tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post613329246756152347..comments2024-01-28T03:56:39.351-08:00Comments on TOM CLARK: Anselm Hollo: Bright MomentsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-57633602673338678032013-02-01T04:26:04.940-08:002013-02-01T04:26:04.940-08:00John, Bill, many thanks for the testimony.
There ...John, Bill, many thanks for the testimony.<br /><br />There are video clips documenting a memorable reading at the Horse Hospital in Bloomsbury, 18 April 2012; this may have been Anselm's last reading; he performs in a company of old friends.<br /><br />Anselm kicks off his part of the show with a with a classic American moment, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S_vUCUf9ys" rel="nofollow">a bit of Williams, from "Spring & All" (1923)</a>:<br /><br />The rose is obsolete<br /><br />but each petal ends in<br />an edge, the double facet<br />cementing the grooved<br />columns of air--The edge<br />cuts without cutting<br />meets--nothing--renews<br />itself in metal or porcelain--<br /><br />whither? It ends--<br /><br />But if it ends<br />the start is begun<br />so that to engage roses<br />becomes a geometry--<br /><br />Sharper, neater, more cutting<br />figured in majolica--<br />the broken plate<br />glazed with a rose<br /><br />Somewhere the sense<br />makes copper roses<br />steel roses--<br /><br />The rose carried weight of love<br />but love is at an end--of roses<br /><br />It is at the edge of the<br />petal that love waits<br /><br />Crisp, worked to defeat<br />laboredness--fragile<br />plucked, moist, half-raised<br />cold, precise, touching...<br /><br />Some other highlights:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyMcd0BoRZE" rel="nofollow">Tom Raworth remembers meeting Anselm 51 years ago, "just down the road from here in Camden Town Hall..."</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgfV8GP9i4M" rel="nofollow">Andrei Codrescu brings a useful "social realism" over troubled water from an uneasy Big Easy...</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54FHwKtNGNY" rel="nofollow">Gunnar Harding reads his poetry translated from the Swedish by Anselm: "The greatest common denominator/ is a sense of loss..."</a><br /><br />The evening, experienced from his near/far distance, reminds once again just how much poets in this country have owed to the bracing influence of poets not born here.<br /><br />Against the Course of Empire, a counter perhaps to the dark exemplar of Neil Young's Cortez the Killer. Again the adjusted perspective of one not born here.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GDIkb5CDUY" rel="nofollow">He comes dancin' across the water mon'/ with his galleons and guns/ lookin' for the New World/ palaces in the sun..."</a>TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-39483866692192846342013-01-31T17:21:56.283-08:002013-01-31T17:21:56.283-08:00I love it how almost everyone who misses him misse...I love it how almost everyone who misses him misses him by quoting something he wrote. What better testament? Great post, with great comments, and great photos.<br /><br />I'll just say that many years ago, when I was a teenager, Jack Shoemaker was telling me I had to read Pound, I had to read Olson ... I walked out of the shop (Jack was at Serendipity, then), with AH's The Coherences, which was brand new. John B-Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01041221232768939991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-7709220566916681782013-01-31T10:13:29.138-08:002013-01-31T10:13:29.138-08:00yes. hadn't seen Anselm for decades; but when...yes. hadn't seen Anselm for decades; but when we first met in Buffalo '67, where he had a summer gig, he did me a kindness by coming to my first public reading there, and afterwards was flatteringly and sincerely encouraging. ... there's an online chapboook of his poetry titled "ancient land animal" @ Big Bridge, which is great.bill shermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04168365468808561496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-17975508175785493112013-01-31T04:28:55.522-08:002013-01-31T04:28:55.522-08:00Tom Raworth has sorted some of the wheat from the ...Tom Raworth has sorted some of the wheat from the chaff I've scattered amongst that tall corn. Here's his extremely useful Anselm obit:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/anselm-hollo-poet-translator-and-teacher-8473828.html" rel="nofollow">Tom Raworth on Anselm Hollo, in The Independent</a><br /><br />And it does glimmer through the cobwebs that, yes of course, Anselm was already in Iowa City when Ted got there.<br /><br />As is indicated in this letter which the historian of the household has just now unearthed from the mouldering subterranean vault:<br /><br />"Anselm Hollo is here, and is a kick. Wish I liked his poems. But I like him a lot, and we can talk. To Eskimos."<br /><br />-- Ted Berrigan to Tom Clark, Iowa City, 28 September 1968<br /><br />Later I'm certain Ted made the appropriate upward revision of his estimate of the poems. We all do live and learn...TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-34404873475572730072013-01-31T00:29:05.068-08:002013-01-31T00:29:05.068-08:00January 30, 2013. Boulder, Colorado.
