bill bissett
Interview
untitled painting © 2000 by bill bissett
eezee street nevr cums he sd thats okay keep
breething eye sd thers no prfeksyun heer ths
is aftr all erth
bill bissett
Interview
eezee street nevr cums he sd thats okay keep
breething eye sd thers no prfeksyun heer ths
is aftr all erth
feb 28. 2000 toronto
no fighting in maravariaa zatria neithr wher we childrn combd th orange lites evree morning creating watr erth such a testing place 4 what letting go uv th cykuls uv ko dpendenseez th empire uv th self nd or sum wun elsus intensyuns on 2 or 4 wun not home 4 that its hard not 2 think uv paradochez staring in2 th lizard pools looking deepr inside th vallee uv fire l'etranger de trop sans tropé if th grammar uv manee peopuls kulturs tho not all based sew much on binaree nosyuns uv behaviour n th transitiv verb konstrukts n oposish yunal entiteez uv abstrakt nouns wer diffrent thn they ar wud peopuls behaviour b diffrent prhaps mor kindlee loving konnekting or ar th grammar systems refleksyuns uv th naytures uv th brain manee x perts agree with or th beleef in charaktr in self wud drop away fall
Adeena Karasick: Many of the covers of yr books bear the signature of your brilliant painting – the incredible almost pointillistic flows of colour, a vertiginous mounting of fiery particles that form themselves into present non-present figure(s) that then dissipate into their context. In some ways i see your writing participating in this kind of veiling, of visible invisibility. I’ve heard you use the term “molekular dissolv” to describe some of this process. How does this differ from how you would describe the more language-focused writing that you do.bill bissett: yes sew xciting th paintings n th writing both flames uv th same n diffrent fires same nd diffrent each both and narrativs seem sew opn sew deklar atoree th intensyun n th moovment s sew allignd sew entwind sew indis tinguishabul during peek periods moments uv our lives in th writing paintings whn presens n intensyunalitee can seem joind joining they ar also at th same times yerning 2 entr othr modes all wayze nd ar alred ee inside th multiplisiteez th hiddnesses as each event is alredee chang ing uv kours carrees th seeds uv its own demise at th end uv th beginnings ar mor beginning s sum acts ar sew definit its not always th ekstasee uv joyousness that provides thees mythikul yunyuuns oftn great n tragic pains uv kours gathr n carree ths data irrefutabulee not opn reelee 2 eye uv th beholdr yet sew manee aspekts uv events that ar surelee mor prson al change n cum in2 being as they ar alredee disapeering from ther sew its a lot 2 dew with th strokes th molekular dissolvs in th paintings as well as in a lot uv th writing yes whats sew pure purê arint we all uv each othr dew i want 2 meet sumwun whos pure see if theyr reelee ther
yes wch 4 me all wayze implikates th grammar spellings changing as nuance implikaysyuns shift altr retain its theyr xpressiv being yes langwage also not statik diffrent spellings reflekting elusidating different ranges ovr time it being plural parts uv itselvs resonate mor enchance partik ularize mor aspekts uv th shiftings uv kours creating manee aspekting awarenesses espeshulee uv thos realms wch ar not offishulee in th statements thru th spelling behaving mor n mor phoentikalee we can see demonstraysyuns uv how peopul oftn dont reelee meen what they ar saying n sew on inklude othr radikalee diffrent opsyuns sum evn kontra dicktoree 2 or with th surface meenings sew that th voisings radiate n within spreding in2 a largr hemispheer thn th binaree duelistik dualistic meenings spheers uv opposits as positid by th offishul uttrances n xtend ing sound radianses mor infinitelee sens giving way 2 mor mewsik as th world uv meening turns upon itselvs sum words fairlee staybul begin 2 see how phonetisizing they can b mor bcuming b c d ee th miming mim etika comforts n arrange us untie us f g h eye j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z not sew konscious th tropay as parts uv being speech
AK: We’ve talked at great length about your “unconventional” grammar, syntax, spelling; how you never use capital letters, nor traditional orthographic elements. Over the years, critics have offered that it is a method of inscribing difference, alterity within a body of “normalized” semiotic / syntactic structures; a de-colonializing gesture…i like to see your continuously modulating spelling as a reminder that language itself is not a static system but an ever-shifting vibrant body of desire, and thereby reinscribing the notion of a “a utopian poetics” to that which must be seen as a process, not as some permanent fixed site or totalizing system. {{to stay “mostlee liquid in th possibul gardn we didn’t reelee create”}}.Over time, does the relevance of this strategy, if i can call it that, change for you?
