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Blackout by John Tranter

by
October 2000, no. 225

Blackout by John Tranter

Vagabond Press, $16.50 pb, 21pp

Blackout by John Tranter

by
October 2000, no. 225

Blackout is a poem written (deliberately, I think) in transition – or even perhaps in transit. Structured such that it lacks a singular, personal voice, it could be read as a response to the question: What is a poem in the era of digital media? Or more particularly, more precisely –Where does such a poem start? What’s its language, how does it end? Blackout, for example, is left unfinished: after the ninth section it just breaks off with a colophon indicating that there could be more words one day, or perhaps not. It’s left unfinished too in the sense of being a work which never resolves into a coherent narrative or even a coherent thought-structure. The polyphony of the text is left jagged and juxtapositional, much in the manner of block music. Or more likely in the manner of a downloaded text where many voices have criss-crossed in a many-timed, interactive way.

Martin Harrison reviews 'Blackout' by John Tranter

Blackout

by John Tranter

Vagabond Press, $16.50 pb, 21pp

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