| Popis: |
In the prefatory section of her interview with writer Wanda Coleman, the critic Priscilla Ann Brown recalls a conversation among friends about an avant-garde poet whose work, despite receiving “several accolades,” had yet to garner critical attention commensurate with her artistry. Brown writes, “One of my friends and I were talking about writers who were ‘funky’ and ‘pushing the edges’ of several genres.”1 Implicit in Brown’s usage of the word “funky” are several important points: (1) a community of speakers agree on at least one common meaning of the word “funk”; (2) “funk” pertains to aesthetics in various forms of cultural expression; (3) “funky” writing is innovative insofar as it “push[es] the edges”; and (4) many creative and critical expressions of “funk[ativity]” remain largely unexamined by critics. Although Brown’s questions don’t refer specifically to funk, her comments provide a point of departure for my introduction. Recall Brown’s reference to the paucity of critical attention devoted to Coleman’s “funky” writing. This invisibility isn’t anomalous. The same could be said about Jayne Cortez, Sterling Plummp, and Talib Kweli. They too are funky poets. At issue is the process in which American cultural institutions respond to black vernacular concepts and practices. |
