Ginsberg, allen poetics practicum

., _ Allen Ginsberg J?oetics Practicutn 3, 1992 Revised !"1arch 29, 1995 June Table of Contents 10 Kerouac, " Belie[ & Teclmiq\.~e fo:r Hodern Prose" Kerouac , "EssentiRJ.s of Soontaneous Prose'' Ginsberg, "Some Different Considerations in Mindful Jl.rrangernent of Open Verse For:os on the Page" Ginsberg, "Fourteen Steps for Revising Poetry" "A Synopsis of Metrical Systems" "Versification in English Poetry" Suggest i ons for rebd i ng s in Ezra Pound' s L it&.:r~:a E.B ~aya 11 15 16 19 20 23 24 26 27 28 29 33 37 38 39 40 Select ions from E7.ra Pou nd ' s J_.iterary_Ess~y~ Suggestions for :l:~ ~~adings in ~J C Williams' _s e_lP.,.Qted Essays Sugges_tions for !readings in \•1 C ""iLliams · poems Sugge stions for readi.ngs in Charles Reznikoff's poems ~rungpa & Ginsberg, ''Meditation & Poetics" Blakt, rJut line oE Systen: in Jerusalem (S Foster Da mon) Blake: Auguries of Inn ocence Sh P-lly : Ode tc vvest Wind Hart Crane: At lcwt is, from Th_u~r.id~ Great Prajna J?araiH ita Sut::r.a - Sunrj.ru Strt.uki, P.osh.i "Survey of Hi storical Poetics" A Scheme of Iijric Tt1eme: F~ythm & Cadence Torn o' Bedlam· s EOiJg Lady Greensleeves Wha t Is Beauty But A Breath Su g gest ed Reading !.·is t : l-1oderns Addenda 9'-93: 42 44 48 53 Ginsb erg, ''Ccsmopolitan Greetings•• Ginsberg "Mind Writjng Slog~ns•· Ginsberc-Ginsberg ( "MeJ iLa tion & Poetics'' "Mind Wr.1.t:ing: Exe~cises in Pcetic C ·, & knowlc:dgc 15 Write for tire world lO read :rnd sec yr o:act pictures of it 26 Uookrnovie is tile movie in words, the visu:d t\ mer ion fo1111 27 In Pr:tisc of Ch:nacter in the Ulcak inhuman Loneliness · 28 Composing wiiJ, unJi.sciplinc:d, pure, corning in f10111 u11Jcr, craz.ier the beucr 29 You're :1 Genius all the time 30 Writcr ·Oircctor of Earthly movies Sponsored(< J\n~;cl cd in IICJven As ever, See Vikinf!, Portable Bfot Reoder Viking/Penguin N.Y I :to~ling scnlcncc-sllllChncs :1ln·:u lr nrh i· lrnrily oi siou o£ "new" life Follow r ou~hly ou!liut:S in out! :u~ttin~ 111m·•:· mc nt ov Count of Hyllublm; (Murinune Moore Knn•wth Hnxrolh) ( s eyes Review it wi t h eye to idiomatic speec h Rev iew it with eye to the condensation of syntax (b lu e pencil & transpose} Check out all articles & prepositions : are they necessary a nd func tional? Rev i e w i t for abs traction and substitu te particular facts for reference (for exampl e : "wa lkin g down the avenue " to "walking down 2nd Ave nu e ") Date the composition Take a phras e f r om it and mak e up a title that's un1que or curious or interesting sounding bu t rea l istic 10 Put quotat io ns around speec hes or r eferen tia l s.l0ng "so to speak " phrases 11 Review it for weak sp6ts you really don ' t li ke, but just l e f t t here for inertial reasons 12 Check for ac t ive ve r sus ina c tive verbs ( for example : " after the subway ride " instead of "after we rode the subway") 13 Chop it u p in lines according to breat h phrasing/ideas or units of t h ough t within one bt·ea th, if any 14 Rety pe 1\pri.L , 1982 A S\II OPS I S SYS1'El:\.S, table of f~Qt, OPa 'I''rl S YLL.A BL £S Pyrr~lch.,,, , · L/ '- / Soor1dee • : • • , Inrnbu!J •.•• , ,, ,, • • • • • • • • ' ' 1' r o c h e c ••, • •• , , , , 'fHR EE' S YLLf 9L ES 'l'ribrncl\ or Cho.rlus \ _ / Molosaus • D~ctylt! , , · • · · · · · · • • • • ._., '-' t I I Lh•" (; •>d 1).1 tlll I ! 