing read. Most of the poems won't let you go. They announce themselves with a sense of urgency and commitment that is at once not only reassuring but also, at times, alarming, yet healing.

Parlatore's analysis is well written and cogent, a playful mixture of literary criticism and artistic advocacy. Unfortunately, and after a studied discussion about the merits of the collection reviewed, I was a bit taken aback after reading an actual excerpt from Boyle's poetry. Notice the incongruity between Palatore's enthusiastic support of Boyle's work and the actual quality of the poem under review:

Don't get me wrong: despite a stunning dexterity in the book's orchestration, these poems are all clear and precise, declarative statements of discrete disclosure. That's where the grace, I mentioned, becomes evident. The poems: "Lure of the Loon" in its entirety;

I was unaware that this world
could become an anxious monstrosity.
But it does hold doubtful comforts
like unearthly calls I hear from the loon at night.
I did not know things out there
would urge me to lose my mind:
beasts and cries and barraging undercurrents
pushed me toward the edge of the world I knew.

Needless to say, I felt somewhat let down and cheated, and not because Boyle's poetry is average, at best, but because Palatore is suspect in her enticement of the reader into believing that "Bamboo equals Loon" is that piece of poetic craft that not only stands to revitalize the genre itself, but which also thoroughly expresses and represents all that ails us hapless denizens of the digital age. And don't get me wrong, Palatore is a fine writer and Boyle's poetry is acceptable; but what is at stake; however, is the founding and maintenance of an online institution reflective of a degree of literary credibility to which Arbutus aspires. Far too many sites exist that either pander to their own set of preferred writers, or seek advancement through the unwarranted praise and adulation of others.