Talk:The Medway Poets

Anthologies

Does anybody associated with the Medway Poets have details of any more group anthologies?

Tyrenius 04:20, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Dear Tyrenius

There was never a full size anthology of the Medway Poets although I attempted to bring out a publiciation called "Fracture Clinic" back in the early 1980's which had contributions from all the Medway Poets and friends but this is very rare and I don't even have a copy myself. Bill Lewis

A response to criticisms of the Medway Poets and Remodernism

As a member of the Medway Poets I am distressed to hear that we are referred to as "Anti-intellectual". This is just not true.

I think a poem that I wrote a few years ago called "Shadow Warrior" may have contributed to this misunderstanding. Anyone that knows my work is aware that I am very interested in the Jungian concept of the shadow. In the 80's I wrote several poems exploring this. "Shadow Warrior" was the only of those poems that I allowed my personal shadow to write. I wanted to explore why ordinary people commit acts of violence and terrorism and in this poem my shadow vents its anger on the academic establishment. I want to make it clear, however, that it was my shadow and not myself that expressed these feelings. I had thought that I had made this clear by using the title "Shadow Warrior" but apparantly I did not. I set the poem out below and you can judge for yourselves.

This criticism of anti-intellectualism has not only been levelled at The Medway Poets but also at Stuckism and Remodernism. If I may just add my thoughts on this: Remodernism is about going back to the beginings of Modernism and starting again. All established intellectualism derives from the Newtonian Cartesian paradigm. I and many other Remodernists believe a new paradigm is emerging informed by quantum mechanics. For further information on this you should check out the works of Matthew Fox, Fritjof Capra, and Diarmuid O'Murchu. We are a different kind of intellectual, I have referred to it in one of my books as an "intellect of the heart".

Finally, I am not saying that everybody in Remodernism is or isn't an intellectual but in a movement which has thousands of members (100 groups worldwide) it would be wrong to make blanket statements. Bill Lewis

Thanks for your response. I have deleted the poem, as it is copyright material which Wiki cannot use (unless you release it under a free licence of some kind); it is still in the history, however. I have moved the "Criticism" text here:

The group has been criticised for "anti-intellectualism".

"Stuckism and the Medway Poets", Steve Spence Accessed April 9, 2006

At the moment it does stand out in isolation and is not balanced. I was hoping this section could be expanded with more info. If you can help to expand it, please do, citing references. As The Medway Poets existed pre-internet, it is harder to find information on them.

There is also a separate article on Remodernism.

Tyrenius 17:26, 7 May 2006 (UTC)