Sharon Old vs. David Antin in the World Series of Literary Genre

Are Antin and Olds practicing the same genre?
I do not think Sharon Olds and David Antin are in the same genre, but I do think a case could be made either way. The ambiguity lies with Antin. His style is experimental in that he uses no punctuation, which creates a poetic feeling (dare I say Gertrude Stein or e.e. cummings). But, in reality, Antin’s pieces are narrative stories that are more like spoken word in the vein of Spalding Grey or David Sedaris. This style of spoken word is firmly planted in a different genre than poetry. It has the characteristics of an essay or a comedy routine rather than a poem.

The relationship between Sharon Olds and David Antin is that they each have a style that has a theatrical, performance like feel. Olds is working in a more conventional poetic genre, which traditionally is meant to be read out loud. That is not to say her poetry is clichéd or over done within the poetic genre. On the contrary, a poem like “I Go Back to May 1937” is fresh, powerful, and extremely confessional. On the other hand, Antin’s work is personal but on a day to day level. It is autobiographical and self-aware. You gain insight as to how he lives in the world, philosophically and concretely. You know that he
lives in California, is a writer and is married to Eleanor, but you don’t get the depth of his psyche or at least not directly as you do with Olds.