Today, on the 70th Anniversary of Kurt Schwitter’s Death…

… he is ever so alive! Below, a little piece by Kurtchen translated by Jerome Rothenberg & myself from our book pppppp (still available from amazon or exact change)

Ardor bleeds Ardors bleed blood.. Merz greening tempest, charge at the clocks. The churchtower rises a pervert clawing of claws (it goes without saying). Claws on top claws, pervert, claws; smackeroo.  Blamm.  Do slosh fish rumble lama guck (it’s a Kaiser’s Day special!) fish do unleaf itself deep inside slowly sea zepellins…. Rages, rages, rages — sea raging fish, airs, zepellin. The turtledove drops drops (where?), drops skim stash halfway up (O Anna Blossom, my lovely miss, did you ever read anything like this?)  My corpse is too large, in the night — crumbles, crumbles, crumbles — too large is my corpse. Waters whip unsoftened valley — crumbles, crumbles, crumbles — too large is my corpse, giants arch dome into crumbs — crumbles, crumbles, crumbles, my corpse is too large, Cagliostro’s shroud — crumbles crumbles crumbles — my corpse is too large, for the orphanage alms-for-the-poor — crumbles crumbles crumbles — too large is my corpse, Elvis Broomsticker — ticker ticker ticker — too large is your corpse, Elvis wheels aflicker — ticker ticker ticker — too large is your corpse (you believe it?). The fish catch mice from behind.

Pretty damn strange. Meaning: strangely damn pretty. Therefore: pretty damn strange. Meaning: pretty damn sharp. A pretty sharp vein, meaning: vain. Very much all in vain. Fishes stuttering heehee and hoho, railroads fly through the air with their tails up front in a spiral, from back and from front, the way railroads run foreward and back. — Have you ever seen a locomotive turn front into back?  Ne’er in air will they ever turn front into back (sayeth Air Force ace Ace!) — All that’s left us is this: “Dive down, dive down, into soft eiderdown.”

Let me explain: Dada is the large root of all the little roots. Secret overwires undermining ardors (from behind). – Dada is the little rootlet, the little wire of sublime grace (I write this here as an illuminati). Dada is the large sacred wave that goes from Dada unto Dada. In Dada Dada floats a river around Dada. Around Dada Dada dadaizes dadaizing (let this be said for those who still don’t know it).  —  To Dada Dada Dada Dada Dada Dada Dada Dada Dada. To Dadadadadadadadadadada dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada.

PJ/JR