Sum Flarf Reesearch

I already covered a lot about the history of the School of Flarf in a previous post. Let me get a little bit into where it started.

• Flarf poetry is rumored to have been started by one man- Gary Sullivan. (Without knowledge that a School of Poetry would evolve) He wrote a poem that he deliberately made horrible, and sent it into Poetry.com. Previously, he knew that most people would get a letter saying that their poem was up for consideration to be published. So, came the birth of the first Flarf poem. Click link to see the poem, entitled "Mm-Hmm." He received a letter, sure enough, inviting him to have his poem published. Here is an excerpt from the letter he received:
  

"Gary, over the past year, we have conducted an exhaustive examination of over 1.2 million poems that have been submitted to us. Only a small percentage of individuals whose poems we have reviewed were selected to be part of this distinguished project. "'Mm-hmm' was selected for publication because it sparks the imagination and provides the reader with a fresh, unique perspective on life. We believe it will add to the importance and appeal of this special edition. _Of course, Gary, as always, you are under no obligation whatsoever to submit any entry fee or subsidy payment, or to make a purchase of any kind_. Your poem will be presented in the most elegant way possible. This coffee-table quality book will feature an 'Arristock leather' cover stamped in gold and a satin bookmarker …"

• Sullivan was so happy with his results that he wanted to further test Poetry.com's mechanics, and whether they actually "handpicked" his poem to be published. He posted on a forum, and a couple of people took his offer up:Kasey Mohammad and Drew Gardner. These two have become some of the biggest names in the Flarf movement. Sullivan and some of his other friends continued to write poems to the website under different names, as did many others when they learned what was happening.
• Sullivan himself does not know how "FLARF," the term, materialized. He claims that it just began to have meaning by itself, representing the quality of being flarfy.
• Other things began to take on flarfness, and flarf is more of a cultural movement now than simply a poetic school.
• Sullivan incorporated Google and other search engines into Flarf more. By typing in odd word combinations, like "Rogaine Bunny," he found favorable results for his Flarf poems.
• A "Flarflist" developed, and Sullivan even made a flarf play entitled "Angry at God."

Sullivan himself seems to have difficulty describing exactly what flarf is. It's worse and more awkward than camp. Sullivan said this about flarf:

"The flarf "voice" in my head was that of my father, a transplanted southerner, who likes to pontificate, and who has alot of opinions that kind of horrify me."

Sullivan said this about the beginnings of Flarf:

"Initially most everyone was using Google in some capacity, and the work tended to be corrosive, awful, though not so much in a Bruce Andrews Shut Up way, it's more awkward, less self-aware or overtly politically pointed, mistakes are left in as found, and certain "cute" words ("fluffy" "cuddle" etc.) begin to pile up in the poems."

What I am writing about can not be more prevalent in the poems. "Cute" words are in many of the poems I read, and I can sense the not so campiness in everything. I think that Flarf is more than words can describe. I really think that you just have to get it.