Here I am i...<br />January 30, 2013. Boulder, Colorado. <br /><br />Here I am in Boulder, Colorado<br />just thinking of Anselm Hollo...<br /><br />Hoping to meet him sometime,<br />looking him up on the internet...<br /><br />only to find out that he is home.<br />Perhaps he is laughing, "So, you want to<br />meet me? Read my poetry. There you<br />will find me."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08139606704120068604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-33018529290226321072013-01-30T12:15:07.502-08:002013-01-30T12:15:07.502-08:00May the earth
That covers him
Be light.May the earth<br />That covers him<br /><br />Be light.vazambam (Vassilis Zambaras)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14515165428574974933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-70337633850557463642013-01-30T11:58:19.424-08:002013-01-30T11:58:19.424-08:00Anselm looking out over the water, Brighton, last ...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/raworth/7016909523/sizes/l/in/photostream/" rel="nofollow">Anselm looking out over the water, Brighton, last year: photo by Tom Raworth</a>TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-40668614071439738992013-01-30T10:39:17.998-08:002013-01-30T10:39:17.998-08:00George,
Great poem, touching memories.
And touch...George,<br /><br />Great poem, touching memories.<br /><br />And touching on memories (that sometimes too-hot stove league), out of your Iowa City memory popped the curious recollection that, in 1967, I was "tendered an offer" of a "position", which, after I had tried unsuccesfully to hand half of it off to Ron Padgett (he said, "What? You mean we'd actually have to GO there?! No sir, not on your life, not even for five thousand dollars!"), Ted Berrigan accepted, and I believe that job morphed into the landing of the laughing Finn (muy contento) there in your cornfields.<br /><br />Or perhaps I've got this lineage all wrong, what with the cobwebs in the tall corn. One detail already rings as a wee bit suspect, that bit about me being tendered a position. Perhaps it was merely the standard missionary. (Diner to waiter: "I'll have that one rare, please.")TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-69972290675624764802013-01-30T10:01:40.782-08:002013-01-30T10:01:40.782-08:00Thanks so much for posting this, Tom.
I met Anse...Thanks so much for posting this, Tom. <br /><br />I met Anselm when I was 19, in Iowa City IA, so he has been a light through my entire adult life. A light that's still brilliantly on though he is gone. <br /><br />Good that you mention his laughter, which brought perspective to so many things (both good and bad). He once said that laughter denotes the power of sudden recognition, and I think that's absolutely right. Those who don't understand laughter don't understand.<br /><br />Your story about the reading in 1963 is perfect on that subject.<br /><br />When I heard that Anselm was gone I remembered this poem, which he once told me was inspired by his reaction to the Walt Whitman quotation (which I'm only paraphrasing): "Every atom of good belonging to me belongs to you."<br /><br /><br />MESSAGE<br /><br />hello!<br /><br />i’m one of Your molecules!<br /><br />i started from Crab Nebula, but i move about. <br />I’ve moved about for millions of years.<br /><br />i entered Your body, perhaps as a factor in some edible vegetable,<br />or else i passed into Your lungs as part of the air.<br /><br />now, what intrigues me is this:<br /><br />at what exact point, as i entered the mouth, or was absorbed <br />by the skin, was i part of the body?<br /><br />at what exact moment (later on) do i cease to be part of<br />the body (i.e. You) ?<br /><br />let me know what you think.<br /><br />Yrs,<br /><br /><br />[ —Anselm Hollo, from SOJOURNER MICROCOSMS, 1977. ]George Mattinglyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11844284835653397986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-88032240152267688892013-01-30T09:41:24.717-08:002013-01-30T09:41:24.717-08:00Pat Dunagan sends this along:
