July 6, 2014: David Brazil Part 2

In part 2 of our interview with David Brazil we continue discussing his first book, The Ordinary (Compline), and begin with David reading from the section "(economy)." The prophesied poems in this section (hint signs of Capitalism's collapse) are typed on binder paper and other found notepad-like neighborhood scraps. After hearing David read, we discussed the power of reading poetry aloud, the effects of vocalization, and using the voice as an instrument (citing Pound).

Sharing more on the overall structure of The Ordinary, David noted that each "section has its own determination" and as well its own character, especially where form is concerned. David then read from "(kairos)," the opening and most lyrical section of the book, occasionally breaking into song and Greek, "stasis is a state!" Next up a reading from the section "(vierges)," prompted by the curious line: "I am on my way to fetch the man..."

Reflecting about the importance of sound in his work, David added that the strikeouts appearing in some poems are there to "make the words sound right." In "correcting" sound, "lyric breakthrough" (song) is possible by subtracting/striking out certain words or phrases. The texts, with their strikeout inclusions, operate as visual compositions; the work is "laid bare" and as a result the reader feels witness to the poet's vulnerability and struggle. How do we make art from within this space? We then moved into Pound's concept of "vorticism"--vortex points/"patterns" or layers forming in poems that allow energy to flow into and out of the poem (suspending space/time) making things "fall into place." That's one way of looking at vorticism--maybe we'll follow up on the topic in a future roundtable show!

In the second half, we heard David read (sing) a poem that's not included in The Ordinary called "Belshazzar's Feast." Inspired from the Book of Daniel and/or maybe the Johnny Cash song, the "my soundtrack is Earth" poem was written "in one sitting" and is a polytonal/multivocal masterpiece--a documented array of the here-now and beyond: vorticism enacted! "Composed in one go" while listening to a certain piece of music and letting as much as possible in, David talked about being a "register" of the daily mundane while the "larger questions" loom above. This made us think of Zukofsky's "lower limit speech/upper limit music" and ultimately the question of making poetry accessible to everyone or only certain audiences: to be esoteric or not. Why not both? We concluded with David's service to the Bay Area Public School, where he's a volunteer teacher, and learned more about his involvement in this community-supported free school in Oakland. Click here to listen.