Parallel Movement of the Hands: Five Unfinished Longer Works
320
Parallel Movement of the Hands: Five Unfinished Longer Works
320Paperback
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Overview
Renowned for his inventive mind, ambitious play with language, and dexterity with a wide range of tones and styles, John Ashbery has been a major artistic figure in the cultural life of our time. Parallel Movement of the Hands gathers unpublished, book-length projects and long poems written between 1993 and 2007, along with one (as yet) undated work, to showcase Ashbery’s diverse and multifaceted artistic obsessions and sources, from children’s literature, cliffhanger cinema reels, silent films, and classical music variations by Beethoven’s pupil Carl Czerny to the history of early photography. Ashbery even provides a fresh and humorous take on a well-worn parable from the Gospel of Matthew. These works demonstrate that while producing and publishing the shorter, discrete poems often associated with his late career, Ashbery continued to practice the long-form, project-based writing that has long been an important element of his oeuvre.
Edited and introduced by Ashbery’s former assistant poet Emily Skillings and including a preface by acclaimed poet and novelist Ben Lerner, this compelling and varied collection offers new insights into the process and creative interests of a poet whose work continues to influence generations of artists and poets with its signature intertextuality, openness, and simultaneity. A landmark publication of never-before-seen works, this book will enlighten scholars as well as new readers of one of America’s most prominent and celebrated poets.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780062968869 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 04/12/2022 |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Sales rank: | 1,091,933 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Foreword: Never Finished xi
Introduction xv
The History of Photography 7
The Art of Finger Dexterity
1 Application of the Fingers with Quiet Hand 47
2 The Passing of the Thumb 48
3 Clarity in Velocity 49
4 Light Articulation in Half-Staccato 50
5 Evenness in Double Runs 51
6 Clarity in Broken Chords 52
7 Changing Fingers on the Same Key 53
8 Light Articulation of the Left Hand 54
9 Delicacy in Skips and Staccatos 56
10 Exercise for Thirds [I] 57
Exercise for Thirds [II] 58
11 Skill in Alternating Fingers 59
12 Flexibility of the Left Hand 60
13 Maximum Velocity 61
14 Chord Passages 63
15 Wide Position in Fortissimo 64
16 Alternating Fingers at Speed 65
17 Minor Scales at High Speed 66
18 Crossing the Hands Naturally and with a Fine Touch 67
19 Tense Positions with a "Peaceful" Wrist 68
20 Double Octaves 69
21 Parallel Movement of the Hands [I] 70
Parallel Movement of the Hands [II] 72
22 Exercise for the Trill 74
23 Light Touch of the Left Hand 76
24 The Thumb on the Black Keys with the Hand Absolutely Quiet 77
25 Agility and Clarity 79
26 Maximum Velocity in Arpeggios 80
Sacred and Profane Dances
Attainder 85
Sacred and Profane Dances 90
Tempest 93
21 Variations on the Room 99
The Kane Richmond Project
Spy Smasher 117
Perils of Nyoka 119
The Devil Diamond 119
The Lost City 121
Racing Blood 122
A Hard Man 132
The President's Dream 132
[untitled] "Kane was a righteous dude, heat-packing" 133
Chapter Seven 136
The Mist Rolls in from the Sea 137
Dog Overboard! 139
Dog and Pony Show 139
A Lost Dog 140
My Own Best Customer 141
Dog of the Limberlost 147
Sex on the River 148
A Long and Sleepy History 150
The Quitter 156
More about Drew 157
Modern Sketch 158
To Meet with My Father 161
[untitled] "I liked the fourth declension-all those 'u's" 162
Miss Otis Regrets Land's End 163
[untitled] "Are you trying to stop us?" 164
[untitled] "Nothing if found convenient" 166
There You Go! 167
[untitled] "Why wait for another day to cross itself?" 170
Arguably 173
An Unspecified Amount 174
Très modéré 175
Fried Mackerel and Frozen Peas 176
[untitled] "The point is to find an extra-sensual way to be without it" 177
Dates and Entries 187
Appendix A The History of Photography 199
Appendix B The Art of Finger Dexterity 211
Appendix C Sacred and Profane Dances 219
Appendix D 21 Variations on My Room 225
Appendix E The Kane Richmond Project 229
Acknowledgments 263