OPEN LETTER vol.6 no.5/6

Read the Way He Writes: A Festschrift for bpNichol.

 

edited by Paul Dutton & Steven Smith.

 

Toronto, summer/fall [ie 14 october] 1986.

 

5-3/4 x 8-11/16, 136 sheets ivory zephyr antique laid perfectbound into cream mayfair card wrappers, all except inside covers printed offset, black interiors in blue covers.

 

cover photograph by Michael Ondaatje.

53 contributors ID'd:

Margaret Avison, David Aylward, Douglas Barbour, Rafael Barreto-Rivera, Earle Birney, Bill Bissett, George Bowering, Giordano Bruno, Barbara Caruso, Thomas A.Clark, Bob Cobing, Victor Coleman, Margaret Coole, jwcurry, Frank Davey, Brian Dedora, Christopher Dewdney, David Donnell, Charles Doria, Louis Dudek, Paul Dutton, Glenn Goluska, Rosalind Goss, Brian Henderson, Dick Higgins, Roy Kiyooka, Robert Kroetsch, G.Lind, Daphne Marlatt, John Bentley Mays, Steve McCaffery, David McFadden, Avis Nichol, bpNichol, D.J.Nichol, Barb O'Connelly, Sean O'Huigin, Michael Ondaatje, Andy Phillips, John Riddell, Raquel Rivera, Joe Rosenblatt, R.Murray Schafer, Stephen Scobie, Gerry Shikatani, Steven Smith, Paul Soucy, Sharon Thesen, Lola Lemire Tostevin, Richard Truhlar, Jiri Valoch, Fred Wah, Marilyn Westlake.

 

Nichol inclusions:

i) "just another just another" (quoted in full in (xix-5) below; poem)

ii) [Aleph Unit Opened], redrawn by Barbara Caruso (p.36; visual poem; reduced)

iii) [Aleph Unit Distance], redrawn by Barbara Caruso (p.36; visual poem; reduced; (i) & (ii) under the heading from Aleph Unit (Seripress, 1973))

iv) H: a collaboration (quoted in full in (xxiv) below, pp.44-45; prose in 2 numbered parts:

–1. "H - the eighth letter of the Roman alphabet, ancient and modern. h comes,"

–2. (in 7 numbered parts:

––a. "Mostly white. A line that completes itself. An inside. An outside too. An image at"

––b. "Blue then in the midst of white. The shape of a feeling. A felt shape and a mood"

––c. "Two tall ones and a small one. A small one who is lost between two tall ones. It is"

––d. "Little i. Little me. Three versus two and a kind of joining. Five. A hand that does"

––e. "Broad strokes. An embrace. Absolutely equal space with something in between."

––f. "Everyone's small. What happens. Surely things are lighter. There is a sequence and"

––g. "It has disappeared. It is all gone. Among them all there is something lighter as if"))

v) "what happened" (quoted in full in (xlii1) below, p.115; poem)

vi) "pile up the movement the fingers" (quoted in full in (xlii1) below, p.117; poem)

vii) "it is the minute haunts you" (quoted in full in (xlii1) below, pp.118-119; poem)

viii) "wond'ring to wed them" (quoted in full in (xlvii5) below, p.139; an aria, possibly in full, from Space Opera)

ix) [DOORS 2] (visible reduced in full in (lxv7) below, p.167; visual poem)

x) [TU 4 (IKONIK)] (visible reduced in full in (lxv7)below, p.167; visual poem, center section only as on the cover of Transformational Unit)

xi) ["photobooth, Vancouver, 1950s?"] (p.182; photostrip in 4 parts, all face-on selfportraits:

–1. [expressionless]

–2. [slight smile]

–3. [slight smile turned slightly more to left]

–4. [smiling, left side of face shadowed])

xii) ["photobooth, Toronto, 1960s?"] (p.182; photostrip in 4 parts, all selfportraits:

–1. [face on]

–2. [looking right]

–3. [looking left]

–4. [looking rear])

xiii) "layers", photographed by Marilyn Westlake (p.214; concrete poem)

xiv) "from Nichol's Sea and Sky Series, watercolour on paper, 1977", photographed by Marilyn Westlake (p.214; graphic)

xv) "blue" (quoted in full in (lxxix6) below, p.22o; poem)

 

also includes:

xvi) "bpNichol", by Michael Ondaatje (front cover; cropped photograph, portrait at Coach House Press; see also (xci) below)

xvii) "Note" Special thanks to Ellie Nichol for the collusion in the purloining of", by [Paul Dutton?] (p.4; prose acknowledgement for photographs)

xviii) Foreword, by Paul Dutton & Steven Smith (pp.5-6; prose, with quote by David McFadden on Nichol (from an interview?))

xix) bpNichol On The Train, by George Bowering (pp.7-2o; prose in 9 parts:

–1. "A FEW YEARS BACK, SOME CANADIAN WRITERS - PIERRE BERTON AND OTHERS" (pp.7-8; no Nichol references)

–2. "It comes as no surprise that the leading train poet is bpNichol. His first" (pp.8-9; Nichol quotes from:

––a. "prairie, lakes, trees" (line 7)

––b. "rolling into night" (lines 6-7)

––c. "sun overhead" (lines 5-7)

––d. "father i have so much to say" (lines 14-15))

–3. "'Trans-Continental' is made of forty-nine short sections, and a trip from" (p.9; Nichol quotes from:

––a. "a drainage ditch" (lines 1-2)

––b. "a d in a cloudbank" (lines 1-2)

