What It Means to Be Avant-Garde (New Directions Paperbook) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Asked to participate in a poetry festival, Antin ( Talking at the Boundaries ) tells the caller: "i / dont read anymore i talk and that whatever i happened to say / that was my poetry." This is his third collection of transcribed oral pieces, and the method has worn thin. To be sure, he attempts to gear his autobiographical monologue to each audience. But the focus of these pieces, which average at 30 pages, quickly strays to anything and everything: his Manhattan apartment, his job translating scientific texts, the rise and cost of living. Pompous and egotistical, he ends up hurling words in the general direction of his listeners. Spread randomly on the printed page, his words unfortunately capture all the drone of performance: prosaic, unpunctuated, refusing capitalization. One assumes, from Antin's prefatory remarks to each poem, that this book collects only his most successful monologues. Frankly, it's hard to tell.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This string of seven wonderfully rambling "talk performances" by poet and monologist Antin is marred only by the tiresome, silly "avant-garde" convention of using no capital letters and very little punctuation. In spite of that, these Proustian works of recall are riveting proof of the incantatory power of words. From straightforward digressions on his aged mother and his in-laws to a complicated, slightly bizarre piece called "the structuralist" (a lengthy profile of a red-headed, muscular dwarf who's a linguist, translator, and painter), each section is sparked by Antin's recollection of being invited to "read" at a conference or a seminar. In "the fringe," he recalls the Sixties when, with John Ashbery and Ed Sanders, they were "three-penny poets reading against the war." In the title story, which provides a key to Antin's work, he objects to the artist Christo's being identified as avant-garde "because the chamber of commerce is perfectly cheerful about" his projects. Highly recommended for all collections of modern literature and art.
- Ron Antonucci, Hudson Lib. & Historical Soc., Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 207 pages
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811212386
• ISBN-13: 978-0811212380
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #388,071 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great storytelling. You must read this book!, July 16, 1998

By A Customer

It's a real shame that New Directions press doesn't aggressively market books like "What It Means to Be Avant-Garde". David Antin is one of the most entertaining serious writers working in the English language. His insight into the human condition and the stories he spins in this book are refreshing and hilarious. If Antin relied upon traditional rules of punctuation -- it's somehow liberating that he doesn't -- and had a publisher interested in making a few bucks this book would sell well...very well. Treat yourself and give it a try!

5.0 out of 5 stars Intellectually Stimulating. . .not in the geeky way either, March 16, 2000

By A Customer

As a student of Professor Antin's at the University of California- San Diego, it was not surprising to me when I found his book just as uniquely interesting and enthralling as his classroom lectures. His collection of stories in this book examines the human condition in a way that is humorous, and richly written, even without the use of punctuation.

5.0 out of 5 stars What it Means to be Avant-Garde, March 16, 2000

By A Customer

As a student of Professor Antin's at the University of California- San Diego, it was not surprising to me when I found his book just as uniquely interesting and enthralling as his classroom lectures. His collection of stories in this book examines the human condition in a way that is humorous, and richly written, even without the use of punctuation.