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George Oppen


photo: Michael West



reading in Buffalo, NY, November 30, 1966
1. Of Being Numerous (22:53)
2. A Parenthesis (0:22)
3. Historic Pun (1:19)
4. Epigram (0:44)
5. Ballad (1:24)
6. Power, the Enchanted World (2:03)
7. Route (11:13)

complete reading (41:02): MP3

(this recording was originally made available to the Slought Foundation by Fred Wah.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)



reading at the 92nd Street Y, 1967 (27:45)
introduction by Armand Schwerner (4:09): MP3
Of Being Numerous, read in its entirety (23:40): MP3




Reading at the Poetry Center at the San Francisco State University: February 19, 1963
1. The Image of the Engine (3:58) MP3
2. Song (0:58) MP3
3. From a Photograph (0:48) MP3
4. 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 Reading (20:30) MP3


Reading at the Poetry Center at the San Francisco State University: February 22, 1973
1. "To Begin Again..." (4:53) MP3
2. Anniversary Poem (2:27) MP3
3. "Silver as the Needle's Eye..." (2:58) MP3
4. Leave her the Cot (4:00) MP3

Complete Reading (14:38) MP3

Original recording by the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University. PennSound publication made with thanks to the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University for their archival work.


Poems Formerly (and Incorrectly) Attributed to the Poetry Center at the San Francisco State University
(Location and Date Unknown)
1. Disaster (3:35): MP3
2. The Dream (0:28): MP3
3. "Strange are the Products of Draftsmanship..." (1:16): MP3
4. Song, the Winds of Downhill (2:34): MP3
5. And Their Winter and Night in Disguise (4:17): MP3
6. "Wives, Husbands being killed..." (2:37): MP3
7. Transparent Mechanics (2:10): MP3
8. But So As By Fire (1:27): MP3
9. Route (13:36): MP3
10. From a Phrase of Simon Weil's (1:20): MP3
11. The Speech at Soli (2:20): MP3
12. A Morality Play (1:56): MP3
13. And Their Winter and Night in Disguise (6:28): MP3
14. The Taste (1:02): MP3
15. The Impossible Poem (1:57): MP3
16. The Book of Hours (2:51): MP3
17. Inland (0:50): MP3
18. The Occurrences (1:09): MP3
19. West (1:43): MP3
20. Animula (1:33): MP3
21. The Hegelian Bell (0:58): MP3
22. Exodus (0:59): MP3
23. Psalm (0:50): MP3
24. Stranger's Child (0:22): MP3
25. A Narrative (0:49): MP3
26. Leviathan (1:03): MP3
27. Of Being Numerous (9:33): MP3

Complete Recording (1:33:33): MP3


reading at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, July 5, 1973
1. Anniversary Poem (1:37)
2. Of Hours (2:14)
3. from Of Being Numerous (5:39)
4. The Forms of Love (0:51)
5. Song, the Winds of Downhill (2:28)
6. Discussion with Eric Homberger (17:04)

complete reading (29:57): mp3

(thanks to Rachel Blau DuPlessis for providing this recording)



from Selected Readings, 1979 recording
1. Of Being Numerous (Sec. 1-22) (10:30)
2. Historic Pun (1:06)
3. Ballad (1:18)
4. From a Phrase of Simone Weil's and Some Words of Hegel's (0:58)
5. The Occurrences (1:01)
6. Animula (1:03)
7. West (1:34)
8. Song, Winds of Downhill (0:32)
9. A Morality Play: Preface (1:30)
10. The Translucent Mechanics (0:52)
11. Silver As... (0:56)
12. O Withering Seas... (0:51)
13. The Taste (0:56)
14. The Impossible Poem (0:50)
15. But So As By Fire (0:53)
16. Exodus (0:42)
17. Latitude, Longitude (0:33)
18. The Speech at Soli (1:18)
19. Primitive (13:27)

Recording History: All selections were recorded in Brooklyn, New York, April 25 & 29, 1979.
Credits: Selections 1-18, Collected Poems of George Oppen. Copyright © 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1974 by George Oppen. Reproduced by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation. Primitive, Copyright © 1978 by George Oppen. Reproduced by permission of Black Sparrow Press.
Staff for this recording:
Producer: Poetry in Pubic Places
Recording Engineer: Verna Gillis
Editors: Verna Gillis, Michael Heller
Executive Producers: Alan Austin, Anne Becker



George Oppen reading from This In Which, Date and Location Unknown
Complete Recording (4:16): MP3



Also of Interest:

PoemTalk Podcast #3 on Oppen's "Ballad"

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

The work of George Oppen is available in two editions:

Complete Poems, ed. Michael Davidson (New York: New Directions, 2002)
Selected Poems, ed. Robert Creeley (New York: New Directions, 2003)

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.