"The Proper METHOD for studying
poetry and good letters is the method of contemporary biologists,
that is careful first-hand examination of the matter, and continual
COMPARISON of one 'slide' or specimen with another."
---(from ABC of Reading,
1934)
Pound was known as the teacher, and
Howard is the same way. In fact, since he is so good as a teacher,
one would wonder what his own poetry would sound like, what it would
appear like or mean. The Tao of Poetry, this Possibility X film
gives a "careful first-hand examination of the matter" in which
Howard describes in his own words, and readings what poetry means
like to him. Other writers describe Howard including Carl Thayler
who was associated with the Black Mountain Poet Robert Duncan and
although their words are insightful, none describe Howard as much as
he describes himself:
"Life as a poet is a very curious
thing in our culture. . .We honor poets, but we don't pay them very
much. And we honor them and don't read them very much.. . .At times
I think you can be a little frustrated. . .it's not appreciated but
at the same time it was what you were destined to do." He speaks
clearly about the role of the poet in post modern late 20th century
America as well as early 21st century America. His words and
insights share what many other poets in the United States have long
realized: Their opinion and their words are ignored by the vast
majority of Americans. Martin Rosenblum, poet and historian for
Harley Davidson makes this clear: "If Chaucer were alive today he
would seek a recording contract with a major label." Still, with
The Tao of Poetry, the man and his poetry as well as insights opens
up for many not familiar with Howard McCord and what they see in
this DVD, The Tao of Poetry is quite a
curious thing:
With chapters in the
DVD entitled, "more physics" or "why
poetry?" or "life as a poet" and "the poet's regimen," Howard and
his approach to poetry and life are fully explored. The
DVD starts with these words:
"How do we know what we know? How do
we know we know it? What are the limits of our knowledge? Those
fundamental philosophical questions, those still fascinate me. I
think most of my poems are about how the mind knows things and what
are the limits of that knowledge?" Apparently these questions
spurred on Howard's work and do so to this day. The offer the keys
to the questions as to Howard's motivations, why he does what he
does, why he writes what he writes, and why.
What does this DVD
reveal? About Howard and who he is and what he writes and why?
What does it say? All the while, when Howard speaks, the teacher
comes through: He answers questions all poets seem to want to know
when they get started: If you want to be a poet. . .
What? He states it clear enough:
"If you want to be a poet, it means
you have a sense of what it is about. . .And so, Just follow that:
You're a hound dog, pick up the scent, follow the language wherever
it goes. . .It may lead you into a very dark cave, or to something a
little nicer perhaps. . ."
Howard is the voice of experience
here, the experienced realist, one who has experienced both sorrows
and joys and realizes both constitute life, not one, and not the
other, but both. Thus, this DVD, like
being around Howard himself, is a delight, and this DVD captures the
essence of the man and his philosophy- Explore-Know- It is the
essence of life, but what it tells you might be very little. Still,
the journey can be a happy and a full one. The voice of optimism is
always there, one of hope, one perhaps because his life has been one
filled with children and children have always represented hope.
This is shown and captured in the DVD as well as well as many other
aspects of Howard including his roots in the Southwest and his sense
of "home" in the Southwest even though he has lived in Ohio for a
good part of his life.
As much as he is reflective of where
he came from, Howard is unique among writers and poets because of
his fascination with the language itself: As he puts it,
"Language is one of the most
distinctive of all human traits. . .It makes us different from every
other animal and so it is the sort of. . .archetypal human quality.
." He describes the struggles that a writer has in dealing with
language to his audience in the following fashion: "Those of us who
are addicted to language often attribute to it many many
characteristics- and when you are wrestling with words sometimes it
may be like Jacob wrestling with an angel or it may be like
wrestling with a big great polar bear which snaps your back and eats
you."
Prepare to be eaten then. The Tao of
Poetry eats you alive and spits you out, and as you get eaten into
the world of Howard McCord, remember the words he says which drives
him and perhaps all of us to write, "How do we know what we know?
How do we know we know it? What are the limits of our knowledge?"
What indeed?
---Jean Jones
