Michael Basinski

The opem

“In opem improvisation, be spontaneous, riff, refrain. All solid color circles, black, white, yellow, brown, yellow, etc., are/can be a cue to improvise.” Above: detail from ‘Pond 1.’

I wished for a form that would invite those passing-by lovers of the poem to read with their imaginations, principally and perhaps only, and further for a form that would accommodate all the various types of poetry possible in the realm of the poem. My offering was an opem, a typo. So, put simply, an opem is an unstable area among a visual poem, an aural sound, oral scape, score, any form of poem in germination or poetry complete, and music, visual art, dance, performance, and I do mean: etc.

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