The role of the spectator

"The work becomes not so much Picasso's statement as a challenge to us to respond and, by responding, to give it meaning. In modernism altogether, art (not merely visual art alone) has been reoriented, placing the onus on the relationship not between the artist and the work of art, but rather between the work and the spectator."
From An Introduction to Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, by Christopher Green

Picasso painted Les Demoiselles in 1907, but it's worth considering in what ways we as writers challenge our readers to engage in a similar sort of viewing. In a painting, the subject's gaze can invite the viewer in. In a poem, what presents a similar invitation--at once seductive and confrontational?

The Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years?

The New York Times has declared Beloved the best book of the last 25 years. The only unpredictable title to recieve multiple votes: Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson -- which the NYT didn't even review. The NYT runners up are listed below. Any nominations for a less predictable list?

THE RUNNERS-UP:
Underworld, by Don DeLillo (1997)
Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy (1985)
Rabbit Angstrom: The Four Novels John Updike (1995)(1990) (1981) (1971) (1960)
American Pastoral Philip Roth (1997)

THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ALSO RECEIVED MULTIPLE VOTES:
A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole (1980)
Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson (1980)
Winter's Tale, by Mark Helprin (1983)
White Noise, by Don DeLillo (1985)
The Counterlife, by Philip Roth (1986)
Libra, by Don DeLillo (1988)
Where I'm Calling From, by Raymond Carver (1988)
The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien (1990)
Mating, by Norman Rush (1991)
Jesus' Son, by Denis Johnson (1992)
Operation Shylock, by Philip Roth (1993)
Independence Day, by Richard Ford (1995)
Sabbath's Theater, by Philip Roth (1995)
Border Trilogy, by Cormac McCarthy (1999)(1998) (1994)
The Human Stain, by Philip Roth (2000)
The Known World, by Edward P. Jones (2003)
The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth (2004)

Negative Space

In the December '03 issue of The Writers's Chronicle, Jennifer Grow draws a parallel between the use of negative space in visual arts and its similar use in fiction. An interesting idea and one just as applicable to poetry to be sure. In fact, I think poets do this naturally without defining their indirection as defining the "negative space." But it seems like a good way of thinking about the way many of us work. Once we recognize what we're doing, it's possible to critically determine if it will be effective to continue doing whatever it is one did by accident, or to find ways to improve or subvert one's practice. For me, I think I often write the negative space, and leave the positive space entirely open, which is why my process this has so much to do with layering and replacing.

Welcome

This odd, persistant, intangible world has finally seduced me.