––c. "a longing for flesh" (line 5)

––d. "hornpayne to armstrong" (lines 1-2))

–4. " The brain of a poet like bpNichol is as much animated toward composition" (pp.1o-11; Nichol quotes from:

––a. "a drainage ditch" (lines 8, 9)

––b. "this many miles from home" (lines 1-2, 7-9)

––c. "ness" (lines 1-2, 5-6, part of 8)

––d. "up & down" (lines 14-16))

–5. "The same reader or any other can read each each speck of the poem over and" (pp.11-13; Nichol quotes from:

––a. "empty eyes" (lines 8-14)

––b. "father i have much to say" (lines 14-15)

––c. "just another just another" (see (i) above)

––d. "a longing for flesh" (lines 12-13)

––e. A Letter to Mary Ellen Solt

––f. "a trance state" (lines 1-2)

––g. "mist again at dawn" (lines 12-14)

––h. "a new beginning" (lines 1-2)

––i. "final finale" (lines 1, 12))

–6. "The journeying of 'Trans-Continental' is followed a decade later by the" (pp.14-16; Nichol quotes from:

––a. "minus the ALL ABOARD" (lines 1-5)

––b. "the old guy who spoke to the porter just now said:" (lines 1-1o (with quote by Agnes Workman), part of 16)

––c. "vanishing" (lines 13-14)

––d. "insistent instances" (line 17)

––e. "beginnings & endings" (lines 4-5)

––f. "because i was raised on trains" (lines 16-21)

––g. "blueberry bushes, fruit shrunken, dried," (part of line, 3 part of 5, 9-11)

––h. "mile what?" (lines 1o-11)

––i. "final finale" (lines 1-2))

–7. "That is perhaps the neatest irony of the contemporry long poem - that we" (pp.16-18; Nichol quotes from:

––a. "beginnings & endings" (lines 2-3, 8, part of 15)

––b. "insistent instances" (lines 1, 18 misquoted with added "can")

––c. "because i was raised on trains" (part of line 16)

––d. "the conductor takes our luncheon reservations" (line 7)

––e. "so there it is" (lines 3, 5)

––f. "the old guy who spoke to the porter just now said:" (part of line 8)

––g. "vanishing" (part of line 8, 19-21)

––h. "where is this poem going?" (parts of lines 1, 7)

––i. "mile what?" (part of line 11)

––j. "too much like a rock song" (lines 4-1o)

––k. "minus the ALL ABOARD" (part of line 1)

––l. "i don't like the "symbol"" (part of line 1, part of 2-3, 5-6, part of 8-9)

––m. "later" (lines 16, 17))

–8. "The saints, familiar to readers of The Martyrology, visit after a routing" (pp.18-2o; Nichol quotes from:

––a. "okay saints" (part of line 6, 1o-13)

––b. "this next bit doesn't quite cohere" (lines 5-16)

––c. "as night falls" (lines 11-14)

––d. "in Hornpayne" (parts of lines 2, 3, 7, 8; 12-16)

––e. "is this the poem i wanted to write?" (lines 4-6)

––f. "that's that tone" (lines 3, part of 8, 12-15))

–9. "The first stanza of Continental Trance tells of giving up a plan for the nar-" (p.2o; Nichol quotes from:

––a. "mist against dawn" (lines 11, 12-14)

––b. "too much like a rock song" (line 9)))

xx) METAMORPHOSIS A TRIBUTE TO B P NICHOL, by Bob Cobbing (pp.21-29, visual poetry in 8 parts with title page:

–1. [METAMORPHOSIS 1] (p.22; derived from 3 visual poems by Nichol from ABC The Aleph Beth Book:

––a. "DEAD. HAVING ACCEPTED THIS" (the "B" in ABC)

––b. "BETWEEN OURSELVES & THE POEM" (the "P" in ABC)

––c. "BEYOND OURSELVES BY" (the "N" in ABC))

–2. [METAMORPHOSIS 2] (p.23; derived from:

––a. "TTTT", by bpNichol (visual poem)

––b. "(Rubber stamps and letraset (sheets of cellophane printed with trans-", by John Robert Colombo (prose on Nichol's "TTTT"))

–3. [METAMORPHOSIS 3] (p.24; derived from 2 concrete poems by Nichol:

––a. "arrow worra worra arrow"

––b. Blues)

–4. [METAMORPHOSIS 4] (p.25; derived from:

––a. Historical Implications of Turnips, by bpNichol (concrete poem)

––b. "("Turnips are" is a permutational sound poem -- permutational in that", by John Robert Colombo (prose on Nichol's Historical Implications of Turnips))

–5. [METAMORPHOSIS 5] (p.26; derived from Nichol's mind trap)

–6. [METAMORPHOSIS 6] (p.27; derived from 2 visual poems by Nichol:

––a. Allegory 6

––b. Allegory 7)

–7. [METAMORPHOSIS 7] (p.28; derived from Nichol's Allegory 32)

–8. [METAMORPHOSIS 8] (p.29; derived from visual poems by Nichol:

––a. eyes 4

––b. eyes 5

––c. eyes 2

––d. eyes 3))

xxi) Henri Chopin, Sten Hanson, Lilly Greenham, Bob Cobbing, bpNichol. Tenth International Poetry Festival, Glasgow 1978, by Sean O'Huigin (p.3o; photograph, group portrait (note that "Lilly" should be "Lily" & it was at the 1oth International Sound Poetry Festival))

xxii) A Visit, by Robert Kroetsch (pp.31-35; poem in 5 numbered parts with epigraph by Nichol, lines 158-16o of IN THE PLUNKETT HOTEL:

