The shape of the pear, the size of the pill, her smile, her walk, her wit. A minor skewing of the aesthetic is an adherence to the creative spirit of one’s forebears. To cite just three examples, in reverse historical order: Clarice Lispector<–Fernando Pessoa<–Rone Michel de Montaigne. That is to say, there is a definite through-line of famous practitioners, historic individuals who have made good use of the crônica. On the aesthetic: While I sometimes write against the prevalent characteristics of the form, I do so out of the awareness that I am part of an aesthetic legacy. The cat, gazing out the window, softly singing her prayers and swatting at things outside her grasp. Like Mariah once famously quipped, “You don’t have the range….”Īs verdant as an oil slick, as metaphorical as cheese. What an age of absurdity! There are those out there who, when first perceiving the Brownian motion of the crônica’s passages, think to themselves, “Oh, I can do that.” Nah, son. Donc, perhaps it’s just the signifying of a tonal shift, the cognitive hint that gives the thing its meaning.Ī simple, declarative sentence, written in Peak Shavers: “No, I mean, yeah, definitely maybe.” Then again, I codeswitch avec ease, ou bien, avec oeuf. These two tongues are codependent, the one on the other. It wasn’t Pierre Joris, it was me!!!Ī note to the uninitiated: It’s not shade, it’s a survival tactic. Wait, wasn’t it Pierre Joris who wrote, “The composition of a poem is an exercise in magical thinking”? No, no that’s not right. We only know the tale of Icarus because Daedalus got away. Before the fall it wasn’t bound by gravity. Licking and dancing and leaping, always leaping. The flame, all orange and amber and sometimes even sapphire blue. So if you got the money, I am for the booking. Because me? I’m still alone, dancing-you know it, baby.Īnd yet-and as always, we introduce an “and yet,”-there are times when all the aesthetic considerations, the poetic implications and even the lyric imaginings must give way to the pragmatic. Instead, the crônica highlights a persona, a winking avatar in place of the whole of the writer. On the confessional aspects: Yes, there’s a confessional aspect to the crônica, but the confessions are not at all personal. That word is gestalt: The whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. On the aesthetic: I mentioned in an earlier work that it can be summarized with a single German word. When confronted with so many claims that the work should be relatable, that the work must be recognizable or easily understood, when constantly compared to that which elicits easy comfort, in the face of such ignorance disguised as arrogance, it will always be necessary to write the contemporary equivalent of >. I use direct address because there are some things that must be addressed directly.

Silverfish by Rone Shavers