KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ Words: Program No. 3: Ted Berrigan

Analog Audio

Event Type

Spoken Word

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

W.1969.05.22

Program Series

Words

Program Length

56 min

Dates

1969-09-15 | broadcast
| 1969-05-22 | created

Description

One in a series of programs produced by Clark Coolidge that feature the works of late 20th century poets, sound poets, and authors. In this recording, made at the University of Iowa in Iowa City on May 22, 1969, Ted Berrigan reads a selection of his short poems and contemporary sonnets. Berrigan was part of the second generation of the New York Poetry School, from the 1950s up until his death in 1983. He was friends with Frank O’Hara, Ron Padgett, Dick Gallup, Anne Waldman, Joe Brainard, Anselm Hollo, and Peter Schjeldahl and other young poets of his generation, many of whom are mentioned in his poetry or his dedications. His poems range from examinations of simple words like “of” and “that”, to ruminations on sex and drugs. They are filled with references to the myths of the American West, life in New York City, and memories of childhood. One technique he used in his sonnets was to reuse lines and phrases thus creating a sort of personal and evocative vocabulary all his own.

Note: There is some profanity.

Genres

Poetry

Musical Selections

Here (0:04) -- Frank O’Hara’s Question (0:45) -- Selflessness, dedicated to Peter Schjeldahl (1:13) -- 80th Congress [co-written with Dick Gallup] (1:00) -- Black Power (1:10) -- Fragment (0:50) -- February Air (0:39) -- Many Happy Returns (1:30) -- Things to Do in New York City, for Peter Schjeldahl (0:44) -- 30, dedicated to Clark Coolidge (0:03) -- Autumn (0:14) -- Fill in the Blank (0:08) -- It’s Important (0:11) -- The 10 Best Books of the Year 1969 (2:00) -- [”Poem of morning...”] (0:54) -- Monolith, dedicated to Anselm Hollo (0:47) -- Sonnet I (0:39) -- Sonnet II (0:42) -- Sonnet III (0:45) -- Sonnet VI (0:38) -- Poem in the Traditional Manner (0:53) -- From a Secret Journal (0:49) -- Real Life: No. 1 The Fool (0:43) -- Real Life: No. 2 The Fiend (0:40) -- Penn Station (0:47) -- Sonnet XIII (0:35) -- Sonnet XV (0:44) -- Sonnet XVI (0:45) -- Sonnet XVII, for Carol Clifford (0:43) -- Sonnet XXIII (0:48) -- Sonnet XVI, One Sonnet for Dick (1:10) -- Sonnet XXVII (0:52) -- Sonnet XXXI (0:40) -- Sonnet XXXII (0:51) -- Sonnet XXXVI (1:03) -- Sonnet XXXVII (0:54) -- Sonnet XXXVIII (0:40) -- Sonnet XLI (0:36) -- Sonnet XLIII (0:34) -- Sonnet XLIV (0:39) -- Sonnet XLVI, Lines for Lauren Owen (0:38) -- Sonnet L (0:37) -- Sonnet LI (0:49) -- Sonnet LII, For Richard White (0:45) -- Sonnet LIII (0:42) -- Sonnet LXX, After Arthur Rimbaud (0:51) -- Sonnet LXXII, For Dick Gallup July 1963 (0:48) -- Sonnet LXXIV (0:42) -- Sonnet LXXVI (1:05) -- Sonnet LXXX (0:47) -- Sonnet LXXXII (0:51) -- Sonnet LXXXVII (0:43) -- Sonnet LXXXVIII, A Final Sonnet, for Chris (0:44)

Subjects

Poetry

Acknowledgment

Funding for the preservation of this program made possible through a grant by the GRAMMY Foundation.

Related place

Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)

Related Entities

University of Iowa
Coolidge, Clark, 1939-
Berrigan, Ted
Gallup, Dick, 1941-