Steve Benson

From 1976 until 1992 Steve Benson was active in the Language poetry scene in the San Francisco Bay area, where he gave readings, performances, and talks and acted in Poets’ Theater plays, while also writing, collaborating, and publishing. He coauthored essays representing the intentions of Language poetry for the French journal change in 1981 (along with Charles Bernstein, Lyn Hejinian, Bob Perelman, Ron Silliman, and Barrett Watten) and for Social Text in 1989 (with Carla Harryman rather than Charles Bernstein in that gang of six). In 1992, Benson moved to the East Coast, where he has earned a living as a psychologist and raised two children. He lives in Downeast Maine and is active in his local peace and justice group, food co-op, zendo, and Waldorf school.

In addition to books of poetry and prose or what look sort of like them, Benson has in recent years coauthored The Grand Piano along with Rae Armantrout, Carla Harryman, Lyn Hejinian, Tom Mandel, Ted Pearson, Bob Perelman, Kit Robinson, Ron Silliman, and Barrett Watten (Detroit: Mode A, 2006–10).

Links to audio, video, and written publications can be found at Benson’s Wikipedia and PennSound pages.

By this author

A memoir of exchange

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Jeff Boruszak

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"Compound Hibernation"

Al Filreis

photo of Will Alexander courtesy of Skylight Press

In March 17, 2007, reading in the Segue Series at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York, Will Alexander read four poems: “Exercise is Particle Neutrino,” “Coping Prana,” “Compound Hibernation,” and “Above the Human Nerve Domain.” An audio recording of the complete reading (17:59) is available on Will Alexander’s PennSound author page, as are segmented audio for each poem. Here I’m pleased to feature “Compound Hibernation” [MP3; 2:22]. The text of the poem was published in Zen Monster.

May 23, 2013

Tom Leonard does the revolt of Islam in different voices, 1978

Al Filreis

In 1978, Tom Leonard recorded “Three Texts for Tape” at his home in Glasgow using his Teac A-3340S tape recorder. One of these three “texts for tape” was a performance piece, a chanting of another poet’s verses — a multiple reading of a half canto of Percy Shelley’s “The Revolt of Islam” in many voices. Here is that recording (with thanks to the Archive of the Now): MP3 (4:37).

May 22, 2013