Borroughs Response

In the article, Borroughs describes the cut up. This is a technique where an artist literally will cut up a page of text and reassemble it randomly to create a new text. He relates this technique to collage, but withy words instead of images. While I can appreciate the desire to create poetry in a new, expirimental way, I am unsure how 'poetic' this technique actually is. I see a poet as a crafter or words, where as the cut up seems like artistic expirimentation. The question remains, though, is randomness art? In the definition of art as whatever someone is able to claim as art, the mere activity Borroughs describes would be concidered art. If, however, 'artistic technique' is considered then the argument may b e made that it is not art, but merely activity. Borroughs realizes this and says that its ease is part of how cut ups work. He writes, "Cut=ups are for everyone. Anoyong can make cut ups. It is experimental in the sense of being something to do." In this case, the final product seems to be art as much as the process of creation is artistic activity, and therefore, art.