LOST SCREENFOLD OF THE RABBI'S DREAM BOOK
DESCANT ON "VAV" BY DAVID MELTZERVisual poem by Karl Young
This poem is a reflection on "Vav," a poem of David Meltzer's written about the same time as "Face." "Face" was a particularly important poem to me. I heard David read it in 1975, along with other poems I had previously read. "Face" first came to me without letters, and I was lucky enough to be its first publisher. David reprinted it with "Vav" in the Black Sparrow volume 6. As I have read "Vav" during the succeeding years, it has become important as a preface to "Face" as well as an important poem in it's own right.
The Rabbi's Dream Book refers to another of David's books, and the screenfold to forms I have worked with, picking up on Pre-Columbian Meso-American sources.
My hommage is presented here in relatively large graphics files. If you're on dial-up, you might want to do something else while they're loading.
To see David's poems click here for Vav and here for Face.