Critique #1

Subject: Faith
Author: Robert Kendall

Logic / can't / bend / this

Are the words this poem confidently strides out to say on its first page. And thus begins the kinetic poem of "Faith" by Robert Kendall.

Immediately upon the first page, it was apparent in this work of electronic fiction was reveling in the fluidity of the technology that created it. Every word tumbled and danced, and ordered themselves together seemingly on a whim. Literally - the words were bouncing and moving, and every new color indicated the next incoming stanza.

And as each fell, appeared or swept away, each action was accompanied by the melodious sound of what seemed like wind chimes, a harp, or dissonant strings. In essence, each word seemed to gain its own personality from its actions and the music that further emphasized it.

However, returning back to the words' actions, sometimes the new words would leap and attach themselves to old words that lingered, therefore creating new phrases in its place. It would change the very rules by which it seemed to play.

"Faith" in this aspect is a commentary on the flighty nature of meaning. While a phrase points to one variety of meanings when worded a certain way, suddenly the game changes when words are added, subtracted or simply reordered. This poem tugged at these rules of syntax and poked a playful finger at semantics, thereby earning its self-given title of "kinetic."

Also, perhaps in some way, the very performing nature of this poem related back to its title, in which "faith" in itself is a concept that seems ever-changing, fluid and much like how the four first words of this poem declared: logic can't bend it.

The poem grows. With each added color, more words are formed, and phrases are lengthened. This is a brilliant twist on poetry, if one draws upon his or her first poetry class. Picture: interpreting "Lamia" by John Keats, understanding nearly each word at its base level, but you grow less certain as the words loop together and expand onwards for pages and pages. In the meantime, Keats is merciless in his double, triple or possibly quadruple metaphors. A "gordian knot," indeed.

In essence, this is "Faith." Keeping the tradition of the poetry before it that on the onset, appears jumbled and confusing, but over time and with study, the message becomes more clear. Just in this instance, the poem itself is doing the message sorting - by means of having the words appear on screen and physically move themselves into place.

Sometimes the words even perform the actions they actually describe, such as leaving - literally departing the poem - or leaping.

But suddenly, after all the words are revealed and the message seems complete on the screen, all the words break apart, and tumble away. The animation makes the entire poem appear as if it were simply, utterly brittle as each stanza fractures and the words jumble together in a discarded pile.

All this leads up to the final point, which Kendall puts so aptly after all the word jumping and semantic playfulness. After all their word companions tumble away, four words remain and are joined by their title:

Just / to / sum / up:

Faith.

No logic, indeed.

----
Full Text of "Faith," with last four words emphasized:

I step to the idea edge elegantly and oh so
ultimately, not just any watered-down walking out

but a fine wine of leave taking, a full-bodied
forgoing-going-gone upon the logic lip.

No, I just can't make the usual sense anymore so
I'll simply stride out of my mind, press my foot firmly

into the black, all-but-bottomless chasm beyond the brink,
around the bend, off the rocker (yippee!), to leave behind

only this consummate poem, this visionary, incorruptible
transcript of the deeper world's One True Word:

Leap