Ted Berrigan, Keith Abbott, and Kenward Elmslie: March 6, 1975

The Poetry Center presents Keith Abbott, Ted Berrigan, and Kenward Elmslie, reading from their respective work, at San Francisco State University. The poets are introduced by Kathleen Fraser, in what would be her last season as Poetry Center director. Abbott and Berrigan each read a span of mostly recent poems, while to his set of poems Elmslie adds two of his songs, singing along with recorded music. After announcing forthcoming events, Fraser introduces all three poets at the start of the event. Abbott reads first, Berrigan second, and Elmslie closes the event with a near hour-long performance. Berrigan at the start of his reading notes that he's enjoyed Abbott's work a long time, although "last night" was the first they'd met, whereas he and Elmslie "have read together thousand of times...We always say each other is good."

Publisher
American Poetry Archives
Location
The Poetry Center, San Francisco State University
Date
1975-03-6
Event Run Time
01:41:32
Contributors
Kathleen Fraser
Rights

©© American Poetry Archives. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. For all other uses please email poetry@sfsu.edu.

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Keith Abbott (00:21:40)

Keith Abbott reads better than 30 mostly brief poems, some of which would be published that year in the books 12 Shot (Z Press) and Erase Words (Blue Wind Press).

Ted Berrigan (00:24:48)

Ted Berrigan reads some 16 poems, from the manuscript of A Feeling for Leaving (Frontward Books, 1975) and from what he says is a book in preparation to be titled Easter Monday.

Kenward Elmslie (00:49:52)

Kenward Elmslie reads from a span of his poems, reaching back to his 1971 Frank O'Hara Award volume, Motor Disturbance (Columbia University Press). He concludes with two songs, sung to recorded music: "Alaska Blues" and "The Woolworth Song" (a subsequent rendition of the latter appears on the Giorno Poetry Systems double-LP Big Ego, 1978). 

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