The Deep South Festival of Writers
Presents
Christian Bök
Christian Bök, author of four beautiful and dauntingly virtuosistic books titled Crystallography, Pataphysics: The Poetics of an Imaginary Science, Eunoia (which was awarded one of the most prestigious poetry prizes in the world, the Griffin Prize for Poetic Excellence), and The Cyborg Opera (forthcoming) came here from Calgary Canada on the weekend before Mardi Gras 2007, and sampled our vital literary, musical, and folk cultures for over a week. As an artist who raises the stakes for any writer today who would claim to be concerned with the way the materials of language emerge as patterned resonance, Bök excavates and plays with language to discover the musical energies at the root of our words. His performances create soundscapes that can be called music as easily and rightly as they can be called poetry. Christian's interests extend to areas such as science fiction, conceptual art, and pataphysics. He gave readings in Lafayette, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge that demonstrated why he’s regarded as one of a select group of the very finest performers of poetry in the world. Click below for samples of his Lafayette reading.
". . . And Sometimes" (1:13, 1.7 MB)
The Doomsday Song (0:50, 1.2 MB)
Ur Sonata, first movement (Schwitters, 9:32, 13.1 MB)
from The Cyborg Opera, "Mushroom Clouds" (2:18, 3.2 MB)
from The Cyborg Opera, "Synth Loops" (3:05, 4.2 MB)
"Seepferdchen und Flugfische" (Hugo Ball, 1:23, 1.9 MB)
Karawane (Hugo Ball, 0:54, 1.2 MB)
from Eunoia, chapt. A (3:01, 4.1 MB)
from Eunoia, chapt. E (2:07, 2.9 MB)
from Eunoia, chapt. I (2:35, 3.5 MB)
Photos from Christian Bök's visit to Mardi Gras