bb: yes kemeny babineau whn i was writr in residens at UNB wrote n askd me abt poetiks lettrs charaktrs beleef strukshurs uv storee telling n sound fuseyun poetree his asking promptid th b leev abul ch ar ak trs 1 n 2 uv kours direkt speech n its illusyuns also occurs in mattrs uv publik programs such as publik housing universal health care n soshul programs we dew need 2 dekonstrukt th evasiv rhetorik uv sum leedrs in ordr 2 see heer wht they ar reelee saying poetree is publik n prsonal n poetree is poetree th lettrs char ak tra ar leev abul b leev a bul b lov abul prsonal n atrange that meen ing also meen a meen spiritid nastee par xample wher is th background n 4ground thn in anee absolite sens in writing n in painting th kontinuous line drawing yes uv kours like evreething langwage is nevr pure a partikul fullee onlee itself t beers is parts uv tracings uv othr partikuls we share cum 2gethr n leev we ar always leev a bul mono gamee no less diffikult thn th branches impossibiliteez impassabiliteez uv singul or polygamous we all deel details howevr each posishynd with moods modes uv nihilism sweet empteeness yern ings 4 sumthing els serenitee n devosyun 2 th art ma king laydee uv shalot is can b waiting 4 god dess es time is veree elegant n th continuous line drawing includes all space equals all space evn with th seeming infinitee uv strokes sounds gestures jestrs jestrday eye was such an eezee gamositee 2 whatevr ther ar moments n whn sumthing is missing ium not kontinu breething yes also th empire uv meening or akshul delusyun uv powr based sumwher els sum othr kultur with meeningbased on tran sitiv verb konstrukts n in konsert with othrs with being can b not imperialist also in relaysyunships puritee is a veree dangrous konstrukt as well sew also uni versalisms grammar based perhaps not brain based n th akting upon binareee op posishyunals creates th xklusyunaree practices sum top scientists say that if th agressiv grammar reflekts th brains thn with th diminishing uv th reptilian fold on th brain we may bcum mor capabul uv pees howevr ths has not yet happend n cud b a bad rap 4 reptiles ar they always wanting 2 eet 2 own evreething they x periens we may grow out uv we can need 2 develop mor flexibilitee mooving from genre 2 genre evn as they may evaporate th spirits talking uv love lyrics what ium kompelld 2 write pointid egalitarian guaranteez needing 2 b in place or evreethings bullshit peopul dying on th streets we ar all part uv our lowring uv taxes on welthee n coporaysyuns creating th cuts on soshul programs have put ther evreething is intrkonnektid beautifulee n tragikalee n th seeming kontent free sound poetree entrs mor n mor deeplee in2 th molekular dissolv each prson runs his or her own konstrukt n not that uv anee othrs th delusyuns uv th empire self defind by othrs th beleef in self charaktr wud drop fall away bhind th moovment uv th General Bodee
AK: You’ve had some of the most amazing titles of almost any poet i know, in your, what’s it now 70 books?! Some of my faves being “medicine my mouth’s on fire”, your upcoming “b leev abul ch ar ak trs”, “th wind up tongue”, “inkorrect thots”, and especially your most recent “scars on the seehors” as for me it really brings to mind the sutures, lesions, wounds, or as you might say “scabrous”, “kreesd slit[s]”, disfigurements inherent within your writing. What prompted this one?
