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Familiarity with music from an early age led me to think in terms of
abstract art.
Given the fact that, after music, the visual arts also emancipated from
the figurative into the abstract, it seems a matter of course to me to
follow this example in poetry.
When I try to compose speech units into 'poems', neither the selection
of these units nor the composition is influenced by any possible 'meaning'
(semantic value) of the units or their composites.
1 believe that the real 'semantics' in poetry are: sound and shape of
the poem.
In 'sound poetry', the shape of the poem may be unimportant in the
aesthetic-visual sense. The written form has then the function of a
score: it must give clear indications concerning the performance.
Finding the adequate notation for the work one is creating is an
essential part of the composition. The element of randomness, when
present, does not set the artist at liberty in this sense; on the contrary, it
often makes higher demands on his notational ability.
I think that notation (of any form of thinking) is the supreme cultural
effort of human beings.
I have made use of a computer on certain compositional levels. I certainly
want to continue in this direction, as soon as an opportunity
arises; I have no plans, however, to use a computer as a direct producer
of sound. The importance of computer sound synthesis is more evident
in musical than in poetical composition. Speech synthesis, as far as it
has been developed, is just a poor imitation of the human voice. To
be of any use to the poet, it would have to result in sounds, which
would be 'recognised' as speech sounds, while they should be humanly
unutterable.
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