I'm sorry, I don't speak avant-garde

Ou est le gare?
Sorry, I don't speak French.
Mon dieu...
Sorry, I don't speak French.

What would Foucault say about this?
Sorry, I don't speak Foucauldian.
My god...
Sorry, I don't speak Foucauldian.

cut grasping at faint nibs / poised and
infertile - futile - vertebrae
snap back and crackle, cackle and
empty throat beats like a sheep
tourniquet de France
------change-----alternative voice / and
placid / yes / affirm to all the world that
Sorry, I don't speak avant-garde.
dog / judge's wig
Sorry, I don't speak avant-garde.

I would dearly like to be fluent in avant-garde. I would like to be fluent in philosophy as well. They're both languages to be learned for me, in order for me to compete in their respective games. Both at this current point in time are at the same level as my Spanish was back at college. I could negotiate Spanish fine when it came to listening, reading and writing (As across the board baby), but when it came to speaking and thinking in Spanish directly, rather than deciphering it, I wasn't up to scratch (D). Same goes for avant-garde and philosophy. Enjoyable to read and write about and listen to, but when it comes to discussion I feel scattered. Forcing opinion out, squeezing it out of my brain results in fragmented mumblings that struggle to grip onto the topic at hand. Failing at these particular language games.

They say that the best way to get to grips with a language is to immerse yourself in its home and its culture. If you go abroad and are forced to deal with it being all around you then you should pick it up quicker than you would otherwise through necessity. That is why I am going to attend a nice avant-garde poetry evening on Tuesday coming, H! Zero!, where some fairly well regarded poets will be giving it their all. £4 entry. I am excited.

Many people I've spoken to have been fairly dismissive of avant-garde poetry. For me the excitement comes from it being something that you need to feel rather than observe. In conventional poetry you have well-trod paths of meaning that usually get picked up on; metre, rhyme, emphasis etc etc. With avant-garde poetry this can be sidestepped around, or danced straight through. The possibilities of freedom that it opens up are exciting, and to be able to get it is likewise an exciting prospect. As far as my own writing has been going, being exposed to it has definitely opened a few more creative doors. Exciting.

In summation, I hope that a growing exposure to this world will lead me onwards into more exciting realms of creativity. That and also perhaps I may be able to understand and see The King of Limbs for the work of genius that it actually is. Or perhaps not. En garde avant-garde! I am coming for you!