John M. Bennett (born 1942, in Chicago) is an American experimental text, sound, and visual poet.

Writing and publishing

As well as steadily producing and distributing his own work since the early 1970's, Bennett has published thousands of limited edition items by writers who compose visual poetry, word art, and other experimental fiction/art/poetry through "Luna Bisonte Prods", a small press founded in 1974. Bennett's papers, and published works, as well as the results of his own publishing activities (including 30 years of "Lost & Found Times" magazine), are collected in several major institutions, including Washington University in St. Louis, SUNY Buffalo, Ohio State University, and The Museum of Modern Art.

Bennett has won the attention of critic Richard Kostelanetz and other commentators on the avant-garde.^{[citation needed]}

Bennett is the curator of the "Avant Writing Collection", "The William S. Burroughs Collection", and "The Cervantes Collection" at the Ohio State University Libraries.

Performances and sound works

Bennett's collaborations with sound poet/performance artist Rod Summers began in the late 1970s.

Bennett has performed solo and worked together with numerous musicians (for instance Jorge Luiz Antonio, Jim Leftwich, Andrew Topel, Scott Helmes, Kommissar Hjuler and Mama Baer (both members of Boris Lurie's NO!Art Movement), Martín Gubbins, Ivan Argüelles, Tom Cassidy, F. A. Nettelbeck and other poets, often with the collaborative sound poetry group The Be Blank Consort, which has released a recording titled Sound Mess. This group was founded as a result of a symposium organized by Richard Kostelanetz at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in 1999. The members of The Be Blank Consort include Scott Helmes, Carlos Luis, and K.S. Ernst, among others.

Selected publications

• The Peel (Anabasis, 2004)
• Rolling Combers (Potes & Poets Press)
• Chac Prostibulario (with Ivan Arguelles) (Pavement Saw Press, 2001)
• Mailer Leaves Ham (Pantograph Press, 1999)
• Loose Watch (Invisible Books, 1998)
• Glue (xPress(ed), 2005)
• Instruction Paper (Luna Bisonte Prods, 2006)
• Cantar Del Huff (Luna Bisonte Prods, 2006)
• la M al (Blue Lion Books, 2006)
• Sound Dirt (with Jim Leftwich) (Luna Bisonte Prods, 2006)

External links

• John M. Bennett Website
• The John Bennett Papers at Washington University in St. Louis
• 3:AM interview