Charles Olson

PoemTalk #34,Bob Perelman, Rachel Blau DuPlessis and Charles Bernstein discuss Olson's Maximus poems, July 26, 2010

Listen to the complete recording and read program notes for the episode at Jacket2.

Reading from Maximus, Poems IV, V, VI, c. 1969, pub. 1975

Produced, edited, and recorded by Barry Miles

Complete recording (1:00:30): MP3

1. I Am The Gold Machine [w/ intro] (1:50): MP3
2. All My Life (0:23): MP3
3. Piggy Back Poem (0:22): MP3
4. Maximus From Dogtown II [w/ intro] (4:09): MP3
5. Sequentio (0:36): MP3
6. Gravely Hill (5:36): MP3
7. Between Cruiser And Plato (0:21): MP3
8. I, John Watts (0:33): MP3
9. After The Storm Is Over (0:35): MP3
10. To Travel Typhon (0:20): MP3
11. Up The Steps (0:12): MP3
12. People Want Delivery (0:15): MP3
13. The Coast (0:19): MP3
14. Tesserai Commisure (0:14): MP3
15. Older Than Biblus (0:19): MP3
16. Chronicles I (0:48): MP3
17. Chronicles II (0:30): MP3
18. Untitled Maximus Poem [from mss] (2:00): MP3
19. Vida Unpanishad Eda Then (0:03): MP3
20. Kent Circle (Wrote My First Poems) (1:15): MP3
21. Further Completion Of Plot (1:57): MP3
22. Maximus Poem July 24, 1968 (3:14): MP3
23. Into The Stream, Gloucester (0:19): MP3
24. The Frontlet (0:55): MP3
25. To Enter Into Their Bodies (0:41): MP3
26. Her Stern Like A Box (0:13): MP3
27. Anacoluthic And Drag (0:09): MP3
28. The Difference Of A Wild Thing (0:09): MP3
29. The Cormorant And Spindle (0:04): MP3
30. Absolutness (0:02): MP3
31. In The Harbour (0:07): MP3
32. Kent Circle Song (0:19): MP3
33. I Swang Out At Eight Or Ten (0:12): MP3
34. J.W. (0:47): MP3
35. Not The Italian Method (0:14): MP3
36. Mayan Letter #13 (8:40): MP3
37. Mayan Letter #7 (1:32): MP3
38. Mayan Letter #5 (7:47): MP3
39. Chockablock (2:12): MP3
40. Caches (2:04): MP3
41. Bolan I (0:26): MP3
42. Bolan II (0:38): MP3
43. John Watts (0:09): MP3
44. Third Letter On Georges (1:50): MP3
45. Gulf Of Main (2:40): MP3

Reading from Maximus, vol. 2, Beloit College (March 26, 1968)

