In the American Tree: New Writing by Poets

originally broadcast on Berkeley's KPFA-FM.

1978: hosted by Lyn Hejinian and Kit Robinson

Ted Berrigan, August 11, 1978

1. Comments (0:28): MP3
2. Whitman In Black (1:09): MP3
3. Buddha on the Bounty (1:28): MP3
4. Here I Live (2:00): MP3
5. Comments (10:39): MP3
6. Chicago Morning (1:53): MP3
7. New Town (1:09): MP3
8. The End (1:20): MP3
9. From a List of Delusions of the Insane (What They are Afraid Of) (1:10): MP3
10. Comments (9:14): MP3
11. Personal Poem #9 (1:15): MP3
12. Crystal (1:43): MP3
13. Comments (1:50): MP3
14. Three Pages (0:44): MP3
15. Remembered Poem (0:25): MP3

• Complete Recording (20:43): MP3

Carla Harryman, September 29, 1978

• Complete Recording (28:30): MP3

David Bromige, October 13, 1978

• Complete Recording (27:52): MP3

Steve Benson, November 3, 1978

• Complete Recording (29:40): MP3

Alan Bernheimer, November 10, 1978

1. reading "Spinal Guard" from Celestial Mechanics (0:55): MP3
2. reading "Ripolin" from Celestial Mechanics (0:32): MP3
3. reading "Carapace" from Celestial Mechanics (0:36): MP3
4. reading "Visible Means" from Celestial Mechanics (0:33): MP3
5. reading "Ventriloquy" fom Celestial Mechanics (0:41): MP3
6. reading "Amarillo" (5:16): MP3
7. discussion with Lyn Hejinian and Kit Robinson on the idea of language as a machine and Bernheimer as a mechanic (3:33): MP3
8. reading a description of Bernheimer's "dream of a marvelous mechanical box" (3:24): MP3
9. reading "Manifest Destiny" (1:59): MP3
10. discussing the different poetic directions of "Manifest Destiny," Celestial Mechanics and "Amarillo" (2:01): MP3
11. reading "Are There Birds?" (0:42): MP3
12. reading and discussing "Cafe Isotope" (2:58): MP3
13. reading "Or Something" (0:36): MP3
14. reading a journal entry about trains and mechanical things (3:30): MP3
15. reading "Lullabye," a collaboration with Kit Robinson (1:26): MP3

• Complete Recording (30:21): MP3

Tom Mandel, "Palestine 8," December 15, 1978

• note: "Palestine 8" is presented with "A Form is a Fragment of Content, "Philosopher's Song," and "No Takers," which were recorded on October 8, 1993


• Complete Recording (16:20): MP3

1979-1980: hosted by Alan Bernheimer

Special thanks to The Poetry Center at San Francisco State University for making these recordings available.

Michael Waltuch, January 5, 1979

• Complete Recording (28:42): MP3

Alan Lew, January 12, 1979

• Complete Recording (28:57) MP3

Carol Gallup, January 19, 1979

• Complete Recording (31:28) MP3

Robert Harris, January 26, 1979

• Complete Recording (31:29): MP3

Stephen Rodefer, February 2, 1979

• Complete Recording (29:44): MP3

George Mattingly, February 9, 1979

• Complete Recording (29:58): MP3

Victoria Rathbun, February 16, 1979

• Complete Recording (31:11) MP3

Tom Veitch, February 23, 1979

• Complete Recording (25:17) MP3

Ted Greenwald, June 22, 1979

• Complete Recording (29:24):MP3

Kit Robinson, July 1, 1979

• Complete Recording (33:17):MP3

Erica Hunt, August 12, 1979

1. introduction (0:16): MP3
2. Night Baseball (0:38): MP3
3. Radio Nights (0:31): MP3
4. Four Roses (0:39): MP3
5. Higher Numbers, Intimate (0:27): MP3
6. "We live on a round earth and are forced to observe the sun" (1:57): MP3
7. Market Street Jams (3:41): MP3
8. "Sand was as deep as he went in" (1:47): MP3
9. "He does not know what to think now" (1:18): MP3
10. Four Poems (4:52): MP3
11. The Conservation of Volume (11:08): MP3
• Complete Recording (29:27): MP3

Bill Berkson, September 7, 1979

1. Introduction (0:34): MP3
2. Roots (2:14): MP3
3. Booster (1:46): MP3
4. Algebra (from Young Manhattan) (2:53): MP3
5. Fourth Street (4:23): MP3
6. Duchamp Dream (2:40): MP3
7. Camera Ready Like a Dream (3:10): MP3
8. Poem (3:44): MP3
9. Source (3:43): MP3
10. Basis (1:00): MP3
11. To Marie Cosindas (0:59): MP3
12. Two Days (1:11): MP3
• Complete Recording (28:10): MP3

Steven Paul LaVoie, September 22, 1979

• Complete Recording (28:42): MP3

John Mason, November 16, 1979

• Complete Recording (28:11) MP3

Lyn Hejinian, December 7, 1979

1. introduction (0:45): MP3
2. Slack Key (1:03): MP3
3. Eye brown study no stars (1:02): MP3
4. Punctual 1 (1:12): MP3
5. Natural Room (3:33): MP3
6. on Natural Room (1:06): MP3
7. on Punctual 1 (0:38): MP3
8. Number Present (7:52): MP3
9. on Number Present (4:05): MP3
10. Easy Go (0:50): MP3
11. Lower Row the Colors (0:24): MP3
12. Windows is screens (0:19): MP3
13. on Easy Go and Windows is screens (1:07): MP3
14. Not That Car (3:03): MP3
15. on Not That Car (0:20): MP3
16. Severed Page (1:51): MP3
• Complete Recording (30:35): MP3

Ted Pearson, December 21, 1979

1. Introduction (0:48): MP3
2. Reading Sections 2-5 of Refractions (15:07): MP3

Interview Discussions
3. Structural form of Refractions (2:48): MP3
4. Language and meaning (1:53): MP3
5. Role of the listener's memory (1:14): MP3


6. "Ellipsis" (6:35): MP3
• Complete Recording (27:18): MP3

Alex Smith, January 4, 1980

• Complete Recording (29:41) MP3

Rodger Kamenetz, January 18, 1980

• Complete Recording (28:45): MP3

Gary Burnett, February 1, 1980

• Complete Recording (24:36) MP3

Norman Fischer, June 6, 1980

• Complete Recording (29:32): MP3

In the American Tree on PennSound Daily

• March 20, 2008: "In the American Tree: 14 New Episodes"
• December 3, 2007: "In the American Tree: Five New Episodes"

These sound recordings are being made available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights to this recorded material belong to the poets and hosts, © 2008 Alan Bernheimer and the respective poets. Used with permission of the hosts and KPFA. Distributed by PennSound.