<html><DIV>
<P>I was intrigued by this contribution to the list. I thought of a host of books you could consider but from my own experience I realize that there is very much involved in the choice of reading perhaps just as much as in what one writes. So at the risk of seeming to be self-promoting (which is not really the case since much of what I write comes cross me, or runs over me and I don't really have that much to do with it production) I thought I would submit this poem for your consideration as it continues to be a provocative piece for me even though it is some years old.</P>
<P> </P>
<P align=left>________________________________________________________________<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>ELEPHANT <BR> <BR><BR>if love implies magic <BR>and hate some tragic act of love, <BR>then all hypotheticals are driven off the cliff of understanding <BR>and categorically deny us the truth of our existence <BR>notwithstanding the supreme calculus of temptation <BR>which acts upon us without deliberation <BR>and infatuates our every notion with a potion of devotion <BR>which leads to our undoing. <BR><BR>as we chew the cud of knowledge <BR>and the stomach of understanding swells <BR>the meadow of the moment grows around us <BR>and fills the air with cowbells. <BR><BR>clanging and banging every song we ever heard <BR>in perfect harmony with the one we long to learn <BR>the mooing voice of understanding <BR>which emerges from our bellies <BR>involves us in every word <BR>and utters every melancholic syllable. <BR><BR>cowbells laugh at every joke <BR>and cry at every sorrow. <BR>they bang out the moment <BR>heralding each tomorrow. <BR><BR>the magic of their mimicry <BR>cannot be imitated <BR>since theirs is the soliloquy, <BR>the all anticipated <BR>moment of understanding <BR>which stands upon the fence and offers no reminders <BR>and therefore no defense of its crazy lack of harmony <BR>or its silly lack of time <BR>of its counterpoint to ignorance <BR>and its fleeting act of mime. <BR><BR>to sabotage tomorrow's every single sorrow <BR>is not an easy task <BR>although foolish not to ask <BR>how it might be done or perhaps undone <BR>in a way that leaves us wondering <BR>if we wanted this sundering <BR>of every thought and feeling from every thought of i, <BR>such an act might send us reeling <BR>off the cliff of do or die. <BR><BR>do or die is a miscalculation of the salutation <BR>which waves at us from afar <BR>although not as far as we suspect. <BR><BR>perched as we are in our nest <BR>we chirp out our request <BR>to have the lonesome wisdom <BR>come visit us with questions <BR>and then we get incensed that questions <BR>lead to questions <BR>and begin to linger over what could be the lesson <BR>of each and every question <BR>left dangling from the branch of understanding. <BR> <BR> ***<BR><BR>The sport of understanding is a game without rules <BR>forever demanding that we make them up as we go. <BR>but how do we know what to do when or how to do it <BR>when we have no basis for making decisions. <BR>such a game leads to derision <BR>of its very idea <BR>which can only be good since it lacks any fabrication <BR>and spontaneously engages the strings of our emotions <BR>as it enrages every thought of understanding <BR>standing on the landing shouting down at us <BR>with tempestuous strength <BR>that nothing means anything at length. <BR>stupid as this voice might seem <BR>we cannot return from its utterance <BR>without the pervasion <BR>of its sundering thundrous wonder <BR>wandering into our brains and taking up residence <BR>as if the mind were a mindless entrance <BR>of the elephant of understanding <BR>moseying into our deranged apartment <BR>and rearranging all the furniture <BR>thoughtlessly <BR>so that it might clear a space for itself <BR>to lie down and take some rest <BR>until you finally harness it and call the zookeeper in <BR>demanding he remove her <BR>even though she isn't his. <BR><BR>if he knows what he is doing he will gladly comply <BR>and open every door and window until you ask him why. <BR>to which he will respond that the elephant has told him so <BR>in a language only he could know. <BR>so you ask him quite politely if he couldn't hurry up a bit <BR>and he looks at you with an unsightly mask of rage and says, <BR>"THE ELEPHANT WILL STAY AS LONG AS SHE SEES FIT!" <BR><BR>too much has gone too far and too far has gone far enough <BR>so you ask him once again if he might be persuaded <BR>to which he merely responds, "elephants are not to be paraded." <BR>you can make no sense of this <BR>until it begins to dawn that elephants are wonderful <BR>and its okay to have one around. <BR>so you spread some hay out for it and get a bucket of water <BR>the zookeeper takes his leave with great ceremony <BR>and the world comes over to see this wondrous pet you have acquired <BR>and pretty soon you discover, <BR>there is no other voice you prefer to hear <BR>than that of your elphantic cousin <BR>who seems to trumpet out all your sorrows <BR>and makes you forget all about tomorrows. <BR> <BR> <BR><BR></P>
<P>
<P>
<HR>
<P><BR><BR> </P></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>>From: Loren Dent <LORENDENT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: foucault@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<DIV></DIV>>To: foucault@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Re: Canon--anthropology...
