On the love and distrust of language

This space is dedicated to the paradoxical literary genre of the prose poem. Neither poetry nor prose, the prose poem shapes critical as well as literary language by staging shifting points of view, changing perspectives, empathetic as well as analytical forms of understanding, narration, 'voice', suspense, plot, inter-textual citation, and far more. The prose poem is a transplant, a hybrid genre, a monstrous fusion of creative and critical strategies, a form perhaps of poetic research, but, if so, one in which the poetic operates dynamically, at the level of inquiry, and not merely as a way of rendering its subsequent representation decorative or aesthetically palatable. Such a hybrid genre exhibits a simultaneous love and distrust of language, seeking not to embellish what can be said more simply, but to find the most direct, straightforward way of saying something complex. Perhaps. If this requires that sentences occasionally sing and dance, then this is the price of keeping language alive and audible for an often-jaded readership.

I will post examples of creative and critical writing as these relate to the form of the prose poem. In the meantime follow the links to visit some of the excellent publications and online resources dedicated to the genre.

Links

• Sentence: A Journal of Prose Poetics


• CUE: A Journal of Prose Poetry


• Double Room: A Journal of Prose Poetry and Flash Fiction


• Quick Fiction