The Poet and the Journalist: Two Reflections for You to Ponder

I somehow don't think it's a coincidence that the words 'the poet and the journalist' have precisely the same sing-song quality as Lewis Carroll's 'The Walrus and the Carpenter'. It's interesting to think how these two types of writers bumble about each other, even in today's highly communicative world.

Since we're all in our blissful post-Christmas state at the moment, I thought I would share two reflections on the same issue: one by a journalist and the other by a poet. I think you'll find, like I did, that these thoughts are two sides of the same coin.


The first is an article by John Lopez of the Los Angeles Times about the nature of art in our fast-paced, Twitterfied, technological world. Here's an excerpt:

Ubiquitous communication and cheap digital technologies are empowering the striving artist who steadily cultivates his or her craft, challenging the cliché of the starving bohemian, or the superstar. At the same time, say many artists, an avalanche of output and constant accessibility might push them to rediscover the merits of handcrafted work, the necessity of disconnected contemplation and the joys of face-to-face human contact.

Making Art in the Now World [Tip O' the Pen to Kirstin Butler of Brain Pickings for bringing this article to my attention.]

The second reflection is a poem by 20th Century French Modernist Rene Char. Char passed away in 1988, just as the idea of computing networks was beginning to blossom. However, I was stunned by this poem, and it's undoubtedly ahead of its time. Here it is, translated by Charles Guenther, without any further adornment:

Common Presence

You're in a rush to write
As if you were late for life
If that's how it is provide company to your sources
Hurry
Hurry to communicate
Your share of wonders rebellion benevolence
You're really late for life
Unutterable life
The only thing in the end you agree to join
That's denied you every day by beings and things
From whom you wrest a few meager scraps here and there
After merciless struggles
After that there's only submissive agony rough conclusion
If you meet death during your labor
Receive it like a sweating neck welcomes a dry handkerchief
By bowing
If you want to laugh
Offer your submission
Never your arms
You were created for rare occasions
Change disappear without regret
At the will of the suave rigor
District after district the liquidation of the world goes on

Without interruption
Without distraction

Let the dust swarm
None will reveal your union.

It's finding gems like these, poems that speak to everyday experience like they were written hours ago, that makes the study of poetry so rewarding. If I didn't know any better, I would swear Char was writing about the Internet. Together, this poem and the LA Times article form a really interesting pair. Have they sparked any additional thoughts in you? Do you agree or disagree with the way they characterize the role of art within the world of technology?