Roy Kiyooka and Richard (Dick) Sommer at Sir George Williams University, The Poetry Series, 2 December 1966

CLASSIFICATION

Swallow ID:
1257
Partner Institution:
Concordia University
Source Collection Label:
SGWU Reading Series-Concordia University Department of English fonds
Series:
The Poetry Series
Sub Series:
SGWU Reading Series-Concordia University Department of English fonds

ITEM DESCRIPTION

Title:
Roy Kiyooka and Richard (Dick) Sommer at Sir George Williams University, The Poetry Series, 2 December 1966
Title Source:
Cataloguer
Title Note:
"R. KIYOOKA 2/12/66" written on the spine of the tape's box. "Roy Kiyooka (2 tracls 3 3/4) and I086-11-030" also written on reel and the tape's box. "Dick Sommer Sides 1 & 2 3 3/4"/sec 2/12/66" handwriitten on the back of the tape's box. "I086-11-046" and "RT 500" also written.
Language:
English
Production Context:
Documentary recording
Genre:
Reading: Poetry
Persistent URL:
http://archives.concordia.ca/I086
Identifiers:
[I086-11-030, I086-11-046]

Rights

CREATORS

Name:
Sommer, Richard
Dates:
1934-2012
URL:
https://viaf.org/viaf/46769463/#Sommer,_Richard
Role:
"Performer", "Author", "Series organizer"
Notes:
Richard Sommer was born on August 27, 1934 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated with a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota in 1956, then went on to receive an A.M. in 1957 and a Ph.D. in 1962 from Harvard University. In 1961 Sommer married Gillian Taylor, but remarried Victoria Tansey in 1969, with whom he had two children. Sommer won the American-Scandinavian Foundation fellowship for research in Norway in 1958-9, and published The Odyssey and Primitive Religion in 1962 (Norwegian Universities Press). That same year, he was hired at Sir George Williams College (now Concordia University) as an assistant professor from 1962 to 1967, when he became an associate professor of English in 1967. His second publication, Strangers and Pilgrims: An Essay on the Metaphor of Journey, was published in 1964, written with Georg Roppen (Humanities Press). Sommer’s collections of poetry that have been published by Delta Canada include Homage to Mr. MacMullin (Delta Canada, 1969), The Blue Sky Notebook (New Delta, 1972), Milarepa (New Delta, 1976), Left Hand Mind (New Delta, 1976), The Other Side of Games (New Delta, 1977), and Selected and New Poems (1983) published by Vehicule Press. After Sommer retired from Sir George Williams University, he became increasingly active in environmental conservation, leading the conservation effort of Pinnacle Mountain in Quebec, which was documented in an NFB film, The Poet and the Pinnacle (1995). In the early 2000s, Richard Sommer was diagnosed with prostate cancer and, shortly before his death in 2012, he published Cancer Songs (Signature Editions 2011), a mix of verse and journaling exploring his experiences living with the illness.
Name:
Kiyooka, Roy
Dates:
1926-1994
URL:
http://viaf.org/viaf/30784426
Role:
"Author", "Performer", "Series organizer"
Notes:
Roy Kiyooka was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1926. Sculptor, painter, photographer, poet, film-maker and teacher, he was influential in many important literary and artistic scenes all across Canada. Kiyooka studied fine art at the Provincial Institute of Art and Technology in Alberta, the Institute Allende in Mexico, the University of Saskatchewan, Emma Lake Workshops. He married Monica Dealtry Barker in 1955 and had three children. He has exhibited his works in numerous cities, including Edmonton, Calgary, San Miguel D’Allende, Saskatoon, Regina, Vancouver, Toronto, New York and Montreal. Kiyooka’s work was shown at the National Gallery of Canada and the Museum of Modern Art in Washington, D.C. He won the silver medal representing Canada at the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1966. Kiyooka taught at various institutions, including Regina College, where he worked from 1956 to 1960, the Vancouver School of Art (Now Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design) from 1960-1965, Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) from 1966 to 1969 and the University of British Columbia from 1972 to his retirement. During the 60’s, Kiyooka played a crucial role in the artistic renaissance of Vancouver poetry and art, and served to connect the Vancouver scene with the Coach House Press group in Toronto. It was around this time that he began writing poetry, publishing Kyoto airs in 1964 (Periwinkle Press), illustrating Daphne Marlatt’s The unquiet bed in 1967, Nevertheless these eyes also in 1967 (Coach House Press), Stoned gloves in 1970 (Coach House Press), Transcanada letters in 1975 (Talon Books), The Fontainebleau dream machine: 18 frames from a book in 1977 (Coach House Press), and Of seasonal pleasures and small hindrances in 1978 (B.C. Monthly). Pacific windows: collected poems of Roy Kiyooka came out in 1974 (Talon Books), and included a biography, bibliography and notes on his poetry. Pear tree poems came out almost a decade later in 1988 (Coach House Press) and was nominated for a Governor General’s Award. More recently he published Mothertalk: Life Stories of Mary Kiyoshi Kiyooka in 1997(NeWest Press), edited by Daphne Marlatt. Roy Kiyooka died in 1994.

CONTRIBUTORS

Name:
Hoffman, Stanton
Role:
"Series organizer", "Speaker"

MATERIAL DESCRIPTION

Recording Type:
Analogue
AV Type:
Audio
Material Designation:
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Physical Composition:
Magnetic Tape
Extent:
1/4 inch
Playing Speed:
3 3/4 ips
Track Configuration:
2 track
Playback Mode:
Mono
Generations:
Duplicate
Tape Brand:
BASF
Sound Quality:
Good
Recording Type:
Analogue
AV Type:
Audio
Material Designation:
Reel to Reel
Physical Composition:
Magnetic Tape
Storage Capacity:
00:50:00
Extent:
1/4 inch
Playing Speed:
3 3/4 ips
Track Configuration:
2 track
Playback Mode:
Mono
Tape Brand:
Kodak
Sound Quality:
Good

