[New-Poetry] Bly, the Fierce, Wright, the Strange

[elemenope at icubed.com]

Cris,

When this happened, i.e., when Wright spoke that line, I remember
distinctly that a strange mad truth had been uttered.  Everybody in the
hall was looking at him, including Bly.  Wright's eyes were black ovals,
fierce, and he was SEATED, at a remove, a distance from everybody,
including Bly.  Bly loomed in his Indian poncho across the stage, turned
90 degrees from the audience toward this man in arctic white shirt,
straight dropped down black tie.  There wasn't anything one could do about
this man's dilemma, leaning out from our seats unable to touch him. 
Wright was a serious character, an electric aura surrounded him like a
photographic negative.  Bly had introduced him as the most significant
living poet.  I remember thinking, "I wonder if Dabney Stuart is here
witnessing this?"  I can't prove it but I believe that Bly had never heard
the poem before this moment, although he was Wright's champion and
publisher in his magazine, "The Sixties."   Bly had explained part of his
theory regarding  "Leaping Poetry."   Upon the stage watched by all those
aristocratic Southern women was a potent, defiant demonstration of this
theory, hanging in the air like a smoke ring of dry ice.  Caught Bly
flatfooted.

It was an intense night.  Bly also hit us with: "Johnson's Cabinet Watched
By Ants."  As we say these days, a student of literature might be able to
get their head around one of these figures, but the two of them out up
there in the spotlights staring at the stage lights hitting them was
simply out of mental reach.

I just remembered (perhaps) the title of Wright's poem:

"Lying In A Hammock On William Duffy's Farm"

RD



Message: 6
Date: Wed, 8 Nov 2006 10:44:12 -0500
From: cheekc <cheekc at muohio.edu>
Subject: Re: [New-Poetry] Bly, the Fierce, Wright, the Strange


indeed Richard,

but what a way to waste it;)

love and love
cris

On Nov 7, 2006, at 4:58 PM, elemenope at icubed.com wrote:

> I remember when Bly and Wright appeared on the same stage at
> Sweetbriar
> College in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
> Bly in serape introduced Wright in white shirt black tie as the
> greatest
> living poet.
> Wright recalled the poem wherein he announces while musing on a lawn
littered with whatnot that he because of poetry has wasted his life. RD