John Ashbery

Reading at the Ear Inn with Michael Lally, September 16, 1978

A Box and Its Contents (8:22): MP3
The Cathedral Is (0:12) MP3
Silhouette (7:15) MP3
from Litany (20:05) MP3

complete reading (1:23:44): MP3

The Songs We Know Best, 1973 and 1988

Side One
1. Two Scenes (1:08): mp3
2. The Instruction Manual (7:05): mp3
3. And You Know (4:26): mp3
4. Thoughts of a Young Girl (0:46): mp3
5. It was Raining in the Capital (3:21): mp3
6. Far Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape (4:07): mp3
7. And Ut Pictura Poesis Is Her Name (3:15): mp3
8. Landscape (After Baudelaire) (2:06): mp3
9. The Songs We Know Best (4:09):mp3

All selections on side one were recordered at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington D.C., on Febrauary 29, 1988. Special thanks to Gigi Bradford.


Side Two
10. Sonnet ("Each servant stamps the reader...") (0:46): mp3
11. "How Much Longer Will I Be Able to Inhabit the Divine Sepulcher..." (4:29): mp3
12. Rivers and Mountains (3:47): mp3
13. The Task (1:23): mp3
14. Song (1:27): mp3
15. The New Spirit (excerpt) (17:59): mp3

All selections on side two were recorded at the Library of Congress Recording Lab, Washington D.C., January 16, 1973.

complete reading (61:40): mp3

STAFF:
Producer: Anne Becker
Recording Engineer: Alan D. Austin (Side One)
Post Production Engineer: Anne Becker
Cover Design:Lynn Springer
Production of this tape was made possible in part by a grant from the Literature Program of the National Endowment for the Arts

"Litany," recorded with Ann Lauterbach, 1980
"Litany" originally appeared in As We Know (1979). A brief excerpt of this session previously appeared on the Giorno Poetry Systems album, Sugar, Alcohol and Meat in 1980.

"Litany" part 1 (15:49): MP3
"Litany" part 2 (54:40): MP3
"Litany" part 3 (14:08): MP3


Reading at the Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM, November 20, 1985

1. Introduction (1:27): MP3
2. Two Scenes (2:33): MP3
3. Popular Letters (2:16): MP3
4. Thoughts of a Young Girl (1:21): MP3
5. The New Realism (2:13): MP3
6. Plainness and Diversity (1:56): MP3
7. Variations, Calypso and Feud (11:55): MP3
8. Chateau Hardware (0:46): MP3
9. Worsening Situation (2:48): MP3
10. The Other Tradition (2:33): MP3
11. The Gazing Grain (1:26): MP3
12. And Ut Pictura Poesis Is Her Name (3:26): MP3
13. At North Farm (2:26): MP3
14. The Songs We Know Best (4:18): MP3
15. Tableaux Parisiens (2:07): MP3
16. More Pleasant Adventures (1:30): MP3
17. A Wave (6:41): MP3
18. Finished Rapsody (7:19): MP3
19. Vettiver (2:11): MP3
20. A Mood of Quiet (1:03): MP3
21. October at the Window (2:53): MP3
22. Forgotten Song (2:56): MP3
23. Someone You Have Seen Before (4:49): MP3

Complete Recording (1:17:41): MP3


WQXR Radio Program, New York, April 8, 1986
Academy of American Poets Discussion with John Ashbery, Ned Rorem and June LeBell
Part One (31:56): MP3
Part Two (7:25): MP3


"Poets Reading in the Village", April 25, 1991

1. Introduction (3:00) : MP3
2. Elephant Visitors (1:59) : MP3
3. The Youth's Magic Horn (3:06) : MP3
4. Withered Compliments (1:17) : MP3
5. In My Way / On My Way (5:12) : MP3
6. Private Syntax (1:18) : MP3
7. Korean Soap Opera (4:10) : MP3
8. Of Linnets and Dull Time (1:06) : MP3
9. from Flow Chart (15:21) : MP3

complete recording (37:42) : MP3

tracks 2-8 can be found in Hotel Lautréamont (1992), track 9 is from Flow Chart (1991)



Reading excerpts from Flow Chart on WBAI Radio, New York. April 25, 1991

complete recording (16:53): MP3



Reading and interview on The Book Show, 1992
hosted by Tom Smith, The Book Show was produced by the New York State Writers Institute at SUNY Albany.
On this program, Ashbery discusses Flow Chart (1991) and Hotel Lautréamont (1992).