DIGITAL FILE DESCRIPTION

File URL:
https://files.spokenweb.ca/concordia/sgw/audio/all_mp3/roy_kiyooka_i086-11-030.mp3
Show Content
File Path:
files.spokenweb.ca>concordia>sgw>audio>all_mp3
Duration:
01:01:42
Size:
148.1 MB
Content:
roy_kiyooka_i086-11-030.mp3 [File 1 of 2] Stanton Hoffman 00:00:00 On behalf of the Poetry Reading Committee of Sir George Williams University I wish to welcome you to this, the fifth, in a series of poetry readings, given at this University during 1966-67. Tonight there will be readings by two poets living in Montreal , and members of the faculty of this university. There will be a fifteen minute intermission in between each reading. Roy Kiyooka was born in Moose Jaw , Saskatchewan , he studied at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, the Instituto Allende in Mexico , and the University of Saskatchewan Emma Lake Workshops. He has had one-man exhibitions in Edmonton , Calgary , San Miguel de Allende , Saskatoon , Regina , Toronto , Vancouver , Victoria , New York City and Montreal. He exhibited at the Sao Paulo Biennial , where he was one of four painters representing Canada , and where he received honourable mention and a Silver Medal. His most recent show was held last month at the Laing Galleries in Toronto. In 1964, his first volume of poems, Kyoto Airs, was published by the Periwinkle Press in Vancouver. His second volume, Nevertheless These Eyes is being published this month, in Montreal by Bev Leech. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Roy Kiyooka. Unknown 00:01:24 [Cut or edit made in tape. Unknown amount of time elapsed]. Roy Kiyooka 00:01:25 --want to start off this evening by reading a few poems from my earlier book, the one that Stan mentioned. These poems were written as a result of a summer in Japan , and they are very much occasional poems, they address themselves to the particular occasion of having been there, and they were meant in part to account for that experience of having been there, to my numerable friends in Vancouver. I'll begin by reading three very short little poems, they all relate to, what should we call it, the various contexts in which I saw the sculptured image of the Buddha. The first one is called "Waiting Out the Rain". Roy Kiyooka 00:02:51 Reads "Waiting Out the Rain" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:03:13 This is "Buddha in the Garden". Again, very brief. Roy Kiyooka 00:03:23 Reads "Buddha in the Garden" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:03:47 This is "Sunday at the Temple". Roy Kiyooka 00:03:53 Reads "Sunday at the Temple" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:04:20 And this is the image of a Buddha seen in the Kyoto Museum, a reclining figure. Roy Kiyooka 00:04:30 Reads unnamed poem [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:05:01 Now the next is a sequence of four little poems, very much like the traditional Japanese poems called the Haiku. This is a sequence, the title of which is "The Stone Garden of Ryoanji". The first one goes like this: Roy Kiyooka 00:05:27 Reads “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji", part 1 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:05:45 Reads “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji", part 2 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:06:07 Reads “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji", part 3 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:06:24 Reads “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji", part 4 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:06:49 Now this one is called "Children's Shrine". Throughout most of the cities and towns and villages all over Japan you'll find way-side shrines, they're frequently just built into the wall in a very narrow street and people on whatever religious occasion come to worship there. This is a shrine particularly for children. And it goes like this: Roy Kiyooka 00:07:24 Reads "Children's Shrine" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:08:41 Well this is rather a long sequence, once more very short poems, there are eleven of them, and the title of the sequence is simply "Higashiyama", now 'higashiyama' means, in English, 'east mountain'. Roy Kiyooka 00:09:22 Reads "Higashiyama", part 1 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:09:39 Reads "Higashiyama", part 2 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:10:04 Reads "Higashiyama", part 3 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:10:20 Reads "Higashiyama", part 4 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:10:38 Reads "Higashiyama", part 5 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:10:54 Reads "Higashiyama", part 6 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:11:13 Reads "Higashiyama", part 7 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:11:38 Reads "Higashiyama", part 8 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:11:55 Reads "Higashiyama", part 9 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:12:17 Reads "Higashiyama", part 10 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:12:43 Reads "Higashiyama", part 11 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:13:01 Well I'll go on to the last poem in the book, this is an attempt, as it were, to sum up the varied experiences that I had there. The poem is called "Itinerary of a View". Roy Kiyooka 00:13:29 Reads "Itinerary of a View" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:17:07 I think I need to say a few words about this next group of poems, they were, they're from the book that I am having done at the moment, I started these poems in June 1965 in Montreal when I first came here. I don't know how to tell you this, except that at the time I came, I stayed with Alfred Pinsky , or rather I stayed at his home, at his invitation, while I was looking for a place to live. Now, this took me about two weeks, it was very hot, and in the evenings I used to go through his library and pick up things and scanned them. One evening I came across this book, which was a biography of the English painter, Stanley Spencer . Spencer, we could say is perhaps the co-partner in the origin and the form and the content of this book. The book is in three parts, the first part is called the mirror, "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", and it is prefaced by a quotation from Spencer, which goes like this: "I am meeting you all the time, and sending my longing for you into chaos, into the darkness, beyond these walls". I may add that these poems, likewise, are on the whole, very brief, though some are longer. Roy Kiyooka 00:19:31 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 1 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:20:34 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 2 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:21:55 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 3 published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:22:49 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 4 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:23:23 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 5 