Kenneth Goldsmith (Freeport, NY, 1961) does not like to emphasize that his work is meant to be discussed rather than read. The conceptual poetry he produces follows the practices of conceptual art, in which he began his career; this is clearly visible in works such as Fidget, in which he describes all of his movements during one day, and Soliloquy, in which he captures all the words he spoke during a week. With the advent of the internet and other digital possibilities, the notion of ‘authentic’ text has come under pressure, and Goldsmith reinforces that argument with his call for ‘uncreative writing’ – writing through the use of already existing texts, such as when he transcribed an edition of The New York Times as a book. Goldsmith is the founder and curator of UbuWeb. He also teaches poetics and poetic practice at the University of Pennsylvania, worked as a DJ for the New York radio station WFMU, and in 2013 was appointed as the first Poet Laureate of the Museum of Modern Art (New York).

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