Friday, Jan. 30: Projective Verse

Charles Olson (left) strikes a pensive pose.

We'll wrap up our third-week crash course in American poetics with an era-defining manifesto by Charles Olson, "Projective Verse," in which he lays out his ideas concerning the composition of modern poetry, including "composition by field" and the relationship between the breath and the poetic line. As a complement to Olson's essay, we'll also take a look at a little of his poetry, along with selections from two of his Black Mountain school peers, Robert Creeley and Paul Blackburn.

Charles Olson

• Projective Verse

• the Kingfishers [MP3]
• I, Maximus of Gloucester, to You [MP3 (n.b. draft read here quite different from final version)]
• Maximus, to Himself [MP3]
• The Songs of Maximus: Song 1 [MP3 (starts around 3:00 and follows with Song 2)]
• The Songs of Maximus: Song 2 [MP3 (Song 1 and 2 at the beginning)]

Robert Creeley

• I Know a Man [MP3]
• A Wicker Basket [MP3]
• The Rain [MP3]
• For Love [MP3]
• The Answer [MP3]
• Sing Song [MP3]
• The Invitation [MP3]
• The Language [MP3]

Paul Blackburn

• 7th Game : 1960 Series [MP3]
• Brooklyn Narcissus [MP3]
• Ritual VIII
• Ritual X : the Evening Pair of Ales
• The One Night Stand: an Approach to the Bridge
• Definition
• Alameda