Dia le c tic a l Ma te ria litie s: Pe nnSo und, E a rly Po e try - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dia le c tic a l Ma te ria litie s: Pe nnSo und, E a rly Po e try Re c o rding s, a nd Disc -to -Disk T ra nsla tio ns

Chris Musta zza Dig ita l Dia lo g ue Ma ryla nd I nstitute fo r T e c hno lo g y in the Huma nitie s April 3, 2018

http:/ / writing .upe nn.e du/ pe nnso und

Wo rld’ s la rg e st a rc hive o f re c o rding s o f po e ts re a ding the ir wo rk, fo unde d b y Pro fe sso rs Cha rle s Be rnste in a nd Al F ilre is in 2003. Re c o rding s ra ng e fro m 1913 thro ug h the c urre nt mo nth.

Apo llina ire Na tha nie l Ma c ke y

Pe nnSo und b y the numb e rs

 2,500,000 do wnlo a ds pe r ye a r  1,000,000 uniq ue visito rs pe r ye a r  55,000 mp3 file s  1,000 vide o file s  ~6,000 ho urs o f a udio

Always downloadable . Ne ve r just s- T R E A M I N G

Global distr ibution of Pe nnSound use r s

27 April 2016 - 15 April 2017

Ac c e ssib le Po e try I nte rfa c e (API ): Pe nnSo und & the Arc ha e o -Pla tfo rm

I . Arc hive

Me ta -Arc hive : Pho no te xtua l Bib lio g ra phy

 Re c o nstruc ting e a rlie r a tte mpts to re c o rd po e try & po e try

a udio a rc hive s

 Who we re the a rc hivists o f the e a rlie r a rc hive s, a nd wha t

we re the ir po litic s & po e tic s?

 Wha t we re the po litic s a nd po e tic s, b o th o f the a rc hiva l

c o nta ine rs, a s we ll a s the physic a l me dia ?

 Ho w c a n we (re )p re se nt the se a rc hive s within Pe nnSo und

with re spe c t fo r the ir prio r ma te rila itie s ?

1913: “Mo de rnism me e ts the pho no g ra ph”



E zra Po und tra ve le d to the spe e c h la b o f Je a n Pie rre Ro usse lo t to b e “re c o rd e d ” using Ro usse lo t’ s pho no sc o pe .



Ric ha rd Sie b urth: “T he a rd e nt ve rs lib riste s we re pre suma b ly e a g e r to find o ut whe the r Ro usse lo t’ s mo d e rn re c o rd ing d e vic e s (whic h pro d uc e d wha t lo o k like intric a te se ismo g ra phs o f vo we ls, c o nso na nts, pitc h, a nd te mpo ) c o uld pro vid e sc ie ntific pro o f tha t fre e ve rse wa s, in its o wn wa y, just a s ‘ re g ula r’ o r ‘ fo rma l’ (in te rms o f the pa tte rning s o f a c c e nts o r q ua ntitie s) a s, sa y, the tra d itio na l a le xa nd rine .”

I ma g e s fro m Ric ha rd Sie b urth’ s “T he So und o f Po und: A L iste ne r’ s Guide ”

1913: “L a pa ro le a u timb re juste ”

 T

he ling uist F e rdina nd Bruno t pa rtne rs with Disq ue Pa thé , the la rg e st re c o rd la b e l in F ra nc e , to re le a se re c o rding s o f Apo llina ire a nd o the r po e ts.

http:/ / writing .upe nn.e d u/ pe nnso und/ x/ Apo llina ire .php

Spe e c h L ab Re c o rding s

 Re c o rding in 1931 a t

Co lumb ia Unive rsity b y ling uists, W. Ca b e ll Gre e t & Ge o rg e W. Hib b itt.

 Re c o rde d in a la b

me a nt fo r the study o f Ame ric a n dia le c ts

 One o f the first

c o mpo se d po e try a udio a rc hive s in the US

I n 1931, the po e t Va c he l L indsa y a ppro a c he d Ba rna rd Pro fe sso r o f Spe e c h W. Ca b e ll Gre e t a nd re q ue ste d tha t Gre e t re c o rd L indsa y re a ding his po e try

 Gre e t re c o rds five

ho urs o f L indsa y’ s po e try

 L

indsa y die s la te r tha t ye a r, b e fo re he c o uld fulfill his pla ns to ma ke “b ra nd ne w tune s.”

T he Spe e c h L ab Re c o rding s

T he se rie s runs thro ug h the 1930s a nd ’ 40s, a va ila b le to sc ho o ls o n a sub sc riptio n b a sis.

 Vachel Lindsay  Harriet Monroe  James Weldon

Johnson

 T.S. Eliot  Robert Frost  Gertrude Stein  William Carlos

Williams

 Edna St. Vincent

Millay

Gre e t’ s Oppo sitio na l Po e tic s

“[Creating recordings of poets] is finally accomplished through the energy and vision

• f an ‘impractical’ poet, and the

inexpensive research apparatus of a professor of English - without the perfection of machinery which is at the service of every ephemeral movie, without benefit of the technical experience of recording engineers.”

–Willia m Ca b e ll Gre e t, writing in T he E le me ntary E ng lish Re vie w, Ma y 1932

CF P: Ca ll fo r Po e ts (to re c o rd)

• W. Ca b e ll Gre e t, writing in Ame ric an Spe e c h, 1934

Oppo sitio na l me dia : a luminum re c o rds

T

• b e pla ye d with c a c tus ne e dle s (!)

“Ma ke Yo ur Own Re c o rding s”

 T

his te c hno lo g y wa s ma rke te d fo r ho me use a nd o ne -time re c o rding s.

 Also use d b y se rvic e s

tha t re c o rde d a ds fro m the ra dio fo r la te r e xa mina tio n b y a d a g e nc ie s.

Cutting Wa x

 Pro fe ssio na l re c o rd

c o mpa nie s wo uld c ut the ir re c o rding s into wa x b e c a use its so ftne ss a llo ws fo r g re a te r fre q ue nc y re spo nse .

 L

a te r, a me ta l ma ste r ma trix is g ro wn o ve r the wa x

Aluminum Re c o rds

 Are c ut dire c tly b y the

ma c hine .

 Ve ry dura b le  So und fide lity is wo rse

due to the me ta l’ s ha rdne ss.

 Distinc tive so und

 F

e w e xta nt, a s mo st we re me lte d do wn fo r WWI I munitio ns

Co ming so o n…

 A ne w c o lle c tio n o f

T .S. E lio t re c o rding s, pre se nte d fo r the first time to g e the r a nd with histo ric a l c o nte xt

Wo w, the se do wnlo a ds a re fa st…

Pla tfo rm

Pe nnSo und a s Da ta se t

 Ab ility to do wnlo a d

a ll o f Pe nnSo und e n ma sse fo r dista nt liste ning re se a rc h (c f T a nya Cle me nt)

 Ne xt ste ps to wa rd

a c c e ssib ility, o n a la rg e sc a le

Ma c hine -Aide d Clo se L iste ning

 T

• o l to a lig n 3

dime nsio ns: te xt (visua l a rra ng e me nt),

a udio, a nd visua liza tion o f

a udio .

 Aid in ma king

e mpiric a l c la ims a b o ut the inte rpla y

• f so nic a nd visua l

fo rms with c o nte nt

Po e try Audio L a b : Pe da g o g y

a c c e ss fa c ilita te s a c c e ss

Co nta c t

Chris Musta zza Unive rsity o f Pe nnsylva nia musta zza @ sa s.upe nn.e du @ musta zza http:/ / writing .upe nn.e du/ pe nnso und