–1. "I was going to Plunkett Saskatchewan" (pp.31-32; quotes part of line 85 of Nichol's IN THE PLUNKETT HOTEL in line 14)

–2. "and when the kid came by on his bike" (p.32; Nichol referenced line 12)

–3. "the continent is contained" (pp.32-33; Nichol referenced line 6)

–4. "when a stoutish gal in a half-ton roared" (pp.33-34; Nichol referenced line 25)

–5. "writing / riding" (pp.34-35; quotes lines 17-18 of Nichol's IN THE PLUNKETT HOTEL))

xxiii) "PLUNKETT GENERAL STORE", probably by Avis Nichol (p.36; photograph on baby bp on Glenn Nichol's knee)

xxiv) The Seripress Collaborations: Nichol & Caruso, by Barbara Caruso (pp.37-46; prose with quotes from:

–1. bpNichol (from conversations with Caruso)

–2. Introduction, by Caruso & Nichol (to The Adventures Of Milt The Morph In Colour)

–3. "our next approach", by Caruso (from notes toward H An Excursion)

–4. a possibility for bp, by Caruso (from further notes toward H An Excursion)

–5. Barbara Caruso (from journal notes for april 1976)

–6. H: a collaboration, by Nichol (in full; see (iv) above))

xxv) From A Commonplace Book (for bpNichol), by Thomas A.Clark (p.47; a collection of quotes by William Blake, Maurice Denis, Gertrude Jeckyll, Hugh Macdiarmid, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Gertrude Stein, Ludwig Wittgenstein)

xxvi) Nichol in performance at Harbourfront, Toronto, 1984, by Marilyn Westlake (p.48; photograph)

xxvii) Surviving the Paraph-raise, by Stephen Scobie (pp.49-68; prose in 7 numbered parts & footnotes (no direct Nichol references in pts.1, 2, 4, 5:

–1. "FIRST THEN, BY WAY OF EXPLANATION, A NOTE ON THE TITLE. SURVIVING THE" (pp.49-5o)

–2. "Leonard Cohen's poem 'The Cuckold's Song,' included in his 1961 volume" (pp.5o-53)

–3. "The signature is one of those forms of utterance, much beloved by Derrida," (pp.53-58; with quote by Nichol (lines 93-95 of Hour 18, p.54) & reference to McCaffery/Nichol p.56)

–4. "The paraph was originally intended, you will recall, 'as a kind of precau-" (pp.58-62)

–5. "But she's not doing too badly herself. 'Phyllis' – 'a generic name in pastoral" (pp.63-64)

–6. "Writing about Nietzsche, Derrida sums up what is involved in an author's" (pp.64-66; with quotes by Nichol from:

––a. "orange" (lines 1-12)

––b. STATEMENT)

–7. "What remains to be said: the raising of the paraph into the text, as rare an" (pp.66-67; passing reference to Nichol)

–[8. footnotes, pp.67-68])

xxviii) bpNichol: Sonic Snapshots. Fragmentary Movements, by Steven Smith (pp.69-72; prose with quotes from:

–1. Mayakovsky, by Four Horsemen

–2. BEAST, by bpNichol

–3. "stear clear", by bpNichol)

xxix) bpNichol, Rafael Barreto-Rivera, Steve MCaffery, Paul Dutton – The Four Horsemen performing Mayakovsky, Erindale College, 1974, by Frank Davey (p.72; photograph)

xxx) Wizard Oil and Indian Sagwa, by R.Murray Schafer (pp.73-75; prose, preceded by Note, p.73, on collaborations with Nichol & his part in as Johnny Mailloux in Wizard Oil)

xxxi) Johnny Mailloux, selling, by Marilyn Westlake (p.75; photograph, portrait of Nichol)

xxxii) Nichol, around 1966, by Andy Phillips (p.76; photograph

xxxiii) Paternal Body as Outlaw, by Lola Lemire Tostevin (pp.77-8o; prose in 3 numbered parts & notes:

–1. "MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN, IS BEING WRITTEN, ON THE MATERIAL BODY," (p.77; with quote by Nichol, lines 1-4 of "so many bad beginnings")

–2. "Since many women are now rethinking the maternal at the level of" (pp.78-79; Nichol quotes from:

––a. "SAINT REAT" (line 4)

––b. "the girl approaced me when the reading ended" (lines 1o, 24-25)

––c. "sleepless night nothing takes shape" (line 17)

––d. "ah reason there is only feeling (part of line 1-3)

––e. EPILOGUE: (line 31)

––f. the quote "intellect or emotions" does not appear anywhere in the martyrology as a phrase

––g. the martyrology book 4 (lines 11o1, 11o5)

––h. Hour 11 (line 19)

––i. Hour 13 (lines 1-2))

–3. "The son's voice has come through loud and clear. There is no need for a" (pp.79-8o; quote by Nichol, lines 41-51 (without spaces) of Hour 26)

–[4]. NOTES(p.8o))

xxxiii) St. Rum (for bp), by Victor Coleman (p.81; poem, 22 lines)

xxxiv) Victor Coleman, Steve McCaffery, Ellen Tallman, Nichol, Roy Kiyooka, bill bissett, 'Writing In Our Time' panel discussion, Vancouver, 1979, by an uncredited photographer (p.82; group portrait)

xxxv) Nichol, McCaffery, Tenth International Sound Poetry Festival, Glasgow, 1978, by Douglas Barbour (p.82; photograph)

xxxvi) Book bells, slowly moving (for bpNichol), by Dick Higgins (pp.83-99; prose in 5 parts:

