We No Longer Understand Each Other

After hearing Al Filreis read this essay at the convocation for Jerome Rothenberg's 80th birthday, I wrote to Al telling him I thought his essay was that rare piece of critical prose that rises to the level of (first rate) poetry. Here is the complete text:

Jacket 2: "Jerome Rothenberg The Real Revolution is Tragic" : Al Filreis, on the occasion of Jerome Rothenberg's 80th Anniversary"


"...what I take to be Jerry’s greatest contribution: that in unsuccessful societies, it becomes impossible for language to change commensurately, and a common language breaks down, and we no longer understand each other". (Al Filreis)