Complete reading (50:51): MP3

1. Introduction (0:47): MP3
2. out over the land skope [II.126] (3:14): MP3
3. Part of the Flower of Gloucester [II.127] (0:38): MP3
4. Veda upanishad edda than [II.128] (0:15): MP3
5. Wrote my first poems [II.129] (1:27): MP3
6. the 1st lot from the Cutt [II.130] (0:31): MP3
7. I am the Gold Machine [II.131] (1:47): MP3
8. In the harbor [II.132] (0:11): MP3
9. Kent Circle Song [II.133] (0:24): MP3
10. I swung out, at 8 or 10 [II.134] (0:12): MP3
11. JW (from the Danelaw) [II.135] (0:59): MP3
12. proem [II.136-137] (4:12): MP3
13. not the intaglio method [II.138] (0:16): MP3
14. mother-spirit to fuck at noumenon [II.139] (0:16): MP3
15. Monday, November 26, 1962 [II.140] (0:22): MP3
16. he who walks with his house on / his head [II.141] (0:16): MP3
17. she who met the serpent in the pond [II.142] (0:23): MP3
18. the woman who said she went out every Sunday [II.143] (0:21): MP3
19. into the Stream or Entrance to the Inner Harbor [II.144] (0:26): MP3
20. The Frontlet [II.145] (0:57): MP3
21. Homo Anthropos [II.146] (0:22): MP3
22. to enter into their bodies [II.147] (1:02): MP3
23. The Cow / of Dogtown (3:38) [II.148-150]: MP3
24. Stage Fort Park [II.151] (1:15): MP3
25. Further Completion of Plat (before they drown / Dogtown with reservoir, and beautify it) [II.152] (2:41): MP3
26. Sequentior [II.153] (0:46): MP3
27. Licked man (as such) out of the ice [II.154] (0:25): MP3
28. Gylfaginning VI [II.155] (0:37): MP3
29. Heaven as sky is made of stone [II.156] (0:18): MP3
30. All night long [II.157] (0:31): MP3
31. the Vault / of Heaven [II.158] (0:28): MP3
32. turn out your / ever-loving arms [II.159] (0:42): MP3
33. at the boundary of the mighty world [II.160-162] (7:46): MP3
34. Maximus, from Dogtown — IV [II.163-172] [excerpt] (2:12): MP3
35. I looked up and saw / its form [II.173] (0:14): MP3
36. One of the Bronze Plaques Which Decorate These / Shores [II.174] (0:25): MP3
37. A Letter, on Fishing Grounds [of, The Gulf of Maine] by Walter H. Rich [II.175-176] (1:59): MP3
38. Maximus, to Gloucester, Letter 157 [II.177-178] (2:16): MP3

"Poetry and Truth," at Beloit College, Wisconsin. March 25-29, 1968

• Lecture I, Cosmology: March 25, 1968 (54:46): MP3


• Lecture II, Belief 1: March 27, 1968 (52:10): MP3


• Lecture III, Belief 2: March 29, 1968 (56:34): MP3
     Poems read in Lecture III:
  38:26 - 39:29: "*Added to making a Republic in gloom on Watchhouse Point" Maximus III 190 / 584
  53:32 - 54:40: '"Additions", March 1968--2' ["Wholly absorbed / into my own conduits..."] Maximus III 191 / 585
  55:05 - 56:20: "That there was a woman in Gloucester, Massachusetts..." Maximus III 189 / 583



• On Black Mountain: March 26, 1968 (1:18:45): MP3

Complete recording of all four lectures and the talk (4:04:04): MP3

Olson and his translator Klaus Reichert, Akademie der Künste, Berlin,  Dec. 15, 1966

Richard Moore USA: Poetry Documentary with Denise Levertov, 1966

Watch on Media.sas

Reading at UC Berekely, 1965

• Complete Recording, (31:48)MP3
• Recording courtesy of Michael Davison

USA: Poetry (NET), directed by Richard Moore (excerpts), Gloucester, March 12, 1966

Includes "The Librarian" [Collected Poems 412-14]; video on right just the poem (text)

Audio from these videos:

"Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 (withheld)" is also featured on PoemTalk Episode 34.

Introduction by Robert Duncan.

The legendary lecture was transcribed by Zoe Brown and published at Charles Olson Reading at Berkeley by Coyote Press (San Francisco, 1966).

• Complete recording (3:18:18): MP3

This recording is courtesy of David Levi Strauss.

Part 1 (of the same lecture; slightly clearer audio) (1:07:32): MP3

• Causal Mythology (1:05:03): MP3
• Contemporaries (8:22): MP3

This recording is courtesy of Robert Creeley.

