Christian Bök - Inviting Us to Rethink how Language Works Essays

In the post-Modernist world, developments in the sciences overshadow human relationships. To bridge humankind’s alienation from science and technology, Christian Bà ¶k turns science into poetry, and poetry into science. He delves into â€Å"pataphysics,† the poetics of an imaginary science which renders the English language whimsical and at times nonsensical. He also attempts virtuosic feats with his sound and concrete poetry. Bà ¶k’s language welcomes new interpretations and shows that poetry is an ongoing process that can disrupt traditions and reshape them. Bà ¶k’s innovative use of sound, form, and narrative reshapes language, inviting the audience to rethink how language works. Exploring sound’s primitivism, Christian Bà ¶k transforms his poetry into wild vocal terrains. He deconstructs and reinvents meaning in language by banishing words from some of his sound poetry. Following the post-Modernist tradition of melding old materials with new ideas, Bà ¶k re-imagines Dadaist Hugo Ball’s poem â€Å"Seepferdchen und Flugfische (Seahorses and Flying Fish)† by infusing it with his own tempos, pitches, and exclamation points. The â€Å"language† in this poem does not consist of words but a string of nonsensical sounds like â€Å"billabi†, â€Å"zack†, and â€Å"bisch!† Can language still be â€Å"language† without words? To be effective, language must be able to communicate ideas. Bà ¶k’s â€Å"language† then, communicates ideas through explosions of non-meanings. It relies heavily on its emotive function, stirring the audience’s imagination with fluctuations in pitch, tone, and te mpo. It is also metalingual: it draws attention to itself as the audience tries to decipher the poem through only the sense of hearing. In his poem â€Å"Valuvà «ula†, Bà ¶k chants in an alien language. S... ... Available http://www.ubu.com/sound/bok.html, 2000. Accessed: November 16, 2003. Bà ¶k, Christian. â€Å"Valuvà «ula† in UbuWeb Sound Poetry. Available http://www.ubu.com/sound/bok.html, 2000. Accessed: November 16, 2003. Carmine, Starnino. â€Å"Vowel Movements: Pointless Toil and Empty Productivity.† Books in Canada 31, 4 (Jun/Jul 2002): 29. Crawley, Devin. â€Å"[Eunoia].† Quill & Quire 67, 10 (October 2001): 40. Crawley, Devin. â€Å"The book of Bok: author’s new poetry title uses just one vowel per chapter [Eunoia].† Quill & Quire 67, 10 (October 2001): 9. Dykk, Lloyd. â€Å"Are we having fun yet? Series: 2002: I Resolve†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver], 3 January 2002, p. D12. â€Å"Pataphysics,† The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 2000 ed. Samuels, Ian. â€Å"Books highlight poetry’s past and present.† Calgary Herald [Calgary], 18 October 2003, p. ES12.