Congratulations to the folks at PennSound on its third birthday.
PennSound makes available rare, new, and provocative audio files of important, controversial, and innovative writers, from Ezra Pound to Tan Lin, from Lyn Hejinian to Gertrude Stein. I cannot imagine producing my Wordsalad show without absorbing (and borrowing from) the Pennsound audio library. Thank you, Al Filreis, Charles Bernstein, and your crew, for continuing to develop and expand this important library.
Words
allen ginsberg. supermarket in california. poetry speaks. Sourcebooks MediaFusion
brian michael tracy. physics. midnight tea. midnight tea
james ragan. tent people of beverly hills. a century of recorded poetry. rhino word beat
james tate. lost pilot. a century of recorded poetry. rhino word beat
janet holmes. 11:36 p.m. IM. F 2 F. private recording
kenneth goldsmith. page one. american poets in the 21st century. wesleyan
laura sims. green river killer. fragments. private recording
leslie scalapino. from ‘horse floats horse flows.’ pennsound.
lyn hejinian. from ‘redo.’ penn sound.
maggie estep. vicious. love is a dog from hell. mercury
michael harper. dear john dear coltrane. a century of recorded poetry. rhino word beat
robert hayden. those winter sundays. poetry speaks. Sourcebooks MediaFusion
stephenh vincent benet. litany for dictatorships. caedmon poetry collection. caedmon
tracie morris. untitled. american poets in the 21st century. Wesleyan
Music
miles davis. on the corner. complete on the corner sessions. columbia
steve roach. red dust and sweat. Australia: sound of the earth. fortuna
Words
Artist. track. CD title. label.
brian michael tracy. because we are water. midnight tea. midnight tea
cecil taylor. track 3. chinampas. ubuweb
christian bok. chapter A (excerpt). eunoia. ubuweb
dan machlin. letter to D. dear body. private recording
eric baus. while the somnambulist. FELIX poetry reading series. private recording
janet holmes. glassicaglia. face to face. notre dame.
jesse glass. to a young bride; still life with dragonfly. private recording. ahadada books
julianna spahr. poem written after sept 11 2001. mills college. pennsound
laura sims. blank. Stranger (forthcoming). private recording
leslie scalapino. from floats horse floats. kelly writers house. pennsound
olga broumas. digestibles of sun. listeners guide. copper canyon press
paula claire. breeze. konkrete canticle. ubuweb
steve mccaffery. the curve to its answer. live at the ear. pennsound
Music
steve roach. gone west; a daze wage; a bigger sky. from dust to dust. projekt
steve roach. between the gray and the purple; void memory one; infinite shore. magnificent void. fathom
Words
brian michael tracy. Downstream; jerome. midnight tea. midnight tea
christian bok. chapter I. eunoia. UbuWeb
cole swensen. who thought; doppelganger. FELIX series. private recording
gertrude stein. portrait of matisse. gertrude stein reads. caedmon
hayden carruth. ‘sure,’ said benny goodman. listeners guide. copper canyon press
janet holmes. From: date: to: subject:. F 2 F. notre dame.
janet kuypers. Obituary: she was a woman. private recording. janetkuypers com
jeanne spicuzza. openest aviary. jeanne spicuzza. seasons and a muse
jesse glass. song to arepo. private recording. ahadada books
leslie scalapino. immense light on the lake. Floats Horse floats. pennsound
sarah mckinstry brown. you are dangerous. transplant. midverse
sylvia plath. leaving early; candles. NY Times books.
taylor mali. the miracle worker. icarus airlines. words worth ink
urknee & bjurton. Cleavaggio; child & claude. live at AV space, rochester. private recording
Music
Expo 70. I, II, III. july 18 2004. exposeventy
Tetsu inoue. Q-Tip; Tonic bit. Psycho-acoustic. Tzadik
Words
anne magnuson. then the babies return. lip cd with a big mouth. ruby throat
christian bok. seahorses and flying fish. eunoia. UbuWeb
cole swensen. freud claims; edith wharton. FELIX poetry series. private recording
dan machlin. fifth letter. dear body. private recording
david lee. Jan’s birthday. listeners guide. copper canyon press
elisabeth belile. helen. lip cd with a big mouth. ruby throat
eric baus. while the somnambulist explains. FELIX poetry series. private recording
genny lim. the only language. lip cd with a big mouth. ruby throat
hayden carruth. once more. listeners guide. copper canyon press
janet holmes. 1:14 am IM. encounter. F 2 F. private recording
juliana spahr. january. mills college. pennsound
julianna spahr. gathering palolo stream. SUNY Buffalo. pennsound
leslie scalapino. breaking of reason. floats horse floats. pennsound
mIEKAL aND. Thorission; if you need incarnation. samsara congeries. xexoxial editions
philip levine. the midget. hear me.
sarah mckinstry brown. transplant. transplant. midverse com
taylor mali. for the life of me. icarus airlines. words worth ink
Music
robert rich. nesting on cliffsides; mantis intentions. bestiary. relapse
steve roach. turning world; black cloud. Solitaire: ritual ground. Steveroach.com
Words
christian bok. ‘W’. eunoia. UbuWeb.
cole swensen. in stories. FELIX poetry series. private recording.
dan machlin. Antebodies; thursday letter. dear body. Ugly duckling presse
francoise valery. entremots. Lip: the cd with a big mouth. ruby throat.
hayden carruth. flying into st louis. listeners guide. copper canyon press.
janet holmes. 840 pm IM; digital arrows. F 2 F. private recording.
jesse glass. nothing. sampler. ahadadabooks.
leslie scalapino. from Floats Horse-floats or Horse-flows. kelly writers house. pennsound.
marilyn T. working class. Lip: the cd with a big mouth. ruby throat.
mIEKAL aND. Cant; overhand. samsara congeries. xexoxial editions.
olga broumas. in Ioulitas blue. from photo voltaic. a listeners guide. copper canyon press.
rusty russell. struck by lightning; let’s dig up the small bones. wordsalad reading. private recording.
sarah mckinstry brown. our love is an opera; dear frida. transplant. midverse.com.
music
demetra. zora blue; aux assembly. untitled. private label.
