tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post5976222368222895887..comments2023-12-04T09:59:55.778-08:00Comments on the glade of theoric ornithic hermetica: A Polished Apple (for David Melnick)Steven Famahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09886207582824520804noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-8100199097572738322019-08-01T16:29:36.970-07:002019-08-01T16:29:36.970-07:00Here is a link to the interview with David Melnick...Here is a link to the interview with David Melnick. <br /><br />https://openspace.sfmoma.org/2019/04/private-languages-david-melnick-and-gordon-faylor-in-conversation/Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10272507198753290435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-70578396703925202482019-08-01T16:26:38.221-07:002019-08-01T16:26:38.221-07:00I'd forgotten I'd linked to this. Here in ...I'd forgotten I'd linked to this. Here in NZ in 1992 we were introduced to the Language Poets (in the second part of a course on modern US or American Poetry at the Auck University (lecturers Michelle Leggott, Wystan Curnow and Roger Horrocks; all of them also poets and writers on art or film etc or just poets and theorists). Melnick was not talked about but he was in the text book, Silliman, Bernstein and Bruce Andrews, 'In the American Tree'. It was a shock but I became fascinated and started reading almost exclusively in the US section of poetry and poetics. I may have photocopied Melnick. Grenier is online but his book was there. (Partly I think because of the efforts of the above mentioned lecturers all of whom had been to the US). In any case the PCOET poem or example of intrigued me. (Later I read the book about Zukofsky by Scroggins). <br /><br />I can find links to Melnick and there is an interview with him. I'll post a link to it. <br /><br />This is a good post. Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10272507198753290435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-78608579079503405592019-06-30T19:50:03.684-07:002019-06-30T19:50:03.684-07:00Greetings, Steven! I was the T.A. called Laura - o...Greetings, Steven! I was the T.A. called Laura - of course I am happy that you and David remember me, as I remember you. God how I loved my years at Berkeley - I ended up winning the Departmental Citation in part because of my honors thesis on Hopkins (like you, I was a traditionalist at heart). David was a one-off, remarkable even by the standards of Berkeley in that Golden Age of Stanley Fish (then still a Miltonist), Greenblatt, Orgel Booth, and so on. I have had some success as a writer since. Laura Leivicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-3947107508648991552013-10-28T00:13:22.063-07:002013-10-28T00:13:22.063-07:00Steve,
I stumbled on your blog. I think I was in t...Steve,<br />I stumbled on your blog. I think I was in the same class, maybe one quarter either side. David Melnick was indeed a gifted teacher, and in my case quite a revelation to a sheltered Irish Catholic boy from the outer sunset. I could not "get" his poetry until I heard it read aloud.John MacConaghynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-59001699519206116542009-11-10T09:05:40.704-08:002009-11-10T09:05:40.704-08:00Hi again Curtis,
I dunno how David Melnick is do...Hi again Curtis, <br /><br />I dunno how David Melnick is doing, but I hope he is very well. As I said in the post I've not had contact with him, and put in the post everything I "know" as gleamed from others.<br /><br />The linked-to introduction by Ron suggests there is a third (not published anywhere) piece of <i>Men in Aida</i>, and further suggests that <i>A Pin's Fee</i>, completed circa 20 years ago, marked the end of Melnick's poetry projects. <br /><br />I too would look forward to reading anything more that he's written, but on the other hand, it sometimes happens that there isn't. Rimbaud stopped at nineteen. On the flip side, there are plenty of examples of those who didn't start until circa age 50. Plenty of similar examples in other creative disciplines too. Duchamp, save for the surprise at the end, gave it up decades before he left. <br /><br />I also would love to hear Melnick read <i>Men in Aida</i> aloud. Silliman's linked-to "Introduction" says it is amazing, and I well believe it would be. <br /><br />Of course, I primarily celebrate here the other, and personal to me, poetry teaching work of Melnick.Steven Famahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13733977161680651117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-91314022857140464342009-11-10T08:30:19.692-08:002009-11-10T08:30:19.692-08:00The collected Melnick--sounds great, especially if...The collected Melnick--sounds great, especially if it has newer (more) work than already published.<br /><br />I seem to remember that Melnick worked in the newspaper business once. <br /><br />And still lives in San Francisco-- ?<br /><br />Elsewise ??Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-3935502057945765082009-11-10T07:45:01.393-08:002009-11-10T07:45:01.393-08:00Hi Curtis,
A bit of answer to your questions, I ...Hi Curtis, <br /><br />A bit of answer to your questions, I think, can be found in Ron Silliman's "Introduction" to Melnick's "Pin Fee," which is linked to in the last few paragraphs of the post. I highly recommend that.Steven Famahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13733977161680651117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-66992054214158874042009-11-10T06:49:35.009-08:002009-11-10T06:49:35.009-08:00Is Men in Aida a take-off or application of Zukofs...Is Men in Aida a take-off or application of Zukofsky's method in his Catullus?<br /><br />Zounds!Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-60419351589234289222009-11-10T06:47:00.978-08:002009-11-10T06:47:00.978-08:00The first horse out of my gate wants to know where...The first horse out of my gate wants to know where Melnick is today, and why he hasn't published more than he has.Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-20912494468202090752009-11-09T08:22:49.510-08:002009-11-09T08:22:49.510-08:00Thanks, K. Silem. Yes, Books and Bookshelves woul...Thanks, K. Silem. Yes, <i>Books and Bookshelves</i> would be a good place to check. There have been times when a copy of two of the other Melnick titles were also in stock there. I usually stop in that shop to browse (and read) the poetry on the shelves every week or three (it's just one neighborhood to the north, I can walk it). If I understand or remember right, Melnick lives very close to <i>Books and Bookshelves</i>. <br /><br />All that said, a <i>Collected Melnick</i> will be a great thing, especially since <i>Aida: Book II</i> has been only done on-line and -- who knows? -- perhaps there is a <i>Book III</i> etc.Steven Famahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13733977161680651117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83923751899084745.post-81636420833992687022009-11-08T18:23:31.939-08:002009-11-08T18:23:31.939-08:00David Highsmith's store Books and Bookshelves ...David Highsmith's store Books and Bookshelves in San Francisco might still have a perfect-condition copy or two of the original Tuumba chap of Men in Aida Part I. I got a copy there a few months ago (cheap!).Kasey Mohammadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13353259413006470925noreply@blogger.com