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 16:25:50 -0500
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>jeremiah
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>i would suggest delving into ethnographic literature. You find the themes
<DIV></DIV>>of those such as Foucault, Deleuze, etc but in a very applied method. Also,
<DIV></DIV>>why not read things that were not necessary intended to locate themselves
<DIV></DIV>>anywhere, such as medical records or police documentation or some more
<DIV></DIV>>obscure political philosophy or even student/worker writings from the May
<DIV></DIV>>'68 event? Then the discussion group could investigate new ways of reading
<DIV></DIV>>those texts. Remember: Foucault never intended on being canonicized (word?)
<DIV></DIV>>necessarily. His research was very specific and directed. Leave the
<DIV></DIV>>comfort of the canon to Derrida, who finds genealogy not in specific
<DIV></DIV>>research like foucault, but in Aristotle, Nietzsche and Plato. :)
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>LD
<DIV></DIV>>UTexas
<DIV></DIV>>----- Original Message -----
<DIV></DIV>>From: Jeremiah Luna <JEREMIAH.LUNA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>>To: Foucault <FOUCAULT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>>Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2000 11:35 AM
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Re: Canon
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>> > What is this for a club? I mean where is the geographical location, like
<DIV></DIV>> > what state of the united states is it in, or is the club in europe?
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > jeremiah
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > On Wed, 6 Sep 2000, Anonymous wrote:
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > > Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2000 17:28:46 -0700
<DIV></DIV>> > > From: Anonymous <RHIZOME85@xxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>> > > Reply-To: foucault@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<DIV></DIV>> > > To: Foucault <FOUCAULT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>> > > Subject: Canon
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > Quick thought.
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > We know that Foucault was suspicious of both the idea of a State and of
<DIV></DIV>>an Opposition. A few friends of mine and I have applied Foucault's reading
<DIV></DIV>>to philosophical thought. We've started an informal philosophy discussion
<DIV></DIV>>group that, rather than discussing readings from the canon (or even the
<DIV></DIV>>anti-canon, like Foucault, Deleuze, Lyotard, etc.) we're going to be
<DIV></DIV>>discussing ideas from outside the system of anti-canon and canon, such as
<DIV></DIV>>Tibetan philosophy, etc. We hope it will allow us to develop a more profound
<DIV></DIV>>philosophical autonomy from the whole canonical system (as in the
<DIV></DIV>>canon-anti-canon binary).
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > On a separate note, the object of the club is for us to all get
<DIV></DIV>>postmodern vertigo. The faculty member sponsoring the club once engaged in
<DIV></DIV>>nearly a week of discussion of the idea of time with a friend. He was rather
<DIV></DIV>>disoriented for two weeks afterward.
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > Sadly, the club is, at this point, entirely composed of men. Can anyone
<DIV></DIV>>think of a few (preferably very short) texts or excerpts from texts that
<DIV></DIV>>might make for some interesting reading? It doesn't necessarily have to be
<DIV></DIV>>non-Western philosophy (or even necessarily non-canon-or-anti-canon)--at
<DIV></DIV>>this point we're all brainstorming.
