Newslessness is a bilingual poem in Irish and English by Gabriel Rosenstock, in response to a work of art by the influential German artist Hans Haacke.
Hans Haacke, News, 1969 (Fair Use)
Newslessness
What a day!
a day like any other day
a day full of news
but unlike the previous day
and all other days stretching back
to the pre-news era
news piled up
but this time no one gathered it
no one edited it
verified facts
did a spellcheck
or made sure of sources
No one followed up on stories
no one created headlines
or subheadings
The news just lay there
a jumble
a mess
incoherent rubbish
Governments declared a state of emergency
but no one reported it.
The post-news era had begun
Gan Nuacht
A leithéid de lá!
lá ar nós lá ar bith eile
lá lán de nuacht
ach murab ionann is an lá roimhe sin
agus gach lá eile ag dul siar
go dtí an ré réamhnuachta
bhí an nuacht ann ina carn
ach an uair seo, gan éinne a bhaileodh í
a chuirfeadh in eagar í
a dhearbhódh fíricí
a sheiceálfadh foinsí agus litriú
Níor fiosraíodh scéalta a thuilleadh
níor cruthaíodh ceannlínte ar bith
ná fo-cheannteidil
Bhí an nuacht ina luí ansin
ina manglam
ina tranglam
ina meall dothuigthe
D’fhógair rialtais an domhain staid éigeandála
ach níor tuairiscíodh í.
Bhí tús curtha leis an aois iarnuachta
