Rhizomatic Poetics: Toolkit for Heretics Brian L. Jacobs
PhD, MFA Rhizomatic Poetics: Toolkit for Heretics is a definitive creative
declaration for a recalcitrant literary practice that rejects the hegemonic
arborescent, androcentric, hierarchical roots of traditional thought. By
synthesizing the decentralized philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari
with Édouard Glissant, this work establishes a non-linear, non-hierarchical
mode of creative inquiry for liberation purposes. It moves from the "solid
thought" of the root to the "constellation of nodes" of the
rhizome, where identity is a fluid network of relations extending outward. The
inspiration at the heart of the book is the author’s 480 page epic poem,
Homocaust, birthed from a 1994–1995 peace pilgrimage they took walking from
Auschwitz Concentration Camp to New Delhi, India. Homocaust’s experiential
foundation transforms theory into a "Rhizomatic memoir," using the
walk as a vehicle to explore fractured memory, decolonizing the
"self," and a trip through "queer" identity. The poetry
serves as a "textual exorcism," reclaiming agency for the
marginalized and global majority; populations whose lives are often pushed to
the margins of hegemonic systems. Rhizomatic Poetics Emphatic Pillars: • The
principles of rhizomatic thought as synthesized from Gilles Deleuze, Félix
Guattari, and Édouard Glissant represent a radical departure from traditional
arborescent logic by replacing the singular, hierarchical root with a vast,
non-hierarchical map. Unlike a tree with a central trunk, the rhizome connects
any point to any other point through a structure of plateaus and continuous
regions of intensity that avoid fixed culmination points. This framework
rejects binary thinking in favor of multiplicity, functioning as a
constellation of nodes where identity is a fluid network of relations rather
than a fixed construct. Glissant further transforms these abstractions into a
lived reality through the concept of errantry, where wandering without a fixed
destination becomes a privileged act of producing identity through engagement
with the other. Central to this is the poetics of relation and the right to
opacity, which is the ethical demand for individuals to exist in relation
without being reduced to total transparency by dominant systems. The rhizome is
characterized by deterritorialization and rupture, meaning it can be broken at
any point only to start again along new lines, allowing for the dismantling of
established frameworks. This prioritizes cartography over tracing, favoring an
open and reversible mapping process over the rigid reproduction of pre-existing
structures. In practice, these principles form a Toolkit for Heretics that
empowers marginalized and the global majority to resist the totalizing gaze of
power by viewing language as a living system and a site of resistance where
poetic nodes navigate a fragmented and complex world. • Multiplicity vs. Unity:
Rhizomatic thought rejects binary and "rooted" thinking in favor of
multiplicity. It functions as a "constellation of nodes" where
identity is not a fixed, singular construct but a fluid network of relations
extending outward. • Errantry and Movement: Glissant introduces the concept of
errantry; the act of wandering without a fixed destination. In this framework,
identity is produced through engagement with the "Other" on
unmeasurable terms, making wandering a privilege rather than an enforced exile.
• Relationality and Opacity: Glissant’s Poetics of Relation emphasizes that
every identity is extended through a relationship with the Other. He advocates
for the "Right to Opacity," the ethical demand for individuals to
exist in relation without being reduced to total transparency or fully
"known" by dominant, hegemonic systems. • Deterritorialization and
Rupture: The rhizome is characterized by its ability to be broken or
"ruptured" at any point, only to start up again along its old lines
or new ones. This process of deterritorialization allows for the dismantling of
established frameworks and the creation of new pathways for expression and
liberation. • Cartography over Tracing: Rhizomatic thought favors mapping, an
open, connectable, and reversible process over "tracing," which
merely reproduces pre-existing, rigid structures • Intersectionality as Soil:
Intersectionality is treated not as a list of identities, but as the
"soil" or relational analytic that allows poetic form to respond to
the tangled realities of race, gender, sexuality and class. • Queering the
Root: The work "queers the root" by refusing purity narratives and
colonial logics, instead embracing hybrid, errant thinking and Glissant’s
"Right to Opacity" as the ethical demand to exist without being fully
"known" or categorized by dominant systems or the Other. • Poetic
Nodes vs. Linear Narrative: The book employs "poetic nodes" as
fragmented performance sites that disrupt traditional linearity. These nodes
allow for a multiplicity of meanings, enabling the reader to "leap"
into a web of diverse experiences rather than a fixed narrative thread/trace. •
The Poet as "True Auditor": In an age of ecological crisis and
renewed authoritarianism, the Rhizomatic Poet is positioned as the "true
auditor" of the 21st century. The practice is presented as a "Toolkit
for Heretics;” a set of strategies to be adapted and even "misused"
in the service of community, justice, and social transformation. This work pays
homage to a "Rhizomatrix" of influences, including icons Essex
Hemphill, bell Hooks and Audre Lorde, the Language Poets (Lyn Hejinian, Charles
Bernstein), the Beats (Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac), and transgressive
artists like Reza Abdoh and countless others. By integrating Rhizomatic Theory,
Queer Theory, Feminist Criticism, and Nomadic Theory, Rhizomatic Poetics offers
a pathway for reimagining how we engage with a chaotic, interdependent world.
