Kenneth Goldsmith

Kenneth Goldsmith is an American poet, critic, and professor known for pioneering conceptual writing and "uncreative writing" techniques. He founded UbuWeb, a major online archive of avant-garde art and writing, in 1996. His most well-known works include "Day" (2003), which transcribed an entire issue of The New York Times, and "Seven American Deaths and Disasters" (2013), which transcribed media broadcasts of tragic events. Goldsmith served as the Museum of Modern Art's first poet laureate in 2013. Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing since 2004, Goldsmith has published numerous books including "Uncreative Writing" (2011) and "Capital" (2015). His work often challenges traditional notions of authorship and originality through methods of appropriation and transcription. Goldsmith's approach has sparked both acclaim and controversy in literary circles, particularly his 2015 reading of "The Body of Michael Brown" at Brown University. His work continues to influence discussions about digital poetics, conceptual art, and the boundaries of creative practice.

Readers view Goldsmith's work as polarizing, with debates centering on whether his conceptual techniques constitute meaningful art or mere copying. Common praise: - Innovation in pushing boundaries of what counts as literature - Makes readers question assumptions about originality and authorship - UbuWeb provides valuable access to experimental works - Clear academic writing style in "Uncreative Writing" Common criticism: - Work feels more like stunts than literature - Too academic and theory-heavy - Perceived insensitivity in works like "The Body of Michael Brown" - Questions of whether transcription counts as original creation Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: "Uncreative Writing" - 3.8/5 (500+ ratings) "Seven American Deaths" - 3.5/5 (200+ ratings) Amazon: "Capital" - 3.2/5 (30+ reviews) One reader noted: "His ideas about uncreativity are fascinating but the actual works are often unreadable." Another wrote: "Important theorist, but his poetry feels like empty provocation."

Traffic (2007) A transcription of twenty-four hours of traffic reports from a New York City radio station, presented as a critique of information flow in modern society.

Soliloquy (2001) A word-for-word transcription of every utterance the author made over the course of one week.

Day (2003) A complete retyping of one day's issue of The New York Times, including all articles, advertisements, and stock quotes.

Weather (2005) A year's worth of radio weather reports transcribed verbatim and presented as poetry.

Sports (2008) Transcriptions of the longest baseball game in history, the most famous boxing match, and other sporting events.

Seven American Deaths and Disasters (2013) Transcribed media coverage of major tragic events in American history, including the Kennedy assassination and 9/11.

Uncreative Writing: Managing Language in the Digital Age (2011) A theoretical exploration of writing in the age of the internet, focusing on concepts of plagiarism and unoriginal authorship.

Capital: New York, Capital of the 20th Century (2015) A collection of quotations about New York City, arranged thematically in response to Walter Benjamin's The Arcades Project.

Wasting Time on the Internet (2016) An examination of how internet browsing and digital distraction can be transformed into meaningful artistic practice.

Christian Bök creates experimental poetry focused on constraints and conceptual frameworks. His work "Eunoia" uses similar techniques to Goldsmith's uncreative writing, limiting each chapter to words containing only one vowel.

Craig Dworkin works in conceptual writing and focuses on found texts and appropriation. His book "Parse" transforms a grammar textbook into poetry through systematic procedures.

Vanessa Place produces conceptual literature that questions authorship and originality. Her work "Statement of Facts" repurposes legal documents as poetry, similar to Goldsmith's approach of reframing existing texts.

Caroline Bergvall explores language through multimedia and cross-linguistic works. She combines found texts with performance elements in works like "Fig" that examine textual materiality.

Robert Fitterman creates poetry through collecting and reframing internet content and consumer culture texts. His work "No, Wait. Yep. Definitely Still Hate Myself" assembles social media posts into a long-form narrative poem.