E.n.t.r.a.n.c.e.d.

by Maria Damon and mIEKAL aND. 2004 24 pages. Xeroxial Editions

Book Review by Michael Basinski

This two authored visual poem by aND and Damon, I should say has meaning again more than just itself because now that it is October 16th and I look out my Buffalo, New York window ’ there is snow! What would you expect. So why not a poem of snow focus. Here we go: E.n.t.r.a.n.c.e.d. What’s new for me and most habitable is that this poem is a narrative visual poem. No longer are we staingnated on the single page by a work. Here poetry moves terrific. So it doesn’t have that dullness of one page visual works tryin to be Moby Dick city hall in Chicago monolith or cute candle slowly melting ’ isn’t that so sweet. Nope. aND won’t have it and Marie Damon neither. And a real invigoration of what a word in a poem can be and in this it’s like, ‘co%%le trou%%le’ What a two world line! And throughout there is a sensitivity to font and type manipulation that goes beyond the clever and becomes useful in fact a very necessary poetic tool. This line here as I write it with these words and their regimentation are left here for measuring money in the bank or vases full wheat on the way to market. But for the poem ’ real invention. There is no going back. I mean, I didn’t think any one or anytwo could really write a poem about snow anymore! However, it is these artists and poets and the combine of two in one conversation across the storm that makes it so new. I think that painters can finally learn from the poets. So ’ I suggest from this humbleness what we embark upon a new century of teaching poets about poetry from poetry. Here’s a primer of Century 21.