Some thoughts on the flarf fest....

I attended the first two nights of the Flarf Fest & though I still may not know what exactly Flarf is, I do know Flarfists know how to have fun! The films on Thursday were great & the readings on Friday were refreshing--a welcome break from the ultra-seriousness of some readings I've been to lately. Some personal highlights for me included Alex Young interrupting-then becoming a part of-Jim's reading, Drew Gardner's reading of "Chicks Dig War," Rodney Koeneke's "Pizza Kitten," Michael Magee's "Mainstream Poetry," Sharom Mesmer's reading, K. Silem Mohammad's response to Drew "Chicks Do Not Dig War," Tim Peterson's "Tarzan Workshop," & Gary Sullivan's poetry hotline. I was already familiar with most of the people reading except for Rodney Koeneke. He was the surprise of the weekend for me. I enjoyed both his film & his reading, & am now looking forward to reading his book Rouge State (Pavement Saw Press 2003).

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I don't think Flarf necessarily has to do with using Google or other search engines. A few of the poems read didn't seem to have relied on these means at all. Would it be fair to say it is more of an attitude? An attitude toward art/life? Or perhaps an energy? An energy that spills over into the audience--an audience that isn't just sitting there but is actively engaged--yelling, laughing, responding, heckling, etc. Or perhaps this is just one component of a larger thing.

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After the Friday night Flarf, I headed over with everyone to Bar Nine to watch the premier of Jim's episode of Can't Get a Date. Even though it was difficult to hear the sound most of the time, I would say that I'd agree with Ange's take on it--it did seem sweet.