I'm a big fan of Herzog's early work & general 'crazy person' reputation. I haven't seen much of his more recent work - so this was a getting back in touch experience.
I think it is good - certainly interesting from the point of view of the painstaking construction of the mandala which is then ceremonially destroyed and scattered into the river as a blessing. Another example of forms and riddles.
re: Ray DiPalma - I, too, kept thinking how far do you go? And still do. I find his work very intriguing indeed. That he works with visual images, collage, printmaking etc. also seems significant to his take on language and the space of the page (language as a fragmented physical entity). According to Lisa J. he's a big fan of British comedy (Peter Cook, Python etc.) which makes him sound even more of a Good Chap.
Anyway, the cabbage:cabbala coincidence has sent me back into Harold Bloom territory - so expect some more wacky stuff. Walter Pater, too.
Next week posts are likely to be more sporadic - depending on which French cafes have wi-fi for my laptop.
Question: if you had only 3 books of poetry to take on holiday - which would you take? (Slim volumes, preferably).
I recently took a long train journey to Buxton & immersed myself in THE OPENING OF THE FIELD. I would highly recommend Joseph Lease's BROKEN WORLD, but there may not be time to get it (I recently got his previous collection HUMAN RIGHTS, which is also interesting, though it hasn't yet grabbed me in quite the same way). I was in London recently and picked up Celan's SCHNEEPART (the fairly recent Carcanet translation by Ian Fairley) & this is the perfect size for a journey. Carcanet have also put together two handy anthologies of the New York School, both of which would fit nicely in luggage & aren't too heavy -- & the advantage of an anthology is it never gets too samey. The 2nd anthology (Berrigan, Guest, Padgett, Coolidge, Mayer, etc.) would be my choice. Andrew McAllister's THE OBJECTIVISTS is another slim anthology guaranteed to keep you busy. Failing that, I find a Shakespeare play (preferably a Roman play or one of the tragedies or a late play) is a good way of passing the time -- not an Arden edition with lots of notes but the cheapest possible, like a Penguin Popular Classics or even a Wordsworth. Then you can treat it abysmally with a clear conscience.
4 comments:
But was it any good?
Loved your reading of Ray DiPalma’s poem, btw. I occasionally paused to wonder -- Is this over the top? -- then thought, Why not?
Walrus
I'm a big fan of Herzog's early work & general 'crazy person' reputation. I haven't seen much of his more recent work - so this was a getting back in touch experience.
I think it is good - certainly interesting from the point of view of the painstaking construction of the mandala which is then ceremonially destroyed and scattered into the river as a blessing. Another example of forms and riddles.
re: Ray DiPalma - I, too, kept thinking how far do you go? And still do. I find his work very intriguing indeed. That he works with visual images, collage, printmaking etc. also seems significant to his take on language and the space of the page (language as a fragmented physical entity). According to Lisa J. he's a big fan of British comedy (Peter Cook, Python etc.) which makes him sound even more of a Good Chap.
Anyway, the cabbage:cabbala coincidence has sent me back into Harold Bloom territory - so expect some more wacky stuff. Walter Pater, too.
Next week posts are likely to be more sporadic - depending on which French cafes have wi-fi for my laptop.
Question: if you had only 3 books of poetry to take on holiday - which would you take? (Slim volumes, preferably).
Answers on a postcard svp.
Cheers
The C.
I recently took a long train journey to Buxton & immersed myself in THE OPENING OF THE FIELD. I would highly recommend Joseph Lease's BROKEN WORLD, but there may not be time to get it (I recently got his previous collection HUMAN RIGHTS, which is also interesting, though it hasn't yet grabbed me in quite the same way). I was in London recently and picked up Celan's SCHNEEPART (the fairly recent Carcanet translation by Ian Fairley) & this is the perfect size for a journey. Carcanet have also put together two handy anthologies of the New York School, both of which would fit nicely in luggage & aren't too heavy -- & the advantage of an anthology is it never gets too samey. The 2nd anthology (Berrigan, Guest, Padgett, Coolidge, Mayer, etc.) would be my choice. Andrew McAllister's THE OBJECTIVISTS is another slim anthology guaranteed to keep you busy. Failing that, I find a Shakespeare play (preferably a Roman play or one of the tragedies or a late play) is a good way of passing the time -- not an Arden edition with lots of notes but the cheapest possible, like a Penguin Popular Classics or even a Wordsworth. Then you can treat it abysmally with a clear conscience.
Walrus
Good advice!
I dashed into town & picked up a Wordsworth Classic 'As You Like It' which I've been meaning to re-read for some time.
Otherwise it's with a view to further chapters:
- Berrigan, Schuyler & H.D. 'Selected's
- Ashbery's 'Houseboat Days'
- slim vols: Guest, Foust, Stein
- Emerson's Essays
Will I get the time to do justice to even this reduced portable library?
We will see.
Cheers
The C.
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