–1. Note (p.83)

–2. Book Three, Chapter Four The numerator of the third seal (pp.83-87)

–3. Book Head, Chapter Slide The slip of the third crown (pp87-91)

–4. Book Jordan, Chapter Tip The working of the heavenly splendor (pp.91-95)

–5. Book Tip, Song Barrie The waking up of the dragons (pp.95-99))

xxxvii) "Photo", by Andy Phillips (p.1oo; portrait of Nichol at lower right on a sand road walking away from beach, hat in right hand, teees at left, bush at right)

xxxviii) Random Walking The Martyrology's Book V, by Rafael Barreto-Rivera (pp.1o1-1o7; prose essay wth quotes by Nichol from

–1. The Martyrology Book V:Chain 3 (lines 4o5-411 (p.1o1), 12o9-121o, 471-473 (p.1o2), 492-493, 118o (p.1o3), 1182-1184 (pp.1o3-1o4), 534-548 (p.1o5), 8o7 (p.1o6), part of 8o9, 416-418 (p.1o6), 1192-1195, 1197-1212 (p.1o7), 125o-1252 (relineated as 4 lines, p.1o7))

–2. The Martyrology Book V:Chain 1 (lines 2o5-2o6 (p.1o1), 269-271 (pp.1o1-1o2), 118o (p.1o2), 643-644 (p.1o3), 768-771 (p.1o4), part of 161-164, 724-727 (p.1o6))

–3. A Note on Reading The Martyrology Book V (p.1o2)

–4. The Martyrology Book V:Chain 2 (lines 77-9o (misspaced pp.1o2-1o3))

–5. The Martyrology Book V:Chain 9 (part of line 179-181, 134-138 (p.1o4), 217 (misquoted p.1o7), 224-225 (p.1o7))

–6. The Martyrolgy Book V:Chain 5 (line 24 (p.1o4), 136 (misquoting "illusions" for "delusions", p.1o6))

–7. "blue" (ie "...bluer / bloor"; in full unlineated p.1o6)

–8. "blue" (ie "...bluer / blur"; in full unlineated p.1o6)

––note that the quotes "in a throw of the cosmic dice" (p.1o2) & "valley of the shadow" (p.1o6) are not in The Martyrology Book V)

ixl) Nichol in performance, 1972, by Paul Soucy (p.1o8; photograph)

xl) for bpn, by Margaret Avison (p.1o9; poem)

xli) Griffin Ondaatje, Ellie Hiebert, Quintin Ondaatje, bpNichol, Michael Ondaatje, 1971, by Roy Kiyooka (p.11o; photograph)

xlii) Soul Rising out of the Body of Language: Presence, Process and Faith in The Martyrology, by Brian Henderson (pp.111-128; prose in 2 numbered parts & notes with epigraph by Nichol, lines 1275-1276 from the martyrology book 4:

–1. "IN ITS CONCERN WITH THE 'ACTIVE PRESENT,' THE PROCESS WRITING OF" (pp.111-12o; with quotes by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 4 (part of line 1276 (p.111), 781-783 (pp.111-112), 915-92o (p.112), 892-9o3 (pp.112-113), 437-444, 1275-1276, 362-365, part of 136 misquoted (p.113), 622-624, 258-262 (p.114), 137-14o, 1o97-11oo (p.116), 23o-236 (p.117), 8o-82 (p.118), 1358-1368 (p.119), 1144-115o, 329-33o (p.12o))

––b. "there must be a beginning made" (lines 4-5, p.113)

––c. "we gather round to talk at night" (part of line 66 (p.114), 45, 8-9 (p.119))

––d. "make the setting here" (lines 1-7 misspaced, p.114)

––e. "saint orm" (ie "...i throw up"; lines 2-4, p.114)

––f. "opened & told them" (line 8-part of 9, 12, p.115)

––g. "saint of no-names" (line 1o, p.115)

––* [see (v) above]

––h. "ah reason there is only feeling" (lines 4-1o misquoting "absence" for "presence" (p.116), 18-19 (p.118)

––* [see (vi) above]

––i. "the window reverses itself" (parts of line 19, 5-6 misquoted (p.117)

––j. "a frog drops in the pond" (lines 58-59, p.118)

––k. "one woman who was all women to me" (lines 12-14, p.118)

––• [see (vi) above]

––l. "hot night" (part of line 9, p.119)

––m. "early morning victria's streets" (line 6, p.119)

––n. "looking out the window at the snow" (lines 29-3o, p.119)

––o. "sleepless night nothing takes shape" (lines 1o-16, p.119)

––p. "out of the side of the buddha's mother" (lines 43-45, p.12o)

––q. "a thing without eyes or lips" (part of line 9, p.12o))

–2. "It is not by accident that Nichol has alluded throughout much of his long" (pp.12o-127; with quotes by Nichol from

––a. "i wanted an image or a metaphor" (lines 14-16, p.12o)

––b. "where is my place in this world father" (lines 61-62 (p.12o), 66-69 (p.121))

––c. the martyrology book 4 (part of line 1222-1226, part of 138, part of 9 (p.121), 244-245 misquoted (p.127))

––d. "ellie & me" (line 28, p.121)

––e. "'older than adam's' older than me i am old" (lines 1-5, p.121)

