[Vancouver Poetry Conference, 1963] / Charles Olson.

Recorded at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. from July 24 to August 16, 1963 by Fred Wah on a 7 inch, 4 track, Sarkes reel-to-reel tape.

On PCF006, Charles Olson reads an early version of Maximus poems IV, V, VI (the second volume of The Maximus poems), which would not be published until 1968, and also read poems from the first volume of The Maximus poems and several short poems. In "Charles Olson: the allegory of a poet's life," Tom Clark described the reading as follows: "The August 16 event, a four-hour marathon finally shut down by the arrival of janitors to clean the hall, was a total triumph--the best reading, he later told Betty [Olson], that he'd ever done."

Charles Olson.

The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries. Digital conversion was made possible through a 2009 National Endowment for the Humanities grant.

1963

Sound recording

PCF006

Disc 1.Olson from The Maximus poems:Maximus, from Dogtown --Maximus, to himself, as of "Phoenicians": --Maximus to Gloucester, letter 27 [withheld] (early version) --Maximus further on (December 28th 1959) --first line of poem:[The Poimanderes: now I see what was up] --The river -- I (early version) --The river -- 2 (early version) --Dogtown the dog town (early version) --first line of poem:[The southeast wind blows over / Dogtown] (early version) --Cashes --first line of poem:[like Mr. Pester acknowledges his sinfulness in being] --first line of poem:[Of old times, there was a very beautiful] --first line of poem:[ They said she went off fucking every Sunday] --A Maximus --December, 1960 --Maximus letter # whatever --first line of poem:[Soft the wood graves] --Upward choking (on Dogtown) --Maximus, March 1961, I --Maximus, March 1961, 2 --The rock / listens to itself / non-fallaciously --first line of poem:[There are five elements to be accounted for] --Later Tyrian business --for Robt Duncan, / who understands / what's going on / -- written because of him / March 17, 1961 --O John Josselyn you (early version) --Further completion of plat (before they drown Dogtown with a reservoir, and beautify it) --first line of poem:[A prayer, to the Lord, cast down like a good old Catholic] --first line of poem:[the vault] --first line of poem:[Turn out your] --first line of poem:["At the the boundary of the mighty world" H. (T) 620 foll] --[Maximus, from Dogtown -- IV] --first line of poem:[Why light, and flowers? Paul Oakley] --first line of poem:[You drew the space in] --Civic disaster --first line of poem:[Or Lindsay] --first line of poem:[the distances] --first line of poem:[rotundum] --June 6th, 1963 --first line of poem:[In honor of John White] --first line of poem:[Into the hill went int into] --first line of poem:[Tantrist] --I stand up on you, Fort Place. --Disc 4.first line of poem:[13 vessels, and David Pearce's] --first line of poem:[The lap] --a contract entered into by --The river map and we're done --The songs of Maximus --Maximus, to himself --first line of poem:[After the storm was over] --The lordly and isolate satyrs --Variations done for Gerald Van De Wiele --As the dead prey upon us --The kingfishers --Letter 3.

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