Allen, I don’t think a mesostic is a concrete poem. Though in many of Cage’s mesostics, the typography is crucial (so in that sense it is), but not just for the visual effect but more so for how it might possibly be interpreted aurally by the performer. In the case of the one in the video, I imagine it took a lot of time and at least some skill to be able to repeat “OVERPOPULATION AND ART” so many times and actually arrive at something that makes some kind of sense. I’m not saying it’s a great poem, but I thought it was pretty clever.
Roger, that sounds interesting. I’d love to read some of those.
Bill, several years ago I read Cage’s book Silence: Lectures and Writings.It was too long ago to remember a lot of details, but I did enjoy it. Now that I’ve thought about it again, I want to read it once more.
Thanks for letting me know about "Writing Through Finnegans Wake" and the second one. I have a feeling it’s more abstract than “Overpopulation and Art: A Mesostic Poem (1992).”
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