––f. "gazing into the sky" (lines 47-51 (p.122), 4-9 (p.123))

––g. "from the lake's edge" (part of line 29, p.122)

––h. "how it is done how it is said the head sheds the lies its lived by" (part of line 18, p.124)

––i. "moving down to where the farmhouse stood" (line 14, p.124)

––j. "bushes" (lines 1-13, p.126)

––k. "you walk thru the door into the room filling the mind with (quaint" (part of line 3, p.126)

––l. "there are many roads to that centre" (lines 17-18, p.127)

––m. ""in the midst of life we are in death" draco" (lines 13-16, p.127)

––n. "one woman who was all women to me" (lines 12-14, p.127)

––o. "the sky is as this word is" (lines 1o-12, p.127)

––p. "driving west thru albion's hills adjala climbing" (lines 49-51, p.127))

–3. NOTES (p.128))

xliii) Nichol and dsh (Dom Sylvester Houedard), Glasgow, 1978, by Sean O'Huigin (p.128; photograph)

xliv) bpNichol: The Movies, by Michael Ondaatje (pp.129-13o; prose with quotes by Ondaatje from

–1. sons of captain poetry)

xlv) [untitled photograph], by David McFadden (p.13o; group portrait of Nichol & Michael Ondaatje)

xlvi) "Here's an old snap of bp along with Michael Ondaatje. A couple of springtime", by David McFadden (p.13o; prose caption to (xlv) above)

xlvii) Confronting Conventions The Musical / Dramatic Works of bpNichol, by Paul Dutton (pp.131-14o; prose in 5 numbered parts:

–1. "WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 'THE BROWN BOOK: A PLAY,' WHICH APPEARED IN" (p.131)

–2. "In his early thirties, possessed of encyclopedic knowledge of the musical" (pp.131-133; with quotes by Nichol from

––a. I Can't Talk (line numbers unknown (not in revised Group), p.132)

––b. We're In The Group (lines 1-5 version 1, p.132)

––c. Ordinary Man (lines 1-2, 13-14, p.132)

––d. If It Wasn't For You (lines 2, 6-7, p.132)

––e. I Am Obsessed (line 2, p.132))

–3. "But first, let us treat briefly of Tracks, a two-act musical drama, co-written (pp.133-135)

–4. "While researching material for Tracks, Nichol came upon a bit of local lore" (pp.135-137; with quotes y Nichol from

––a. Cross-Purposes (excerpts of 13 lines, p.136)

––b. Dreams (4 lines, p.136)

––c. "What is this curse" (8 lines, p.137)

––d. Faces (6 lines, p.137))

–5. "While Space Opera is, in sequence of composition, the second of Nichol's" (pp.137-14o; with quotes by Nichol from

––a. Space Opera (dialogue, 4 quotes p.138, 2 p.14o)

––* [see (viii) above]))

xlviii) On Toronto Island, around 1966, by Andy Phillips (p.141; 2 photographs:

–1. [untitled, Nichol on beach with hat in right hand, tree top left, sky top right, beach bottom left, water bttom right]

–2. [untitled, Nichol looking to left close-up at left from below, no background])

il) On Toronto Island, around 1966, by Andy Phillips (p.142; 2 photographs:

–1. [untitled, Nichol at left from crotch up with hat on, tree & sky background]

–2. [untitled, Nichol at right full figure silhouette with hat on, on beach with water about to wash over his feet])

l) "around 1966", by --?-- (p.143; photograph, potrait of Nichol seated lower left in front of painting by --?--)

li) "with brothers Bob and Don (a.k.a. dj)", probably by [Avis Nichol] (p.143; group portrait of 3 Nichol brothers)

lii) With Steve McCaffery, somewhere over Manitoba, 1974, by Paul Dutton (p.145; photograph, portrait of Nichol & McCaffery in airplane)

liii) With Sten Hanson, Glasgow, 1978, by Sean O'Huigin (p.145; photograph, portrait of Nichol & Sten Hanson)

liv) Michel Dean receives a sprinkling of 'Plaster de Paris' (the user can look just like Alfred Jarry, come from his low-ceilinged garret) from the proprietor of The ''Pataphysical Hardware Co. at 'L'Affaire ''Pataphysique', Toronto, 1985, by Marilyn Westlake (p.146; photograph; also visible are copies of

–1. Plaster de Paris (object in Nichol's hand)

–2. '' (T-shirt designed by Nichol & jwcurry, pink on tan variant worn by Michel Dean)

–3. '' (T-shirt designed by Nichol & jwcurry, white on black variant worn by Nichol))

lv) With Steve McCaffery, Harbourfront, Toronto, 1985, by Marilyn Westlake (p.147; photograph of reading with text by McCaffery & Nichol visible,

–1. "DENTA")

lvi) bpNichol, Steve McCaffery, Paul Dutton, Rafael Barreto-Rivera. The Four Horsemen performing Mixed Metaphors, Toronto, 1981, by Marilyn Westlake (p.147; photograph)

lvii) Johnny Mailloux takes a shot of Wizard Oil and Indian Sagwa (see pp.73-75), Toronto, 1981, by Marilyn Westlake (p.148, photograph, portrait of Nichol performing work by R.Murray Schafer)

lviii) St. Riking (a pose, with arms outstretched), by Marilyn Westlake (p.149; photograph, portrait of Nichol)

lix) Nichol, around 1966, by Andy Phillips (p.15o; photograph)

lx) Project For An Opera Of The Twentieth Century G. S.: something tht happened once and it is very interesting, by John Bentley Mays (pp.151-153; script, act 2 scene 3 (2nd version) dedicated "for bpNichol, who introduced me to G.S.")

