01.03. AUTHENTICITY/truth. The Generation Poetry Project
Authentic truth exists in the world. There are facts. Things are what they say they are and you can observe them in the real world. Unquestionably reliable, the authority of being original and real. The perceived value of authenticity is one of the key differences between millennials (believers) and Generation Poetry (non believers). Millennials search for authenticity in everything from brands, to food, to people, to products (think hipster). For Generation Poetry, authenticity doesn’t exist, so anyone claiming it is clearly fake.
Filtered truth processes the the natural chaos of the world to make it useful, understandable and helpful. Societies shape meanings to make sense to the community and enable its continued existence. Things that exist in the real word have been filtered through moral values to be either good or bad. This form of truth is still important for Generation Poetry. They know that certain games need to be played in order to change them. They consider and discuss to what extent they want to or need to participate before they become complicit.
Raw truth is completely unmediated, unpolluted, wild, unstructured. The beauty of the pre-verbal and non-intellectualised. The danger of chaos, confrontation and violence. Generation Poetry struggles with the wild in themselves. Instincts, desires, even fun appear dangerous and unsustainable. Yet, they hear the call of their imagination in these sounds. Being raw is tricky for this generation, one that has been put as risk by older generations in ways that are new and unprecedented and that knows they are constantly monitored and judged.
Curated truth fully recognises that there is no truth in things, language defines reality. The beauty of crafting. The freedom from creating, as there is nothing original. Every human experience can be endlessly translated into other meanings, to the point of becoming meaningless. This is the truth with which Generation Poetry styles themselves collectively. Creator of themselves, commentator of themselves. Able to move through meaning with the abilities of a master semiotician. But with repetition, boredom creeps in, even depression. The search for a new type of authenticity, different from the conventional meaning, becomes critical, and the gaze turns to the raw.
Concrete thinking is the default of business and practical sciences. Evidence based. Things need to be seen to be understood and actioned. It claims its rights through the market and capitalism and rejects ideology. Only the bottom line matters. Generation Poetry knows it needs to operate in certain structures to thrive and they are more willing to do so than millennials. They respect the open rhetoric of concrete thinking and knowing their opponent.
Abstract thinking is the default of philosophy, mathematics and the “intellectual elite.” Reality is constructed and anything can be critically assessed in abstract theorems and principles. Reserved for the few. Respected, but isolated. Little interaction with everyday life. Generation Poetry doesn’t find this very useful or suited to their fast-paced learning style. They know that there are real problems that need to be resolved in the world right now. However, these are problems that present complexity beyond the bounds of concrete thinking, that require systemic thinking. How will Generation Poetry learn to harness the abstract?
Naturalised thinking hides ideological and moralistic points of view behind the claim that “it’s just how things are” and how they have always been, in order to dominate and colonise. Standards of gender, beauty, family can’t be questioned. The other becomes taboo. Generation Poetry can unpick this argument in their sleep. They know the game and where it leads. Through the linguistic use of “I identify as” they have destroyed any attempt to naturalise themselves and their behaviour.
Explorative thinking is the default position of artists and revolutionaries. Breaking down structure to create new structure. Chaos as an antidote to domination. Making, not commenting, as the only way to make sense. It can be easily dismissed as frightening, pathological, crazy or useless. This is shadow space for Generation Poetry. It troubles them. They may be less fluent in explorative thinking than older generations, despite the widespread self-identification as creative. The level of personal and collective exposure required in explorative thinking is difficult. Unestablished codes can’t be curated and crafted at the meta level this generation has mastered so well.
Mimesis with Reality is language that attempts to define what is true and what is false though an objective, external reality. The language of “real people” that attempts to claim and manipulate the will of those people. Generation Poetry is fully aware that reality does not exist, but is constructed, and sees how this language limits conversation, debate and personal freedom.
Ipse Dixit uses stories to create compelling arguments of great logical impact. Language is a persuasive tool, and linguistic competence is evidence of truthfulness. Generation Poetry sees through the stories, doesn’t confuse them with reality, doesn’t find their pre-packaged, shiny, completeness useful or persuasive.
Registered Redesigned morphs conversations quickly and seamlessly into new genres. Styles mix into an understandable cacophony of works, rhetorical figures, tonalities. Accusation can lead to kindness. Engagement can lead to exclusion. There is tension between the individual and society which requires an ability to blend, shift and change depending on the situation and scope of the conversation.
Masonic conversations mix codes to encode and use context to decode. Cryptography to avoid being surveilled or pinned down and assumed to be one thing. Sophisticated use of irony, metonymy, metaphor and sarcasm. Generation Poetry hides and reveals itself as necessary. It needs the old stories of authenticity to exist and keep going, so there is an object to be manipulated and discredited in this interplay.
Metalevel conversation has its point of reference not in the external, objective world, but in other cultural references, virtually endlessly. It’s a relative, not absolute, language based on sharing similar encyclopaedias, and as such favours cohesive groups by age, habits, education.
Semiosis language wants to make you feel, not think. Affective effect. It can be minimal or baroque, simple or complex, but never linear. Poetic in the most revolutionary sense. It creates equality between sender and receiver, each contributes to form reality. It’s measured not by fact, nor against existing cultural references, but in the ability for people to “tune in” on similar meanings. This is a language of pure potential. Nothing is codified yet. Anything can be anything. Generation Poetry is fascinated by this language, yet preoccupied with failing and falling into the uncool rhetoric of authenticity or being not understood and excluded from the group.