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American Trilogy #2
Traffic
Poetry.The latest in Goldsmith's transcription and defamiliarization efforts, TRAFFIC exhibits the author's signature remediating found texts and crossing artifice with everyday life". "In both form and content, Kenneth Goldsmith's TRAFFIC recalls nothing so much as the extended tracking shot in Jean-Luc Godard's 1967 film Week-End, and the book's audacious sustain elicits the same series of surprise, admiration, amusement, incredulity, horror, recognition, terror, boredom, impatience, awe...."--Craig Dworkin.
115 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 22, 2022
The fact I had to read two days' worth of fucking traffic reports for an English degree is simply beyond me. Sometimes I read books and I think, it can not get worse than this, and then it does get worse - this is the worse that I am referring to. In theory, I can understand the concept of discussing what is literature and what is not. In this case, Kenneth is making a statement claiming that anything can technically be a piece of literature. As well as this it poses the question of what is and what is not plagiarism (seeing as he did not even write the 'book', he literally just copied a bunch of traffic reports and called it a day??) Either way, I think these questions could have been put up for discussion without literally typing out TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS' WORTH OF TRAFFIC REVIEWS THAT TAKE PLACE IN TEN MINUTES INTERVALS. Also, how far is too far? Next thing you know I am going to logging restaurant menus into my Goodreads because"everything is literature" - like be for real Kenneth. The fact this qualifies as a book and can have a rating on Goodreads, I'm embarrassed. I feel as though this is the perfect example of men and the audacity they have, like literally what possessed you. Life was much better before I knew this existed. I'm not even quite sure why I am so angry, but this was such a waste of time and in conclusion, no; traffic reports should not be put in the same scripture as a Hamlet extract. Saying this, I have had an emotional response to this text, and because of that, maybe it does bare some importance. In conclusion, what the fuck this was 80 pages long and he didn't even actually WRITE ANYTHING AUTHENTIC. ZERO STARS BECAUSE THIS CANNOT EVEN CONSTITUTE AS A BOOK.
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December 4, 2008I really cannot fathom why this has such high reviews. All it is is transcribed traffic reports. ANYONE could do this. I can hardly call something that requires no effort and no creative ability a work of literature.
August 20, 2015
I laughed out loud when I listened to Goldsmith reading from this collection, but to read all of it in its entirety was just too taxing for my patience.
February 21, 2016
“No joke here. It could take you two to three hours to cut through that kind of traffic.”
More like three hours and twenty-eight minutes.
This is, in my opinion, the best way to read Traffic:
1) Download the full text from the Editions Eclipse archive;
2) Download the full audio of the text, read by Goldsmith, from the PennSound archive;
3) Find a suitable background: you could use some NYC traffic noise (plenty of recordings on YouTube), or some industrial ambient music; my main suggestions would be The Black Dog's Music for Real Airports or Ben Frost's Theory of Machines – as the first's "DISinformation Desk" or the latter's title track build up and suddenly fade, Goldsmith's reading about traffic blends incredibly well.
This is not only a conceptual book, not to be read, nor an "ambient" book, which just like ambient music goes on saying much with almost nothing. What's most incredible is that it includes a real, postmodern narrative: the many protagonists are roads, bridges and tunnels; the suspence twists are a fiery limousine and police blocks; and, all in all, you even get a happy ending:
“Otherwise, let the traffic flow! Yes, you heard me right: I'm actually seeing movement...”
More like three hours and twenty-eight minutes.
This is, in my opinion, the best way to read Traffic:
1) Download the full text from the Editions Eclipse archive;
2) Download the full audio of the text, read by Goldsmith, from the PennSound archive;
3) Find a suitable background: you could use some NYC traffic noise (plenty of recordings on YouTube), or some industrial ambient music; my main suggestions would be The Black Dog's Music for Real Airports or Ben Frost's Theory of Machines – as the first's "DISinformation Desk" or the latter's title track build up and suddenly fade, Goldsmith's reading about traffic blends incredibly well.
This is not only a conceptual book, not to be read, nor an "ambient" book, which just like ambient music goes on saying much with almost nothing. What's most incredible is that it includes a real, postmodern narrative: the many protagonists are roads, bridges and tunnels; the suspence twists are a fiery limousine and police blocks; and, all in all, you even get a happy ending:
“Otherwise, let the traffic flow! Yes, you heard me right: I'm actually seeing movement...”