lxi) Outside 27 Rue-de-Fleurus, Gertrude Stein's Paris home, 1985: Steve McCaffery, Paul Dutton, Stephen Scobie, bpNichol, Margo Barreto-Rivera, Gerry Shikatani, by Raquel Rivera (p.154; photograph, group portrait)

lxii) Addition to the Great Canadian Dictionary, by Earle Birney (p.155; poem, 23 lines)

lxiii) "Photos", by Marilyn Westlake (p.156; 4 untitled portraits of Nichol:

–1. [looking down to left holding microphone] (top left)

–2. [looking to left eyes closed holding microphone & stand] (top right)

–3. [straight on looking down at microphone & beating chest] (bottom left)

–4. [leaning into frame top left looking down with hands over mouth] (bottom right))

lxiv) bpNichol: A Sonography, by Richard Truhlar (pp.157-16o; list in 5 parts:

–1. RECORDS (p.157)

–2. CASSETTES (pp.157-158)

–3. ANTHOLOGIES (p.158)

–4. COLLABORATIONS (pp.158-159)

–5. NOTES (pp.159-16o; prose with quote by Nichol from

––a. Ear Rational • Sound Poems 1970-80))

lxv) letters for NICHOL, by John Riddell (pp.161-167; concrete poetry in 7 parts:

–1. "book book book book book book book" (ie "N", p.161)

–2. "writing a reading of a writing being written/having been read reading that" (ie "I", p.162)

–3. "of a reader to feel pleasure" (ie "C", p.163)

–4. "location" (ie "H", p.164)

–5. "poem sound poem sound poem" (ie "O", p.165)

–6. "L" (p.166)

–7. "UR" (p.167; collage of covers to Nichol's

––a. A Draft Of Book IV Of The Martyrology (top half of David Aylward's graphic St. Reat?)

––b. Familiar (much reduced anonymous cover photograph, "DRINK CocoCola", group portrait with Nichol 5th from left)

––c. Journal (Glenn Goluska's cover typography)

––*. Doors: To Oz & Other Landscapes (see (ix) above)

––d. The Captain Poetry Poems (part of D.J.Nichols rear cover graphic)

––e. Ballads Of The Restless Are (Barb O'Connelly's cover lettering)

––*. Transformational Unit (see (x) above)

––f. The Teaching Of Aress Kinken (most of Gareth Lind's cover graphic Tales Of The Myth Collector By Rawl Castz)

––g. Konfessions Of An Elizabethan Fan Dancer (Barbara Caruso's cover typography for the 3rd edition))

lxvi) humble people, by Rosalind Goss (p.168; graphic dedicated "for bp")

lxvii) Exegesis / Eggs à Jesus The Martyrology as a Text in Crisis, by Frank Davey (pp.169-181; prose essay in 13 parts:

–1. "ANYONE WHO HAS ATTEMPTED TO HELP STUDENTS IN A READING OF ALL OR PART" (pp.169-17o, with quotes from

––a. Douglas Barbour, This courageous poet stalks the trails of saints

––b. Frank Davey, bpNichol

––c. bpNichol, the martyrology book 4, lines 348-357)

–2. "Such praise reflects one of the difficult problems The Martyrology raises:" (pp.17o-171, with Nichol quotes from

––a. "i wished i has a ship", lines 36-41

––b. the martyrology book 4, lins 124-136)

–3. "Another serious probem that a reader encounters in The Martyrology is" (pp.171-172, with quote by Nichol from

––a. "i wished i has a ship", lines 13-2o)

–4. "A third problem created by The Martyrology lies in the distinction" (pp.172-173, with quote by Nichol from

––a. "orange", lines 2-13)

–5. "The structure of this essay appears to promise some answers to these ques-" (pp.173-174)

–6. "Another awkward feature of The Martyrology that impedes this essay from" (pp.174-175, wit quote by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 4, lines 1233-1239)

–7. "A third element that complicates this essay is the increasingly exegetical" (pp.175-177, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 4, lines 81-82, 265-285, 497-515, 521-534, 576-589, 1246-13o1)

–8. "Yet Nichol might well in response to this essay point to various other passages in" (pp.177-178, with quote by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 4, lines 1o43-1o5o)

–9. "Further complicating any attempt to deal with these various puzzles is the" (p.178, with quote from

––a. Frank Davey, bpNichol)

–1o. "The most recent of the published volumes of The Martyrology, Book 5," (pp.178-18o, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 5:chain 1, lines 424-435

––b. the martyrology book 5:chain 2, line 22o

––a. the martyrology book 5:chain 3, lines 397-412, part of 775, 777, 778-78o)

–11. "Book 5 also contains didactic passages which appear, much ike those in" (p.18o, with quotes from

––a. bpNichol, the martyrology book5:chain 5, lines 93-1o1

––b. Stephen Scobie, "The Martyrology is the culmination...")