complete program (25:09): MP3



from The Voice of the Poet, 2001
1. Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror (I: "As Parmigianino did it") (8:16): MP3
2. Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (II: "Tomorrow is easy but today is uncharted") (6:07): MP3
3. Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (III: "A breeze like the turning of a page") (11:41): MP3
4. Soonest Mended (4:35): MP3



Kelly Writers House Fellow, 2002

reading at the Kelly Writers House, March 25, 2002
1. Introduction (10:27): MP3
2. This Room (2:51): MP3
3. If You Said You Would Come With Me (3:28): MP3
4. A Linnet (1:24): MP3
5. The Bobinski Brothers (1:30): MP3
6. Merrily We Live (3:32): MP3
7. Invasive Procedures (2:46): MP3
8. Memories of Imperialism (2:23): MP3
9. Strange Occupations (1:45): MP3
10. Full Tilt (1:58): MP3
11. Heartache (2:03): MP3
12. Onion Skin (0:18): MP3
13. Redeemed Area (2:35): MP3
14. Crossroads in the Past (1:48): MP3
15. The Underwriters (2:34): MP3
16. A Nice Presentation (3:08): MP3
17. Disagreeable Glimpses (5:41): MP3
18. Runway (1:52): MP3
19. As Umbrellas Follow Rain (6:13): MP3


in discussion with Al Filreis, March 26th, 2002
complete discussion (1:03:44): MP3

for more information on Ashbery's visit, and video footage of both events,
please visit the Kelly Writers House Fellows Program site.

from The Key West Literary Seminar, 2003

lecture on Elizabeth Bishop (12:04): MP3   (more information at Littoral)

reading from Chinese Whispers (25:03): MP3

1. Nice Presentation (3:20): MP3
2. Disagreeable Glimpses (5:50): MP3
3. Theme Park Days (1:54): MP3
4. Why Not Sneeze? (1:06): MP3
5. View of Delft (1:13): MP3
6. The Lightning Conductor (2:25): MP3
7. I Asked Mr. Dithers Whether It Was Time Yet He Said No to Wait (1:11): MP3
8. Local Legend (2:49): MP3
9. Runway (1:40): MP3
10. The Business of Falling Asleep (2) (3:24): MP3

Mo Pitkin's, New York
June 6, 2007
Reading with Charles Bernstein
Sponsored by Poetry magazine & McSweeney's  "Chain" issue
Note: Lynn Emmanuel read first at this event but her
reading was not on the CD provided to PennSound.

John Ashbery Introduction (1:13) MP3
Full Reading by John Ashbery: (22:44) MP3

Ashbery reads from A Worldly Country
1. A Worldly Country (3:26): MP3
2. To Be Affronted (1:58): MP3
3. Opposition to a Memorial (2:17): MP3
4. For Now (1:36): MP3
5. Image Problem (1:34): MP3
6. A Kind of Chill (0:48): MP3
7. Well-Scrubbed Interior (1:15): MP3
8. Thrill of a Romance (1:37): MP3
9. Phantoum (4:08): MP3
10. So Long, Santa (1:53): MP3


Reading at Haverford College, February 19, 2008
1. introduction (0:50): MP3
2. discussing Hotel Lautréamont (2:10) MP3
3. Hotel Lautréamont (2:10) MP3
4. This Room (0:40) MP3
5. If You Said You Would Come With Me (2:48) MP3
6. A Linnet (1:24): MP3
7. The Bobinski Brothers (1:24): MP3
8. Merrily We Live (2:46): MP3
9. The History of My Life (0:45): MP3
10. Redeemed Area (2:26): MP3
11. Stanzas Before Time (0:31): MP3
12. Crossroads in the Past (1:48): MP3
13. A Nice Presentation (2:24): MP3
14. Disagreeable Glimpses (5:42): MP3
15. Sonnet: More of Same (1:00) MP3
16. A Worldly Country (2:34): MP3

complete reading (37:00): MP3

(please note: the quality of this recording, which was taken from a videotape of the event, is less than optimal; however we felt that its significance merited our posting it, and have done our best to make the audio as clear as possible)


Also on PennSound:
They Dream Only of America (Recorded July 22, 1994, in Hudson, NY) (1:07):MP3
Setting Poetry to Music Discussion with Ned Rorem (date and location unknown) (1:14:38): MP3
Lyrikmagasinet Reading; May 15, 1996 (43:28): MP3
Appearing on Belgische Radio en Televisie, Brussles (date unknown) (55:02): MP3

These sound recordings are being made available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights to this recorded material belong to the author. © 2007 John Ashbery. Used with gracious permission of John Ashbery. Distributed by PennSound.