John M. Bennett

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John M. Bennett (b. 1942, Chicago) is an American experimental text, sound, and visual poet, who has won the attention of critic Richard Kostelanetz, and other commentators on the avant-garde.

As well as steadily producing and distributing his own work, Bennett, through "Luna Bisonte Prods", a small press business founded in 1974, has published thousands of limited edition items by writers who compose visual poetry, wordart, and other experimental fiction/art/poetry. Bennett's papers, and published works, as well as the results of his own publishing activities (including 30 years of "Lost & Found Times" magazine), are collected in several major institutions, including Washington University (St. Louis), SUNY Buffalo, The Ohio State University and The Museum of Modern Art.

Bennett himself is the curator of the "Avant Writing Collection", "The William Burroughs Collection", and "The Cervantes Collection" at The Ohio State University Libraries. More information about Bennett's career, publishing activities and artistic endeavors can be found at his website.

John M. Bennett is an important encourager of talent, as a teacher, a correspondent, a collaborator, an organizer, a publisher and a prolific role model; indeed, some would argue that Bennett the mentor and the enabler overshadows the often ephemeral nature of the work itself.

A poem typical of John M. Bennett's text-based experimentation is "Lung face." Bennett has indicated in conversation that he was originally inspired by the verbal productions of insane and outsider writers, and this extreme position, or anti-poetic poetic, features in his work and is certainly carried over in this example:

Lung face

lung rumble ,rains ladder the ash fork

dribble shame fleas an ,anchor plug melts

strained boom cluster gap faucet ,ants

bundled in the tooth reach hooks watch

catch book leech root the ,bin tumbled

glance deposit flap ,luster ,room drained

felt bug's langour gland ,peas name crippled

pork rash the matter chains stum bled rung

plate edge sharpened ,urge chirped ,rice

snag hash seemed water hunched and eating

stub flag ,wishfinger ,mate complaint peel

real faint ,eager fish bagged ,a club

meating hand lunched falter )steamed ,lash drag

,ice lurks( surged darkened ledge )face

While some would argue that this text clearly exists within the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=U=E mode of writing, this commentator would point to the recurrent use of certain words that mimic the obsessional, the fetishistic thought processes of the unbalanced mind, while still maintaining a rather skillful sense of meter and form. This would place Bennett more in the tradition of a Hannah Weiner than a Ron Silliman, although Bennett lacks the strange closures and extravagant constructions of the more genuine outsider.

Recent Publications

• THE PEEL (Anabasis,2004)
• rOlling COMBers (Potes & Poets Press)
• CHAC PROSTIBULARIO (with Ivan Arguelles) (Pavement Saw Press, 2001)
• MAILER LEAVES HAM (Pantograph Press, 1999)
• LOOSE WATCH (Invisible Books, 1998)
• GLUE (xPress(ed), 2005)
• INSTRUCTION BOOK (Luna Bisonte Prods, 2006)
• CANTAR DEL HUFF (Luna Bisonte Prods, 2006)
• LA M AL (Blue Lion Books, 2006)
• SOUND DIRT (with Jim Leftwich) (Luna Bisonte Prods, 2006)

Performances/ Sound Works

John M. Bennett collaborations with the sound poet and performance artist Rod Summers began in the late 1970s.

Bennett has performed solo and with numerous musicians and other poets, often with the collaborative sound poetry group THE BE BLANK CONSORT, which has released a recording titled SOUND MESS. This group was founded as a result of a symposium organized by Richard Kostelanetz at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in 1999. The members of THE BE BLANK CONSORT include Scott Helms, Carlos Luis, and Kathy Ernst, among others.

As Visual Poet

Bennett has exhibited his visual poetry internationally.

As Mail Artist

Bennett has been active in the mail art network since 1974.

[edit] External links

• John M. Bennett Website