Jed Rasula on Dada

On December 5, 2016, Jed Rasula visited the Kelly Writers House to talk about Dada — and in particular about his recent book on the subject. Here, below, is a 6-minute excerpt from that discussion, in which Al Filreis attempts to get Rasula to talk about how anyone could teach Dada given the non-absurdist structures of the classroom and of academia generally. Watch as Rasula pulls what Filreis calls "a Dadaist performance" in evading the question.

The entire recording can be viewed here. Jed Rasula is the Helen S. Lanier Distinguished Professor at the University of Georgia, where he is currently Head of the English Department. His involvement in the poetry community goes back to the 1970s, as editor of Wch Way (1975-1984) and author of Tabula Rasula (Station Hill 1986). Subsequent poetry titles are Hot Wax, or Psyche’s Drip (Book Thug 2007) and Giacometti’s Dog (Opo Books 2017).