I'm not sure these messages are going anywhere, but still
Radio 3 tonight offers Graham's Night Fishing
quote
WS Graham's poem adapted for radio by Jonathan Davidson. With Siobhan
Redmond and David Rintoul.
An attempt to make some sense of a difficult and elusive modern
masterpiece. The poem was published in 1955. It tells of a fishing trip
after herring but much else including the difficulties of writing and of
turning experience into words. Its fresh-made language has found it many
admirers but it also kept it from many other readers. Perhaps a radio
adapatation can unlock it.
unquote
I still haven't recovered from the BBC adding wind sounds to The Prelude
some years ago; but I'll aim to give it a try
I am wondering whether the above is a proposition that tired language
might have brought W S Graham a bigger audience. Almost certainly it
would, but...
A little while ago I took it on myself to read his farewell poem to Peter
Lanyon, I think it's called The Thermal Stair, to a quite mixed audience.
They didn't seem to find it difficult or elusive
No one asked what it meant -- usually code for Isn't there an axiom I can
take away?
toodlepip
L
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Lawrence Upton
Visiting Fellow, Music Dept,
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross, London SE14 6NW
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