Paul Maziar's Bookmarked Column Explores Internet Browsing as Poetic Rabbit Hole

Poet and critic Paul Maziar contributes to artcritical's Bookmarked column, reflecting on the internet's disorienting yet inspiring nature. Maziar, author of several books including WHAT IT IS: WHAT IT IS (2008) with Matt Maust, describes online browsing as a series of distractions leading to unexpected discoveries. He references Franz Kafka's thoughts on imagination and compares internet exploration to Raymond Roussel's divergent stanzas and Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights. Maziar bookmarks various content without clear purpose, from a French film Un Homme Qui Dort (1974) to an essay by Raphael Rubinstein. He mentions artists Sue Tompkins, Carla Harryman, and Miles Champion, whose works remain in his read-later tabs. The column captures the tension between digital abundance and memory loss, where saved links become forgotten curiosities. Maziar's personal anecdotes include interactions with a New York City visitor named John, who discussed his paintings and demanded a Wall Street Journal be burned. The piece contemplates whether the internet exists as an alternate universe, blending poetic observation with cultural references.