On rereading "A" this Advent, the poem seems a celebration of overweening generalists. Zukofsky includes details about famous men I had forgotten: J. S. Bach worked as a Latin teacher, Karl Marx read calculus to relax, etc. Of course Zukofsky's friend William Carlos Williams worked as a doctor and a poet, and his friend Ezra Pound seems one of the most overweening of generalists. (Please check out my friend Mike Johnson's blog http://overweeninggeneralist.blogspot.com/ .)
I read "A" - 11 this morning, and I found it very beautiful. Zukofsky dedicated it to his wife and son. This marks a turning point in the poem. I look forward to trying to understand Zukofsky's writings more deeply. I sit here right now while a community college class finishes a final. I spent much of today grading, and I feel very burnt out. Nonetheless, thinking of Zukofsky's poetry brings a smile to my face. I read "A" 1 - 23 once in my thirties and once in my forties. At the age of fifty I had the idea to read "A" 1 - 23 during the first 23 days of December. I decided to repeat it this year at the age of 51. I look forward to doing this for many Decembers to come. (I may change my mind; we will see.)
Reading Zukofsky has led me to listen to lots of Bach lately. I also started reading Goedel Escher Bach. I read the first 200 or so pages about thirty years ago and returned it to the library. I hope to finish it this time. I find it interesting that both Zukofsky and Ezra Pound preferred Bach to Beethoven. I don't encounter that attitude much these days. I will attempt to grok it in the coming weeks. (Of course, I plan to listen to Beethoven next Monday for his birthday. Years of reading Peanuts has programmed me to reverence that day.)
Thank you for reading.
Dec 16 is also Philip K. Dick's b-day. LvB/PKD and 16...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention; people are reading this blog but not commenting. How do I know? The stats for OG listed 4 links to OG from Zukofsky, etc.
Bach resonates more strongly with me too, and if I tried to say why I'd run out of room here. This is meant as zero slight to Beethoven.
There's a Hacker's Dictionary (or a title like that) that asserts Godel-Escher-Bach is the hacker's left-brain book to Illuminatus!'s right-brain.
If I can't score _A_ on the legit market I will lobby like a hard-ass the local librarians to buy it.
"Oh Time, Strength, and Patience!" - Melville
ReplyDelete"Beats me. I feel it done to me and weep." - Catullus via Ezra Pound
Money seems a profound mystery.
Dec. 16 also marks Jane Austen, Arthur C. Clarke and Noel Coward's birthdays. I see it as a special day.
I find it interesting that Bach resonates more strongly for you than Beethoven. I guess I favored Beethoven before I started reading Bob Wilson, largely due to my mom and my college roommate Jai Jeffreys, a wonderful pianist. (Check out Jai's terrific youtube videos: http://www.jeffryes.net/ ) Wilson solidified Beethoven's central position in my canon. In the 1970's and 1980's Mozart seemed Beethoven's main competitor. I think of Bob's comment in Illuminati Papers that one of his persona's loved Mozart (except when people preferred him to Beethoven). Mozart seemed to peak around that time with the play and film Amadeus and the pop songs of the same name. His reputation dropped in the 19th century - people didn't consider him serious enough. Richard Strauss really helped Mozart's reputation. I'd love to hear more about your preference for Bach. (That preference for Bach makes me think you may really enjoy Zukofsky.)
I look forward to finishing Goedel Escher Bach, although I may have to put it on the back burner so I can do some studying for classes I teach next semester like music theory and Latin. I do intend to finish it this time, however.
I hope you get a copy of "A" and enjoy it. Perhaps universe will get you a copy at just the right time.
Let us all now take a moment and pause to reflect on the courage of Noel Coward, to come into this world a mere NINE DAYS before Christmas! How ironic his name! He looked Christmas in the face and dared it to harm him. He lived his life on his own terms, and warn't no noel coward, no sir!
ReplyDeleteGood day!
-Net Comment Nut #95732210897
I love the movie and the play The Man Who Came to Dinner, which includes characters based on Noel Coward, Alexander Woollcott and Harpo Marx. Jimmy Durante played the Harpo character in the film. In one road company, Harpo and Woollcott both player the characters based on themselves. The Algonquin Round Table fascinates me. Cynthia Heimel turned me on to The Man Who Came to Dinner. Interestingly, David Thomson hates that film.
ReplyDeleteCynthia Heimel: Eric, allow me to introduce you to Mister Sheridan Whiteside.
ReplyDeleteWhiteside: You're standing on my foot.
Eric (steps back): Sorry!
Whiteside (accepts Eric's hand shake, while his head's turned turned toward the kitchen) Charmed. Do I smell dinner?
Eric: Who are you playing? Err...what I mean is: David Thomson doesn't like this film. He hates it.
Whiteside: Who's this Thomson you speak of?
Cynthia Heimel: Mr. Whiteside, Eric and I have to go, as we're only visiting on the astral plane. (Turns to Eric: You want to come to dinner at my folks' place?)
Eric: I'm feeling peckish, yes! Arrivaderci, you old phony!
(Eric and Cynthia vanish)
Aaaaaaaand: SCENE!
What a wonderful dialogue. Thank you. I used to love Cynthia Heimel's books. I think she has a Twitter feed, but I haven't really gotten into Twitter.
ReplyDeleteI first discovered her through her great essay, "When in Doubt, Act Like Myrna Loy" in But Enough About You. I actually have an autographed book by her, a gift from a friend. I've never met her.
Decades ago my friend Mike Welnick and I started writing a novel about a salesman as a sort of modern King Arthur with a Merlin-like mentor called Roller Coaster Merlin. We wanted to it function sort of like Ulysses and the Odyssey. I read a lot about the Algonquin Round Table, hoping to fit that in. I even peeked in the Algonquin Hotel on a trip to New York.
I've gotten behind in "A". Work has taken up a lot of my time, so I haven't finished up "A" - 12 yet. I hope to get caught up soon. I do love Zukofsky's poetry about his wife, father and son. I also continue to listen to Bach.
I love a number of sentimental films Thomson hates: Miracle on 34th Street, The Sound of Music, etc. I fear both Thomson and J. G. Ballard would find me middle brow. (That seems like a very British insult.) I still love Thomson's writing however. He seems much more interesting than McLuhan to me on the impact of new media.