0~ i ~v·~ ! Sunune r \ / - ' ' \ _./ "naoest,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,, ,, , , , , , , , Ba c c h 1us • , • •••• •• , , •.•••••.••••••• \ / '- -/ '-. .~ J\ntibucchius or· Pnlimbt~cchiu!l., ••• Amo hi brn c hys , •• ·, • , , , ; •• , •••• , • , , , !.m-chlm.act!r or Cretlc ••.•• , , , , , , , , , \ _./ - ~ '- J ' \ _./ '- /- int o the Oil Good God Uesperate Underst< / ll( )( /1 X X / I>< X / 'P''"!l to the stir rupl< • nd Jorjis, ' "d he; e(JII~pcd, ot~k ,{II loped, ,.,.~ ,~~~~ ~red~~~ thtc~ In order to cmph~siz.c: Ute dTect of diflercnt :trungemcnts of stressed 2n d unstressed sylhbles, th e i:>m bic and the ana pestic feet arc sometimes ebuilied 2s n"Jing meters because the 2cccnied sylhble follows one or two unaccented sylbb lcs, 's return, cOcrr·crcr Sirn ibrl)', the trodtaic 2nd the: d~ctylic feet 2rc cbssified as falling meters bcousc Ute 2cccmcd syllable comes first, 2s laugllta, Jylla bfc A little obscrntion will show that c2eh kind of foot has its ow n dl~r•c tcrisucs; hence, in e·,cry poem tlu: foot chosen should be2r close relationshi p to the purpose of the p Man"col Fut: Laton for a Boy Yct swdy Quite :l~turJ.II y the le ngth of line of poetry h2s bearing upon the rhythmical effect A sl1ort line suggesu r:tpidity; :t long line, slowness Between the t wo ue numerous grad,tions A line of verse is named according to the number 2nd the kind of feet it eo nt~i m T he process of determining tltose bctors is e:a.lled se:t nsio n; it involves the divi.s ion of Ule line: into sylbblcs ~trcs scd 2nd unstrcsscd-nnccluriO lllrB I' I " I" Pent3rnctet i:unbic- "h ~t•./•c:s Ime won/I dcr)( grc01/ I>y, ur21 1':lt / X / )f ./ 4/ :OS • I , I elf thought de cltncslm fcd[m~ • dulljdc o·1: ~Iii o6t[~n youlh'slsmooth che'ck[th~ bt/.h[S lo{lc l which b< " / / I)! I" v~nl tlon- /.I"' )( / ,~IS not )( b1r cr, theX w1nd I I·~u not bl11h l l"'cr (, tlnn :'t I She)()!(LS htt er U13n ~r th, I"'•nd the~ •un the: Frl;rn yoGwlh~tb sh~ sho'wnlrn-:; tJ,~ io'rl~£ her b(ys\th~t crdtscd,lof h~r dills lttlh c1/.nb, " now / ,., "I"£" "l"d"' "I"£ / T1ll jth21 the~ tw>tn o us h' ere,, 111 de ·urc o I re dJwn an 111 tru•t o I IX tc sc> / out / Ifrom • U1e " shor/ c I>< " he•rt / 1n us btdt >nd be~ >cech cs, > tluru for the o.un Stnkc •• the · -Swinburne, In tht JVultr my ""l"f , I" " / , / I" " / I " " (/ Octomclc.c t.rochaic- r~d"!Je{vc m~ jhc[c ~It{ tltlwhile ~.\yft ·~s je{r ly 1111/rn; L:~vc m~lhde, ~nd iwh{n y~ujwint m~.jsoGnd npjori th~lb( cl~ihfrn drn -Tennyson, Locktlty /loll Tdcscoping or elision of syllables- A w{;1U~ Ji'kclti·f;n tvl'lt~lbt~ nrc:" plt" IS \x£ 0, n hriur: >< to tle gr3ve g Jo ryK lea/d but -Gray, Eltry Jlln'trcn iu a Country Churchyard /I I "II " / d.ltl'l rent sen I•c•" d/IT' I rent o/.bl.)( >< / JCCU slit(.k e -Pope, E.Jtay on i\(on II~ 'h~+;;s; h{dl th~ rnfrn\ \'ng's Non·sylbbic ~d frfsh [c1/.r gr/ce -Arnold, Tri11ra111 and lsoJt pronouncedUlt ~d~JJ, cu~v~~d lids,,~nd Jc(p+~~rn w(de -Kelts, Hypnion The: J\lcundrinc is a line cornpo~cd of si!' iambic kc1; it is so c:llcd t eo m e it wls used ii1 Old French poems on Alc:xlndcr the Crc::L Although widciy used in f-rJucc, it has never bcc.ornc popular in E nghnd It WlS usc:J iu the Clrro llic/c of Rol>crt of Gloucester (c IJOO), aloug with a seven-accent line; occasio nally in the· mirlclc: and the m o r>lity ph ys: :111d in 9i6 VERSlfiCATJON IN ENGLISH POETRY Dr:~.pon's Polyolbion (c IGIJ) \VIaen the Alcx:1ndrine W:lf :~.ltcru>tcd with the scvcll·>cccnt