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After the theoretical statements of Language Poetry, the return of symbolism or fetishism in the very strategies aiming to defeat them leads Michael Palmer to systematize his ironical use of signature, between the lyrical mode and the materiality of the letter. Dramatizing the limits of writing, Palmer thematizes the versions or erasures of telling or re-writing, turning all names and all words into “names of names” and “words of words.” To choose is to lose: Palmer’s hesitations and errors are his way of “not speaking for the word” while retaining responsibility for the page.