What do you think?
Rate this book
Barnesbook: Four Poems Derived from Sentences by Djuna Barnes
Long an admirer of the work of Djuna Barnes, noted poet Jackson Mac Low used five of her works as the source material to which he applied the method of "involving irregularly biased random digit triplets to lead...to a chance-determined number of sentences in these works and to mix them." He then entered each group of mixed sentences into the DIASTEXT program and edited the output.
The result is a wonderful nonintentional work that "whispers" Barnes's incredible words "something quick" into the ear. In this work the distinguished American poet - winner of the 1994 America Award for Poetry - continues to explore the dynamics and excitement of the American language and its meaning.
The result is a wonderful nonintentional work that "whispers" Barnes's incredible words "something quick" into the ear. In this work the distinguished American poet - winner of the 1994 America Award for Poetry - continues to explore the dynamics and excitement of the American language and its meaning.
- GenresPoetry
56 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 26, 2022
According to the poet's Afterword, the poems of Barnesbook are the result of the poet's admiration for Djuana Barnes (introduced to Jackson Mac Low by the poet Robert Duncan), and the poet's introduction to a computer program called "DIASTEXT" (sent to Jackson Mac Low by another poet, Charles O. Hartman)
"DIASTEXT" is "an automation of one of the 'diastic reading-through text-selection methods' that [Jackson Mac Low] first developed in January 1963" (Afterward, pg. 47)
Unlike an Acronym, which is derived from the first letter of each word to create an abbreviation (such as NATO or laser), Jackson Mac Low's "diastic reading-through text-selection method" takes as its source text any given passage, and then narrows that passage with a word (or "seed"). Each letter of the word determines the word narrowed from the passage. The letters must correspond as the second letter of the word, third letter, forth letter, etc... Thus creating a sequence. Jackson Mac Low provides the following example:
The source text that Jackson Mac Low chose for the "diastic reading-through text-selection method" poems of Barnesbook include: Spillway , The Antiphon , Nightwood , Ryder , and Smoke and Other Early Stories . The resulting poems look like this...
"DIASTEXT" is "an automation of one of the 'diastic reading-through text-selection methods' that [Jackson Mac Low] first developed in January 1963" (Afterward, pg. 47)
Unlike an Acronym, which is derived from the first letter of each word to create an abbreviation (such as NATO or laser), Jackson Mac Low's "diastic reading-through text-selection method" takes as its source text any given passage, and then narrows that passage with a word (or "seed"). Each letter of the word determines the word narrowed from the passage. The letters must correspond as the second letter of the word, third letter, forth letter, etc... Thus creating a sequence. Jackson Mac Low provides the following example:
If I use the word "Barnes" as the seed and these first two paragraphs as the source text, I produce the line:Barnes early work O'Connor wonderful compose
(Afterward, pg. 48)
The source text that Jackson Mac Low chose for the "diastic reading-through text-selection method" poems of Barnesbook include: Spillway , The Antiphon , Nightwood , Ryder , and Smoke and Other Early Stories . The resulting poems look like this...
Once on.
Once like.
Once on the she them sea attention.
That stairs,
"lizard intense?"
Sea she needing man looks?
Mounted brings mounted fifteen.
Pleased looks?
Like asking attention.
Are looks?
Like lizard
Miranda.
"Water"
should.
Crying brings.
Crying asking attention.
Crying:
"Are her vixens you mounted intense?
Know you
with water,
asking stairs:
'Intense?'"
I heard her death,
inordinately heard you.
No journey.
Crying:
"Are call."
Will.
He her;
"fortitude,"
vixen fifteen.
Vixen home.
Miranda.
And attention.
Fifteen.
Miranda.
Fifteen.
Death,
fifteen.
Journey inordinately neither for journey home.
You heard vixen fifteen.
Journey brings are brings mounted brings.
That's to.
They pleased them home.
Love home.
Love looks?
Mounted,
"Love Water"
impersonal asking dead heard death,
that's neither man like
"Are,"
Miranda.
Asking should,
Miranda.
That's what
"sea fortitude,"
stairs,
what
the
"sea fortitude,"
I who man want
"fortitude,"
that you know.
Once
"know."
Know the she them sea.
He
"sea water"
widow's call.
Will wash was was wash us.
Asking:
"How dead what want wash inordinately?"
and "Who heard
inordinately
inordinately fifteen?"
Inordinately inordinately inordinately inordinately inordinately
pleased
pleased she lizard pleased neither mounted
what?
Will with wash.
He her
"fortitude"
said:
"Who are widow's man wash she sea that widow's man intense?"
"Vixen water"
and know widow's
"intense"?
Impersonal impersonal attention.
Stairs,
"intense"?
Impersonal impersonal impersonal impersonal
"fortitude,"
nor for that
"fortitude"
attention.
"Fortitude,"
"fortitude,"
"fortitude,"
neither needing said
that death
pleased neither asking:
"Is asking stairs?"
nor crying asking
"Are for?"
No journey,
Miranda.
Neither needing are dead
"fortitude,"
needing
needing attention.
Stairs,
"intense"?
Vixen journey
"fortitude,"
attention.
Attention.
Attention.
I said:
"Man who brings that needing should a . . ."
Crying them you,
you mounted them.
That's what want you,
you mounted sea,
she who should
should lizard
"know."
Inordinately who know?
How looks?
How a widow's like a widow's widow's widow's dead heard death,
needing man.
"Are want looks?"
Mounted,
"know."
Looks?
Pleased.
- Barnes 1, pg. 7-14
Displaying 1 of 1 review