The intellectual history of the shortest article in law. Gertrude stein reads from the making of americans 10. Its four pages long and all thats on each page is the name of one of the beatles. Poets such as aram saroyan and richard kostelanetz wrote the first oneword poems of the minimalist movement in the 1960s. Still i rise, the road not taken, if you forget me, dreams, annabel lee. At its most minimal, language speaks to us on two levels. Before shifting his attention to performance and video,vito acconci began his career as a poet,working with the.
John cage, laughtears part 1, part 2 steve roggenbuck is the first poet to be catalogued as a meme by know your meme. William saroyan the skill of william saroyan 19081981, american shortstory writer, dramatist, and novelist, in evoking mood and atmosphere was noteworthy, and his imaginary world, peopled with common men, was warm and compelling. One that i havent yet written about was also published by saroyans own publisher. A prolific essayist with an eye for paradoxhis paragraphs can often turn on the misreading of a phrase that, in the end, turns out to be the only reading possibleits fitting that, in smokes, he turns his attention to the minimal concrete poem in the manner of aram saroyan and robert grenier, for example, poems never reducible to single. Aram saroyan pdf aram saroyan is an internationally known poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright. For example, aram has this chapbook called the beatles.
A minimal amount of illegibility remains unyielding in a writing that recognizes an inherent indeterminacy of cognition and experience. And, find many more of robertas poems by clicking the links on her fka archives page. A rugged land, an enduring people is a valuable addition to the literature of americas rich ethnic heritage. Minimal art becomes the minimal style, and the minimal style. Aram saroyan born september 25, 1943 is an american poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright, who is especially known for his minimalist poetry, famous examples of which include the oneword poem lighght and a oneletter poem comprising a fourlegged version of the letter m.
An exploration of minimal writingtexts generally shorter than a sentenceas complex, powerful literary and visual works. Aram saroyan complete minimal poems perimeter books. I tend to like poems that are short as well as funny. The movement itself began in the early 1950s, in germanythrough eugen gomringer, who borrowed the term concrete from the art of his mentor, max billand in brazil, through the noigandres group, which. American academy in rome depart foundation and nero. Contrary to the making of americans, in tender buttons stein writes without a predetermined theory of total comprehension or absolute knowledge. Aram saroyan born september 25, 1943 is an american poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright, who is especially known for his minimalist poetry. When i picked aram saroyans complete minimal poems for the william carlos williams award earlier this year, i noted that there were some 19 books entered into the poetry society of america contest that were so good that i wanted to give them all awards. A track to help celebrate ugly duckling presses new edition of saroyans complete minimal poems, which ive been reading with great pleasure this weekend. Superficially, one might assume that it did not have much influence outside its immediate milieu, or to have affected later trends. She is moving downstairs in the stairwell of an old house. In the underground cinema we have notalking, noacting, noediting, nomotion motion pictures. Aram saroyan born september 25, is an american poetnovelistbiographermemoirist and playwrightwho is especially known for his minimalist poetry, famous examples of which include the oneword poem lighght 1 and a oneletter poem comprising a fourlegged version of the letter m.
An anthology of concrete poetry primary information. He attended the university of chicago, new york university, and columbia university, but did not complete a degree. Complete minimal poems, 2nd edition pdf download by aram saroyan, ron sillman computer aided verification. A bibliography of conceptual writings luni, 15 august 2016 the bibliography.
In 2016, he was awarded a creative capitalwarhol foundation arts writers book grant for a longterm project on the work of robert grenier. Aram saroyans poetry has been widely anthologized and appears in many textbooks. Aram saroyan project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Longcherished in outofprint editions, anthologies and text books, and more recently celebrated on the internet, aram saroyans groundbreaking concrete and minimalist poems of the 1960s are gathered together. Bolinas poems was published by black sparrow press in january 1999. Aram saroyan, complete minimal poems, ugly duckling presse, new york, isbn 9781933254258. Heres his final tribute to the two william carlos williams award finalists. With ties to the work of such writers and artists as e.
Aram saroyan author of complete minimal poems concept of the page 2. Saroyans complete minimal poems 2007 won the william carlos williams award and was republished in 2014. Schultz, dementia blog, singing horse press ron silliman, the alphabet, university of alabama press, isbn 9780817354930. Complete minimal poems 2nd edition ugly duckling presse. The artist and publisher james hoff will be in town to discuss primary information, a publishing house he runs in new york with miriam katzeff. Barbara kruger, jenny holzer, carl andre, lawrence weiner, and others built lucrative careers from textbased art.
The only thing these books share in common is their. But his works were as musical and meaningful as more conventional poetry, too, and a lot more amusing. Aram saroyan is an american poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright. George hitchcock asked me for some prose for kayak, and i asked if i might do an attack on his first ten issues. Definitivist manifesto, guerrilla art action group. Among many other things, the book is a surprisingly thickfor all its principled thinness in other respectsdescription of the acoustic environments frequented by saroyan, on and off.
