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How to be a conduit: performance, translation and the reflexive poetics of Jerome Rothenberg

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English Studies in Latin America: A Journal of Cultural and Literary Criticism, Volume: 30, Issue: 30

Swansea University Author: Nia Davies Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.7764/ESLA.101682

Abstract

This essay is an exploration of the difficult ethics and possibilities of Jerome Rothenberg’s ethnopoetics/omnipoetics and total translation which includes performance, assemblage and reflexive poetics. I discuss Rothenberg’s performances such as the “gift events,” the Horse Songs of Frank Mitchell...

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Published in: English Studies in Latin America: A Journal of Cultural and Literary Criticism
ISSN: 0719-9139
Published: Santiago de Chile 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71371
first_indexed 2026-02-02T17:21:13Z
last_indexed 2026-02-06T04:28:52Z
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spelling 2026-02-04T11:22:52.9635948 v2 71371 2026-02-02 How to be a conduit: performance, translation and the reflexive poetics of Jerome Rothenberg 309e9ee781ea320af5dfe198f18466a7 0000-0002-3064-3176 Nia Davies Nia Davies true false 2026-02-02 SOSS This essay is an exploration of the difficult ethics and possibilities of Jerome Rothenberg’s ethnopoetics/omnipoetics and total translation which includes performance, assemblage and reflexive poetics. I discuss Rothenberg’s performances such as the “gift events,” the Horse Songs of Frank Mitchell as well as the poem “Vienna Blood” and works of poetics. I work through complex ethical terrain in Rothenberg’s ethnopoetics which sometimes re-enact the erasure of source intertext cultures via dehistoricisation. I then show how Rothenberg’s methods of performance, total translation, reflexivity and collaborative poetics create friction and open dialogue. His techniques of performance and approaches to poetics and total translation foreground embodiment and reflexivity thus offering the possibility of an ethics and a “poesis” that must be considered if acting as a “conduit for others.” Using the metaphor of a river and the idea of an embodied friction in the reading and writing process, I think through how Rothenberg’s poesis arrest the flow of transfer. The poet, performer or translator, as well as readers and listeners, encounter a poem through their bodies and contexts, thus they are conduits and mediators themselves. Journal Article English Studies in Latin America: A Journal of Cultural and Literary Criticism 30 30 Santiago de Chile 0719-9139 Jerome Rothenberg, poetics, experimental poetry, ethnopoetics, translation, poetry performance, embodied practice, poetry publics. 30 1 2026 2026-01-30 10.7764/ESLA.101682 https://ojs.uc.cl/index.php/esla/article/view/101682 COLLEGE NANME Social Sciences School COLLEGE CODE SOSS Swansea University 2026-02-04T11:22:52.9635948 2026-02-02T17:16:55.9039776 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - English Literature, Creative Writing Nia Davies 0000-0002-3064-3176 1 71371__36182__1ac4c53e40544a7b8b115f78c14ccf93.pdf How to be a Conduit - Nia Davies Essay on Rothenberg ESLA 2026.pdf 2026-02-03T14:16:56.3084392 Output 432331 application/pdf Version of Record true This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivs 3.0 Unported License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
title How to be a conduit: performance, translation and the reflexive poetics of Jerome Rothenberg
spellingShingle How to be a conduit: performance, translation and the reflexive poetics of Jerome Rothenberg
Nia Davies
title_short How to be a conduit: performance, translation and the reflexive poetics of Jerome Rothenberg
title_full How to be a conduit: performance, translation and the reflexive poetics of Jerome Rothenberg
title_fullStr How to be a conduit: performance, translation and the reflexive poetics of Jerome Rothenberg
title_full_unstemmed How to be a conduit: performance, translation and the reflexive poetics of Jerome Rothenberg
title_sort How to be a conduit: performance, translation and the reflexive poetics of Jerome Rothenberg
author_id_str_mv 309e9ee781ea320af5dfe198f18466a7
author_id_fullname_str_mv 309e9ee781ea320af5dfe198f18466a7_***_Nia Davies
author Nia Davies
author2 Nia Davies
format Journal article
container_title English Studies in Latin America: A Journal of Cultural and Literary Criticism
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publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 0719-9139
doi_str_mv 10.7764/ESLA.101682
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - English Literature, Creative Writing{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - English Literature, Creative Writing
url https://ojs.uc.cl/index.php/esla/article/view/101682
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description This essay is an exploration of the difficult ethics and possibilities of Jerome Rothenberg’s ethnopoetics/omnipoetics and total translation which includes performance, assemblage and reflexive poetics. I discuss Rothenberg’s performances such as the “gift events,” the Horse Songs of Frank Mitchell as well as the poem “Vienna Blood” and works of poetics. I work through complex ethical terrain in Rothenberg’s ethnopoetics which sometimes re-enact the erasure of source intertext cultures via dehistoricisation. I then show how Rothenberg’s methods of performance, total translation, reflexivity and collaborative poetics create friction and open dialogue. His techniques of performance and approaches to poetics and total translation foreground embodiment and reflexivity thus offering the possibility of an ethics and a “poesis” that must be considered if acting as a “conduit for others.” Using the metaphor of a river and the idea of an embodied friction in the reading and writing process, I think through how Rothenberg’s poesis arrest the flow of transfer. The poet, performer or translator, as well as readers and listeners, encounter a poem through their bodies and contexts, thus they are conduits and mediators themselves.
published_date 2026-01-30T05:33:57Z
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