bb: th taktilitee uv th text lokates me focuses me entrances me homes me 4 a whil hones me uplifts n meditates me with th diffrent spellings different taktile sen saysyuns inferenses lifts screets n xposes th mattr what is nothing love lettrs 4 a passing comet love lettrs in th and yes a konscious trope always great aftr a fab ulous film eyez mouth yes fr sure what yu say in yr next qwestyun th life realism uv that as it happns all th time th konnekting n thn th chow bello bella well uv kours ther is ther a portabul howevr al be it klosure sew oftn in scenes shifting occurs b4 th konnekting ths is both veree spiritual and zanee th konnekting shifting can b tuff n fun xaktlee n not langwage poetree sound konkreet visual poetree a wayze around convenshunal n thr4 hopefulee freeing uses uv langwage that evn may help us in our lives th knowledg uv what is konscious unkonscious is sew changing can strategeez imply intensyunalitee it may also b a prsons diffrent use uv langwage not diffrens uv a main streem but what it is 4 that prson langwage taste n clusters
AK: Not only is your work imbued with witty puns, provocative spelling, neologisms, re-assembled or invented words [and i’m thinking here of “tormentine”, “sacrumult”, “lingrsong”], but often you intercalcate your poems with different languages -- in scars on th seehors’s “a trip 2 th moon” you speak of “avant lunaseez th carp ay suave th tango notre vies / s’illumine a court sequens not curt sequins”. What’s up with that? Does this connect somehow to that a language in itself is never pure, that it’s always contaminated with otherness? Is it a way to resist “repliikating” the language of the empire …
bb: th qwestyuns n asnwrs all run 2gethr play nicelee run skip discours 2gethr fluid merg in2 each othr th kontinuing qwestyun dew th abstrakt nouns based on opposits or mor sukkintlee propelling opposits 2 th 4 brain cum from motor celestul aktiviteez uv th brain soul or langwage itselvs nd how we play with it reveer it actualizes our serching candelabra uv politikul spiritual fusyun sound vizual narra tiv his her storikul non narrativ n b4 rime was ther mor or less time is that 2 hypo thetikul yes intensyunalitee is it nostalgia 4 what nevr was what we ar told usd 2 happn hypnosis un interruptid by going 2 spirit th silvr ebonee boat ride our dreems sew hi th moon sails on in our sky r evolushyun last week sum top scientists sd evolushyun is ovr is ths pessimsm statement uv fakt wev all wayze bin ths way cant get anee bettr garrisons attack safeteez un building d konstrukt ing wch is whatevr n aftr we spent yeers memorizing it now they say we will nevr find th link
hmmmm as in tracks uv moistyur on th barrington th langwage is mor how peopul speek is auto biographikul thn idealizd lyrikul nosyuns or liesyuns tho including thos or not offishul sets uv ordring words 4 publik proprness n th desires 4 politikul fairness can b seen 2 occur from our erotik lives as well as b undrstood by them undrmined by them or not ther th ship is our life it sails 4evr dansing at th raging club finding th beet sparkling rimes no time 2 wundr wher it all goez it goez hunee dont feel bleek whn i cum home speek 2 th towring nite sky ium not alone speek 2 th dreem eye carree on with me its not onlee in me its above below n all around me no words 4 bask in th heet th floating ship
AK: A lot of your work seems to enter issues of trust, unrequited or misdirected love, cruising. Lately i’m reading this as an almost ironic or self-reflexive sense of the textual process — simulacric of relations between reader/writer or the writer and the text or even between the poems or letters themselves. And, as i read these “lettrs modaliteez organizaysyuns uv lettrs thots … of verasitee n tumult”, it’s almost like a love affair going on between them, as they are there so “konnekting ora spilling out uv each othr enrapt …” How important is this, as say a conscious trope?
