[encore] 1132: Felonious States of Adjectival Excess Featuring Comparative and Superlative Forms by A. H. Jerriod Avant

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode: [encore] 1132: Felonious States of Adjectival Excess Featuring Comparative and Superlative Forms by A. H. Jerriod Avant
Release Date: May 5, 2025
Host: Major Jackson
Producer: American Public Media in partnership with The Poetry Foundation
Support: National Endowment for the Arts

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Host's Farewell and Reflections

In this special encore episode of The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily, host Major Jackson bids farewell as he concludes his tenure with the show. Opening the episode at [00:30], Major expresses gratitude for the opportunity to share poetry with listeners over the past few years:

"As I close my time as host of the Slowdown, I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to share poetry with you these past few years." [00:30]

Major announces that the show will be delving into its extensive archive, bringing forward some of his personal favorite episodes. This retrospective approach sets a contemplative tone for the episode, inviting listeners to reflect alongside him.

Language and Communication Challenges in Modern Context

Major shares a personal anecdote that highlights the evolving landscape of communication and its impact on English majors. Recounting an incident while waiting at Grand Central Station, he illustrates the stereotypes faced by English graduates in the professional world:

"He blamed the informality of texting and a general lack of business etiquette." [02:15]

Major counters these generalizations by emphasizing the adaptability and discerning nature of his students. He discusses the multifaceted communication modes that English majors navigate today, which extend beyond traditional texting and emailing to include various digital platforms and real-time interactions. This adaptability, according to Major, is a strength rather than a weakness.

Code-Switching and Linguistic Adaptability

Delving deeper, Major explores the concept of code-switching—the ability to switch between different languages or dialects depending on the social context. He shares a humorous yet telling exchange with a senior colleague:

"I'll catch you at lunch, homie," she asked later over coffee. "What's this word, homie?" [04:10]

This interaction underscores the challenges and nuances of blending formal and informal language within professional settings. Major appreciates the vitality that colloquial phrases bring to poetry, asserting that:

"Poems that blur and use multiple registers of diction... lean into how language is deployed today." [05:00]

He advocates for the inclusion of diverse linguistic styles in poetry, highlighting how they reflect contemporary communication dynamics and enrich poetic expression.

Introduction and Analysis of the Featured Poem

Transitioning to the poem segment, Major introduces "Felonious States of Adjectival Excess" by A. H. Gerard Avant. The poem playfully explores the misuse and overuse of comparative and superlative forms in adjectives, creating a whimsical narrative through exaggerated language. Major emphasizes the poem's engagement with sonic idioms and its commentary on language's flexibility:

"They make reading aloud fun felonious states of adjectival excess featuring comparative and superlative forms." [05:45]

Throughout the poem, Avant employs intentional grammatical errors and creative word formations to highlight the fluidity and dynamism of language. Lines such as:

"My mo favoriteer and Mo betta is my most favoritist"
"Mo wetter most hottest because the most beautifulest is more bootifuler"

demonstrate a playful rebellion against standard grammatical conventions, inviting listeners to appreciate language's malleable and evolving nature.

Conclusion and Insights

As the episode draws to a close, Major reflects on the interconnectedness of language, communication, and poetry. He reiterates his appreciation for poets who harness the vibrancy of contemporary language to craft evocative and meaningful works. Major's final thoughts encourage listeners to embrace the diverse modes of expression and the profound insights they bring to both poetry and daily interactions.

"I am drawn to poets who... bring imagination and attention to sonic idioms of a poem." [05:30]

This farewell episode serves not only as a tribute to Major Jackson's impactful tenure but also as a celebration of the dynamic relationship between language and poetry.

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Notable Quotes:

• Major Jackson [00:30]: "As I close my time as host of the Slowdown, I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to share poetry with you these past few years."

• UVM Alumnus [02:45]: "I stopped hiring English graduates at my company. None of them know how to speak or write cogent emails."

• Major Jackson [04:10]: "I'll catch you at lunch, homie. What's this word, homie?"

• Major Jackson [05:00]: "Poems that blur and use multiple registers of diction... lean into how language is deployed today."

• Major Jackson [05:45]: "They make reading aloud fun felonious states of adjectival excess featuring comparative and superlative forms."

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Final Thoughts:

This episode encapsulates Major Jackson's insightful exploration of language's current state and its implications for both poets and everyday communication. Through personal anecdotes and a thought-provoking poem, listeners are invited to reflect on the complexities and beauties of linguistic expression in the modern world.

Transcript

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[Major Jackson]

Hi, it's Major. As I close my time as host of the Slowdown, I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to share poetry with you these past few years. The Slowdown has a deep store of episodes, and for the next few months we're reaching into the archive to bring you some of our favorites. Here's one from my time on the show Foreign I'm Major Jackson, and this is the Slowdown. I love listening to public conversations. They allow me to check the pulse of language. Once, while waiting for my friend Pergida at the bar at Grand Central Station, I eavesdropped on the conversation next to me. By coincidence, I was sitting next to a fundraising officer and an alumnus of the University of Vermont, where I worked at the time. I introduced myself and announced that I taught in the English department. After pleasantries, the UVM alumnus said quite firmly, I stopped hiring English graduates at my company. None of them know how to speak or write cogent emails. He blamed the informality of texting and a general lack of business etiquette. I was surprised by his generalizations. I think my students are discerning and capable writers. Like any number of English students across the country, they just face a unique set of challenges. Maybe there is a laxness to communication compared to previous year's work environments, but with all the platforms of staying constantly in touch with colleagues, family, and friends, a newly minted English major navigates multiple communication modes. And not just texting and emails. I also find it difficult to successfully code switch between different environments. I once texted a senior colleague who had been at the institution 30 years. I'll catch you at lunch, homie, she asked later over coffee. What's this word, homie? But the challenges of the porous discourse between communities can be beneficial for a poet. While colloquial phrases may not have a place at work in a poem, they offer a sense of vitality. Poems that blur and use multiple registers of diction, from the casual to the formal, lean into how language is deployed today, it intentionally plays with and plays up how words serve as a tool to our needs and whims. I am drawn to poets who, like the author of today's poem, bring imagination and attention to sonic idioms of a poem. They make reading aloud fun felonious states of adjectival excess featuring comparative and superlative forms. By AH Gerard Avant My mo favoriteer and Mo betta is my most favoritist is more simpler this way is more fluider Mo wetter most hottest because the most beautifulest is more bootifuler Mo mina more flyer and most flyest most shye and the most shyest is more the more intelligenter than the panel's most ugliest and most selectivest is the most goodest is the most burntest is mo burter and more unrulyer is the most meekest and even more meeker is the most ownablest is more purchasabler and the most purchased thus becomes the most purchasablessed at the sight of the most shiniest coins. My most funkiest is also my most stolenest but the most stolenest can ever be more funkier than the most oldest the most thievinest be the most brokest cause the most thieved from be the most oldest so becomes the most richest who also be the most fundedest and that makes me the the most confused when I'm in the most keptest buildings that be more kept than all the most timekeepingest cats they keep in the back upkeeping em the Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. This project is also supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts on the [e-mail] to get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram at Slow Down Show.

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