July 2, 1983: Poetic Apprentice

Published in the Journal, Poetic Apprentice

Ted Berrigan said that every artist goes through a black period.  It may last two years and it may last ten, but sooner or later they figure out that what they’re doing is carrying another artist’s work one step farther.  Jackson Pollock said that his was Marcel Duchamp.  Now, Ted said, if you know the work of Pollock and Duchamp you’ll probably think he’s lying.  And it’s not necessarily someone who’s dead.  For instance, Ted said he was continuing the work of Robert Creeley.