–12. "By Book 5, The Martyrology can be read as a writing looking for language," (p.181, with Nichol quotes from

––a. "nights that run together on the bed", lines 1-3 misquoting "myths" in place of "nights"

––b. "open your heart", lines 5-9)

–13. NOTES)

lxviii) 2 (for bp Nichol), by Jiri Valoch (p.183; poem, 2 lines)

lxix) three exercises (for bp Nichol), by Jiri Valoch (p.183; poem, 3 lines)

lxx) Around a pillar, around 1970, by Andy Phillips (p.184; photograph, portrait of Nichol)

lxxi) B. P. Specific Writing, by Christopher Dewdney (pp.185-187; prose in 2 parts:

–1. B. P. Specific Writing (pp.185-186)

–2. Abstract (pp.186-187))

lxxii) Nichol with sister Deanna, brothers Don and Bob, parents Avis and Glenn, 1966, [possibly by Avis Workman?] (p.19o; photograph, group portrait)

lxxiii) With his niece, Avis, 1966, [possibly by Avis Nichol?] (p.19o; photograph, group portrait)

lxxiv) The Martyrology as Paragram, by Steve McCaffery (pp.191-2o6; prose essay in introduction, 5 numbered parts & notes:

–o. "WE WILL FOCUS ON THE LUDIC FEATURES OF 'THE MARTYROLOGY,' THOSE" (pp.191-192)

–1. The Scene of Witz (pp.192-195, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 5:chain 1 (lines 566-567 as epigraph)

––b. the martyrology book 5:chain 3 (lines 35-37, 44-45, 49-5o, 51-52, 2o4-2o7))

–2. The Paragram (pp.195-197; with quotes by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 4 (lines 273-282)

––b. "last note" (lines 5-12))

–3. The Unconscious as a Lettered Production (pp.197-199; with quotes by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 4 (ines 72-77, 348-365, 1155-1157)

––b. the martyrology book 5:chain 1 (lines 787-788)

––c. the martyrology book 5:chain 3 (lines 1o61-1o66, 1o79-1o81))

–4. Cratylean Linguistics Through Ramus (pp.199-2o2; with quotes by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 5:chain 1 (lines 46-61)

––b. the martyrology book 4 (lines 124-125, 1217-1221, 1228-1236)

––c. "bushes" (lines 6-1o)

––d. "within the difference" (lines 7-9)

––e. "'dogma i am god'" (part of line 6-28)

––f. the martyrology book 5:chain 3 (lines 778-78o, 962-965))

–5. Mikhail Bakhtin: the Dialogic Utterance (p.2o3)

–6. NOTES (pp.2o3-2o6))

lxxv) UR L: on the autobiography of you, by Daphne Marlatt (pp.2o7-2o9; prose with quotes by Nichol from sections of Journal:

–1. "how can i write with nothing in my head no pressure" (x4)

–2. "as these things are they are only dreams as i have told" (x3)

–3. "maybe there are stories make sense maybe theres a"

–4. "i have said everything i can say having started ot so" (x2))

lxxvi) Sixteenth (?) birthday,\, [likely by Avis Nichol] (p.2o9; photograph)

lxxvii) bp (front) with brother Don, Sister Deanna, about 1946, [likely by Avis Nichol] (p.21o; photograph, group portrait)

lxxviii) The Child in Him, by Sean O'Huigin (pp.211-213; prose essay with quote by Nichol from

–a. The Child in Me)

lxxix) Some Notes in Progress about a Work in Process: bpNichol's The Martyrology, by Douglas Barbour (pp.215-224; prose essay in 8 parts:

–1. "NOW I CAN NEVER FLY WITHOUT IT HAPPENING. SUDDENLY I'M UP THERE" (p.215)

–2. "Cloudtown" (p.215)

–3. "Part of what I seek to do in these notes is to register, through a reference to" (pp.215-216, with quote by Robert Kroetsch on Nichol from

––a. The Continuing Poem)

–4. "Although neither T.S. Eliot's poetry nor his criticism springs immediately" (pp.216-217; with quote by Al Purdy on Nichol from

––b. A.W.Purdy: An Interview, by Gary Geddes & Al Purdy)

–5. "In Poetry as Discourse, Anthony Easthope argues a lengthy and interesting" (pp.217-22o; with quotes by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 5:chain 2 (lines 69-71 (69 including quote from

–––1. the martyrology book 4, line 9))

––b. A Note on Reading The Martyrology book V)

–6. "Book 5 opens with a map of one part of downtown Toronto – a closed" (p22o; with quotes by Nichol from

––* [see (xv) above)

––a. the martyrology book 5:chain 1, line 12o1)

–7. "Much of what I have written so far takes its bearings from recent post-" (pp.22o-223; with quotes by Nichol from

––a. Statement

––b. the martyrology book 4 (lines 1o97-1o99))

–8. NOTES (pp.223-224))

lxxx) now they found th wagon cat in human body, by Bill Bissett (p.225; poem, with dedication "for bp")

lxxxi) "as always ths pome first apeerd in we sleep inside each othr all wch", by Bill Bissett (pp.225-226; prose with quotes by Nichol from

–1. Cycle No. 22 ("drum and a wheel")

–2. Lament ("for dalevy"))

lxxxii) Briefly, To Martyr and Suffer, by Gerry Shikatani (pp.227-236; prose with quotes by Nichol from

–1. "hot night" lines 27-28 (p.227)

–2. the martyrolgy book 4 lines 82o-836 (pp.227-228), 1o49-1o5o (p.228), 1358-1364 (pp.228-229), 348-365 (pp.229-23o), 1-12 (pp.234-235), 1322-1331 (pp.235-236)

–3. "horrendous degree of personl reference" (from an unID'd interview, p.228)

–4. "this morning there are no clouds anywhere", part of line 3 (p.23o)

–5. Hour 11, part of line 3, 5-8 (p.23o), 2o, 21-23, 82 misquoted, 83, 112-115, 38-39 (all p.231)