January 9, 2012
One of the great debates in creative writing is whether or not plagiarism is acceptable. With Traffic, Kenneth Goldsmith is able to utilize plagiarism to transform a mundane everyday traffic broadcast into a full-fledged narrative. By simply changing their format, Goldsmith creates something new. In that light, these traffic reports are as much his as they are the original speaker.
Traffic makes characters of the cars, the people in them, the bridges, the seasons, the city, and just about everything involved. If you were to focus on one of these things and follow its string through each report it creates a story. The greatest lesson from this is that everything written has a narrative. It's impossible to write about nothing, though many believe that's what Goldsmith does with this piece.
Traffic makes characters of the cars, the people in them, the bridges, the seasons, the city, and just about everything involved. If you were to focus on one of these things and follow its string through each report it creates a story. The greatest lesson from this is that everything written has a narrative. It's impossible to write about nothing, though many believe that's what Goldsmith does with this piece.
May 29, 2022
li a versao de 46 pg dublada pela marilia garcia e o leonardo gandolfi
legal de ler em trânsito e pensar no que se perderia se não fosse escrito
legal de ler em trânsito e pensar no que se perderia se não fosse escrito
May 22, 2016
Traffic is a marvelous book to have read. It is a terrible, terrible book to read. Let me spare you a little bit: it is the traffic reports (30 seconds each, one every ten minutes) from a New York Radio station for a 24 hour period. That's it. It is simply transcribed.
There is something striking about seeing it in the form. A traffic report is so important, so relevant, so necessary and so listened to that they run every 10 minutes! That's importance! Yet as soon as they are done being read, they are worthless as information, mundane as words, and tedious as artifacts. And watching a day unfold this way is interesting in the apocalyptic tone of the language (traffic is "horrible," "a disaster," etc.).
Yet while all this is great, it's horrible. This is a book that needed to be written, and it needs to exist in its entirety, but you would do more discussing it as a book than you ever would reading it. Don't read it. Ever. Buy it. Put it on your shelf. Talk about it. But never read it.
There is something striking about seeing it in the form. A traffic report is so important, so relevant, so necessary and so listened to that they run every 10 minutes! That's importance! Yet as soon as they are done being read, they are worthless as information, mundane as words, and tedious as artifacts. And watching a day unfold this way is interesting in the apocalyptic tone of the language (traffic is "horrible," "a disaster," etc.).
Yet while all this is great, it's horrible. This is a book that needed to be written, and it needs to exist in its entirety, but you would do more discussing it as a book than you ever would reading it. Don't read it. Ever. Buy it. Put it on your shelf. Talk about it. But never read it.
November 19, 2015
Although a rather mundane and boring read at times, you do get the sense of the ebb and flow of city life as it goes about a day.
May 4, 2015
This book is amazing.
It is amazing that Goldsmith had nothing better to do than transcribe a whole day's traffic reports, or did he?
It is amazing that anyone thought publishing a full day's traffic reports was worthwhile.
It is amazing that the writer of the blurb could write such an irrelevant piece of nonsense. The only thing this book has in common with 'The Grapes fo Wrath" is that they are written in English. Godard's long panning shot is part of a film, not the whole film.
It is amazing that there are people who quite seriously believe something important is being achieved here.
And it is amazing that this is copyrighted...
All in all an amazing book.
The top five light cars in Australia in 2014 were built by non Australian Companies.
And no, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone
It is amazing that Goldsmith had nothing better to do than transcribe a whole day's traffic reports, or did he?
It is amazing that anyone thought publishing a full day's traffic reports was worthwhile.
It is amazing that the writer of the blurb could write such an irrelevant piece of nonsense. The only thing this book has in common with 'The Grapes fo Wrath" is that they are written in English. Godard's long panning shot is part of a film, not the whole film.
It is amazing that there are people who quite seriously believe something important is being achieved here.
And it is amazing that this is copyrighted...
All in all an amazing book.
The top five light cars in Australia in 2014 were built by non Australian Companies.
And no, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone
February 16, 2012
This book captures! I love it!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews