J. H. Prynne

[Benny Bunter]

Ah, ok, it's a Buddhist thing

"In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in our daily lives."

Five hindrances - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Benny Bunter]

The five hindrances are:[2][3][4][5]

1. Sensory desire (kāmacchanda): seeking for pleasure through the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and physical feeling.
2. Ill-will (vyāpāda; also spelled byāpāda): feelings of hostility, resentment, hatred and bitterness.
3. Sloth-and-torpor (thīna-middha): half-hearted action with little or no effort or concentration.
4. Restlessness-and-worry (uddhacca-kukkucca): the inability to calm the mind and focus one's energy.
5. Doubt (vicikiccha): lack of conviction or trust in one's abilities.

 

[Benny Bunter]

You can never be sure if the titles to his poems are total red herrings or not

 

[Benny Bunter]

Whatever, I've just read Fire Lizard and it's gorgeous, lyrical, abstract as fuck. A bit like day light songs and voll verdienst

As you say so he
takes his flit, over
the water creamy
toes, envy with coins
right by the phone box.
We are the recession
of blue-green.

 

[Benny Bunter]

Time for a siesta I think

 

[luka]

Science Sam scored a sweet quote from Prynne for his new pamphlet

 

[Benny Bunter]

but, seriously, my bookmark is positioned at "The Glacial Question, Unsolved", and I am in two minds.. do I reset, and begin again and restart from "The Numbers', which is what I really want to do, or do I persist with whatever awaits me in "The White Stones"? I feel like I need to reread "Kitchen Poems" to form some sort of foundation to build an understanding of wtf is going on

The part about Kitchen Poems in this essay is helping me understand what they're all about (including what 'quality' might mean).

J.H. Prynne | Poetry Foundation

Jeremy Halvard Prynne, known as J.H. Prynne, was born in Kent, England in 1936. After an education in the English primary and secondary system, followed by a period of two-year service in the British army, Prynne was enrolled as an undergraduate at Jesus College, Cambridge, from 1957 to 1960. He…

www.poetryfoundation.org

..which is a pretty hard to understand essay in itself but worth persevering with I reckon. Just been rereading Kitchen Poems again and feel like I've made a bit of a mental breakthrough. I'll write more later when I feel I can articulate it properly.

 

[luka]

it's a very good essay. very, very good. some people have suggested Prynne wrote it himself.

 

[luka]

i've finally finished the white stones and am looking forward to Brass. what science sam calls his dylan goes electric moment.

 

[Benny Bunter]

I think he's sort of spelling it all out in Numbers in Time of Trouble and Sketch for a Financial Theory of the Self especially.

 

[luka]

well, go on, explain it to me

 

[Benny Bunter]

Got company now, but I will return to this later. (Not a cop out, honestly!)

 

[Benny Bunter]

Impatient!

Read those 2 poems again I mentioned and that section of the essay about kitchen poems and we'll compare notes in the coming days (@william_kent and @woops too). I'd love to do it right now but I've got a family to attend to.
For now:

"Quality is habit"

 

[luka]

i want it explained to me, i dont want to have to read those poems all over again!

 

[woops]

Impatient!

Read those 2 poems again I mentioned and that section of the essay about kitchen poems and we'll compare notes in the coming days (@william_kent and @woops too). I'd love to do it right now but I've got a family to attend to.
For now:

"Quality is habit"

Which two?

 

[luka]

I think he's sort of spelling it all out in Numbers in Time of Trouble and Sketch for a Financial Theory of the Self especially.

this 2

 

[luka]

c'mon then Benny, wheel out your explanantions

 

[Benny Bunter]

c'mon then Benny, wheel out your explanantions

I'm at work! But i will ASAP.

 

[luka]

you don't work Benny! you're a kept man! you're at the bar with a cold glass of cerveza and some complimentary peanuts

 

[Benny Bunter]

Remembered to bring my notebook when I went down to the bar today and ended up filling three pages with notes about what I think Numbers in the Time of Trouble is about - there's no way this thing can be summarised in a few sentences. So I'll try and knock them into readable shape and post something soon (got the house to myself this weekend so I'll have time). I'll have another look at the other poem too. You'll probably read it and still go "eh?" but it'll be a good exercise for me anyway.

That's to say, stop fucking pestering me and have a bit of patience!