Tuesday, December 3, 2013

BathHouse Review



Before attending both of the Kearney/Bryant readings I had a reasonable understanding of the word diaspora. But along with this term, Kearney and Bryant introduced me to a new word—Textual Orality. This term is a new look at performative language on and off the page, it is a processes and a system of thought that is self-reflexive. What I found most profound about the panel/reading was the literal demonstrations of Textual Orality.

For Kearney, Textual Orality manifested as a critical re-discovering of his written text The Black Automaton, as well as something he refereed to as “critical karaoke.” He amazed me with his ability to manipulate the readability of his book; he would have audience members score different poems in the book. Then, he would read the text based off what they had written. For him, in that moment, Textual Orality was breathing life into a passive event—a lecture/poetry reading—and turning it into a group activity that can change at a whim. Next, he performed a critical karaoke of Ice Cube's “Natural Born Killaz.” His approach to both the form of hip-hop and karaoke collide in a song of conflict and friction. He would sing over Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, interrupt their verses, and inject controversy into their semantics.

Along with this, Bryant approached Textual Orality with writing and performance, as well. First, she showed a slide-show describing/defining what Textual Orality—also rewriting the frames of the show as they were being shown. She transitioned into her book Unexplained Presence by explaining her processes for writing the book and then showing an image that was an ekphrasis in the actual book. Her idea of leaving something out of the book, in it and of itself, is a form of Textual Orality that represents and acts as a diaspora in the text and as a reflection of Black art/writing.

Together, Bryant and Kearney made for an incredible show and brought attention to a new type of thought and processes when engaging with art, especially art arising from Black culture. However, Textual Orality is in no way limited to Black art. Textual Orality, as I have come to know it is a living, breathing art form that requires an attentive audience—one which is willing to approach difficulties in forms of representation. This can, in my mind, be extended to any other culture or art form. Walking away from this lecture, I have determined that my writing can, and at times, must be more aware of the Textual/Oral approach to reading and writing because of how much subtext can be missed if it is not given out to the audience. However, this reminds me of Bryant's missing images from her book and how my desire to recreate this images in my head affects my reading of her text. Ultimately, Textual Orality exists as a multi-dimensional work that challenges preconceptions about art and how one should think of it.

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