Booklet and listening session for the Music and Poetry Workshop #4:

Charles Olson, "The chain of memory is resurrection..." from The Collected Poems: Dramatic address combined with intimacy of thought and detail, improvisational spirit in zigzag of associations, forward momentum and pulse. Propositional rhythm. Proper Nouns.


"The large theme
is the smallest (the thumbtack
in the way of the inkbottle..."

...

"the blossoms
are already
gone green green
the worst green
like paint floods
the sky
is like a bedroom wall
in a motel"


Bernadette Mayer, five poems from Poetry: Dramatic address combined with intimacy of thought and detail, improvisational sine wave of associations, forward momentum and pulse. Epistolary register. Word-grouping textures and environmental textures and details. Proper Nouns.


"we’ve solved the problem, the problem is solved

     men are women, women are men

          i'm pregnant for a while, you’re

pregnant for a while

     “if someone doesn’t change into an animal,

          we won’t be saved” someone must

change into an animal so that we can be saved."


Opal Whiteley, from The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow: Journalistic register with intimacy of thought and detail. Simplicity of construction (child-vocab) subtly odd word groupings. Word-grouping textures and environmental textures and details. Proper Nouns (invented).


"Between the ranch house and the house we live in, is the singing creek where the willows grow. We have conversations. And there I do dabble my toes beside the willows. I feel the feels of gladness they do feel."


Alice Notley, from The Descent of Alette, from Close to Me & Closer (the Language of Heaven: Dramatic address with intimacy of thought and detail, improv zigzag of associations, forward momentum and pulse. Word-grouping textures interrelating with imaginative/speculative environmental-textures and details. Stanzaic pulse /rhythm.


"But thinking ... is fluid here -- a... connection-- or light. If you thought like that, why the essence could be as much between... between you and what you are. Not a struggle, trying to be something... especially something that doesn’t... really work. Instead you can... float between. Around. We do. We are... that."


Alan Davies, Void Where Inhibited, from Hole magazine: Dramatic address (w/ low volume effects) with intimacy of critical thought and detail, improv sequencing of associations; use of slow tempo in thought sequencing. Autonomy of thought / word stanza sequences/units. Critical voicings/. Stanzaic rhythm/ propositional rhythm.


"If you’re not happy your ideas are shit."


Morton Feldman, In Memoriam: Edgard Varese, from Collected Writings: Dramatic address with journalistic register, intimacy of thought and critical voicings. Forward momentum and pulse. Passionate autobiographical/critical intensity of proposition.


"...do we love Music, and not the systems, the ritual, the symbols -- the worldly, greedy gymnastics we substitute for it?"


Played:

The Grey Album, Danger Mouse. Mash up Of The While Album, The Beatles, and The Black Album, Jay-Z. Fusing culturally and stylistically separated materials.

Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, Panaiotis, Deep Listening, New Albion, Total poetic conception of creative event. Environmental detail (reverb) and sound texture.

Morton Feldman, Between Categories, from Voices & Instruments, Mode. Transparency of texture, space and low-volume effects. Slow tempo effects. Autonomy of tonal sequencing units.

Julie Patton, minidisc practice recording. Simultaneous spontaneous improvisation of words and music.