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:24:18 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 6 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:24:46 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 7 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:25:24 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 8 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:25:51 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 9 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:26:27 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 10 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:27:02 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 11 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:27:26 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 12 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:28:06 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 13 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:28:36 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 14 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:29:21 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 15 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:30:05 The last one in this section. Roy Kiyooka 00:30:11 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 16 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:30:53 There's a terrible draft coming in from the back, I think you're right Dick, we're going to end up with arthritic ankles. Well, this is the second section, and it is called "The Proposal". Once more, prefaced with a remark from Stanley Spencer, a very beautiful one. They are set down, as I found them in the book, I have used them in the context of this section of the book and these four poems, taken from his writings are meant to define certain of her attributes. Now I have given a title to each one of these four poems, and I hope they will clarify the context in which they belong here. "Portrait of the Beloved". Roy Kiyooka 00:32:06 Reads "Portrait of the Beloved" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:32:56 This I called "The Marriage". Roy Kiyooka 00:33:05 Reads "The Marriage" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:33:37 This is called "The Separation". Roy Kiyooka 00:33:45 Reads "The Separation" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:34:07 And this, is "Her Apotheosis". Roy Kiyooka 00:34:17 Reads "Her Apotheosis" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:35:23 That incidentally, is a description he wrote to a friend about a painting that he in fact had made. From your response, I gathered, it has a comic element, but I don't think that he himself made it that way. [Laughter]. Roy Kiyooka 00:36:05 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:38:04 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:38:36 The first stanza of this two-stanza poem is from Spencer, once again. Roy Kiyooka 00:38:43 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:39:34 The reference in this poem is to an exemplary sculptor who died many years ago, who obsessionally sculpted the human female form, his name is Gaston Lachaise . Roy Kiyooka 00:40:02 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:40:59.50 The title of this poem is the same as the title of the second section, it's "The Proposal". Roy Kiyooka 00:41:14 Reads "The Proposal" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:42:27 This one is called "The Dance". Roy Kiyooka 00:42:33 Reads "The Dance" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:43:59 The title of this poem is called "Her Admonition". Roy Kiyooka 00:44:06 Reads "Her Admonition" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:45:28 Now the following five poems are called "Poems of Resurrection". Roy Kiyooka 00:45:46 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 1 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:47:27 Second "Resurrection" poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:47:28 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 2 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:48:33 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 3 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:49:07 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 4 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:49:49 The last Resurrection poem, which concludes with a very brief, two-line coda. Roy Kiyooka 00:50:01 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 5 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:50:51 Now, the second to last poem is called "The Visitation". Roy Kiyooka 00:51:16 Reads "The Visitation" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:53:14 And finally, Roy Kiyooka 00:53:22 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:53:56 Well, this is the final section. This is called "Nevertheless These Eyes" and briefly, and again from Spencer, a preface that goes like this: "I am on this side of angels and dirt". Roy Kiyooka 00:55:25 Reads "Nevertheless These Eyes" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 01:00:20 And finally, by way of acknowledging the nature of this book. Roy Kiyooka 01:00:31 Reads unnamed poem [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 01:00:57 Thank you very much-- Unknown 01:00:59 [Cut or edit made in tape. Unknown amount of time elapsed]. Roy Kiyooka 01:01:00 --and I were reading together, decided we should write one for the occasion, so we have each come up with a haiku. This is my haiku, it's especially for Dick. I have in brackets here, "A gentle admonition to the audience following my reading, and preceding his" and it goes like this: "Let the stone tell how /snow-covered in whiteness, /these words, when his words come." END 01:01:42
Notes:
Roy Kiyooka reads from Kyoto Airs (Periwinkle Press, 1964) and poems published later in Nevertheless These Eyes (Coach House Press, 1967). 00:00- Introducer (Stanton Hoffman) introduces Roy Kiyooka [INDEX: Fifth reader in the 1966-67 Poetry Reading Series, Moose Jaw, Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, Instituto Allende in Mexico, University of Saskatchewan: Emma Lake Workshop, One man exhibitions in: Calgary, San Miguel D’Allende, Saskatoon, Toronto, Regina, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, New York City, Sao Paulo Biennial: Silver Medal representing Canada, Lane [or Ling?] Gallery in Toronto, Kyoto Airs by Roy Kiyooka, 1964, Periwinkle Press, Vancouver, [Unknown A1] Nevertheless These Eyes by Roy Kiyooka (1966), published by Bev Leech in Montreal, written in June 1965 in Montreal 01:25- Roy Kiyooka introduces Kyoto Airs and “Waiting Out the Rain” [INDEX: Occasional poetry in Japan, sculptured image of the Buddha, Japan] 02:51- Reads “Waiting Out the Rain” 03:13- Reads “Buddha in the Garden” 03:47- Reads “Sunday at the Temple” 04:20- Introduces first line “Hovering, he is hovering, his eyes closed...” 04:30- Reads first line “Hovering, he is hovering, his eyes closed...” 05:01- Introduces “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji” [INDEX: series of four haikus, stone gardens in Royanji, Japan] 05:27- Reads haikus 1-4 of “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji Series” 06:49- Introduces “Children’s Shrine” [INDEX: Shrines in Japan] 07:24- Reads “Children’s Shrine” 08:41- Introduces “Higashiyama” sequence of eleven poems. 