line, the combination W3S c::dled "poultcr·s measure," beclUSe in the wo1 ds of Ccoq:;c Cu coigne (15i5) the poulterer "giveth twelve lor one dozen, :~.nd thirteen for lnother." Henry How:~.rd, E.:u l of Surrey, thus illustntes pouller's tne:~.surc: // ~-Ii.n I , quiI/.1>tud/ I"yI"'"I''I /were / ,L:lyd l uw w1lh m my tr_ oub ilcd hod a hc>pc ol I my ·I :u f , , I'>< Pope cb::trlCtcrized the Alc.x:mdrine :a "l:~nguishingly dow" - ,, A nectllcst Alc:undrine ends the wnir > wounded lg< iu uow lcngd1 along Tlut like ' Used :H Ule end of shortcr·line st.:m:us, however, the· Alc)(andrine :~.dds t.he effect o{ dignity 2nd serves to join the H:lnu.s in h:umonioiJS progression Sec the Spenserian St:m= (p 988), :wd Th~ Faa1~ Quan~ (Vol I, p 394) Variations i11 Fat As c::.n be seen in some: o£ the foregoing ex:>.mplcs, it is not neccsS:>.ry th:u ·,11 fe~t in l line of verse be o£ the same kind Indeed, if they were, the result in l poem of lOY lcngd• would be not only :w obvious monotony but :tlso a degree of unn2tur: wwk or feminine ending The omission of syllables :ll the bcginni.'lg of :1 line is c:tlkJ truncation; :tt the end o( :> line, cataicxit A line terminatin g in ~n · imperfect foot is thus c:>.llcJ catalcctic If the line enJs with ::1 complete mcu-ic:>.l foot, it is acatnl~ctic, In the scansion o( :1 line o( verse :1 co.rct (A) 10:1)' be used to inJic:~te the omission 'of :1 syllable .· Trochee for t.i2ctyl- l:unbus for an:tpc.st- 11x x thex sutc ly sh1ps 11x/ And go on / TS th~ir ho.~v~n d~r th~ bill; ili,l "1 " / , )( / tc touch o the nn uhc~ ho.nd, )( )( / o~1£or th"1t ttilll A':td th~ >oGnd [~£ ~ - Tennyson, Break, Brcalr, Break )4 But t, voice\ An2pcst for umbus~It roue / d my X h ,r, / 1>:'1l lnncd my dtccl< I ,., X I / [>' 1/ I./, / " rnc>d ow/ g> lcX of >s:spr~lllr)(' L\j irl'c 'i't (cic llikcsu>ngclly ~ w{I\c~m '::ng .lkc > / t nunl;,lc d Coleridge, Tlu Rime of th~ ,~nr;cnl l/ / too)( Ido.rk / or " the• Ib>t , to~ " )' I fly/ ·'111g O>rk, Ro{and th~ ,,~ins ~£1ol~ s~.lr oul'sl - Noyes, Sn•rr• ll' iu Men D>ctyl lee trocheo: / w11h my (cus, · · Mari,cr "I / w.JI )! " K \Vho1 you uy when the world ~I'"' u tly me I wtt:it wh~n th~Jb~t w~lti[rn(,J n~p,ln\£lih "I / "I / I / " x clurm o( pow ) lll' r:rn't: 1'1'1'11 if yuut ricd lu ll:lct: )'\1111' pcrcq1 iiom b~rk to rlu· soun:c, you cullldn't "I O(:ltdr rlw red \\·Jtcril>:IIIU\\' Jrci\\'C\'CI,)'IIlllr!II'C to lu: peat 1in·tl ill l" "'r i -~ ~~\\'ell n< po~niccd ill 11nlill:11 )' 111inIICICt i7.:1( ioll vf it wid' hi•: ph 1:r~.c· , ht· nHli 11:uy is drc cx tr :llln~ill:lly " - 'Q11c pcr.ccption lllliSl IIHJ\'e iust~llter 1111 ~llvlher"-ns simi Jar ((1 the dh~rllliC pr~ctil.C ul lcuing gn uf thought~ ami ~llowing fresh thought~ lO :11 is~: :utd he 1('gistcr ed, 1ather th:u; h:111ging 011111 nne c;.~dusi l't: i111:rgc ~11d forcing Rensvn to Lr:urdr it out aud I'Xtcnd it into :thung- up IIIClaphor Th:rt was thC' Jiffc11:11(:e bct\\'CCrt t[, c 111ctaplt ysicnlly iuspi rcd po- · el l )' or tlw tlli ttil'' to the fifties in AIIICric~ :rftcr T s Eliot :r11d till' ('I""" Fm 111, I'' :~ctic cd simultaiiCOII(Iy l>y E1.1a l'ound ~nJ \\'illi:1111 c~r lus \\'i_lli:r111s ami btcr l>y Charles Olson ami Hobert Cl(:clcy They let the mind lvosc 1\r\lr~ lly, dr:u's :r phrase l)y one of tht: folllrdcts of our cotllll ry:" l·hc nri11d must Lc louse." Th~t·~ J ohn Ad:riiiS, !I~ ll'lliJitcd uy l{oucn Duncau in !clntioll lO poc