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > Thanks :)
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV><p><hr>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at <a href="http://www.hotmail.com";>http://www.hotmail.com</a>.<p>Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at <a href="http://profiles.msn.com";>http://profiles.msn.com </a>.<br></p></html>
<P>I was intrigued by this contribution to the list. I thought of a host of books you could consider but from my own experience I realize that there is very much involved in the choice of reading perhaps just as much as in what one writes. So at the risk of seeming to be self-promoting (which is not really the case since much of what I write comes cross me, or runs over me and I don't really have that much to do with it production) I thought I would submit this poem for your consideration as it continues to be a provocative piece for me even though it is some years old.</P>
<P> </P>
<P align=left>________________________________________________________________<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>ELEPHANT <BR> <BR><BR>if love implies magic <BR>and hate some tragic act of love, <BR>then all hypotheticals are driven off the cliff of understanding <BR>and categorically deny us the truth of our existence <BR>notwithstanding the supreme calculus of temptation <BR>which acts upon us without deliberation <BR>and infatuates our every notion with a potion of devotion <BR>which leads to our undoing. <BR><BR>as we chew the cud of knowledge <BR>and the stomach of understanding swells <BR>the meadow of the moment grows around us <BR>and fills the air with cowbells. <BR><BR>clanging and banging every song we ever heard <BR>in perfect harmony with the one we long to learn <BR>the mooing voice of understanding <BR>which emerges from our bellies <BR>involves us in every word <BR>and utters every melancholic syllable. <BR><BR>cowbells laugh at every joke <BR>and cry at every sorrow. <BR>they bang out the moment <BR>heralding each tomorrow. <BR><BR>the magic of their mimicry <BR>cannot be imitated <BR>since theirs is the soliloquy, <BR>the all anticipated <BR>moment of understanding <BR>which stands upon the fence and offers no reminders <BR>and therefore no defense of its crazy lack of harmony <BR>or its silly lack of time <BR>of its counterpoint to ignorance <BR>and its fleeting act of mime. <BR><BR>to sabotage tomorrow's every single sorrow <BR>is not an easy task <BR>although foolish not to ask <BR>how it might be done or perhaps undone <BR>in a way that leaves us wondering <BR>if we wanted this sundering <BR>of every thought and feeling from every thought of i, <BR>such an act might send us reeling <BR>off the cliff of do or die. <BR><BR>do or die is a miscalculation of the salutation <BR>which waves at us from afar <BR>although not as far as we suspect. <BR><BR>perched as we are in our nest <BR>we chirp out our request <BR>to have the lonesome wisdom <BR>come visit us with questions <BR>and then we get incensed that questions <BR>lead to questions <BR>and begin to linger over what could be the lesson <BR>of each and every question <BR>left dangling from the branch of understanding. <BR> <BR> ***<BR><BR>The sport of understanding is a game without rules <BR>forever demanding that we make them up as we go. <BR>but how do we know what to do when or how to do it <BR>when we have no basis for making decisions. <BR>such a game leads to derision <BR>of its very idea <BR>which can only be good since it lacks any fabrication <BR>and spontaneously engages the strings of our emotions <BR>as it enrages every thought of understanding <BR>standing on the landing shouting down at us <BR>with tempestuous strength <BR>that nothing means anything at length. <BR>stupid as this voice might seem <BR>we cannot return from its utterance <BR>without the pervasion <BR>of its sundering thundrous wonder <BR>wandering into our brains and taking up residence <BR>as if the mind were a mindless entrance <BR>of the elephant of understanding <BR>moseying into our deranged apartment <BR>and rearranging all the furniture <BR>thoughtlessly <BR>so that it might clear a space for itself <BR>to lie down and take some rest <BR>until you finally harness it and call the zookeeper in <BR>demanding he remove her <BR>even though she isn't his. <BR><BR>if he knows what he is doing he will gladly comply <BR>and open every door and window until you ask him why. <BR>to which he will respond that the elephant has told him so <BR>in a language only he could know. <BR>so you ask him quite politely if he couldn't hurry up a bit <BR>and he looks at you with an unsightly mask of rage and says, <BR>"THE ELEPHANT WILL STAY AS LONG AS SHE SEES FIT!" <BR><BR>too much has gone too far and too far has gone far enough <BR>so you ask him once again if he might be persuaded <BR>to which he merely responds, "elephants are not to be paraded." <BR>you can make no sense of this <BR>until it begins to dawn that elephants are wonderful <BR>and its okay to have one around. <BR>so you spread some hay out for it and get a bucket of water <BR>the zookeeper takes his leave with great ceremony <BR>and the world comes over to see this wondrous pet you have acquired <BR>and pretty soon you discover, <BR>there is no other voice you prefer to hear <BR>than that of your elphantic cousin <BR>who seems to trumpet out all your sorrows <BR>and makes you forget all about tomorrows. <BR> <BR> <BR><BR></P>
<P>
<P>
<HR>
<P><BR><BR> </P></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>>From: Loren Dent <LORENDENT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: foucault@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<DIV></DIV>>To: foucault@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Re: Canon--anthropology...
