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Flarf poetry can be characterized as an avant-garde poetry movement of the late 20th century and the early 21st century. Its first practitioners utilized an aesthetic dedicated to the exploration of "the inappropriate" in all of its guises. Their method was to mine the Internet with odd search terms then distil the results into often hilarious and sometimes disturbing poems, plays, and other texts. Okay, that's what Wikipedia says. So how do you write the damn stuff?

All writers are voyeurs but then so are all readers. And all writers are exhibitionists but not all writers want to reveal everything; they expect their readers to do some of the work. There are two styles of writing: explicit vs implicit. Both provide information that can lead us to the truth and both hold mirrors so that in addition to discovering the truths hidden in the text readers also have the opportunity to learn truths about themselves. What is this need to see all about?

Perfection is one of those words like faith and doubt that we get all confused about these days. Even the word perfect is not perfect; it's vague and open to interpretation. Yet it is something we all, aspire to or desire. But how does absolute perfection differ from relative perfection or classic perfection or extreme perfection? Not-quite-perfect Scottish writer Jim Murdoch gives his take on why there's no point trying to write the perfect sentence, let alone the perfect novel.

I am excited to share my poetry with all of you.

In the second part of poet Jim Murdoch's exploration of the changing face of poetry he discusses the poetry of Frederick Seidel who has been called 'the poet the 20th century deserved,' the Greek poet, Elias Petropoulos whose ashes were thrown in a sewer in accordance with his wishes and Adorno's claim that "after Auschwitz writing poetry is barbaric." Keats wrote "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"-is that still true? Was it ever true?

New Australian poetry site.

Poem on living as a Christian.

'The older I get, the more I value sincerity and directness. I think it's tragic that "sincere", at least in the context of the arts, seems to have become a euphemism for "naïve", typically trotted out in a pejorative way to suggest "well-meaning but amateurish". What is sincerity, if not simply meaning what you say?' Kona Macphee's poetry is a refreshing change to much of the poetry you might have read in the past, honest, direct and accessible and all in a good way.

People have struggled for years to define poetry but one recurring adjective that people use to describe it is 'beautiful'. In the past perhaps that might have been true but in an increasingly ugly world poets find themselves drawn to equally ugly topics. Is there such a thing though as 'ugly poetry'? Scottish poet Jim Murdoch investigates.

"Slopped down the time-line / thundered apples and you're hypnotized / Persia boys and all the wives - / and the snow effect is optimized..... (....)"

"You are the proper person / Now, bring forward your chair / and head to the notion that / ast every object..." (......)

"Old women live without eating / leaning back fingernails / on the arms of their rockin' chairs...." (.....)

my aim in life essay