Thursday, June 26, 2008

Hurrah for Euphony!

Among the busyness of getting ready to leave, & the inevitable quandariness of deciding what books to carry & which to leave, a lovely package comes thru the transom: The big-ass collection Ronald Johnson: Life and Works, edited by Joel Bettridge and Eric Murphy Selinger and published by the Orono-conference-sponsoring National Poetry Foundation.

This is it, all you Johnsonians out there: almost 700 pages of tasty criticism, memoir (Peter O'Leary recalls his "apprenticeship" to RJ), interviews, and bibliography (at long last, a full primary & secondary bibliography of Johnson's works). The list of contributors is almost a who's-who of coolness: Patrick Pritchett, Norman Finkelstein, Ed Foster, Donald Revell, Barbara Cole, Susan M. Schultz, Mike Basinski, Marjorie Perloff, jena Osman, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Jonathan Skinner, Gregg Biglieri, Graham Foust, Paul Naylor, & a bunch of others just as hip & intelligent.

And need I mention that there are two articles by your humble blogger?: "Notes and Numbers (Johnson, Ives, Zukofsky)" and "The Book of the Green Man: Ronald Johnson's American England." You can order the whole thing here.

(I'm posting in part because I imagine my old chum Eric S. is out of internet range, since he's spending several weeks strumming his mandolin & getting drunk on fine Irish whiskey in Killarney. Alas – some people have it hard.)

4 comments:

Norman Finkelstein said...

So that's why Eric hasn't responded to my congratulatory email. Gee, how he must be suffering.

But hey, thanks, Mark. I always wanted to be one of the cool kids.

N.

Anonymous said...

The Book of the Green Man...

some terrific trek!


there is in 1916 another's

trek-about Vachel Lindsay's "A Handy Guide for Beggars"


both RJ's "...Green Man" and

VL's "A handy ..." among my treasures...

such-as-they-are

E. M. Selinger said...

Top o' the mornin' to you, Mark! It was Connemara, not Killarny, but who's counting? Two weeks of Guinness and beauty and rain--and, yes, of mandolin, although to make sure we did only carry-on baggage, I had to bring the little Weber Sweet Pea, rather than any of the fancier instruments.

Anyway, home now, back on line soon. Thanks for spreading the good word about the book!

Ed Baker said...

OH NEAT!

among my "treasures" first editions all


The Book of Green Man
The Shrubberies

and

Handy Guide for Beggars
The Congo and Other Poems


those 'folks' at N.P.F do much 'phun' stuff..

thanks for the "heads-up" about this their newest..