1. Tape 1 of 2 (1:37:26): MP3
2. Tape 2 of 2 (1:06:57): MP3
(recording courtesy of Robert Creeley)

1. Maximus, from Dogtown II [II;9-10] (4:18): MP3
2. Maximus, to himself as of 'Phoenicians' [II:111] (1:14): MP3
3. Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 [withheld] [II-14-15] [1:5-8] (2:14): MP3, TEXT, youtube
4. Maximus, further on (December 28th, 1959) [II:13] (1:11): MP3
5. The Poem (0:28): MP3
6. River #1 (1:19): MP3
7. River #2 (0:46): MP3
8. Okeanos' Dream (1:18): MP3
9. The South East Wind (1:20): MP3
10. I Tell You It's Cruel (2:34): MP3
11. Three Poems (1:45): MP3
12. Of Old Times (2:12): MP3
13. They said she went off (0:23): MP3
14. A Maximus (2:08): MP3
15. A coast is not the same as land (9:59): MP3
16. Maximus Letter Whatever (2:19): MP3
17. First Stevens Song (1:22): MP3
18. Upward Choking on Dogtown (1:17): MP3
19. I force the calm grey waters (1:08): MP3
20. By the way into the woods (0:22): MP3
21. The rock listens to itself (0:42): MP3
22. Later Tyrian Business [II:36] (1:26): MP3
23. For Robert Duncan Who Understands (8:48): MP3
24. Further Completion of Platt (3:58): MP3
25. Untitled (1:11): MP3
26. A Prayer (0:37): MP3
27. All having breakfast (0:59): MP3
28. Gee Avenue (0:25): MP3
29. Where is the B. Elery (0:11): MP3
30. Maximus Written to be a note to myself (about Stevens) (3:01): MP3
31. 23 School and 16 Columbia (2:12): MP3
32. I Stand on Main St. (0:33): MP3
33. Letter 72 (1:46): MP3
34. Descartes solider in a time of religious wars (0:45): MP3
35. In the interleaved almanacs of 1646 (1:55): MP3
36. Of the Parsons (3:33): MP3
37. The Beginnings (5:38): MP3
38. Maximus at the Harbour (2:56): MP3
39. 2nd Century Song (7:10): MP3
40. from "Fort Point section," Maximus II [II:83ff] (7:40): MP3
41. from Maximus II, final poems [II:199- 202] (5:33): MP3
42. The Songs of Maximus [I.13-16] (6:22): MP3
43. Maximus, to Himself ("I have had to learn the simplest things / last ...") [I:52-53] text (2:26): MP3
44. The Blue Monster (0:57): MP3
45. The Lordly & Isolate Satyr (8:38): MP3
46. Le Bonheur (2:22): MP3
47. The Charge (2:37): MP3
48. Spring (1:16): MP3
49. As the Dead Prey Upon Us (10:25): MP3
50. Kingfishers (6:31): MP3
51. Letter 3 ("Tansy buttons ...") [I:9-16] (8:00): MP3

Complete reading (2:45:53): MP3

"Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 (withheld)" is also featured on PoemTalk Episode 34.

At Goddard College, April 12-14, 1962

1. Maximus to Gloucester (3:05): MP3
2. So Sassafras (3:33): MP3
3. Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 (withheld) (2:11): MP3 [TEXT]
4. An Ode on Cape Ann (1:01): MP3
5. from Maximus IV (1:02): MP3
6. View (1:44): MP3
7. Chronicles (1:43): MP3
8. The Gulf of Maine (3:02): MP3
9. Maximus, from Dogtown I (6:25): MP3
10. Going Right Out of the Century (0:50): MP3
11. Maximus, to Gloucester, Letter 15 (4:14): MP3
12. A Later Note on Letter #15 (1:11): MP3
13. Letter 41 (1:02): MP3
14. Maximus, from Dogtown II (3:36): MP3
15. The Distance (2:03): MP3
16. The Librarian (2:52): MP3
17. To Gerhardt, There, Among Europe's Things... (12:52) text: MP3
18. In Cold Hell, In Thicket (8:12): MP3
19. ABC (0:53): MP3
20. Letter, May 2nd 1959 (4:13): MP3

Complete Reading (1:08:51): MP3

"Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 (withheld)" is also featured on PoemTalk Episode 34.