09:22- Reads “Higashiyama, 1-11” 13:01- Introduces “Itinerary of a View” 13:29- Reads “Itinerary of a View” 17:07- Introduces poems 1-15 of the section “The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight” from Nevertheless These Eyes. [INDEX: Sequence poems, Higashiyama Mountain Japan, Alfred Pinsky, English Painter Stanley Spencer] 19:31- Reads poems 1-16 from “The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight” 30:53- Introduces poems from the second section “The Proposal” from Nevertheless These Eyes. [INDEX: English Painter Stanley Spencer] 32:06- Reads “Portrait of the Beloved” 32:56- Reads “The Marriage” 33:37- Reads “The Separation” 34:07- Reads “Her Apotheosis” 35:23- Explains “Her Apotheosis” 36:05- Reads first line “The grotesque flash...” 38:04- Reads first line “The beloved is resilient...” 38:36- Introduces first line “The women say what I like...” [INDEX: English Painter Stanley Spencer] 38:43- Reads first line “The women say what I like...” 39:34- Introduces first line “Gaston Lachaise...” 40:02- Reads first line “Gaston Lachaise...” 40:59- Reads “The Proposal” 42:27- Reads “The Dance” 43:59- Reads “Her Admonition” 45:28- Introduces five poems called “Five Poems of Resurrection” 45:46- Reads 1-5 poems of “Five Poems of Resurrection” 50:51- Reads “The Visitation” 53:22- Reads first line “What the beloved said...” 53:56- Introduces “Nevertheless These Eyes” 55:25- Reads “Nevertheless These Eyes” 1:00:31- Reads first line “The figure in the poems are his...” 1:00:57- Introduces and reads haiku written for this reading [see transcript for entire poem] [INDEX: Haiku to Dick Sommers] 1:01:42.65- END OF RECORDING Howard Fink List of Poems: 2/12/66 one 5” @ 3 3/4 time: 1 hr 10 mins A)From Kyoto Airs about his experience in Japan 1. “Waiting Out the Rain” 2. “Buddha in the Garden” 3. “Sunday at the Temple” From series- “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji” (first lines only) 4. “hovering, he is hovering... 5. “they whisper...” 6. “the boards...” 7. “white sand...” 8. “when...” 9. title: “Children’s Shrine” sequence of eleven poems 10. titled “Higashiyama” (first lines only) “kneeling, she...” 11. “o the white pigeon...” 12. “you raise up...” 13. “she call’d...” 14. “small comfort...” 15. “on Higashiyama...” 16. “tonight...” 17. “beyond...” 18. “put stone...” 19. “tell me, Cid...” 20. “I have left...” 21. Title: “Itinerary of a View” (a poem summing up his experience in Japan) B) from Nevertheless These Eyes; a collection which was motivated from Kiyooka’s reading the biography of the English writer/sculptor Stanley Spencer. - poems from section one; The song the mirror sang at midnight (first lines) 22. “Climbing into the mirror...” 23. “ Behind my eyes...” 24. “The image of her...” 25. “At least...” 26. “Since you asked me...” 27. “The distance...” 28. “Moonch...” 29. “My hand covets...” 30. “The other face...” 31. “Turning away...” 32. “The mirror...” 33. “In all this space...” 34. “In a room...” 35. “It is the vision of her... 36. “Now, other faces appear...” 37. “Who, among you...” four poems from the second section, “The Proposal” 38. “Portrait of the Beloved” 39. “The Marriage” 40. “The Separation” 41. “Her Apotheosis” 42. first line- “The grotesque flash...” 43. first line- “The beloved is...” 44. first line- “The women say...” 45. first line- “Gaston Lachaise” 46. “The Proposal” 47. “The Dance” 48. “Her Admonition” series of five, from Poems of Resurrection 49. first line “the way...” 50. first line “the Fallen have risen” 51. first line “the moon...” 52. first line “Stanley Spencer painted...” 53. first line “The resurrected flesh...” 54. “The Visitation” 55. first line “what the beloved said...” from section three Nevertheless These Eyes 56. first line “Nevertheless these eyes” 57. a haiku composed for the reading by Kiyooka
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richard_sommer_i086-11-046.mp3 [File 2 of 2] Stanton Hoffman 00:00:00 The second reader of this evening, Dick Sommer, was born in St. Paul , Minnesota , and educated at the University of Minnesota where he most recently returned as a visiting Assistant Professor of English, and at Harvard . In 1958 he was a recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize, and over a period of several years published his poems in the Harvard Advocate. He has given readings in Cambridge , Minneapolis , and in Oslo . Also, he does not want me to mention his scholarly publications: Dash, Which Are, Strangers and Pilgrims, an essay on the Metaphor of the Journey written with Georg Roppen and published by the Humanities Press in New York City, as well as by the Norwegian University's Press, in Norway and A Monograph, the Odyssey and Primitive Religion, published by the University of Bergen in 1962. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Dick Sommer. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:01:02 I didn't want him to mention those. Oh I've got the deal with Roy, as well. So this is a haiku with, which you'll be glad to know also has seventeen syllables in the title. "The Haiku to Roy Kiyooka", in reply to his haiku to me. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:01:31 Reads "The Haiku to Roy Kiyooka". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:01:50 And this is the Haiku that began the mess, this was the one that I originally threatened to read to him, and naturally will carry out my threat. Which has a slightly different title, "Haiku at Roy Kiyooka" Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:02:07 Reads "Haiku at Roy Kiyooka". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:02:27 And then there's the one that I think you have on that broadsheet, which as I looked at it, in all of its mimeographed splendor, struck me as sounding a bit, now, like the theme song of the Central Intelligence Agency , but I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean it that way when I wrote it. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:02:55 Reads unnamed haiku. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:03:13 I'm as you've heard, I'm responsible for having written some criticism, sorry about that, but I hope to make it up with the next poem, which is also on your broadsheet. Called the meaning of- "The Meaning of Poetry". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:03:36 Reads "The Meaning of Poetry". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:04:19 And this next poem, you'll be very happy to know I have my wife's permission to read. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:04:26 Reads unnamed poem. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:05:02 You're going to be out of luck if you don't play chess, for this next one. You may be out of luck if you do, but that has more to do with the poem than your ability at chess. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:05:23 Reads unnamed poem. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:06:27 Roy's given us a series of poems in praise of 'her', I don't know who 'her' is, but I have another name for her myself, she's called the Lady of Situations, and that's the title of this poem. You know, situations in the sense of she's always getting involved, or people are always getting involved. This is that Lady of Situation. And, oh yes, there's some erudition in this one too, there's a marvelous drawing taken from the tomb of Tuthmosis , which appears in the Skera, Egyptian Painting Volume, and you might look it up because she appears there as a tree, a breasted tree, and giving suck to a Pharaoh, it's quite interesting as a painting, anyway, that's in here too. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:07:34 Reads "Lady of Situation". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:09:29 The, I noticed that the Brotherhood of Railroad Engineers has arranged to have separate drinking glasses, or they're trying to get themselves put into the sanitary code, I think this is Roy's. This must be mine, still water. This next one, I wrote the day following my seeing of a movie that I hope many of you are familiar with, it's the Russian version of Don Quixote , a lovely film, beautiful adaptation of the myth of Don Quixote, and Sancho Panza in the terms of the revolution to come, and I was particularly fascinated to the title that was given to Don Quixote, in this film, so I used it for the title of the poem. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:10:54 Reads "Don Quixote de la Manchesky". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:13:25 This next one takes its title, this is another area of that reference, takes its title from a little known and very important folk ballad, I had to put something in ethnic here, so this is it. It's, the title is "The Other Side of the Mountain", and it comes from that little song that begins "The bear climbed over the mountain to see what he could see, but the other side of the mountain was all that he could see". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:14:05 Reads "The Other Side of the Mountain". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:17:15 Incidentally, you must not get the idea that the mountain, you know, came entirely from the, from the, from the song. It, you can find it on the Greater Barrington Quadrangle, for the appropriate section of the Massachusetts of the US geological survey, it's right on the map. It's really there, it's got position. This poem is in four sections, there are three narrative sections and then there's a short epilogue. And it's called "My Loveliest Enemies". I don't think there's any point in keeping you in suspense about this, my loveliest enemies are birds. And that's the punchline, so now you know it and you can listen to the poem. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:18:24 Reads "My Loveliest Enemies" [parts 1-3]. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:33:12 And here's the epilogue. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:33:19 Reads "Epilogue" of "My Loveliest Enemies". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:35:52 It's a race against not time but against the creeping gelatination, I think is the word of my lower extremities, and I'm sure the creeping sleepiness that is likely to affect you. This next, excuse me, here's to you! This next poem requires an erudite explanation too and I'm sorry for that. I hope, actually, it's not necessary. Alcuin , the Charles the King, Alcuin was an 8th century scholar who was brought from his, from the York diocese, to the court of Charlemagne , and there became the principal architect of Charlemagne's attempt to bring Latin and Latin culture to the Francs. You might say, I suppose, that he was the first of, first great humanist, but we'll see what his Latin is worth in this poem. This is a letter, written by Alcuin, actually it was written by me, presumably written by Alcuin, to Charles the King. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:37:33 Reads "Letter written by Alcuin, to Charles the King". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:41:46 And this poem is, has a title, and a subtitle. The title is "Concentration" the subtitle, "Homage to Eva Jerome". END 00:42:12 [Cut off abruptly].
Notes:
Richard (Dick) Sommer reads poems from an unknown selection of books. 00:00- Stanton Hoffman introduces Richard/Dick Sommer [INDEX: St. Paul, Minnesota, University of Minnesota, Harvard, published in Harvard Advocate, Academy of American Poets Prize, Readings in Cambridge, Minneapolis, Oslo, Strangers and Pilgrims: an essay on the Metaphor of Journey by Richard Sommer and Georg Roppen, published by Humanities Press in New York City and by the Norwegian University Press, Monograph, the Odyssey and Primitive Religion by Richard Sommer, published by University of Bergen 1962, Criticism: Dash, Which Are] 01:02- Introduces “The Haiku to Roy Kiyooka” [INDEX: Haiku Battle with Roy Kiyooka] 01:31- Reads “The Haiku to Roy Kiyooka” 01:50- Introduces “Haiku at Roy Kiyooka” 02:07- Reads “Haiku at Roy Kiyooka” 02:27- Introduces first line haiku “The little known eye...” [INDEX: C.I.A.] 02:55- Reads first line “The little known eye...” 03:13- Introduces “The Meaning of Poetry” [INDEX: Writing criticism] 03:36- Reads “The Meaning of Poetry” 04:19- Introduces first line “The figure eight....” 04:26- Reads first line “The figure eight...” 05:02- Introduces first line “How much wildness in that horseman’s eye...” [INDEX: Chess] 05:23- Reads “How much wildness in that horseman’s eye...” 06:27- Introduces “Lady of Situation” [INDEX: Tomb of Tuthmosis, Skera- Egyptian Painting Volume, Pharaoh] 07:34- Reads “Lady of Situation” 09:29- Introduces “Don Quixote de la Manchesky” [INDEX: Brotherhood of Railroad Engineers, Don Quixote: Russian Film “Don Kikhot”, Sancho Panza] 10:54- Reads “Don Quixote de la Manchesky” 13:25- Introduces “The Other Side of the Mountain” [INDEX: Folk ballads] 14:05- Reads “The Other Side of the Mountain” 17:15- Introduces “My Loveliest Enemies” [INDEX: Greater Barrington Quadrangle] 18:24- Reads “My Loveliest Enemies” parts 1-3 33:19- Reads “Epilogue” from “My Loveliest Enemies” 35:52- Introduces “Letter Written by Alcuin, to Charles the King” [INDEX: Alcuin , Charlemange, 8th Century Scholars, Latin; Howard Fink List “Great Lord”.] 37:33- Reads “Letter Written by Alcowen, to Charles the King” [sp?] 41:46- Introduces “Concentration: Homage to Eva Jerome” (poem is never read) 42:12.32- END OF RECORDING Howard Fink List: 2/12/66 3 3/4, on one 5” reel, two tracks mono, 50 mins 1. Haiku for Roy Kiyooka first line “the snow melts...” 2. Haiku at Roy Kiyooka first line “I hear Roy speak...” 3. Haiku first line “The little known eye...” 4. “The Meaning of Poetry” 5. first line “The figure eight...: 6. first line “How much wilderness in that horses eye...” 7. “The Lady of Situations” 8. “Don Quixote de la Manchasky” 9. “The Other Side of the Mountain” 10. A poem in four sections: “My Loveliest Enemies” parts of section one missing 11. first line “Great Lord...”
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Title:
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Drew Bernet
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Dates