–6. Hour 13 lines 3-9, 38-41, 38-39 misspaced (all p.232)

–7. Hour 14 parts of line 1o, 11-12 misquoted (p.232), 42, 57 misquoted, 64 misquoted, 65-67 misquoted (all p.233)

–8. the martyrology book 5:chain 1 lines 1o-31 (p.233)

–9. "there are many rods to that centre" lines 1-5 (p.234)

–1o. the martyrology book 5:chain 9 lines 184, 217-223, 256 misquoted (all p.235))

lxxxii) Receiving the Governor General's Award from Governor General Roland Michener, 1971, by --?-- (p.236; photograph, group portrait of Nichol, Michener & othrs unID'd)

lxxxiii) The Mutual Friend, by Brian Dedora (pp.237-238; prose)

lxxxiv) Music at the Heart of Thinking Journeying & the Returns, by Fred Wah (pp.239-242; prose in 11 parts:

–1. "This series of MHT is written in the development of a critical poetic that sees" (p.239)

–2. music at the heart of thinking, no. 21 (p.239)

–3. music at the heart of thinking, no. 22 (p.239, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. "the woods", lines 1o-11

––b. .End, lines 11-13

––c. "nothing will have taken place but the place", source unID'd)

–4. music at the heart of thinking, no. 23 (p.24o, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. "the woods", line 5

––b. "(putting a match to paper", lines 1o-11)

–5. music at the heart of thinking, no. 24 (p.24o, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. "prairie, lkes, trees,", part of line 9

––b. "rolling into night", line 8

––c. "always, lines 1-2 misquoted)

–6. music at the heart of thinking, no. 25 (p.24o, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. "always", lines 16-17

––b. "looking out", line 9)

–7. music at the heart of thinking, no. 26 (pp.24o-241, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. "eyes close, line 14

––b. Prologue: 1335 Comox Avenue, line 14)

–8. music at the heart of thinking, no. 27 (p.241, with quote by Nichol from

––a. Prologue: 1335 Comox Avenue, line 41)

–9. music at the heart of thinking, no. 28 (p.241, with quotes from

––a. Margaret Avison, A Letter from Margaret Avison (to Nichol)

––b. bpNichol, "the circle", line 12

––c. ____ "always", lines 18-2o)

–1o. music at the heart of thinking, no. 29 (pp.241-242, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. "such", lines 37-38

––b. "the sun", line 2o)

–11. music at the heart of thinking, no. 30 (p.242, with quotes by Nichol from

––a. "if to explain", lines 4-5

––b. . And ., lines 13-14, 32-33, 38-42

––c. "covered with patches cut from its own cloth", source unID'd)

lxxxv) bpNichol: Some Notes on Myth, by David Donnell (pp.242-245; prose in 12 numbered parts:

–1. "I THOUGHT OF BARRIE AS A SOUND POET AT FIRST. I HEARD HIM READ AT A" (p.243; with quote by Nichol from

––a. the martyrology book 5:chain 1, lines 1-9)

–2. "But it was only some time later that I started reading a number of the" (p.243)

–3. "Maybe it's tempting to think of the longer text poems or The Martyrology" (p.244)

–4. "Barrie has a very compelling voice. Physically, sort of country, but with a" (p.244)

–5. "The completeness of a complex transition slowly becomes a frame" (p.244)

–6. "This concern with consciousness is a concern with how we become what" (p.244)

–7. "Barrie talks about the world constantly by putting himself at the centre of" (p.244)

–8. "The body (Organ Music), which is the body of us all, is always his first" (p.244)

–9. "Barrie has a remarkable ability for utilizing small-town histories as exam-" (p.244)

–1o. (p.245; in 3 lettered parts:

––a. "Barrie's myth isn't anecdotal, but it subsumes anecdote."

––b. "One difference between The Martyrology and Olson's The Maximus"

––c. "A lot of he individual concentrations in the longer text poems or the")

–11. "A lot of the Toronto or New York writers I've been reading lately seem to" (p.245)

–12. "The most important single thing about a text is the frame. The frame is" (p.245))

lxxxvi) bpNichol as John of Patmos, Paul Duton as Michael the Archangel, in R.Murray Schafer's Apocalypsis, London, Ontario, 1980, by Margaret Coole (p.246; photograph, group portrait)

lxxxvii) Could've Been, by Sharon Thesen (pp.247-248; poetry)

lxxxviii) Nichol (second from right) with friends in the mid-60s, when he administered psychological tests and 'felt people weren't getting their money's worth unless I wore a jacket and tie.', by --?-- (p.248; photograph with quote by Nichol in caption (source unID'd))

ixc) Notes toward a beepliography, by jwcurry (pp.249-27o; in 2 parts:

–1. Notes toward a beepliography (pp.249-27o; list with quote by Nichol:

––a. "love (ie "...dove / above", in full unlineated in text))

–2. NOTE (p.27o; prose))

xc) "H", by --?-- (p.271; photograph, portrait of Nichol)

xci) [untitled photograph], by Michael Ondaatje (rear cover; photograph, reduced larger crop of front cover portrait with graphic (by --?--) of Milt The Morph superimposed)

___________________________

 

• also includes:

– 2 peripherally-related photographs of Plunkett, Saskatchewan (p.144)

– Joe Rosenblatt's Poems – Nocturnes, with no discernible Nichol-specificity (p.188)

– Louis Dudek's Poetry, likewise with no discernible Nichol-specificity (p.189)

Done