Archives for posts with tag: kenneth goldsmith

At the close of every year, for over a decade, I have taken a moment in to reflect upon the year’s publications. Like in previous years, my “most engaging books” list reflects what I found most fascinating / useful / generative in terms of form & content from the books I read in 2020.

Seek out these volumes; every one will reward the search (your local, independent, bookstore can help; an excellent choice as many are struggling under the pandemic). This is the cream of the crop for 2020, seriously:

Ofullsizerendernce again, December brings an opportunity to reflect upon the year’s publications. Like previous years, my “most engaging books” list reflects what i found most fascinating / useful / generative. Seek out these volumes, every one will reward the search. Your local, independent, bookstore can help…. This is the cream of the crop for 2016, seriously:

 

Poetry

Non-Fiction

 

 

Work in Translation

FullSizeRenderOnce again, December brings an opportunity to reflect upon the year’s publications. Like previous years, my “most engaging books” list is idiosyncratic and reflects what i found most fascinating / useful / generative. Seek out these volumes, every one will reward the search. Your local, independent, bookstore can help…. This is the cream of the crop for 2015, seriously:

  • Allemann, Urs. (trans. Patrick Greaney). The Old Man and the Bench. (Dalkey Archive Press)
  • Bök, Christian. The Xenotext (Book 1). (Coach House Books)
  • Brossard, Nicole. (trans. Angela Carr). Ardour. (Coach House Books)
  • Cage, John. Diary: How to Improve the world (You will only make matters worse). (Siglio)
  • Carmody, Teresa and Vanessa Place. Maison Femme: a fiction. (Bon Aire Projects)
  • Cobbing, William and Rosie Cooper, eds. Boooook: The Life and Work of Bob Cobbing. (Occasional papers)
  • Dworkin, Craig. Alkali. (Counterpath)
  • Garréta, Anne. (trans. Emma Ramadan). Sphinx. (Deep Vellum)
  • Goldsmith, Kenneth. Capital: New York, Capital of the 20th Century. (Verso)
  • Goldsmith, Kenneth. Theory / Théorie. (Jean Boîte Éditions)
  • Reznikoff, Charles. Testimony: The United States (1885-1915): Recitative. (finally reprinted from the 1978 edition by Black Sparrow)
  • Sousanis, Nick. Unflattening. (Harvard UP)
  • Levé, Edouard. (trans. Jan Steyn & Caite Dolan-Leach). Newspaper. (Dalkey Archive Press)
  • Waeckerlé, Emmanuelle. Reading (Story of) O. (Uniformbooks)
  • Worth, Liz. No Work Finished Here: Rewriting Andy Warhol. (Bookthug)

“a: a novel #1” (for Kenneth Goldsmith)a page 1

 

massacre-streetOnce again, December brings an opportunity to reflect upon the year’s books. Like previous years, this “most engaging books” list is idiosyncratic and by no means reflects “the best”, only what i found most engaging and most rewarding … this is a  selection of what i considered the most fascinating / useful / generative books of the year. Seek out these volumes, every one will reward the search (and your local, independent, bookstore can help…). This is the cream of the crop for 2013:

Heimrad Bäcker. Seascape. Patrick Greaney, trans. (Brooklyn: Ugly Duckling Presse)

Jen Bervin and Marta Werner. The Gorgeous Nothings. (New York: New Directions).

Jaap Blonk klinkt. (Gent: het balanseer).

Craig Dworkin. No Medium. (Cambridge: MIT Press).

Kenneth Goldsmith. Seven American Deaths and Disasters. (Brooklyn: Powerhouse)

Jeet Heer. In Love with Art: Françoise Mouly’s Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman. (Toronto: Coach House).

bpNichol. A book of variations: love-zygal-art facts. Stephen Voyce, ed. (Toronto: Coach House).

Yoko Ono. Acorn. (New York: OR)

Rachel Simkover, ed. An Anthology of Concrete Poetry. (Berlin: Motto).

Nick Thurston. Of the Subcontract (York, UK / Toronto: information as material / Coach House)

Emmett Williams. Anthology of Concrete Poetry (New York: Primary Information)

Andrew Zawacki. Video Tape. (Denver: Counterpath)

Paul Zits. Massacre Street (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press)

photoNo Press is proud to announce the publication of Kenneth Goldsmith’s BEING DUMB

Produced in a limited edition of 60 hand-bound copies.

From BEING DUMB:

“I am a dumb writer, perhaps one of the dumbest that’s ever lived. Whenever I have an idea, I question myself whether it is sufficiently dumb. I ask myself, is it possible that this, in any way, could be considered smart? If the answer is no, I proceed. I don’t write anything new or original. I copy pre-existing texts and move information from one place to another. A child could do what I do, but wouldn’t dare to for fear of being called stupid.”

Originally published online at The Awl, BEING DUMB is now available for $7ea.

To order please email derek beaulieu

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“The Newspaper” by derek beaulieu (photo courtesy Eric Schmaltz)

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“The Newspaper” by derek beaulieu (photo courtesy Eric Schmaltz)

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“Protein 13” (detail) by Christian Bok (photo courtesy Eric Schmaltz)

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“Solilioquy” (detail) by Kenneth Goldsmith (photo courtesy Eric Schmaltz)

Postscript: Writing after Conceptual Art” has opened at Toronto’s Power Plant Gallery — here are a few early pictures from the opening (courtesy Eric Schmaltz)

 

OK, turn the clown off. This is who was in the White House. This is the, uh, this, this is what I’m giving you an example of what the Obamas have done to America ah culturally and socially. They bring a tenth-rate clown like this in who boasts about that he teaches his children how to, uh, his students, so to speak, at the once ex University of Pennsylvania. It’s become a cesspool, uh, what’s happened there. And talks about uncreative writing and how to plagiarize, you hear? Now, when you have a, uh, uh, plagiarist in the White House you would think having a plagiarist pretending to be a poet in the White House in a poetry event … what is this, like, Abbie Hoffman 2? I mean, this is what I’m talking about here, this is not poetry; this is the debasement of our culture. It’s part of the Marxist class warfare. This is what he does and this is what he does and this is how he does it. You say “what are you going on about?” All right, bring it on, I’m showing you who he had there. It wasn’t just the rapper, he has this putz there talking about teaching children, uh, you can’t write anything creative and original, you have to plagiarize everything you turn in. This is a teacher in a college. This is what’s going passing now for a college teacher. It goes back to Obama inviting a so-called college teacher who teaches children to te- to write uncreative writing, where you’re not allowed to write anything original you must plagiarize. It’s the same mentality. It’s the destruction of western civilization. In that sense Obama is acting in a rather s-schizophrenic manner to have a poetry event and invite someone who teaches children that that they must plagiarize. You follow where I’m coming from here?

Right. Yeah.

Alright, it’s a little too esoteric, I get it.

Cork, Ireland’s The Enclave Review (ER) is a review sheet focusing on the visual arts but with additional texts relating to the greater sphere of contemporary art and thought. It has just archived its first 2 issues online, and has a PDF link to my article “It Quacks like a Duck: Conceptual Writing” here.