Date:
1966 12 2
Type:
Performance Date
Source:
Accompanying Material
Notes:
Date written on the tape box and on a sticker on the tape reel

LOCATION

Address:
1455, Boul de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Venue:
Hall Building Basement Theatre
Latitude:
45.4972758
Longitude:
-73.57893043
URL:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/22080570
Notes:
Location specified in printed announcement "Georgantics" by Bob Simco (Supplemental material)

CONTENT

Contents:
roy_kiyooka_i086-11-030.mp3 [File 1 of 2] Stanton Hoffman 00:00:00 On behalf of the Poetry Reading Committee of Sir George Williams University I wish to welcome you to this, the fifth, in a series of poetry readings, given at this University during 1966-67. Tonight there will be readings by two poets living in Montreal , and members of the faculty of this university. There will be a fifteen minute intermission in between each reading. Roy Kiyooka was born in Moose Jaw , Saskatchewan , he studied at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, the Instituto Allende in Mexico , and the University of Saskatchewan Emma Lake Workshops. He has had one-man exhibitions in Edmonton , Calgary , San Miguel de Allende , Saskatoon , Regina , Toronto , Vancouver , Victoria , New York City and Montreal. He exhibited at the Sao Paulo Biennial , where he was one of four painters representing Canada , and where he received honourable mention and a Silver Medal. His most recent show was held last month at the Laing Galleries in Toronto. In 1964, his first volume of poems, Kyoto Airs, was published by the Periwinkle Press in Vancouver. His second volume, Nevertheless These Eyes is being published this month, in Montreal by Bev Leech. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Roy Kiyooka. Unknown 00:01:24 [Cut or edit made in tape. Unknown amount of time elapsed]. Roy Kiyooka 00:01:25 --want to start off this evening by reading a few poems from my earlier book, the one that Stan mentioned. These poems were written as a result of a summer in Japan , and they are very much occasional poems, they address themselves to the particular occasion of having been there, and they were meant in part to account for that experience of having been there, to my numerable friends in Vancouver. I'll begin by reading three very short little poems, they all relate to, what should we call it, the various contexts in which I saw the sculptured image of the Buddha. The first one is called "Waiting Out the Rain". Roy Kiyooka 00:02:51 Reads "Waiting Out the Rain" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:03:13 This is "Buddha in the Garden". Again, very brief. Roy Kiyooka 00:03:23 Reads "Buddha in the Garden" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:03:47 This is "Sunday at the Temple". Roy Kiyooka 00:03:53 Reads "Sunday at the Temple" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:04:20 And this is the image of a Buddha seen in the Kyoto Museum, a reclining figure. Roy Kiyooka 00:04:30 Reads unnamed poem [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:05:01 Now the next is a sequence of four little poems, very much like the traditional Japanese poems called the Haiku. This is a sequence, the title of which is "The Stone Garden of Ryoanji". The first one goes like this: Roy Kiyooka 00:05:27 Reads “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji", part 1 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:05:45 Reads “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji", part 2 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:06:07 Reads “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji", part 3 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:06:24 Reads “The Stone Garden of Ryoanji", part 4 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:06:49 Now this one is called "Children's Shrine". Throughout most of the cities and towns and villages all over Japan you'll find way-side shrines, they're frequently just built into the wall in a very narrow street and people on whatever religious occasion come to worship there. This is a shrine particularly for children. And it goes like this: Roy Kiyooka 00:07:24 Reads "Children's Shrine" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:08:41 Well this is rather a long sequence, once more very short poems, there are eleven of them, and the title of the sequence is simply "Higashiyama", now 'higashiyama' means, in English, 'east mountain'. Roy Kiyooka 00:09:22 Reads "Higashiyama", part 1 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:09:39 Reads "Higashiyama", part 2 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:10:04 Reads "Higashiyama", part 3 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:10:20 Reads "Higashiyama", part 4 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:10:38 Reads "Higashiyama", part 5 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:10:54 Reads "Higashiyama", part 6 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:11:13 Reads "Higashiyama", part 7 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:11:38 Reads "Higashiyama", part 8 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:11:55 Reads "Higashiyama", part 9 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:12:17 Reads "Higashiyama", part 10 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:12:43 Reads "Higashiyama", part 11 [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:13:01 Well I'll go on to the last poem in the book, this is an attempt, as it were, to sum up the varied experiences that I had there. The poem is called "Itinerary of a View". Roy Kiyooka 00:13:29 Reads "Itinerary of a View" [from Kyoto Airs]. Roy Kiyooka 00:17:07 I think I need to say a few words about this next group of poems, they were, they're from the book that I am having done at the moment, I started these poems in June 1965 in Montreal when I first came here. I don't know how to tell you this, except that at the time I came, I stayed with Alfred Pinsky , or rather I stayed at his home, at his invitation, while I was looking for a place to live. Now, this took me about two weeks, it was very hot, and in the evenings I used to go through his library and pick up things and scanned them. One evening I came across this book, which was a biography of the English painter, Stanley Spencer . Spencer, we could say is perhaps the co-partner in the origin and the form and the content of this book. The book is in three parts, the first part is called the mirror, "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", and it is prefaced by a quotation from Spencer, which goes like this: "I am meeting you all the time, and sending my longing for you into chaos, into the darkness, beyond these walls". I may add that these poems, likewise, are on the whole, very brief, though some are longer. Roy Kiyooka 00:19:31 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 1 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:20:34 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 2 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:21:55 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 3 published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:22:49 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 4 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:23:23 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 5 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:24:18 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 6 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:24:46 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 7 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:25:24 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 8 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:25:51 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 9 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:26:27 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 10 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:27:02 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 11 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:27:26 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 12 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:28:06 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 13 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:28:36 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 14 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:29:21 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 15 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:30:05 The last one in this section. Roy Kiyooka 00:30:11 Reads "The Song the Mirror Sang at Midnight", part 16 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:30:53 There's a terrible draft coming in from the back, I think you're right Dick, we're going to end up with arthritic ankles. Well, this is the second section, and it is called "The Proposal". Once more, prefaced with a remark from Stanley Spencer, a very beautiful one. They are set down, as I found them in the book, I have used them in the context of this section of the book and these four poems, taken from his writings are meant to define certain of her attributes. Now I have given a title to each one of these four poems, and I hope they will clarify the context in which they belong here. "Portrait of the Beloved". Roy Kiyooka 00:32:06 Reads "Portrait of the Beloved" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:32:56 This I called "The Marriage". Roy Kiyooka 00:33:05 Reads "The Marriage" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:33:37 This is called "The Separation". Roy Kiyooka 00:33:45 Reads "The Separation" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:34:07 And this, is "Her Apotheosis". Roy Kiyooka 00:34:17 Reads "Her Apotheosis" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:35:23 That incidentally, is a description he wrote to a friend about a painting that he in fact had made. From your response, I gathered, it has a comic element, but I don't think that he himself made it that way. [Laughter]. Roy Kiyooka 00:36:05 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:38:04 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:38:36 The first stanza of this two-stanza poem is from Spencer, once again. Roy Kiyooka 00:38:43 