bb: being creeativ with langwage whethr wun is neurologikalee naturalee a lyrik poet or a metaphysikul or narrativ linear all genres ar intresting n fold out uv n in2 each othr ar is from each othr n ar not mutualee xklusiv they ar approaches 2 undr standing behaviour being with langwage thru diffrent uses uv langwages b ing creativ is whats interesting not onlee as in how it is or what it is reseevd standing undr within inside is it a klosd system endlesslee opn ing leef leevs leef abubul b leef abul abul hmmmmm touch it how long duz it stay aneewher stay stay heers th appul n heers th tree n heers th rivr can we feel it running thru all our hearts how we reelee want lovez n safeteez can we get bettr 2 reelee let in acheev what we want bhave bettr top scientists arint sure evolushyun may b ovr they say not reelee knowing whn it startid iuv seen twice th tunnul 2 th worlds we go 2 from heer beautiful singing ther they sd it wasint time 4 me go back down bill thers mor 4 yu 2 dew o no i thot back in2 th erthling bodee without th flying n soaring xsept during sleep its not eezee n langwage can help us with all ths obviouslee n th letting go uv meening surrend ring 2 othr sounds no genre is itself imperishabul th auto biographikul parts in tracks uv moistyur see kaptin ancestreez n th frend ther going 2 spirit place meditaysyuns on soliditee feel it yes touch it sew physikal th soul heer 4 a whil n thn we cry we know 4 a time n th langwage soaring with nu groupings uv words sounds ensaysyuns not based on see jack n jill run or binaree opposits not onlee representaysyunal uses uv th words othr wayze stretching othr thots linking til theyrs also not othr its theyr parts uv how we ar in th image word sound making in ths present time words bodeez worn by time surf pounding n see washing like th stones we find on th shore reflekting th star fish n jellee fishes in th sky places barrington is a street in halifax cape tormentine th ferree crossing from nouveau brunswick 2 prins edward island in a hundrid or sew yeers what names will thos places speek uv as they wer n still ar magik forests wher gluskap breethd uv th guides gods leeding enerjeez uv th micmak peopul ther th reedr will duz find obviouslee manee othr see going n land loving mystreez uv th secret words spells uv our carreeing saliva moistyur moistyur moist yur dreems yr spells th inkredibul mystereez uv watr eye sumtimes 4get what intens yunalitee meens eens m m tom sighd leening ovr on2 jimmee whats up with that why is it such a big deel yeh i know letting in in following th guiding whisprs tonaliteez uv th skript pour ing in2 me rathr thn direkting it being on top uv it n sew on th masks uv intensyunalitee th grammar uv th subjekt acting thru th verb on2 th objekt th imperialism uv that th delusyuns uv that th poignansee uv that whn its in self defens th same terribul issews uv judgmentalisms hate groups keep cumming up until we find guaranteed safeteez as much as that can take place if we evolv evreewun bcum ming accepting uv evreewun our veree grammar can make it hard 4 peopul 2 step aside from thos dangrous games n love n help provide well being n safeteez wch laisez faire kapitalism althot it contains sum trewths cannot on its own provide or fulfil we need mixd philosophikal ideologikul ekonomik societeez irrefutablee it may b time 4 bizness 2 b qween king but its not a long way evree thing its not bad not wrong not evreething what it undrstands is not reelee applikabul 2 evreething els n it seldom provides 4 its casualiteez thats not its bizness sew poetree like manee aktiviteez is totalee free 2 talk abt all these mor thn evr importanses whethr we can get it n nowun being blamed is hard 2 say dew i know my gess is as gud as anee wun elsus tho n evreewun els is also onlee gessing nowun knows aneething 4 sure wch 4 sum peopul makes them kindr but onlee aftr theyv bin hurt sumtimes being hurt makes peopul mor destruktiv in theyr behaviour care 4 what we can vote 4 improovd soshul taxes its trew if our langwage wer diffrentlee konstruktid we wud bhave diffrentlee th suspens is is th langwage a refleksyun uv how we r konstruktid bizness xchangings adventures loves huge konstrukts portabul self collektiv safeteez soshul guaranteez all thees uplifting we moov thru
AK: One of the things i really admire about your work is the ability to write something that can almost verge on creating a scene {“scenik narratif”}, a moment, or something that seems to make total sense – and then have that almost immediately divert or traject itself into a realm of the totally unexpected. Indeed “th homilee tablo [IS] prettee tatterd”. Can you speak a little about the relation of your textual production / process and how that relates to the notion of making “logeek” or something that can be clearly understood? And though you admirably, though cryptically address it in “4get will eye sd / n th dialektik didn’t” how does this all connect to intentionality?
