Silliman's blogroll reaches 800
Ottawa (AP) -- Ron Silliman, author and archiver, added Jee Leong Koh to his blogroll on Feb. 23, bringing the tally of poets he's listed to 800, according to his website. Silliman's blog is one of dozens of similar websites featuring an exhaustive list of poets-cum-bloggers. His list includes Ottawa's rob mclennan and angela rawlings, as well as Calgary-area poet Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The problem is, according to some, that these lists become absolutely daunting to explore. After wading through inane or abandoned blogs, one might throw one's hands up.
The thrilling interconnectedness of these blogrolls, conversely, represents a network of poets in dialog with each other - at least symbolically. How tightly knit can the group possibly be?
It seems a hard question to answer. Silliman has a few dozen regular commenters; his posts often refer to other poets and bloggers; and he seems deeply engaged with the contemporary poetic project. These things all point to a "community" aspect.
But Silliman seems disengenous with his mammoth blogroll. Blogrolls, after all, were originally designed to list websites the author frequents; as the size of a blogroll spirals toward 800, the likelihood that he's actually keeping up dwindles.
The problem is, according to some, that these lists become absolutely daunting to explore. After wading through inane or abandoned blogs, one might throw one's hands up.
The thrilling interconnectedness of these blogrolls, conversely, represents a network of poets in dialog with each other - at least symbolically. How tightly knit can the group possibly be?
It seems a hard question to answer. Silliman has a few dozen regular commenters; his posts often refer to other poets and bloggers; and he seems deeply engaged with the contemporary poetic project. These things all point to a "community" aspect.
But Silliman seems disengenous with his mammoth blogroll. Blogrolls, after all, were originally designed to list websites the author frequents; as the size of a blogroll spirals toward 800, the likelihood that he's actually keeping up dwindles.