George Oppen

Photo © Michael West

Page edited by Richard Swigg

PennSound Podcast #16 George Oppen at 100 (23:13) MP3

PoemTalk Podcast #3, discussing Oppen's "Ballad," Kelly Writers House, February 2, 2008

1. Image of the Engine (3:58): MP3
2. Song (0:58): MP3
3. From a Photograph (0:48): MP3
4. The Undertaking in New Jersey (1:17): MP3
5. Solution (0:57): MP3
6. Chartres (0:38): MP3
7. The Source (0:33): MP3
8. Daedalus: The Dirge (0:38): MP3
9. Poem on the Elders (0:48): MP3
10. Population (0:50): MP3
11. Survival: Infantry (0:53): MP3
12. Tourist Eye: Section Four (1:25): MP3
13. Resort (0:43): MP3
14. Flight (0:55): MP3

• Complete recording (20:30): MP3

With thanks to the Poetry Center, San Francisco State University, for their archival work on this and other recordings by George Oppen

• Complete recording (28:50): MP3
• Reading A Narrative, White, Thus/Hides the, The evening, The lights, paving-- , The Mast, Closed Car, This Land, She lies hip high, Her Ankles are Watches, Psalm, Guest Room, Of This All Things, The Forms of Love, Penobcost, The Mayan Ground, The People the People, Street, Giovanni's Rape of the Sabine Women, and Leviathan.


• Outtakes (courtesy of Richard Swigg):


• "Four Poems about Poetry" (an early version of "Five Poems about Poetry" — includes what is now Part 1 [The Gesture], Part 2 [The Little Hole], Part 4 [Parousia] and Part 5 [From Virgil]) (2:30): MP3


• To CT (0:39): MP3

• Complete recording (05:47): MP3

1. From "Of Being Numerous" (25:32): MP3
2. On quotations (1:09): MP3
3. On timing (0:31): MP3
4. On Whitman (1:39): MP3
5. On Kierkegaard (1:06): MP3
6. Quotations (2:30): MP3
7. The Forms of Love (1:21): MP3

• Complete recording (34:06): MP3

1. Of Being Numerous (22:53): MP3
2. Parenthesis (0:22): MP3
3. Historic Pun (1:19): MP3
4. Epigram (0:44): MP3
5. Ballad (1:24): MP3
6. Power the Enchanted World (2:03): MP3
7. Route (11:13): MP3

• Complete recording (41:02): MP3
• "Ballad" is also featured in PoemTalk Episode 3.

(This recording was originally made available to the Slought Foundation by Fred Wah. PennSound publication made with thanks to Slought and with the permission of Fred Wah and the Oppen Estate)

• Complete recording (47:02): MP3

Reading at SUNYBuffalo, February 17, 1967 - a Wednesdays @ 4 Plus event

1. Of Being Numerous (19:47): MP3
2. A Preface (0:31): MP3
3. Historic Pun (1:06): MP3
4. Epigram (0:39): MP3
5. Ballad (1:12): MP3
6. Power, The Enchanted World (1:47): MP3
7. Route (6:15): MP3

• Complete recording (31:25): MP3
• "Ballad" is also featured in PoemTalk Episode 3.

1. Route (13:30): MP3
2. Of Being Numerous (23:27): MP3

1. Introduction (2:36): MP3
2. Song, The Winds of Downhill (0:46): MP3
3. From a Phrase of Simone Weil's and Some Words of Hegel's (1:17): MP3
4. The Speech at Soli (2:17): MP3

From Some San Francisco Poems:
5. Section 2: A Morality Play: Preface (1:48): MP3
6. Section 3: And Their Winter and Night in Disguise (2:08): MP3
7. Section 4: Anniversary Poem (1:20): MP3
8. Section 5: The Translucent Mechanics (0:54): MP3
9. Section 6: Silver as / The needle's eye (1:00): MP3
10. Section 7: O withering seas (0:55): MP3
11. Section 8: The Taste (0:58): MP3
12. Section 9: The Impossible Poem (0:56): MP3
13. Section 10: But So As By Fire (0:56): MP3


14. Of Hours (2:42): MP3
15. Inlet (0:48): MP3
16. The Occurrences (1:05): MP3
17. West (1:37): MP3
18. Animula (1:25): MP3
19. The Hegelian Bell (0:55): MP3
20. Exodus (1:40): MP3

Complete recording (28:37): MP3

Reading at the Poetry Center, San Francisco State University, February 22, 1973

1. Song, The Winds of Downhill (4:53): MP3
2. Section 4: Anniversary Poem (2:27): MP3
3. Section 6: Silver as / The needle's eye (2:58): MP3
4. Section 10: But So As By Fire (4:00): MP3

• Complete recording (14:38): MP3

• Complete recording (41:34): MP3
• "Ballad" is also featured in PoemTalk Episode 3.