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:39:34 The reference in this poem is to an exemplary sculptor who died many years ago, who obsessionally sculpted the human female form, his name is Gaston Lachaise . Roy Kiyooka 00:40:02 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:40:59.50 The title of this poem is the same as the title of the second section, it's "The Proposal". Roy Kiyooka 00:41:14 Reads "The Proposal" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:42:27 This one is called "The Dance". Roy Kiyooka 00:42:33 Reads "The Dance" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:43:59 The title of this poem is called "Her Admonition". Roy Kiyooka 00:44:06 Reads "Her Admonition" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:45:28 Now the following five poems are called "Poems of Resurrection". Roy Kiyooka 00:45:46 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 1 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:47:27 Second "Resurrection" poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:47:28 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 2 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:48:33 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 3 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:49:07 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 4 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:49:49 The last Resurrection poem, which concludes with a very brief, two-line coda. Roy Kiyooka 00:50:01 Reads "Poems of Resurrection", part 5 [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:50:51 Now, the second to last poem is called "The Visitation". Roy Kiyooka 00:51:16 Reads "The Visitation" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 00:53:14 And finally, Roy Kiyooka 00:53:22 Reads unnamed poem. Roy Kiyooka 00:53:56 Well, this is the final section. This is called "Nevertheless These Eyes" and briefly, and again from Spencer, a preface that goes like this: "I am on this side of angels and dirt". Roy Kiyooka 00:55:25 Reads "Nevertheless These Eyes" [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 01:00:20 And finally, by way of acknowledging the nature of this book. Roy Kiyooka 01:00:31 Reads unnamed poem [published later in Nevertheless These Eyes]. Roy Kiyooka 01:00:57 Thank you very much-- Unknown 01:00:59 [Cut or edit made in tape. Unknown amount of time elapsed]. Roy Kiyooka 01:01:00 --and I were reading together, decided we should write one for the occasion, so we have each come up with a haiku. This is my haiku, it's especially for Dick. I have in brackets here, "A gentle admonition to the audience following my reading, and preceding his" and it goes like this: "Let the stone tell how /snow-covered in whiteness, /these words, when his words come." END 01:01:42 richard_sommer_i086-11-046.mp3 [File 2 of 2] Stanton Hoffman 00:00:00 The second reader of this evening, Dick Sommer, was born in St. Paul , Minnesota , and educated at the University of Minnesota where he most recently returned as a visiting Assistant Professor of English, and at Harvard . In 1958 he was a recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize, and over a period of several years published his poems in the Harvard Advocate. He has given readings in Cambridge , Minneapolis , and in Oslo . Also, he does not want me to mention his scholarly publications: Dash, Which Are, Strangers and Pilgrims, an essay on the Metaphor of the Journey written with Georg Roppen and published by the Humanities Press in New York City, as well as by the Norwegian University's Press, in Norway and A Monograph, the Odyssey and Primitive Religion, published by the University of Bergen in 1962. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Dick Sommer. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:01:02 I didn't want him to mention those. Oh I've got the deal with Roy, as well. So this is a haiku with, which you'll be glad to know also has seventeen syllables in the title. "The Haiku to Roy Kiyooka", in reply to his haiku to me. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:01:31 Reads "The Haiku to Roy Kiyooka". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:01:50 And this is the Haiku that began the mess, this was the one that I originally threatened to read to him, and naturally will carry out my threat. Which has a slightly different title, "Haiku at Roy Kiyooka" Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:02:07 Reads "Haiku at Roy Kiyooka". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:02:27 And then there's the one that I think you have on that broadsheet, which as I looked at it, in all of its mimeographed splendor, struck me as sounding a bit, now, like the theme song of the Central Intelligence Agency , but I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean it that way when I wrote it. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:02:55 Reads unnamed haiku. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:03:13 I'm as you've heard, I'm responsible for having written some criticism, sorry about that, but I hope to make it up with the next poem, which is also on your broadsheet. Called the meaning of- "The Meaning of Poetry". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:03:36 Reads "The Meaning of Poetry". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:04:19 And this next poem, you'll be very happy to know I have my wife's permission to read. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:04:26 Reads unnamed poem. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:05:02 You're going to be out of luck if you don't play chess, for this next one. You may be out of luck if you do, but that has more to do with the poem than your ability at chess. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:05:23 Reads unnamed poem. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:06:27 Roy's given us a series of poems in praise of 'her', I don't know who 'her' is, but I have another name for her myself, she's called the Lady of Situations, and that's the title of this poem. You know, situations in the sense of she's always getting involved, or people are always getting involved. This is that Lady of Situation. And, oh yes, there's some erudition in this one too, there's a marvelous drawing taken from the tomb of Tuthmosis , which appears in the Skera, Egyptian Painting Volume, and you might look it up because she appears there as a tree, a breasted tree, and giving suck to a Pharaoh, it's quite interesting as a painting, anyway, that's in here too. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:07:34 Reads "Lady of Situation". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:09:29 The, I noticed that the Brotherhood of Railroad Engineers has arranged to have separate drinking glasses, or they're trying to get themselves put into the sanitary code, I think this is Roy's. This must be mine, still water. This next one, I wrote the day following my seeing of a movie that I hope many of you are familiar with, it's the Russian version of Don Quixote , a lovely film, beautiful adaptation of the myth of Don Quixote, and Sancho Panza in the terms of the revolution to come, and I was particularly fascinated to the title that was given to Don Quixote, in this film, so I used it for the title of the poem. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:10:54 Reads "Don Quixote de la Manchesky". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:13:25 This next one takes its title, this is another area of that reference, takes its title from a little known and very important folk ballad, I had to put something in ethnic here, so this is it. It's, the title is "The Other Side of the Mountain", and it comes from that little song that begins "The bear climbed over the mountain to see what he could see, but the other side of the mountain was all that he could see". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:14:05 Reads "The Other Side of the Mountain". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:17:15 Incidentally, you must not get the idea that the mountain, you know, came entirely from the, from the, from the song. It, you can find it on the Greater Barrington Quadrangle, for the appropriate section of the Massachusetts of the US geological survey, it's right on the map. It's really there, it's got position. This poem is in four sections, there are three narrative sections and then there's a short epilogue. And it's called "My Loveliest Enemies". I don't think there's any point in keeping you in suspense about this, my loveliest enemies are birds. And that's the punchline, so now you know it and you can listen to the poem. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:18:24 Reads "My Loveliest Enemies" [parts 1-3]. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:33:12 And here's the epilogue. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:33:19 Reads "Epilogue" of "My Loveliest Enemies". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:35:52 It's a race against not time but against the creeping gelatination, I think is the word of my lower extremities, and I'm sure the creeping sleepiness that is likely to affect you. This next, excuse me, here's to you! This next poem requires an erudite explanation too and I'm sorry for that. I hope, actually, it's not necessary. Alcuin , the Charles the King, Alcuin was an 8th century scholar who was brought from his, from the York diocese, to the court of Charlemagne , and there became the principal architect of Charlemagne's attempt to bring Latin and Latin culture to the Francs. You might say, I suppose, that he was the first of, first great humanist, but we'll see what his Latin is worth in this poem. This is a letter, written by Alcuin, actually it was written by me, presumably written by Alcuin, to Charles the King. Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:37:33 Reads "Letter written by Alcuin, to Charles the King". Richard (Dick) Sommer 00:41:46 And this poem is, has a title, and a subtitle. The title is "Concentration" the subtitle, "Homage to Eva Jerome". END 00:42:12 [Cut off abruptly].
Notes:
Roy Kiyooka reads from Kyoto Airs (Periwinkle Press, 1964) and poems published later in Nevertheless These Eyes (Coach House Press, 1967). Richard (Dick) Sommer reads poems from an unknown selection of books.