THINKING OF ANSELM...Pat Dunagan sends this along:<br /><br /><br />THINKING OF ANSELM HOLLO<br /><br /><br />That one bright dot<br /><br />brilliant singular point<br /><br />never more distant<br /><br />never more near<br /><br /> <br /><br />1/14/13TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-29675716501926976382013-01-30T09:38:10.211-08:002013-01-30T09:38:10.211-08:00Terry,
Anselm certainly ought to be well known in...Terry,<br /><br />Anselm certainly ought to be well known in his native land, he translated quite a lot of Finnish poetry into English. When I first got to know him -- he was then living in London -- he was doing the Finnish Programme for the Beeb. I believe he always did keep up that connection.<br /><br />We did a reading together in Cambridge in, if I recall through the fog, late 1963. He read a long and wonderfully funny poem about (in effect) how silly poets and poetry audiences are. Poems that actually made one laugh were a not-done thing in that privileged "context". The largely silent response proved the point of the quite funny poem.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-88191982040677949792013-01-30T09:11:49.137-08:002013-01-30T09:11:49.137-08:00On Anselm's behalf -- Gracias Duncan, Michael ...On Anselm's behalf -- Gracias Duncan, Michael and Steve. <br /><br />David Lehman, back channel, has asked me to post this:<br /><br />"Very sad to learn of Anselm's passing. When people look at poetry and utter a disdainful goodbye, I reply Hollo."TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-3188162008307690172013-01-30T09:08:57.814-08:002013-01-30T09:08:57.814-08:00Tom--Thanks for this post. I wish I had known Anse...Tom--Thanks for this post. I wish I had known Anselm better, but glad we did cross paths on a few occasions. I remember him showing up with a circus-like entourage, everybody fueled up on booze, at a gig my band was playing in a bar in Baltimore in the '70s. A crazy night ensued. I wonder: do you know if he (or his work) was celebrated in Finland? tpwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05909239000589253931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-79057445977437888012013-01-30T08:30:36.410-08:002013-01-30T08:30:36.410-08:00Tom,
Beautiful post -- Saint Anselm would chuckle...Tom,<br /><br />Beautiful post -- Saint Anselm would chuckle, and be pleased.<br /><br />1.30<br /><br />light coming into sky above still black<br />ridge, whiteness of moon above branches<br />in foreground, wave sounding in channel<br /><br /> retrospect of disappearance,<br /> color become alphabet<br /><br /> long standing, she recalled,<br /> he often spoken to me<br /><br />silver of sunlight reflected in channel,<br />line of cloud on horizon across from it <br /><br /><br />STEPHEN RATCLIFFEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12339481653546188412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-37178729243026387622013-01-30T07:28:19.697-08:002013-01-30T07:28:19.697-08:00Amen.Amen.Lallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05310472614196384595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-90582843490650077502013-01-30T06:38:05.335-08:002013-01-30T06:38:05.335-08:00It's that salted wit that comes to mind, like ...It's that salted wit that comes to mind, like Finnish licorice. A great and human poet.Mose23https://www.blogger.com/profile/01100756913131511440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-91429953101332099472013-01-30T05:44:17.239-08:002013-01-30T05:44:17.239-08:00...and also:
Sitting in Peaceful Lamplight
Somew......and also:<br /><br /><a href="http://tomclarkblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/anselm-hollo-sitting-in-peaceful.html" rel="nofollow">Sitting in Peaceful Lamplight</a><br /><br /><a href="http://tomclarkblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/anselm-hollo-somewhere.html" rel="nofollow">Somewhere</a><br /><br /><a href="http://tomclarkblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/anselm-hollo-to-be-born-again.html" rel="nofollow">To Be Born Again</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nzztZ94DbU" rel="nofollow">... and some sounds to remember the poet and his poems by...</a>TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.com