bb: innuit peopuls langwages strukturalee diffrent thn romanse n othr langwages less binaree less xklusyunaree qwestyuns abt klimate nd neurolojee n problematiks uv post industrial post elektronik definishyuns n evaluaysyuns uv produktiviteez yr qwestyuns ar sew brillyant i dont know abt my answrs at all yu know what can i say th abstrakt nouns opposits preposisyuns oftn like wise up down etsetera tennis match watching may in themselves create judgmentalisms individual hate sew upliftment uv thees set matches thru de konstruking set erthling grammar korrekt patterns ma terns mewsik with words in othr words ovr time th relevans uv th approaches stragedeez deepns sacrumult merging uv kours uv sacrid n tumult sew manee peopul living by themselvs in self defens sew manee living with othrs in self merging pas de deux n melting 2 gethr also sew beautiful who can yu phone at 4-30 well sumtimes me if th buzzr is on n what els th poetiks is in our skin inside th creesing filings in our organik flowring brains howevr letting go uv th ko dependensees n entring th endless n varreeing varied tapestreez uv sounds th pickshurs in th lettrs th charaktrs ear lier looking like oceans wheet peopul fire elephants sages n ages n n n n n n n looking in on th festiv b4 time was ther anee rime charaktrs usd 2 b picktographik what as now dew we beleev in char aktr s th taktilitee uv th text lokates me releesus me cockr spaniels fill th far end uv th room smiling n being xcellentlee atentiv he sd well tom eye sd lets yu n jimmee n me take off now see whats happning at th club i want 2 see what els i can get in2 ths is long past th erlee stages uv th industrial revolushyun aftr wch charaktrs wer abstrakt n standardizd in theyr gathring 2 make words whatevr feel th crush uv love dansing at th raging club finding th beet sparkling rimes no time 2 wundr wher it all goez it goez hunee dont feel bleek whn i cum home speek 2 th towring nite sky ium not alone speek 2 th dreem eye carree on th lost n populatid harbors blessings in th suddn tides carree us in2 th soulful sky ium looking 4 th beginning uv time he sd 2 me mooving his hand inside my leg th soulful sky th ship is our life it sails 4evr scenes like ths frequentlee happend on zatria my home planet from wch iuv bin away 400 yeers ium told see th world nowuns brain is prfekt why all th judging things reelee wer bettr on zatria but ths is prette gud now tho my hed mooving btween his legs
AK: “tracks uv moistyur on the barrington” in yr rather substantial incredibly erotic yet highly political text, in scars on th seehors it starts with a rather provocative opening: “sqweemish was yelling agen if ium going 2 end/ up ths weird feeling n th lightning fingrs sew/ skraping intruding gouging in2 my hed ovel n/ waladee sir salad caree t wastel out in2 th/ red hedge hog tormentine west uv th estern/ alliagate esteem was phoning th room at last/ warm n shifting indoors th eye bleetid n scabrous th lid /azura buttons…” i’m interested in the way your fiery political beliefs are often entwined within an often erotically-charged personalized document. i see this blending as marking much of your certainly recent writing.
