David Antin, 1932-2016
October 12, 2016 8:00 PM   Subscribe

"So David, when you look up in the sky, do you see poems up there?"
"Not until I put them there."

David Antin died today at 84.

Antin is best known for his "talk poems," improvised lectures that he'd give and then later transcribe and publish as poetry. These lectures were ostensibly about art and culture, but they'd wind around and inevitably confront universal questions about life.

PennSound has a large collection of audio and video recordings of his talks. I suggest "i never knew what time it was" (mp3) as an introduction.

Outside of the talk-poems, he wrote a number of non-improvised pieces too, many of which are collected in this out-of-print collection. His 1967 Autiobiography (PDF) is both an engaging read and a provocative reimagining of the autobiography form.

Interviews, articles and much more at Electronic Poetry Center.

(Previously)
posted by roll truck roll (10 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
Thank you for this remembrance and for your previous informative post about him.

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posted by treepour at 9:10 PM on October 12, 2016


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posted by Wobbuffet at 10:27 PM on October 12, 2016


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posted by Kattullus at 3:26 AM on October 13, 2016


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posted by jammy at 4:49 AM on October 13, 2016


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2016 *shakes head*
I'll be glad when you are .
posted by BlueHorse at 9:01 AM on October 13, 2016


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posted by Pendragon at 10:11 AM on October 13, 2016


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posted by aught at 7:00 AM on October 14, 2016


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posted by Fizz at 1:01 PM on October 20, 2016


I didn't see this until today. Antin was a huge talent.
posted by OmieWise at 11:26 AM on October 21, 2016


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posted by n9 at 6:40 PM on October 23, 2016


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