Curnow vs Motion (Blog Battle)

Dear faithful blog reader

There was a time when writers would quietly stow themselves away and compete for space in prestigious journals by writing the best piece they could. Or they held up another writer as some kind of creative nemesis, a necessary yardstick for their own ambition/progress.

But now, thanks to the wonders of the blogosphere, we can go head-to-head in public smackdowns that immediately determine whose work has impact, relevance, appeal, musicality, sexuality, popularity, freshness, verbal vaporessence, grounding, counterbalancing and a well-developed ‘haunting yet transparent’ latency of meaning.

So thus I challenge poet Derek Motion to the first ever Australian Poetry Blog Battle!!!

For three-weeks we will be competing for comments (support or trash-talk), tallying them up in order to determine our own inter/national significance. Why? Because we’re very important pioneers in the Australian literary scene. Because we’re about ‘conversation’ and intellectual rigour. And while I don’t have anything against Derek personally (the only trouble is his personality) I do really REALLY want to bring him down. Plus he still owes me $20 bucks for a late-night six pack and Chicko Roll in Albury! Will he even acknowledge that... I don't think so.

This is how it goes:

The tally is of comments posted on our “Blog Battle” posts which remain up and open for three weeks (culminating in the Melb Four W launch). Thereby the competition shall be declared over and the winner annouced.

The poet who receives the most comments on their blog will bask in validation, knowing that it truly confirms their poetic worth, the relevance of their practice and their place in Australia’s literary canon.

In turn, the loser must abandon their blog FOREVER and go home crying to his momma. And with any luck it'll be Derek, with this taped over his mouth: http://ilovestickytape.blogspot.com/2009/10/poem-on-roll-charles-bainbridge.html

Now thems the stakes and the only rules. Oh, plus the variety of commenters will also be taken into account. So I’m calling for support from the big and little names in Australian literature, to the big and little names in Portland’s over 55 cross-stitching guild. If you’ve ever enjoyed my poetry but never bought a book… or if you bought a book but never enjoyed the poetry… I need you now. Talk it up. Send out the message. He was in the 'top 50 writing blogs' and in Best Aust Poems 09…

I’ve got my work cut out for me!

I know that in the past much of my blog has been about self-promotion. I know. And you might even think this Battle is a bit over-the-top too. But check out my last post about the Thar. I mean that’s good work, that’s contributing, and it’s a prime example of what you’re not gonna see anymore if I happen to get shut down in this vain (yet let’s not forget ‘groundbreaking’) maelstrom of words.

Plus I invented the Fb DanceTrain… I INVENTED it!!!

Oh and here’s a link to Derek’s blog: http://typingspace.wordpress.com/

Thar

So I received this anonymous postcard the other day which had a picture of a Thar on it. All that it said was:

Happy new home in Ballarat! This is not a bunyip, it is a Thar. I didn't even know there were such things.

Then yesterday I received an email from a Sydney poet in praise of The Ghost Poetry Project:

Bloody hell, I say, bloody hell! Just finished your book last night, and bloody hell it is good! Bloody hell. You have made a fine fine thing indeed, matey.

And little things like this are enough to keep one going.