bb: marvaraa startid as an archelogikul dig fragements uv a civilizaysyun wher evreething seemd alrite 4 evreewun in it nowun agrees on wher it was reelee or how long ago how it was spelt its sew hard 4 peopul 2 see outside uv theyr own kultural kontexts letting th pomes speek 4 themselvs uv kours n how great th sound poetree n chanting uv kours 4 lung aktivitee air n enchantment aktivitee 4 th brain not always frame ing th frames themselvs bcumming 4 a time onlee props 4 a timez sevn is th moon roll th songs in2 3 wun manee infinitee glistnings breths arvarra arvaara am am avra vra verasitee n tumult th gessing games uv th infinit mirage i was pacing th balustrade n all th littul peopul with th big voices n big souls wer putting up th chess peesus on th infinit bord 4 anothr day up th knight up th pawn n sew on eye got up tried singing sum nu songs i was working on evree thing remindid me uv him evreething remindid me uv him n how it was ther in mara variaa him gone sew not long now my face coverd in teers lost from th mirage uv meening
AK: How would you say your forthcoming collection, b leev abul ch ar ak trs differs from scars or say inkorrect thots?
bb: doktor laura say side stepping her possibiliteez 2 talk uv love instead uv kondeming gay peopul langwage evn our binaree problemateek konstrukts can leed us 2 god goddess e s not 2 fundamentalist judging uv othrs as who is closest 2 god or what god likes best we cant know that tho uv kours she can b seen 2 have th rite 2 say what evr she wants howevr dangrous her attacks on gay peopul as th reform partee in canada changing its name 2 canadian reform allians partee n her doktor laura maybe a bit krankee n nevr had a clos gay frend yet our roads change n oftn 4 th bettr thn realizing that spells crap at its recent large gathring passd a nmbr uv in hous bills that sd onlee th god n state sanktified yunyuun btween a man n a woman constitutid a familee undr th law thats not law yet they wud have 2 get in powr n thn strip th legislaysyun uv xisting laws in favor uv gay rites remembr th pink triangul they ar not in powr yet they have a rite 2 say what they want but wer they 2 bcum th govrnment theyr posisyuns as is doktor lauras ar veree detrimental 2 th human rites uv othrs how sew manee peopul no mattr th books mooveez his her storeez wars dont get us n think thers sumthing wrong with us being gay ths all nevr stops it reseeds n returns back until whn whn love is mor important thn aneething as a specees wer not ther yet uv kours evreewun finds that veree hard 2 dew at times thats i gess why th lerning n un lerning loving th empteeness as it occurs n th re plenishing as well thees states ar always changing in us re identitee n naming whats biggr thn us can b troubling nd blessings in micmaak langwage thrs no word 4 deth
a reedr wud reelee need 2 reed th whol book uv b leev abul char ak trs 2 see feel thru what he or she thinks it is lives with it 2 paraphrase a whol book cud ms mistr leed th reedr fr sure b leev a bul char ak trs is mor abt lettrs n scars on th see hors also from talonbooks who ar totalee great is mor abt th brain tho th lettrs ar inside th brain all ovr it flow all around n out uv it n covrs us oftn reveeling onlee mor as they ar peeld off lettrs until thank th goddesses we get 2 meditate n 4 a whil relax th producksyun uv beleef in whats outside us n feel th fires n trust n love alredee th life ther within let go n 2 answr th door not 2 get stuk in anee wun groov feel th endless spirit sing wher ther is not outside n inside we moov between genres diffrent uses uv langwages with diffrent approaches we can follow b with thru intuishyun practise inspiraysyun work swet lafftr n loss temporaree also gains n grateful 4 th changes whats th qwestyunn agen thanks 4 asking me all thees amayzing qwestyuns
ium reelee grateful 4 thanks a lot love yu lots
l l l l o o o p p p p v v v v eeeeeee iii mmmmm
thers an all cumming in
feb 25.oo toronto