Ultimately, Rhizomatic Poetics is a roadmap of influences through living your
life in "revolt and liberation" through language. It is an invitation
to errantry, the act of wandering without a fixed destination, proving that
poetry can function as a map, archive, and a radical site of resistance and
being towards liberation from the root.
Brian L.
Jacobs PhD. is a poet and editor of Tofu Ink Arts Press. Brian grew up in
Southern California and has been teaching GATE English and Humanities for
thirty-five years in both K-12 and college settings. Brian was the assistant to
the Poet's Allen Ginsberg and Julie Patton, during his time at Naropa in the
mid 90’s. During that time he walked half way around the world while on a peace
pilgrimage with Buddhist monks commemorating WWII visiting Europe, the Middle
East and India. Brian is also a three time Fulbright Scholar, which has allowed
him to study in Brazil, where he studied its water issues; China, where he
studied its vast 10,000 year history; and Japan, spending time to participate
in a case study in one of its small towns near the Japanese Alps. He had also
earned a National Endowment of Humanities grant to China, studying its
philosophies and histories while living in Xi’an. He subsequently participated
in a grant from Fund For Teachers visiting South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho,
plus earning other various grants that have taken him to places all over in the
United States. He also taught teachers at a university in Fuzhou, China for
five summers under grants from SABEH. Subsequently he has earned an Earthwatch
grant to the rainforest of Ecuador, to study climate change and caterpillars
and he recently earned another Earthwatch Senior Fellow Grant teaching teachers
in Acadia, Maine studying climate change and crabs. Brian has been to 132
countries and had visited all 50 states, practices Yoga and is a proud vegan.
Brian's poetry has been published in several publications including, William
and Mary University, University of Maine, Shiela-Na-Gig, the Crank, The South
Florida Florida Poetry Journal, Progenitor Art and Literary Journal, GRIFFEL,
Foxtail, Rip Rap, The Bangalore Review, Sunspot Lit, Anthropod, Pa'Lante, Dark
Moon Lilith Press, Black Tape Press, Genre, Inky Blue/Celery, Red Dancefloor
Press, Entelechy, 1844 Pine Street, Pasta Poetics, Trouble, In Parenthesis,
Unbound Anthology, Landlocked and Praxis. Brian marinates in inspiration from
Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guatarri, Richard Rorty, Audre Lorde, Edouard Glissant,
Judith Butler, Reza Abdoh, Marlon Riggs, Anne Waldman, Jack Kerouac, WIllam S.
Burroughs, Laurie Anderson, Tim Miller, John Fleck, Karen Finley, Essex
Hemphill, Patricia Smith, James Baldwin, Walt Whitman, Pedro Almodovar, Keith
Haring, NEA Four, Justin Phillip Reed, The Beats, Paul Celan, Artist Nick Cave,
Sam Rami, Jean Rhys, Erasure, House Music, Robert Duncan, The Smiths, Lee
Edelman, John Waters, Lana Del Rey, Patti Smith, Michel Foucault, American
Visionary Arts Museum, Kurt Vonnegut, ACT UP, Daniel Day Lewis, Radiohead, PJ
Harvey, Lady Gaga, Zhang Huan, Arthur Danto, Derek Jarman , Kiki Smith, Marc
Almond, Nina Hagen, Grace Jones, This Mortal Coil, Boy George, Bjork , Divine,
Tracey Thorn, and Florence Welch.
The Odor of Vagabonds Brian L. Jacobs
the odor of vagabonds
amazes the ripening pod
that hang afloat
carrying the seed spit
considerable distances to my expulsion
https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/brian_l_jacobs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
We Grow Faster Than Our Verses Can Chance
Brian L. Jacobs
exultant marrow narrows liberty
decries bindles
on fugitive deleterious shores
tasting the night of day
more naked in alarm
abducting the world of hunters
another history already a runaway
on the trails of deerhounds
the bamboo shoots mo’ment
their corroded nudities
muscle’d root
in the space of the world
we grow faster than our verses can chance
https://www.instagram.com/tofuinkarts/
The Odor of Vagabonds Brian L. Jacobs
the odor of vagabonds
amazes the ripening pods
that hang afloat
carrying the seed spit
considerable distances to my expulsion
https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/brian_l_jacobs
The Odor of Vagabonds
Brian L. Jacobs
the odor
of vagabonds
amazes
the ripening pods
that hang
afloat
carrying
the seed spit
considerable distances
to my expulsion
Brianif you need anything else let me kno
varanasi india... THE GANGA
Facebook
Twitter
https://www.instagram.com/tofuinkarts/
________________
We Grow Faster Than Our Verses Can Chance
Brian L. Jacobs
exultant marrow
narrows liberty
decries
bindles
on fugitive
deleterious shores
tasting
the night of day
more naked
in alarm
abducting
the world of hunters
another history
already a runaway
on the trails
of deerhounds
the bamboo shoots
mo’ment
their corroded
nudities
muscle’d
root
in the space
of the world
we grow faster
than our verses can chance
