“The Time of Composition”

November 22, 2017Simon Pettet
 
[Rainer Maria Gerhardt (1927-1954)]
[Ted Berrigan (1934-1983)]
 
[Charles Olson (1910-1970)]
Student: Can I ask you a little bit of an off-the-wall question?
AG: Yes.. Why don’t we leave this time open now for just general…
Student: In our (Ted) Berrigan class  tonight, he said this comment that,  “The time of the composition is the time of the composition”…. (I’ve been trying to understand that)  and I’ve been trying all night.  And he says “Well, you should know that with every poem that you read, (before you start out).
AG: The time of  the composition is the time of the … Read More

A Brief Anthology of English Lyric

November 2, 2017Simon Pettet

Allen at Naropa on “Basic Poetics” continuing from here
AG: So we’ll go back to Edmund Waller or do a bit more of (John) Milton. But I would like to get to Edmund Waller for a while, for a brief while. Is that alright? Is that… “Go, lovely rose”  (on page three-oh-five). And I’ll read that, and see how it works. I think of all the little lyrics we’ve gone over, this was the one like “Ask Me No More..” and “scepter and crown” (“Ask me no more..” was Carew)  – “Scepter and crown/Must crumble down/ And … Read More

Ben Jonson (“Slow Slow Fresh Fount..”)

April 12, 2017Simon Pettet

AG:  So what do we want now? – (Ben Jonson’s) “Slow slow fresh fount” ,  Some of you here, What did you make of that? – Page two six-six – a couple of really pretty pieces of cadence (here) now.. I’ve never examined this song very carefully, except  a couple of times it’s really struck me as being real..  just totally lovely music..

“Slow slow, fresh fount, keep time with my salt tears;/Yet slower yet, O faintly, gentle springs!/List to the heavy part the music bears” – So it’s all about music, actually – the” division” here (“Woe weeps out … Read More

A Post-Thanksgiving Elizabethan Reading List

November 26, 2016Simon Pettet

elizabethan-music

Reading Assignments –

AG: Well, okay, it’s about 9.30 almost. For next round, George Peele, page 183, George Peele – Writhe in “Hot sun, Cold fire”. Do we have any Robert Greene in our book? some Robert Greene.. Robert Southwell’s “Burning Babe” page 186..Samuel Daniel “Care-Charmer Sleep“, 187…is it on there?… yeah “Care-Charmer Sleep”   Sonnet 45, page 188. Look them all over, look over Daniel – Sonnet 46 – “Authentic shall my verse in time to come..” – There is a…one other.. look over the (Thomas) Campion, which will be then in … Read More

Rose-Cheek’d Laura’s Centrality

September 28, 2016admin

[Ezra Pound, Basil Bunting, Louis Zukofsky, Robert Duncan, Robert Creeley, William Carlos Williams and Marianne Moore]

AG: So you’ll find in the twentieth-century,  (Ezra) Pound, (Basil) Bunting, (Louis) Zukofsky, Robert Duncan, some of (Robert) Creeley, all derive from this poem or from the practice of this poem. It’s sort of like the secret inner measure of their work, the kind of attempt that Campion is getting into here or the territory he’s getting into. And that was related to the idea of William Carlos Williams of finding a measure that would be an American … Read More

More Rose-Cheek’d Laura

September 27, 2016admin

[“Only beauty purely loving/Knows no discord” (Thomas Campion)]

Continuing with classroom discussion of Campion’s “Rose-cheek’d Laura..” Rose-cheek’d Laura, come Sing thou smoothly with thy beauty’s Silent music, either other Sweetly gracing Lovely forms do flow From concent divinely framed; Heav’n is music and thy beauty’s Birth is heavenly. These dull notes we sing Discords need for helps to grace them; Only beauty purely loving Knows no discord, But still moves delight Like clear springs renew’d by flowing, Ever perfect, ever in them- Selves eternal.

AG: I guess it’s (it’s metrics are) pretty natural  – [to Student (Pat)] – Have … Read More

Campion’s Rose-Cheek’d Laura – 2

September 22, 2016admin
“Rose-cheek’d Laura, come/Sing thou smoothly with thy beauty’s/Silent music..” (Thomas Campion)

AG: (Basil) Bunting would probably do it [Campion’s “Rose-Cheek’d Laura“] much slower – “These dull notes we sing..” Discords need for helps to grace them” – The form here is.. what? Sapphic?  Anacrenotic? – or something like that, some Greek form

Student (Pat): No this is what he calls the English iambic (curiously enough, since it’s trochaic)

AG: ….da-data-data-data – counted by four, counted by accent..

Student (Pat): (These are) experimental.pieces from the Observations in the Art (of  English Poesie)

AG: Okay, now.  So this … Read More

Campion’s Rose-Cheek’d Laura – 1

September 21, 2016admin

AG: Let’s see what else there is? The really great one for that I always thought was.. on (page) two-two-seven..Rose-cheek’d Laura – two-two-seven      Student; All the other books spell Laura with a “w” and not a “u” AG: L-A-W-R-A? – Yeah, “Lawra” ..because that makes the vowel longer – “Lawra” –  What I… [to Student]  Do you know the music to that one? Student: It’s not in there. AG: It’s not in there. But, anyway.. Dig the way it goes . “Rose-cheek’d Laura, come”. It’s not  “Rose-cheek’d Laura come” – “Rose-cheek’d Laura, come” – Rose-cheek’d – breath – Laura, … Read More

Bunting & Campion – Follow Thy Sun..

September 20, 2016admin

AG: …But anyway, getting back to (Thomas) Campion (and) (Basil) Bunting‘s vocalization of “Follow Thy Sun…. ”  – What page is that (in the (Norton) anthology)? Two-twenty-five again?

[Allen, turning on and off the tape of the Bunting’s lecture recording, searches on the tape-recorder] – “Well, let’s see what he says about it – He was using records too – It’ll be clear in a minute..”

[At approximately thirty-two-and a quarter minutes in (and concluding at approximately thirty-four-and-a-quarter minutes in), Allen plays a recording of Bunting reading Campion’s  “Follow Thy Sun…” – “Follow thy fair sun, unhappy shadow/Tough … Read More

Campion – “Follow Thy Fair Sun…”

September 8, 2016admin
Thomas Campion (1567-1620)

AG: So the next one that he (Thomas Campion) has is  “Follow Thy.. Sun Unhappy Shadow” (Norton (anthology) page 225, it’s the page before, in the Norton, it begins at the bottom of page 225 ) – Do you know what it… does anyone know how to sing that? if you’ve got the music? – Does anybody know that one? – [to Student] Have you worked on that at all? Student: I.. I.. I could kind of do it. AG: Yeah, well let’s have.. Student: Do it, first? AG:  Want to do this first? … Read More