[Wgcp-whc] This Friday: the work of Forrest Gander & events upcoming

[richard.deming at yale.edu]

Greetings All,

the next session of the WGCP will be this Friday, 3-5, in Rm 116 of the Whitney
Humanities Center.  The focus of our discussion will be the work of Forrest
Gander, specifically his most recent collection of poems Eye against Eye and
his collection of essays, Faithful Existence. A useful review of the essays is
available here:http://www.bookslut.com/marsupial_inquirer/2008_04_012666.php

In terms of priorities in reading the essays, perhaps the opening essay, the one
on Oppen, any of the ones on translation, and the very brief "If Not a
Writer..." would be ones to focus on first.

All copies of these two books were gone as of last Friday.  If anyone needs
copies, we might be able to make some photocopies, though not in time for this
Friday's session. In any event, Gander himself will be joining us on Friday Feb
20.


Here is an interesting lecture on translation that Gander delivered at U of
Chicago. http://poempresent.uchicago.edu/media/gander_lecture_512k.mov

Since the work of Sally Mann is part of the collection Eye Aganist Eye, people
might be interested in learning more.

One short piece here (it's a bet cheesey):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJvYxxrLtQg

There's an interview with Mann by Charlie Rose here:
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/1722

And here's a link to an exhibition at Gagosian:
http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/980-madison-2006-03-sally-mann/

A profile of the artist at PBS's Art:21 site:
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/mann/

That should give people a sense of context for Mann's work.

---

Finally, I want to draw your attention to two readings that will be occurring on
Tuesday Feb 10.  One is close at hand:


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Susan Howe and David Grubbs
Poetry Reading & Musical Performance
Tuesday, February 10, 4:00 pm
Beinecke Library, 121 Wall Street
Yale Collection of American Literature Reading Series
Poet Susan Howe and musician David Grubbs perform their collaborative work,
“Souls of the Labadie Tract.” Based on Howe’s poem of the same name, the
performance features Howe’s reading accompanied by Grubb’s musical
performance. Bennett Simpson described the collaborative work in Artforum
International:
“Souls of the Labadie Tract is neither traditional recitation nor
music-with-words. But once the red herring of categories is dispatched, the
[piece] reveals a confrontation with history, community, language, and sound
that is truly harrowing. Pairing Howe’s reading voice with Grubbs’s
arrangements for synthesizer and khaen (Laotian mouth organ), the work hinges
on the former’s [long poem], a sifting, shifting archaeology of a quietist
sect known as the Labadists. 
 Souls of the Labadie Tract is, first and
foremost, a poem about time and loss. 
 Poetry may be the truest form of
history writing if what one wants from history is an image of the present (Ezra
Pound called this “news that stays news”). And in Howe’s imagination, the
past becomes a very current stake. 
 Grubbs’s sonic architecture is a
striking accompaniment to the text. The rumbling disruptions and deep breath
drones that mount and fall around Howe’s speech present him in fine
electroacoustic form. Especially suited to the poem and its subject matter is
the combination of reeds and machines, which suggests the powerful open
textures of a church organ or calliope: an invocation to the collective
experience of mystery.” (Artforum International 46.2 (Oct 2007): 135).
Poet Susan Howe is the author of numerous books of poems including: Souls of the
Labadie Tract, The Midnight, Pierce-Arrow, and Singularities.
Musician David Grubbs has made ten solo records, played in a number of groups
(Squirrel Bait, Bastro, Gastr del Sol, Red Krayola, Wingdale Community
Singers), and frequently collaborates with writers and artists. He is an
assistant professor of Radio and Sound Art at Brooklyn College, CUNY, and
director of Brooklyn College’s graduate programs in Performance and
Interactive Media Arts.
More information and examples of work:
David Grubbs on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/davidgrubbsbluechopsticks

Susan Howe, Academy of American Poets: http://www.poets.org/showe/

Poetry at Beinecke:
http://beineckepoetry.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/performance-souls-of-the-labadie-tract/

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Justin Sider, Commander of the WGCP Reconnaissance Unit, brings word of the
following reading by C.D. Wright (who happens to be married to Gander) at the
University of Connecticut:

Time: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 7:00 p.m.
Location: Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, 405 Babbidge Road,
Storrs, CT 06269
Phone: 860-486-5027
C.D. Wright, one of America?s most striking and idiosyncratic poets, was born
and raised in the Arkansas Ozarks. She is the author of twelve books, including
poetry, prose, and collaborations with photographer Deborah Luster. Her most
recent collection is Rising, Falling, Hovering. Publisher?s Weekly praised
Wright, noting that the author ?gets better with each book, expanding the
reach of her art; it seems it could take in anything.? Wright?s honors
include a MacArthur Fellowship, a Lannan Literary Award, and membership in the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Co-Sponsors: Creative Writing and Aetna
Chair of Writing.

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Conceivably an intrepid person could attend both events.

As ever, we're open to any visitors or interested parties, so be sure to spread
the word.

All best,

Richard Deming, Co-Coordinator