Barwin, Knowles, Sitting in Words

When it comes to which piece of literature I spent more hours with than any other, second might be Treasure Island. Stephenson’s book and I lived together daily for at least 3 months when I was 13 or 14 years old.

Only university Macroeconics came close to rivalling that book for its ability to put me to sleep within sentences. I was astonished every time I woke up. It was like a cavity I kept tonguing. Could it really be like that? I didn’t want a sleep aid. I really wanted to read the classic, but the farthest I ever got in one sitting was a page and half.

Persistence wins.

I think because it was oversold so my expectations were too high. The experience became anti-climatic. Rather like seeing mountains with my own eyes, or Niagara Falls. After so much lead up, they were such a piffle. How could I be disappointed by something so large scale?

I do prefer small scale things. And I like what I happen on by serendipity. A thing I didn’t expect can be what it is, start at face value to grow or decline.

[Incidentally first longest sit with literature was (hands down, hands up, alleluia years) the Bible in various cross-check translation protestant editions. ]

I like something I can go back thru with pleasure back and forth raking over the same small ground. There’s such a press to create new that what is long common gets sidelined or underappreciated. One needs to listen more than talk. A spin on the old can make it be seen again.

Which brings me to how I spent 3 days with frogments from the frag pool and came back to it for a few more hours over other days. I mentioned it in passing half a year ago. Gary Barwin and derek beaulieu played to the page Basho’s frog pond poem, re-angling in many ways. I loved the athletic dexterity of the energy playing with filters and vantage points on the poem. Many that I loved were visual plays. (Scanning something would mean making my HP bow to me again. It’s creakily resistant to my will. Persistence…) But these reconceptions, reperceptions sample too,

p. 76

o
frog leaping
into the centre of
itself

p. 51,

basho
frog shift

the sounds remain
the fronds refrain

I was glad to have curiosity whetted in Gary Barwin’s interview in the 12 or 20 questions series. It showed more of his interesting lively energied intelligence. Playful and amusing thruout but this stuck out too,

publishing chapbooks and other small things with my serif of nottingham press. My first vertebrate publication was…

What a fun press title.

The idea of books as living, as vertebrates and invertebrates tweaks my interest. Reminds me I just got in the mail Jim Knowles’ stapled chapbook with title on the spine. That link describes his production with the 4 signatures under the 4″x5″ cover.

His 17S poems aim for the brevity of haiku but without the haiku moment or subjects or line breaks, such p. 26

-Gold, Jade –

beaten down
when striking gold.
sunshine from fans.
Joy has no jade.

or p. 19

Press on,
See what we can do.
Things are grey.
But shit leaves the busy shoe.