So there is American surrealism of the deep image and pastoral variety
(perhaps Matthew Rohrer is a good example of this tendency although he sometimes moves away from deep image and the pastoral to some kind cyber erotics.)
There is also the surrealism of Eastern Europe with its folklorish qualities (Simic etc.)
And French surrealism seems a little heavier on the intellect than say latin American surrealism.
So American imagism meets say Latin American surrealism and becomes deep image? (I realize this history is very simplistic and watered down)
What I am interested in exploring is the interaction of textual poetics and surrealism (or neosurrealism).
If I remember correctly I think Watten denounced surrealism (and perhaps other poets of the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E school).
So when (or in who) did textual poetics meet surrealism? I haven't read enough Yau to know if his poetics involve both, but from little I have read it seems possible.
John Ashberry has elements of both, but I guess I am wondering about new meetings, recent meetings, say meetings in the last ten years?
Also, cyborgs and surrealism and textual poetics. I know it's happening.
If I thought, it it's already happening. Somewhere. Since I haven't read enough to have an original thought in my head.
I am deeply attracted to the political possibilities of surrealism (both its negative and positive poles) and its pleasure functions (not just Freud/Jung).
Context. Does a surrealist commercial have context? Say the baby growing in the womb which turns out to a full grown man and the commercial ends with a nice nugget (the closing lines, the key, the epiphany)
"Life comes at you fast."
It's funny, it's wit, it stands out, sticks out. It's memorable.
Images are becoming more and more of a storage device than text.
Spectacle.
I suppose I have a real emotional attachment to surrealism (it grabbed me first when I "came" to poetry)
Or did poetry come to me?
Anyway. One complaint I hear still today about surrealism (perhaps going back to the French symbolists) is private images. The same complaint is launched against L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetics (and all experimental poetics since most of these same people lump it all together) in terms of private language.
So when (or rather how) does an image become public?
And when does language move from private to public?
And while I am at, what the hell is private and public?