THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE AN ARTICLE ON ESTHETICS THERE ARE VERY FEW THINGS WE NEED LESS THAN ESTHETICS PERHAPS ONLY TASTE

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THERE IS NOTHING WE NEED LESS THAN TASTE

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WHAT WE NEED TO NOW ABOUT POETRY IS NOT WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT FROM PROSE IF WE DONT THINK THERE IS A DIFFERENCE THERE ISNT ANY WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LEAKING CUP AND A STRAINER WE DONT NEED ANYONE TO TELL US HOW TO CONTROL THE LINE OR COMPOSE A PIECE OF MUSIC WHAT WE NEED IS A SURVIVAL TOOL WHAT I AM CONCERNED WITH HERE IS SURVIVAL

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I AM TALKING ABOUT LANGUAGE HERE A HUMAN COMMUNITY CANNOT SURVIVE WITHOUT ITS LANGUAGE LANGUAGE IS WHAT MAKES IT HUMAN BY DEFINITION LANGUAGE IS PUBLIC THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PRIVATE LANGUAGE THERE ARE ONLY LINGUISTIC COMMUNITIES OF VARIOUS SIZE IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE A LINGUISTIC COMMUNITY SMALLER THAN TWO PEOPLE OR ONE MAN AND A TAPE RECORDER THE SELF IS A LINGUISTIC COMMUNITY IN WHICH THE PRESENT AND PAST TALK TO EACH OTHER INSIDE OF ONE SKIN

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THERE IS NO NEED TO ASSUME THAT POETRY NEEDS TO RECOGNIZE ANY CONSTRAINTS BEYOND THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTRAINTS OF LANGUAGE

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HOW TO DEFINE A LANGUAGE DEFINE IT BY ITS LIMITS SPEECH IS BOUNDED ON BOTH SIDES BY SILENCE OR DEFINE IT BY ITS OBSTACLES IT IS BOUNDED ON BOTH SIDES BY NOISE

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NOISE/SILENCE carrying on a conversation with a friend in my apartment in the summer a MR SOFTY truck delivers custard outside we speak ding we are ding speaking we speak no longer the bell keeps ringing at intervals ding after a while we do not hear the sound any longer but i keep waiting for the bell to ring andhurrytospeak after ward slowing before it ding comes again again linving in South Brooklyn which the real estate agents have redesignated as Cobble Hill the children outside are Spanish and noisy but it is hot and i get an air conditionner which make a soft regular low-pitched noise i no longer hear the children i hear the air conditionner i hear nothing

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silence

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i turn off the air conditionner open the window i hear the voices of children

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NOISE IS THE SENSE OF A WINDOW IT IS UNDESIRABLE SOUND IT IS DISORDER SILENCE IS CLOSING THE WINDOW JOHN CAGE SAYS THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SILENCE NONSENS IF THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS SILENCE HE COULDNT EVEN SIGN HIS OWN NAME (he may not want to)

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ABSOLUTE SILENCE IS ABSOLUTE ORDER IF IT EXISTED ABSOLUTELY THERE NEVER WOULD BE ANY SOUND ABSOLUTE NOISE IS ABSOLUTE DISORDER IF IT EXISTED ABSOLUTELY THERE NEVER WOULD BE ANYTHING ELSE THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS AND COMMUNICATION THEORY DO NOT APPLY TO EITHER

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THEOREM: THERE IS NO LANGUAGE OUTSIDE ITS SPEAKERS

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COROLLARY: DIFFERENCES IN LANGUAGE ARE DIFFERENCES IN THE ORDERED REALITIES OF THEIR SPEAKERS

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FOOTNOTE: “AN UTTERANCE IS AN IMAGE OF REALITY” WITTGENSTEIN

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FOOTNOTE: “AN INCREASE IN COMMUNICATION MAY MEAN AN INCREASE IN CONFLICT” CHARLES MORRIS

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ALL SPEECH IS AN ATTEMPT TO CREATE TO RECOVER OR DISCOVER AND TRANSMIT SOME ORDER YET ALL SPEECH GENERATES SOME NOISE TALK IS CHEAP ALL IT COSTS IS NOISE IT MIGHT BE WORTHWHILE TO CONSIDER HOW MUCH NOISE ANY SPEECH GENERATES BEFORE SPEAKING

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THAT AN ORDER DOES NOT EXIST ONCE AND FOR ALL IS DUE TO TIME

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FOOTNOTE: “INFORMATION (ORDER) INITIALLY ONE HAND LOSES ITS VALIDITY AS TIME GOES ON BECAUSE THE EFFECTS OF AREAS OF INITIAL UNCERTAINTY ACCUMULATE AND PERMEATE THE WHOLE”

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GLOSS: THERE ARE SOME STATES OF ORDER WE CAN NEVER RECOVER HUMAN HISTORY IS NOT ADIABATIC WE HAVE LOST THE RENAISSANCE

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THAT NOSTALGIA FOR A LOST ORDER IS A FORM OF NOISE THAT NOISE HAS USES IS FAIRLY OBVIOUS TO WHOEVER READS THE NEWSPAPERS OR LISTENS TO PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES THEY CREATE A BARRIER THROUGH WHICH IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO HEAR OR SPEAK TO WRITE POETRY TODAY IS TO ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE OVER A VERY NOISY CHANNEL YET AS SHANNON AS DEMONSTRATED IN THEORY IT IS POSSIBLE TO COMMUNICATE EVEN OVER A CHANNEL OF NEARLY UNLIMITED NOISE WITH SUITABLE METHODS OF CODING HOW IF THE NOISY CHANNEL IS ALSO IN OUR HEAD TO DO SO

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HOW TO CREATE AREAS OF SILENCE

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THE MOST TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE OF THE LAST THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS HAS BEEN THE GROWING CONVICTION THAT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF REALITY HAVE BECOME UNSPEAKABLE WITH THE CONSEQUENCE THAT THEY HAVE ALSO COME TO FEEL UNREAL THEY ARE UNREAL

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STATEMENT: I CAN CALL SPIRITS FROM THE VASTY DEEP QUESTION: BUT WILL THEY COME

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THE FEELING THAT SOME/THING LIES OUT THERE THAT WE CANNOT LAY HOLD OF IS THE FEELING OF THE INADEQUACY OF THE EXISTING ORDER IT IS THE DEMAND FOR A DIFFERENT ORDER THE CONDITION OF POETRY THE NEED TO GAIN GROUND