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 16:25:50 -0500
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>jeremiah
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>i would suggest delving into ethnographic literature. You find the themes
<DIV></DIV>>of those such as Foucault, Deleuze, etc but in a very applied method. Also,
<DIV></DIV>>why not read things that were not necessary intended to locate themselves
<DIV></DIV>>anywhere, such as medical records or police documentation or some more
<DIV></DIV>>obscure political philosophy or even student/worker writings from the May
<DIV></DIV>>'68 event? Then the discussion group could investigate new ways of reading
<DIV></DIV>>those texts. Remember: Foucault never intended on being canonicized (word?)
<DIV></DIV>>necessarily. His research was very specific and directed. Leave the
<DIV></DIV>>comfort of the canon to Derrida, who finds genealogy not in specific
<DIV></DIV>>research like foucault, but in Aristotle, Nietzsche and Plato. :)
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>LD
<DIV></DIV>>UTexas
<DIV></DIV>>----- Original Message -----
<DIV></DIV>>From: Jeremiah Luna <JEREMIAH.LUNA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>>To: Foucault <FOUCAULT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>>Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2000 11:35 AM
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Re: Canon
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>> > What is this for a club? I mean where is the geographical location, like
<DIV></DIV>> > what state of the united states is it in, or is the club in europe?
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > jeremiah
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > On Wed, 6 Sep 2000, Anonymous wrote:
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > > Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2000 17:28:46 -0700
<DIV></DIV>> > > From: Anonymous <RHIZOME85@xxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>> > > Reply-To: foucault@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<DIV></DIV>> > > To: Foucault <FOUCAULT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<DIV></DIV>> > > Subject: Canon
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > Quick thought.
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > We know that Foucault was suspicious of both the idea of a State and of
<DIV></DIV>>an Opposition. A few friends of mine and I have applied Foucault's reading
<DIV></DIV>>to philosophical thought. We've started an informal philosophy discussion
<DIV></DIV>>group that, rather than discussing readings from the canon (or even the
<DIV></DIV>>anti-canon, like Foucault, Deleuze, Lyotard, etc.) we're going to be
<DIV></DIV>>discussing ideas from outside the system of anti-canon and canon, such as
<DIV></DIV>>Tibetan philosophy, etc. We hope it will allow us to develop a more profound
<DIV></DIV>>philosophical autonomy from the whole canonical system (as in the
<DIV></DIV>>canon-anti-canon binary).
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > On a separate note, the object of the club is for us to all get
<DIV></DIV>>postmodern vertigo. The faculty member sponsoring the club once engaged in
<DIV></DIV>>nearly a week of discussion of the idea of time with a friend. He was rather
<DIV></DIV>>disoriented for two weeks afterward.
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > Sadly, the club is, at this point, entirely composed of men. Can anyone
<DIV></DIV>>think of a few (preferably very short) texts or excerpts from texts that
<DIV></DIV>>might make for some interesting reading? It doesn't necessarily have to be
<DIV></DIV>>non-Western philosophy (or even necessarily non-canon-or-anti-canon)--at
<DIV></DIV>>this point we're all brainstorming.
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> > > Thanks :)
<DIV></DIV>> > >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV><p><hr>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at <a href="http://www.hotmail.com";>http://www.hotmail.com</a>.<p>Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at <a href="http://profiles.msn.com";>http://profiles.msn.com </a>.<br></p></html>