We’ve been focusing all this week (and will continue) on William Blake and on transcription of Allen’s August 10 1979 Naropa class on Blake’s The Four Zoas. We’ll conclude transcription of that class today (with more to come) also noting a brief request from Korean video master Nam June Paik who was in attendance in the class, filming it
AG: Okay, ten of. I guess we should be able to conclude Book Two and zap through Book Three next time.
Steven Taylor (also present in the class): Allen. The whole class (is on hiatus next week)
AG: Yeah.
Student: Are we going to meet the Monday after…
AG: If we can, that’d be alright.
Steven Taylor: Tuesday is the last day of the session, right?
AG: Is it? I don’t know.
Steven Taylor: So there would be a class Monday.
AG: Okay. Monday is the 20th?
Nam June Paik: (Allen, before we conclude, one thing..). [Nam June Paik has been sitting in on the class, filming]
AG: Oh, oh, yeah. Oh, oh, one moment.
Nam June Paik: Stop, stop, stop.
AG: Okay. There’s something you’re going to ask us.
Nam June Paik: Yes.
AG: To continue this movie, what is it you need?
Nam June Paik: We need two, three young man or woman who wants to bite (sic) Mr. Ginsberg, (Who wants) to bite?
AG: To bite. In other words, somebody that will argue with me.
Nam June Paik: Yes, yes.
AG: Somebody that will put me down. Somebody that will….
Peter Orlovsky: Glen (sic). Glen?
AG: He left early. Tomorrow.
Peter Orlovsky: What time? Where?
Nam June Paik: At your home.
AG: Yeah, 11 o’clock at my house.
Nam June Paik: Yeah.
Student: About what? Argue about what? This?
Nam June Paik: About everything.
AG: You want to argue?
Student (2): Yeah. Yeah.
Student: Sure.
Nam June Paik: About everything. Not contained to his art or you know, (not only about his art, but broad, you know) and he said you are the silent generation so you may have something to say, you know?
Student: What’s this for?
Nam June Paik: I’m making a show about Ginsberg and Kaprow. He’s a….
AG: Allan Kaprow.
Nam June Paik: Allan Kaprow and so it’s part of this. It will be intercut with Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin …
AG: You want to be part of it?
Student: Yeah, I’ll come.
Nam June Paik: … of the ’60s. You want to bite then. It can be more than one. You see? Okay, you want to bite.
Peter Orlovsky: Okay. One biter? Two biters?
Nam June Paik: Three biters.
AG: Anybody else want to bite?
Nam June Paik: Woman (is also worthy)
AG: A lady who wants to bite me?
Peter Orlovsky: (Five, five from the class)
Nam June Paik: Yeah, alright. Anyway, five is okay, and then you are here to bite. Yeah.
AG: Be aggressive. At my house?
Nam June Paik: Yeah.
AG: It’ll be at 1439 Mapleton. Write it down. At what time?
Nam June Paik: I think, say, eleven-thirty.
AG: Eleven-thirty.
Nam June Paik: Yeah.
AG: Tomorrow.
Nam June Paik: Yeah. Fourteen-Thirty-Nine.
Student: Is this going to be for T.V.?
Nam June Paik: Yeah it’s going to be…
AG: Very arty T.V.
Student: American T.V.?
Nam June Paik: Yeah.
AG: Very arty.
Nam June Paik: (not all) no, we’ll have to cut.
AG: Okay. Do you have … fine..
Class and tape conclude here
Audio for the above can be heard here, beginning at approximately ninety-five-and-a-quarter minutes in and concludes at the end of the tape