Thanks to Kptyson Photography flickr.com/photos/kptyson, the official photographer of Stand Up Academy, for documenting "The Sermon" as presented at The Swift 26 ix 12.
SUA 23 vi
Meet Gerty MacDowell
The first half of the thirteenth episode of Ulysses, Nausicaa.
The program will start promptly at half past seven with the passing of the can, and then the text "written in a namby-pamby marmalady drawersy style." (James Joyce)
Meet Gerty MacDowell
The first half of the thirteenth episode of Ulysses, Nausicaa.
The program will start promptly at half past seven with the passing of the can, and then the text "written in a namby-pamby marmalady drawersy style." (James Joyce)
Stand Up Academy, Monday 24 March "Some Versions of Pastoral"
The title comes from William Empson whose thoughts on the topic are wide-ranging and of great interest. The poems this evening may not be strictly "pastoral," but most will reflect upon the human place in the world. Poems by William Carlos Williams (including a few Stand Up Academy premiers) and a premium!
The title comes from William Empson whose thoughts on the topic are wide-ranging and of great interest. The poems this evening may not be strictly "pastoral," but most will reflect upon the human place in the world. Poems by William Carlos Williams (including a few Stand Up Academy premiers) and a premium!
Stand Up Academy, 24 February 2014: the PostValentine Show
And so begins the sixteenth year of Stand Up Academy, and at least a portion of the program might be called "Is it or Isn't It Romantic?" As always, a visit from M. François Villon.
Because of the unusual severity of this winter, a storm may force cancellation of the congregation. Check here, or call the Swift (212 260 3600) for late-breaking information.
And so begins the sixteenth year of Stand Up Academy, and at least a portion of the program might be called "Is it or Isn't It Romantic?" As always, a visit from M. François Villon.
Because of the unusual severity of this winter, a storm may force cancellation of the congregation. Check here, or call the Swift (212 260 3600) for late-breaking information.
ENGLISHING VILLON
 Gustave Doré: Hanged Men
ACTUALITIES
"Historic" may be too grand a term; we find real people in the Legacy, people who would have been recognized by those First Respondents reading or listening to the poem. The names mattered then; after four and a half centuries, they now matter less. It is enough for me to know that they were living creatures subjected to Villon's energetic irony. Many are big men, powerful men of the time, officials or officers in the network of legal and moral enforcement of the old Church and State. The full significance of Villon's bequests may be irrecoverable, but armed with the knowledge of actuality, the poem's satiric motive is set. Last wills had been a standard satiric format since the days of the plague, but there are other parodies at work in the Legacy which makes me think that the poem is in part addressed to a literary audience, though Villon is never so high-faluting that he would neglect, ignore, or insult his base audience: his pals in the slums and jails and gutters of Paris. Some names have been changed for ease of pronunciation, or to suit my limping metre, and I occasionally used a nickname or diminutive to further the fiction that this is a personal document. |
ANACHRONISM There are some who would claim that an unrhymed Englishing of the text is itself an anachronism, but this version was conceived for the ear, and I chose to employ some "functional anachronisms" for more rapid apprehension. I use Yankee monetary terms throughout to better display Villon's general poverty. There is a phrase from Shakespeare. The presence of Dale Carnegie is a shock perhaps, but the original, "The Art of Memory," sounds a bit sombre when by all accounts it was the self-help book of the age. Referring to the grandpa of modern self-help brings the point home. BIBLIOGRAPHICS I have four translations of Villon's works: Anthony Bonner, Galway Kinnell, Peter Dale, and John Payne. The French text was always before me, and a French-English dictionary at hand, though the dictionary did not prove all that helpful dealing with XV century French. Dale and Payne maintain the rhymes, but Payne's is a XIX century translation, and some of the more "shocking" elements of Villon are replaced by discreet asterisks. Kinnell's version is probably the most readily available: not so long ago, I would advise you to visit your local bookstore (speaking of anachronism). Bonner's version is of special interest as it has an introduction by William Carlos Williams. Simon Loekle STAND UP ACADEMY 24 ix 12/ The Swift |
