A dream last night of a largish figure hurrying along a rock outcropping at a seashore — can only be Charles Olson, methought. A bit puzzled as Olson, whom I never met, has never, as far as I remember, shown up in my dreams. The dream may be a footnote to a conversation I had earlier last night with Ammiel Alcalay on his excellent A Little History book, as … Read more “An American is a Complex of occasions:” Charles Olson Reads
tesserae commissure [written Jan 19th 1962; one of my very favorite Olson poems [audio:https://pierrejoris.com/blog/audio/OlsonTesserae.mp3] from Olson’s reading at Goddard College, transcript here: ” tesserae commissure UV: What is “tesserae”? CO: Yea. The little pieces that are used in making a mosaic. They are tesserae, the, the—all those little pieces of stone and glass and color. UV: And the other word? CO: “Commissure,” which means, uh, bound together. But it’s … Read more Charles Olson @ 100
As I am reading through a range of Charles Olson’s writing in this, his centenary year, his favorite philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, of course has been coming to mind again — although I haven’t come across anything new on him as yet in what I have seen of the Centennial occasions. Maybe something will come to light at some point. A couple days ago, Charles Stivale drew my attention … Read more Deleuze on Whitehead & Leibniz
An email in my inbox this rainy morning led me to the site with the following press release. Thought I’d pass it on: For Immediate Release Dead Poets Society of America Contact Walter Skold: info@deadpoes.org Charles Olson Tombstone in Danger of Splitting September 28 – On the eve of the Charles Olson Centennial about to be celebrated in Gloucester, one New England poet and filmmaker has discovered that Olson’s … Read more Olson’s Tombstone Blues
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Here is an extract of the closing concert at the Worcester Charles Olson conference: Ed Sanders reads & sings his music’in of Olson’s Maximus from Dogtown I. Ed Sanders reads/sings Charles Olson’ “Maximus from Dogtown I” from Pierre Joris on Vimeo.
Saturday March 27: Dana Commons, Clark University Registration and Morning Reception 9:00 AM Presentation: 9:30 – 10:45 Charles Olson Society of Gloucester presents: Polis Is This: Charles Olson and the Persistence of Place w/ Filmmakers Henry Ferrini and Ken Riaf. Q&A will follow the hour film. The Body and the Personal: 11:00 : Dr. Stephen Gilson Ammiel Alcalay and Kate Tarlow Morgan: The Body is a House Donald Wellman: … Read more Olson Conference in Worcester
The first celebratory event of the year Charles Olson would have turned 100 happened — for me at least — a few days ago when the postman (& it took a big man, a big postman, one Olson’s father’s size, for it was heavy, the event) brought my copy of Les Poèmes de Maximus — complete! — translated into French by Auxeméry and published by La Nerthe, a smallish … Read more Charles Olson @ 100: Post 1 of many
Polis is This wrestles with the six foot eight inch 275lb colossus of poetry. Charles Olson, in the squared circle of understanding. Through never before seen footage and interviews actor John Malkovich leads an all-star unit in a search and explore mission. Olson, the “big fire source” for a restless generation of poets known as The Beats stands more revealed than ever before. Through Ferrini’s poetry-in-motion lens, viewers can … Read more Henry Ferrini's POLIS IS THIS