More Robert Duncan – 3

January 15, 2018Simon Pettet

More Robert Duncan.   This is the second of three videos.  The first (along with a transcript) is available – here (and continues – here)

RD: How do you feel the first time that you ask for a job? Is it you that does the interview? – No, I think it’s one of these daily persons like the dream-person, like the.. and so forth… And so I have at least these three (sic) realms I’m familiar with. And then we ‘ve got testimony that people live in the realm that religious people live in. We know there’s that other … Read More

More on Meters

April 24, 2017Simon Pettet

AG: So there’s tone and pitch and then there’s the long and short vowel, and then there’s a light and heavy accent. So there’s…  Actually, Greek meters did consist in there.. that’s something interesting, these guys, particularly (Ben) Jonson, knew Greek, Greek meters consisted, as modern classicists classify them, (modern classicists classify them, Greek professors classify them), as – stress, accent and quantity (and that’s a little confusing, what’s stress and what’s accent?) – But, usually.. the terminology which is used nowadays, which has been useful for Greek… terminology used for analyzing Greek poetics (which would be useful to … Read More

A Brief Detour on Metrics -1

November 23, 2016Simon Pettet

astrophel

Allen continuing his class on Sir Philip Sidney‘s poem  [Astrophil and Stella – Sonnet 1 – “Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show”]

Student; So after that?

AG: Well, I don’t know. What happened to the “of”? – [”That She, dear She might take some pleasure/Of my pain”] – “of my pain”, “pleasure of my pain” – That’s one of the problems of the transcription. So we’ll substitute the “That” for the “Of”, we’ve still got six

“Pleasure might cause her read,/ reading might make her know”, no, “Pleasure/ might cause her/ read,/ … Read More

Campion’s Prosody

August 24, 2016admin

Allen Ginsberg’s January 1980 Naropa  class on Basic Poetics continues with transcription of one-on-one conversation that appears to take place after the formal end of the class  

AG: Pat (sic), did you ever read that –  (Thomas) Campion‘s treatises on the music and poetry? Student (Pat (sic)) :  I’ve read the Observations in The Art of English Poesie  AG: Is that the one that takes up quantitative.?  Student (Pat): Yeah AG: Do you have a copy of Campion ?  Could you prepare a little summary of his ideas on quantity…You know what he says about that? [Allen is temporarily distracted … Read More

Basil Bunting’s Lectures on Poetic Origins – 1

August 15, 2016admin
Basil Bunting  (1900-1985)

AG:  Some of the ideas that (Basil) Bunting was laying out, I would like to lay out here because they’re just very interesting. He was saying that, first of all, English poetry was sung up until the 17th century. All the poets wrote for singing including, of all people, John Donne! – Donne was sung. He was put to music by   a fellow named Ferrabosco of that era  (do you know anything about that?) – Well, apparently Donne was actually sung. Donne is usually taught nowadays as if he… you know.. he has one or two

… Read More

Spontaneous Poetics (Ballads) – 27

January 21, 2013admin

[Walter Ralegh (1554-1618) aged 34 – portrait via National Portrait Gallery]

Allen’s Spontaneous Poetry (Ballads) lectures, given at the Naropa Institute, Boulder, Colorado, in July and August of 1976, continue. This particular section continues the June 16 class.

AG:  “The Lie” by Sir Walter Ralegh – Moving now from ballad to song, staying around the same time. We’re still before and after Shakespeare. There are a number of classical pieces of rhythm and imagery that those of you who are interested in poetry  just as beaming mind-eye movies should know. And those of you who are writing

… Read More