I've just become aware of Gertrude Stein's use of repetition. / I'm not sure I should be too worried about it. Her use of it doesn't seem as conceptual as my use of it. Her use was more of a style, than a concept. And her repetitions weren't exact repetitions, most of the time. They were repetitions with a variation. Of course, she was trying for the same hypnotic effect. There are some important differences though. She was writing novels, and trying to compete with James Joyce. I am writing a blog on the internet. I am creating a new form for the twenty-first century, the internet age. Also, Stein didn't attempt to transcend her subject matter. (And I'm not sure any writer ever has.) But that's what I am doing. By using exact repetitions and asking/expecting the reader to get faster and faster and go beyond the three paragraphs of each post, I am offering the reader (potential) access to a higher reality/literature which is basically shamanic. And that's the concept. / Now, the challenge for me is to achieve greater vision and greater emotional intensity, and to write greater phrases that will satisfy me (and the reader, I suppose). / The ideal is to write conceptual posts that have the power and appeal of great poems.
I'll add this to my Notes page.
I'll add this to my Notes page.