Reading for Bob and Bobbie Creeley, c.1960s, location unknown

• Salutation and Reading of John Burke (3:42): MP3
• The Librarian (3:15): MP3
• Intro to a set of poems and reading of a narrative (3:26): MP3
• Short Poems and The Song (1:56): MP3
• Letters 24 to 27 (12:54): MP3
• The Picture and Maximus Home Again (3:43): MP3

Christmas Tape Reading, 1957

• Track 1 (31:05): MP3
• Track 2 (4:42): MP3
• Track 3 (14:33): MP3
• Track 4 (6:43): MP3
• Track 5 (5:08): MP3
• Track 6 (54:45): MP3

Complete recording (1:50:12): MP3

At San Francisco State University, 1957

From Maximus, vol. 1

1. I, Maximus of Gloucester, to You [I.1] (4:01): MP3
2. The Songs of Maximus [I.13-16] 3:11): MP3
3. Maximus, Letter 7 (Marsden Hartley's eyes) [I:30-38] (5:44): MP3
4. Maximus, Letter 10 [1:45-51] (3:39): MP3

From Maximus, vol. 2

1. Letter 14 (6:11): MP3
2. Letter 15 (5:12): MP3
3. Maximus, The Twist (3:40): MP3
4. Second Century Song (0:30): MP3
5. Anecdotes of the Late War (0:43): MP3
6. The Love of Anat (0:34): MP3
7. The O'Ryan Poems (3:32): MP3

Studio Recording at Black Mountain College, made by Robert Creeley c. 1954, first issued as a record

• The Songs of Maximus (3:15): MP3
• Song 1 (0:40): MP3
• Song 2 (0:23): MP3
• Song 3 (1:16): MP3
• Song 4 (0:36): MP3
• Song 5 (0:10): MP3
• Song 6 (0:06): MP3
• The Kingfishers (8:01): MP3
• The Kingfishers 1 (1:20): MP3
• The Kingfishers 2 (1:24): MP3
• The Kingfishers 3 (1:30): MP3
• The Kingfishers 4 (1:38): MP3
• The Kingfishers II (2:05): MP3


• Complete Reading (11:31): MP3

Selected Letters of Robert Creeley 146 (Creeley to Duncan, September 24, 1955):

Dennie [Denise Levertov] had persuaded me to bring out a record Charles and I made here, a year ago, to play for him [Mitch Goodman]; which we did, and clearly he was moved, by it, i.e., he got the poems as obviously the page had never given them to him. And spoke, then, of how it changed everything.

• Woodberry Poetry Room Oral History Initiative: Charles Olson
• In Cold Hell, In Thicket (8:38): (Unidentified location/date)
• Enyalion: MP3 (Unidentified date and location, recording courtesy of Ron Silliman)

1. Introduction (0:56): MP3
2. John Burke (1:37): MP3
3. The Librarian (3:18): MP3
4. Maximus (5:50): MP3
5. Letter 24 (3:10): MP3
6. Letter 25: A Plantation a Beginning (2:56): MP3
7. Letter 26: Maximus to Gloucester (3:30): MP3
8. Maximsus to Himself text [this recording same as Vancouver above (2:23): MP3
9. Songs of Maximus: Song 1 (3:45): MP3
10. Tansy Buttons (5:47): MP3
11. Poem of Spring based on a poem by Rimbaud (5:01): MP3
12. In Cold Hell, In Thicket (8:53): MP3
13. Maximus from Dog Town I (7:01): MP3

Robert Creeley reads Charles Olson's "Maximus, to Gloucester," Key West Literary Seminar, 2003 - (more information at Littoral)

• Complete recording (5:15) MP3

Charles Olson on PennSound Daily

• January 17, 2011: "Woodberry Poetry Room Oral History Initiative: Charles Olson (2010)"
• December 29, 2010: "A Belated Happy 100th Birthday to Charles Olson"
• May 27, 2008: "Newly Segmented Charles Olson: Boston 1962"
• November 2, 2007: "Charles Olson's 1962 Reading in Boston"
• October 17, 2007: "Charles Olson's 1957 Reading: SFSU"

These sound recordings are being made available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights to this recorded material belong to the author's estate. © 2004-2007, The Estate of Charles Olson. Used with permission of the Olson Estate. Distributed by PennSound.