NOTES

Type:
General
Note:
Year-Specific Information: In 1966, Kiyooka was working on Nevertheless these eyes (1967) and was teaching at Sir George Williams University. He was part of the Reading Series Committee. In 1966, Richard Sommer was teaching at Sir George Williams University.
Type:
General
Note:
Local Connections: Roy Kiyooka had many connections all across Canada: he was involved in the poetry renaissance in Vancouver in the 60’s, he was connected to the Coach House poetry group in Toronto, thus he was most likely influential in the communication between Sir George Williams Reading Series and other Canadian poets. Richard Sommer became an important influence and player in Montreal poetry in the 1970’s, associated with Vehicule Press and poets Artie Gold, Ken Norris and Stephen Morrissey.
Type:
Cataloguer
Note:
Original transcript, research, introduction and edits by Celyn Harding-Jones Additional research and edits by Ali Barillaro
Type:
Preservation
Note:
2 reel-to-reel tapes>2 CDs>2 digital files

RELATED WORKS

Citation:
Barbour, Douglas. “Poetry in English: The New Generation: After 1960”. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica-Dominion, 2009.
URL:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/poetry-in-english
Citation:
Boxer, Avi and Bryan McCarthy and Graham Seal. “Re: Reverend Richard J. Sommer”. The Georgian. Montreal: Sir George Williams University, 12 November 1971, page 4.
URL:
https://montreal.spokenweb.ca/sgw-poetry-readings/gary-snyder-at-sgwu-1971/#1
Citation:
Boxer, Avi and Bryan McCarthy and Graham Seal. “Get Your Shit Together...”. The Georgian. Montreal: Sir George Williams University, 19 November 1971, page 4.
URL:
https://montreal.spokenweb.ca/sgw-poetry-readings/gary-snyder-at-sgwu-1971/#1
Citation:
Farkas, Andre & Ken Norris (eds). Montreal English Poetry of the Seventies. Montreal: Vehicule Press, 1977.
URL:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/montreal-english-poetry-of-the-seventies/oclc/1072194565&referer=brief_results
Citation:
Hancock, Geoff. "Kiyooka, Roy". The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. Eugene Benson and William Toye (eds). Oxford University Press, 2001.
URL:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/oxford-companion-to-canadian-literature/oclc/605246871&referer=brief_results
Citation:
Kiyooka, Roy. Kyoto Airs. Vancouver: Periwinkle Press, 1964.
URL:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/kyoto-airs/oclc/70783779&referer=brief_results
Citation:
Kiyooka, Roy. Nevertheless These Eyes. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1967.
URL:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/nevertheless-these-eyes/oclc/1138698061&referer=brief_results
Citation:
“Poetry Reading Info”. OP-ED. Montreal: Sir George Williams University, 25 November 1966, page 7.
Citation:
“Poetry Readings”. Post-Grad. Montreal: Sir George Williams University, Spring 1967, page 13.
Citation:
“Prism Awards For Literature”. The Georgian. Montreal: Sir George Williams University, 17 October 1967, page 11.
URL:
https://www.concordia.ca/content/dam/concordia/offices/archives/docs/the-georgian/The%20Georgian_Vol%2031%20no%2010_1967-10-17.pdf
Citation:
Marlatt, Daphne. “Roy Kiyooka: from eminence to immanence”. West Coast Line: A Journal of Contemporary Writing & Criticism. No. 38.3 (Winter 2005), page 39.
Citation:
"Roy (Kenzie) Kiyooka." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2003.
Citation:
"Richard J(erome) Sommer." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2001.
Citation:
Simco, Bob. “Georgantics”. The Georgian. Montreal: Sir George Williams University, 2 December 1966.
URL:
https://montreal.spokenweb.ca/sgw-poetry-readings/roy-kiyooka-at-sgwu-1966-stanton-hoffman/
Citation:
Solway, David. 4 Montreal poets: Peter van Toorn, Marc Plourde, Arty Gold and Richard Sommer. Fredericton, N.B., Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1973.
URL:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/4-montreal-poets-peter-van-toorn-marc-plourde-arty-gold-richard-sommer/oclc/622296821&referer=brief_results
Citation:
Stevens, Peter. "Sommer, Richard". The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. Eugene Benson and William Toye (eds). Oxford University Press, 2001.
URL:
https://www.worldcat.org/title/oxford-companion-to-canadian-literature/oclc/605246871&referer=brief_results
Citation:
Stevens, Peter. “Richard Sommer Biography- (b.1934), The Poet and the Pinnacle, Blue sky notebook, The other side of games”. Literature Reference: American Literature, English Literature, Classics & Modern Fiction.
URL:
http://www.jrank.org/literature/pages/8722/Richard-Sommer.html#ixzz0Zb3DRqFx
Citation:
Stock, Sandra. “Kiyooka Examined”. The Georgian. Montreal: Sir George Williams University, 4 November 1966.
URL:
https://montreal.spokenweb.ca/sgw-poetry-readings/roy-kiyooka-at-sgwu-1966-stanton-hoffman/

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