GET YOUR FLARF ON!

In one of the more humorous readings at the New Writing Series poets Rodney Koeneke & Benjamin Friedlander read Flarf poetry and other works.

I’m a new comer to Flarf poetry; you can even say I’m a newcomer to poetry as well, but in my second experience with flarf at the NWS on Thursday, I don’t think poetry or flarf will be the same for me again.

In my understanding of Flarf poetry, I guess it’s a sarcastic, abstract punning of words from ridiculous Google searches. I’ll talk more about flarf poetry later, but I wanted to write a recap of one of the most comical NWS I’ve ever been to.

Mr. Friedlander read first and was introduced as a colleague, editor, and poet by curator of the NWS Steve Evans.

I took Reading Poems last semester with Mr. Friedlander. It was a great class because of the communal, laid-back atmosphere of the classroom. Mr. Friedlander was also very insightful in his relaxed approach to the poetry, as he always encouraged questions and thought from everyone. It was honesty my favorite class I’ve taken so far at the University.

Anyway, Mr. Friedlander read translations of German and Italian poems and then went into his own Flarf work. I have to say that hearing these translations was very refreshing; especially the piece entitled “To Set Your Mind at Rest.” He said that the work was his own personal versification as well I believe. Versifying poems in the Reading Poems class was not easy, props to main man, I guess he's a little more experienced then I am however.

A great deal of Mr. Friedlander’s flarf poetry is not only comical and even satirical but it seems to have its resonance with its subtly witty phrases. Especially the poem, “This is my statement on poetics: Hillary Duff.”

Mr. Friedlander’s work also seemed like continuing conversation, a stream of flarf consciousness if you will. His poems ranged in tone and pace as well.

Rodney Keneke was very animated and comical in his performance. He interacted with the audience throughout the night as he finished the readings from a particular collection and handed them off to someone in the crowd. His tempo and tone kind of reminded me of an intelligent Will Ferrell.

To be honest, I found Keneke’s presentation of “pizza kitty,” to be one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. It’s a running together of obscure searches that circle around a kitty ordering pizza I guess. It’s interesting to pick out what phrases are the ones taken from the Google searches and what ones the poet is making up because of the search phrases. I mean come on, the title says it all. Here are some of the poem’s stanza’s I got from http://mainstreampoetry.blogspot.com/2003/02/pizza-kitty.html.

Pizza Kitty

By Rodney Keneke

Kitty Goes Postal--
wants pizza.
Kitty has hat & cape and looks
like a magician . . .

Observe kitty eating a slice of pizza.
"Eat some free pizza, Kitty!" YUM
(pizza man impatient at the door)

BAD KITTY LIST, FOOD RELATED
_____will not use my ninja kitty paw strike
_____naked on sofa with rapidly-cooling pizza
_____monster clowns with KITTY-FACES/

Just had the stupidest idea--
Make KITTY order pizza!
The kitty brings the pizza on its
paw, possibly
cold pizza

Send kind and healing thoughts
to Pizza Kitty
one sick kitty
cute blonde baffled pizza delivery . . .

Obverse of Kitty:
I have a bottomless pit for pizza
there is a pizza bar on ship
word is they're living off
an "all pizza diet"
Kitty won't be so finicky
When she's served this new stuffed pizza!

Keneke also got into a white shit and pants to dub lines for a music video, Bollywood Movie straight from India. He constructed the scene to have pompous poets, or poet I think trying to sway the love of a girl. It was something I’ve never seen brought to the New Writing Series before. Anyway it was very funny and made for one of the most entertaining New Writing Series presentations. Boo-yah!