PHRASE: "...each could be described as simultaneously astonishing and deliberately fatiguing..."

PHRASE: "...each could be described as simultaneously astonishing and deliberately fatiguing..."

In Sianne Ngai's work, "ugly feelings," she attempts to explain the workings of pieces like those by Gertrude Stein's. The above phrase from Ngai's work, "...each could be described as simultaneously astonishing and deliberately fatiguing..." (261). This "poetic experimentalism" that re-works and re-orders words and the meaning of the language within these pieces can be explained with this phrase. The thought of combining the concepts of astonishment and fatigue seems impossible or ridiculous, but, once the reader makes it through pieces like Stein's, Farrell's, Goldsmith's, and Goldman's, he or she would understand why the wording DOES inspire astonishment, while inducing fatigue. Reading these works is exhausting. In fact, if one reads the works aloud, there is a tendency for one's eyes to cross, voice to become monotone or rap music-like in sound, and mind to spin. At the same time, there is something oddly fascinating or "astonishing" in the pastiche element of the piece, elevating it to the level of work of art.