Bardy Google

by Frank Davey

For thousands of years, formal compositional rules of rhyme, metre and rhetorical devices have shaped the language of poetry, creating “meaning” through the interplay between these culturally determined aesthetic prerequisites imposed on its syntax, and the “other” intelligence of the poet pushing against these constraints. Bardy Google reinvents these formal boundaries within the frame of our wired world.

With only one hidden exception, each of the texts in this book was constructed through Frank Davey’s use of speci?cally devised Internet searches. The “rules” for their composition varied: “Love + 560” began at the 560th line of the search results; most selections excluded incomplete sentences; most included only the ?rst sentence of a search result; all excluded sentences in which all the terms searched for did not occur; and all except two sequenced the sentences in the order found. Some, such as “Time Lapse Action,” “Sorry” and “The Imaginaries,” contain tonal shifts enabled by an abrupt change of the search protocol during their composition. In all cases, any re-composition of the pieces was done only by revising the initial search protocol and generating a new text to replace a previous one.

Because the content of the Internet, and the search-engine priorities assigned to that content, change continuously, these texts are unique and unrepeatable. The same search protocols used in a later month or year could produce quite different results from those assembled here—or distressingly similar ones.

These texts are part of Davey’s ongoing work on the use of the sentence as the basic structural unit of poetry—to create poetic texts, as they have always been created, out of the materials of prose. They also constitute another of his forays into cultural commentary—in this case, disclosing how our engagement with globalized culture creates meaning as it “speaks through itself.”

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2010

About the author

Frank Davey has been a poet, editor, small-magazine publisher, literary critic, and cultural critic in Canada since 1961. He is editor and co-founder of the influential poetry newsletter Tish (1961-63) and since 1965 editor of Open Letter, the Canadian journal of writing and theory. With Fred Wah in 1984, he founded SwiftCurrent, the world’s first online literary magazine, and operated it until 1990. His more than forty books include Louis Dudek and Raymond Souster (1980), The Abbotsford Guide to India (1986), Reading Canadian Reading (1988), Canadian Literary Power (1994), and Back to the War (2005).

Reviews

[M.W.P.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each of the texts in this book was constructed through the use of specifically devised Internet searches. The "rules" for their composition varied - "Love + 560" began at the 560th line of the search results; most excluded incomplete sentences; most included only the first sentence of a search result; all excluded sentences in which all the terms searched for did not occur; all sequenced the sentence in the order found. Some, such as "Time Lapse Action", "Sorry", and "The Imaginaries", contain tonal shifts enabled by abrupt changes of the search protocol. In all cases, revision was to be done only by revising the search protocol and generating a new text to replace a previous one.
Because the content of the Internet, and the search-engine priorities assigned to that content, change continuously, these texts are unrepeatable. The same search protocols used in a later month or year could produce quite different results.
To preserve the large variety of writing "styles" the searches gathered, only minimal changes have been made during typesetting. Quotation marks and dashes have been made consistent, but idiosyncratic spelling and syntax have been preserved.
The texts are part of my ongoing work to the use the sentence as the basic structural unit of poetry - to create poetic texts, as they have always been created, out of materials of prose. They also constitute another of my forays into cultural commentary.

- Preface by Frank Davey

* * *

Lovable® Lingerie, Sleepwear and Lifestyle Ranges are recognized for style, quality and fit at an affordable price and all are designed in Australia. I am a dainty little girl with a lovable purrsonality. The lovable lion whose escape brifly terrorized a community in northwestern Quebec last month is developing quite a following. Fatboy a lovable underdog. Almonds in shell are lovable nuts. Their married "happy" and, obviously, lovable friends have either found bliss with the perfect life-mate or lack the courage to abandon unions that are based on fear, loathing and joined-at-the-hip RSP finance. i run a lovable and fun day care for kids all age in my home, i love having kids around and have fun with them. Great dog, very lovable, house broken, crate trained, loves kids, thinks he's a lap dog, loves to play and run, almost 1yr old. son had to move from apartment. There simply isn't a more lovable man in the game of baseball than Sir Matt Stairs.[...]

- Love + 560, pg. 19

* * *

And the photo can't begin to convey the creepily serene voice that invited us to send our loved ones to stay with good ol' Al (once good ol' Al had come to stay). Study the field, pick a horse and see if you can stay the distance. Find extended stay hotel suites that provide all the modern amenities the seasoned traveller has come to expect. He's not exactly the most cuddly animal in the world, so I figured I'd better take advantage of his temporary lapse in nastiness and stay where I was.The National Cyber Security Alliance's top eight cyber security practices are practical steps you can take to stay safe online and avoid becoming a victim. Dejected U.S. army deserter Corey Glass, 25, is seen May 21, 2008, after hearing his application to stay in Canada was rejected. Stay Canada lists some of the best places to stay in Canada including Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, and Motels.[...]

- Time Lapse Action, pg. 29

* * *

The story began with the universal idea of imaginary friends, and what happens to them when their creators stop believing in them. Because in the end, even the images themselves play into their own kind of political imaginary, one that can be, as I've said, inadvertently complicit with the tropes that continue to dictate how poverty is viewed from afar. This is a characteristic zone of overlap, of negotiation, in which the imaginaries of the contemporary world meet and diverge. The predominant tone of responses seems to be surprise that anyone would worry about the legitimacy of meaning of imaginary numbers. Thursday in the printshop, I'm working on a series of imaginaries.[...]

- The Imaginaries, pg. 55

* * *

In most cases, if someone is offended by something you do or say, it's much better to apologize right away. Democratic war opponents keep asking Senator Clinton to apologize for her vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq. I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late. HBO talk show host Bill Maher will reportedly apologize this evening for offensive remarks he made this week about Pope Benedict XVI. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories says it will soon apologize to former students of native residential schools. Beijing Olympics organizers have issued an apology for the language used to describe disabled athletes in a manual compiled for thousands of volunteers. Gigabyte has agreed to publicly apologize to ASUS over the little Energy Processing Unit spat they've been having.[...]

- Sorry, pg. 63

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t have the same problems with this book as ryan. ( http://95books.tumblr.com/post/684892...) Sure the book copy would have us believe that Davey “reinvents these formal boundaries within the frame of our wired world,” but isn’t that typical of book jacket copy? We can complain all we want about publicity tactics, but publisher are in the business of selling books. In any case, I found it an enjoyable if at times disconcerting read, reflective as it is at times of “the public’s” concerns and lack of care towards language.