This gray November afternoon I enjoyed hearing Janet Holmes read from F2F and Dan Machlin read from Dear Body, as part of the FELIX new writing series at the UW Madison Memorial Library. Both graciously allowed me to record their readings and to air selections on upcoming Wordsalad programs.
My friend Mongo, who hosts the podcast Indiefeed Performance Poetry, has been plugging Wordsalad on his show, and beginning next week I’ll start plugging his. I listen to his podcast regularly to keep up with what’s new in slam and performance.
Words
caroline bergvall. Mont blanc (collaboration with Mario Diaz de Léon) Electronic Poetry Center
carolyn lailani lau. an indictment against stockbrokers. lip: the cd with a big mouth. ruby throat.
cole swensen. graves end. FELIX poetry series. private recording.
eli coppola. jury duty. lip cd with a big mouth. ruby throat.
exene cervenka. in the clutches of his 4 month time. lip cd with a big mouth. ruby throat.
hayden carruth. testament. listeners guide. copper canyon press.
john lennon. yesterday and today LP cover. lennon in his own words. lennon legend.
leslie scalapino. guiltless black cattle; green speechless. kelly writers house. pennsound.
miekal and. argot contents; serial music. samsara congeries. private recording.
olga brouwma. photo genic. listeners guide. copper canyon press.
rusty russell. writers envy; how time works. wordsalad reading. private recording.
tan lin. editorial note. close listening. pennsound.
taylor mali. maybe for you it is today; apologia of hephaestus. icarus airlines. words worth ink.
Music
Bucketrider. Evenement 1 l’spontaneist. sampler RMITunion. liquid architecture.
tim catlin. hysterisis. sampler RMITunion. liquid architecture.
chuck wild. gently down. liquid mind 7. real music.
Close Listening: Poetry and the Performed Word.
Edited by Charles Bernstein
Oxford U Press, 1998. 390 pp.
What do poetry slams have in common with traditional poetry readings?
More than one may think.
Close Listening, edited by Charles Bernstein, offers 17 perspectives on how contemporary poetry has been practiced as a performance art. Nearly ten years after its initial publication, this book remains fresh and stimulating.
Much literary criticism has neglected the auditory and performance aspects of the poem, Bernstein writes. But a poem’s sound and its meaning are aspects of each other, neither prior, neither independent.
This collection of essays argues against the assumption that a poem’s text is primary, while a poet’s performance of the poem is secondary, and fundamentally inconsequential to the “poem itself.” Bernstein observes that, in a poetry performance, explicit value is placed almost exclusively on the acoustic production of a single unaccompanied speaking voice.
Steve McCaffery writes about the ‘sound poem’ as an uncompromising effort at abstraction. Its primary goal is “the liberation and promotion of the phonetic and subphonetic features of language.”
Maria Damon notes that contemporary ‘open mic’ readings trace their origins back at least as far as the 1950s. At a San Francisco club called The Place, anyone could take the floor one night a week, but had to “withstand the heckling and other spontaneous, unpolished feedback from the audience.”
Johanna Drucker discusses the concept of orchestrating verbal language through visual means. She reproduces pages of work by the likes of Kurt Schwitters, Henri Chopin, John Cage, and Jackson Mac Low. Their graphical poems sometimes worked as a record of a performed piece, sometimes as its point of departure.
Contributors include Bruce Andrews, Marjorie Perloff, Ron Silliman, Susan Howe, and others; some performers in their own right.
Words
ann lauterbach. from opening day. live at the ear. penn sound.
bill allegrezza. take me; hands on a body. moriapoetry.com.
caroline bergvall. mont blanc. Electronic Poetry Center
cin salach. evolution. reVerse.
cin salach and sheila donahue. I’m a stranger here myself. Lip: the cd with a big mouth. ruby throat.
cole swensen. from the 19th century. FELIX series. private recording.
eric baus. Who king tree is. FELIX series. Private recording.
elisabeth belile. helen. Lip: The cd with a big mouth. ruby throat.
hayden carruth. museum piece. listeners guide. copper canyon press.
jesse glass. quinzhau. private recording. ahadada books.
john ashbery. crossroads in the past. kelly writers house. pennsound.
kate borenstein. voice lessons. Lip: The cd with a big mouth. ruby throat.
olga broumas. on earth; ode. listeners guide. copper canyon press.
phil minton. dough song 7. a doughnut in one hand. fmp.
tan lin. AM B FI CT. close listening. penn sound.
Music
keith jarrett trio. you took advantage of me; guess i’ll hang my tears out to dry. My foolish heart. ECM.
navid afghah. genesis. genesis. hermes.