• Of Being Numerous (21:51): MP3

1. Anniversary Poem (from Some San Francisco Poems (1:37): MP3
2. Of Hours (2:14): MP3
3. Of Being Numerous (excerpts) (5:39): MP3
4. Song, the Winds of Downhill (2:28): MP3
5. The Forms of Love (0:51): MP3
6. Discussion with Eric Homberger (20:38):
transcript of interview

• Complete recording (29:57): mp3

Reading at National Poetry Festival, June 14-24, 1973

Objectivists and After

1. Introduction (1:54): MP3
2. On naming (1:49): MP3
3. On objectivist origin (2:16): MP3
4. On feeling (11:05): MP3
5. On imagination (5:25): MP3
6. On language (1:42): MP3
7. On reality (2:46): MP3
8. On relationships (3:12): MP3

• Part One (33:02): MP3
Watch on Media.sas

1. On transcendentalism (8:54): MP3
2. On humanity (4:05): MP3
3. On emotion (5:39): MP3
4. On religion (8:02): MP3
5. On inspiration (6:21): MP3

• Part Two (33:01): MP3
Watch on Media.sas

1. Five Poems about Poetry (3:09): MP3
2. The Forms of Love (0:47): MP3
3. The Book of Job and Draft of a Poem to Praise the Paths of Living (6:18): MP3
4. Myth of the Blaze (2:16): MP3
5. Confession (0:52): MP3
6. The Little Pin: Fragment (1:39): MP3
7. Guest Room (2:42): MP3
8. Exodus (0:38): MP3

Reading from Primitive (1978), La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley, December 11, 1978

1. A Political Poem (0:39): MP3
2. Disasters (1:53): MP3
3. The Poem (0:55): MP3
4. To Make Much (1:16): MP3
5. Waking Who Knows (0:19): MP3
6. If It All Went Up in Smoke (0:38): MP3
7. The Tongues (0:20): MP3
8. Populist (1:54): MP3
9. Gold on Oak Leaves (0:44): MP3
10. The Natural (0:22): MP3
11. Strange are the Products (0:49): MP3
12. Til Other Voices Wake Us (1:41): MP3

Reading from Of Being Numerous at the University of Warwick, 1970s (Date Unknown)

Courtesy of University of Warwick.

Complete Recording (22:18): MP3

Selected Readings for Watershed Tapes, April 25 and April 29, 1979, recorded at the home of Harvey Shapiro, Brooklyn, New York

1. Of Being Numerous (Sec. 1-22) (10:30): MP3
2. Historic Pun (1:06): MP3
3. Ballad (1:18): MP3
4. From a Phrase of Simone Weil's and Some Words of Hegel's (0:58): MP3
5. The Occurrences (1:01): MP3
6. Animula (1:03): MP3
7. West (1:34): MP3
8. Song, Winds of Downhill (0:32): MP3

From Some San Francisco Poems:
9. Section 2: A Morality Play: Preface (1:30): MP3
10. Section 5: The Translucent Mechanics (0:52): MP3
11. Section 6: Silver as / The needle's eye (0:56): MP3
12. Section 7: O withering seas (0:51): MP3
13. Section 8: The Taste (0:56): MP3
14. Section 9: The Impossible Poem (0:50): MP3
15. Section 10: But So As By Fire (0:53): MP3


16. Exodus (0:42): MP3
17. Latitude, Longitude (0:33): MP3
18. The Speech at Soli (1:18): MP3
19. Primitive (13:27): MP3

• "Ballad" is also featured in PoemTalk Episode 3.

Poems Formerly (and Incorrectly) Attributed to the Poetry Center, San Francisco State University
(Location and Date Unknown)

1. Disasters (3:35): MP3
   
2. The Dream (0:28): MP3
   
3. Strange are the Products (1:16): MP3
4. Song, the Winds of Downhill (2:34): MP3
5. Wives, Husbands being killed: section 1 of The Lever the Die the Cam (from The Book of Job): original version of section 1, The Book of Job and A Draft of A poem to Praise the Paths of the Living (2:37): MP3
6. Route (13:36): MP3
7. From a Phrase of Simon Weil's and Some Words of Hegel's (1:20): MP3
8. The Speech at Soli (2:20): MP3

From Some San Francisco Poems:
9. Section 2: A Morality Play (1:56): MP3
10. Section 3: And Their Winter and Night in Disguise (6:28): MP3
11. Section 5: Transparent Mechanics (2:10): MP3
12. Section 8: O withering seas (1:02): MP3
13. Section 9: The Impossible Poem (1:57): MP3
14. Section 10: But So As By Fire (1:27): MP3


15. The Book of Hours (2:51): MP3
16. Inlet (0:50): MP3
17. The Occurrences (1:09): MP3
18. West (1:43): MP3
19. Animula (1:33): MP3
20. The Hegelian Bell (0:58): MP3
21. Exodus (0:59): MP3
22. Psalm (0:50): MP3
23. Stranger's Child (0:22): MP3
24. A Narrative (0:49): MP3
25. Leviathan (1:03): MP3
26. Of Being Numerous (9:33): MP3

• Complete recording (1:33:33): MP3

• Complete recording (4:16): MP3

Also of Interest:

• A Celebration of George Oppen's 100th Birthday at the Kelly Writers House, April 7, 2008
• The Shape of Disclosure: George Oppen Centennial Symposium at Poets House, New York City, April 8, 2008
• Norman Finkelstein and Harvey Shapiro discuss the objectivists, including Oppen

George Oppen on PennSound Daily

• September 30, 2009: "George Oppen: Nine new recordings added"
• June 22, 2009: "Two New PennSound Podcasts: Dan Saxon and George Oppen"
• June 27, 2008: "George Oppen: Corrected Readings from SFSU"
• April 10, 2008: "UPenn's George Oppen Centennial Celebration Now Online"
• April 4, 2008: "George Oppen Centennial Celebration, Monday 4/7"
• February 5, 2008: "George Oppen's Ballad"
• December 12, 2007: "George Oppen: 3 New Recordings"

The work of George Oppen is available in two editions:

George Oppen: Selected Poems, edited by Robert Creeley (New Directions, 2003)
New Collected Poems (New Directions, 2008), edited by Michael Davidson, with a CD of Oppen's readings.

These sound recordings are being made available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights to this recorded material belong to Linda Oppen for the Estate of George Oppen. © 2004-2008 Linda Oppen. Used with permission of Linda Oppen. Distributed by PennSound.