Effects of highflux neutron beams on he3 cells polarized in situ with spinexchange optical pumping, e. Originally published by random house new york in 1968. Regardless of a readers belief whether less is more or less is less, the concept of minimalism is what it is less. Grenier had known saroyan since at least 1964, but he had taken little interest in saroyans minimal poems until he began his own sequence written from october 1969 to january 1971 but never published. Guerilla readings in the moma galleries as part of kenneth goldsmiths poet laureate program, he invites renowned writers to choose works in momas collection, develop a response, and then select a space in the museum galleries where they will perform the resulting readings and texts on wednesdays.
Aram saroyans minimal poem o r o r emerges from a grid of photographed ukuleles in a poem by repetition by aram saroyan ii 2014, hart cranes viceversa questions appear on two kindle screens one black, the other white, and allen ginsbergs ode to. First published in 2008, complete minimal poems includes the entire contents of aram saroyan random house, 1968, pages random house, 1969, the rest telegraph, 1971, as well as saroyans contribution, electric poems, to the anthology all stars goliardgrossman, 1972, and a sequence, short poems, which hasnt appeared previously. They can be superficial and profound, hermetic and allusive, comical. First published by the legendary something else press in 1967, an anthology of concrete poetry was the first american anthology on the international movement of concrete poetry. That spark of minimalist literature is vibrant to this day almost everywhere we see. Aram saroyan is an internationally known poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright. See also craig dworkins eclipse project, particularly for its pdf s of books by aram saroyan and robert grenier. Complete minimal poems collects aram saroyan s groundbreaking concrete and minimalist poems of the 1960s in a single volume. In absence of clutter, paul stephens offers the first comprehensive account of minimal writing, arguing that it is equal in complexity and power to betterknown, more commercial textbased art. In the 1960s and 70s, minimal and conceptual artists stripped language down to its most basic components.
Saroyan is the author and narrator of the documentary film the momentdirected by george sandoval saroyan has worked. Saroyan was not the first poet or artist to write oneword poems, but. Aram saroyan aram saroyan originally published by random house new york in 1968. The groundbreaking s concrete poetry of aram arram including the streeta film based on saroyans life during that period. I had been thinking about the typewriters had put in some talk about the typewriters of aram saroyan esp this gorgeous picture you have put up before the electricity went off and this laptop died. Jesse helms used lighghtthats a complete poem, to be looked at rather than pronouncedto ridicule the national endowment for the arts because saroyan won a cash award for the poem. An anthology of concrete poetry, edited by emmett williams.
Minimal poems can be contemplative, annoying, gimmicky, and revelatory. Absent aram saroyans complete minimal poems, i knew i would have given the wcw award to one of these two books. It put saroyan, at that specific moment, on the threshold of a new concept of writing, the implications of which are still being elaborated today. Selected poems, 19742006, university of california press susan m. Complete minimal poems offers a compelling reminder to write poetry playfully, joyfully, and with abiding faith in the tools at your disposal. The house could be in budapest where i write this, or manchester, or some anywhere. Aram saroyans poem lighght, consisting of only this one word, is one of the most famous examples of oneword minimalist poetry. Aram saroyan is a poet, novelist, memoirist, and playwright. His poetry has been widely anthologized and appears in many. From the great bear pamphlet series, facsimile edition, 2007. Aram saroyan author of complete minimal poems the horizon line of type is a visual metaphor for the horizon line of the earth. Includes bibliographic data, information about the author of the ebook, description of the ebook and other if such information is available.
He is editor of the upcoming avalanche magazine and notebooks 1967 1970 by lee lozano, both of which will be published in 2010 on primary information. Ugly duckling presse compiled saroyans poems written between 1964 and 1972, including the contents of four outofprint volumes and a section of short poems previously uncollected. Aram saroyan is an american poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright, who is especially known for his minimalist poetry, famous examples of which include the oneword poem lighght1 and a oneletter poem comprising a fourlegged version of the letter m. Aram saroyans minimal poems were even more of a scandal when they first appeared in the 1960s, foretelling not one, but several of the directions that american poetry would take in their wake, even as they too went out of print and stayed that way for over thirty years until ugly duckling presse of brooklyn seized the opportunity to make them. Aram saroyan, complete minimal poems, ugly duckling presse isbn 9781933254258. First published in 2008, complete minimal poems includes the entire contents of aram saroyan random house, 1968, pages random house, 1969, the rest telegraph, 1971, as well as saroyan s con. For more copies of this book andor information on other lines editions write to. A minimalist poem is focused specifically on words or even one word.