SE cVEN PAGES MISS ING

SEVEN PAGES MISS ING : ‒

Steve McCa�ery

Coach House Books

copyright © Steve McCa�ery,

fir� edition

Published with the assi�ance of the Canada Council for the Arts andthe Ontario Arts Council

McCa�ery, SteveSeven Pages Missing: the sele�ed Steve McCa�ery

Poems. ---

I.Title.

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for KarenMac Cormackeditrix extraordinaire

andElle’s Angel

Contents

from Transitions to the Beast

from BrokenMandala

from ’Ow’s “Waif ”

from Ten Portraits Newton’s Optics Four Elementary Trigonometry Art as a Virtue of the Practical Intellect Newton’s Optics Two Wenima & the Short Rainbow Max Ernst Around

fromDr Sadhu’sMuffins

GeorgeWashington: A Legend Poem for Arthur Cravan from The Redwood Suite from Anamorphoses

from ‘The Savage Piano’,Horse d’Oeuvres

Negative Statement Beethoven Sonnets counting trees: a four act play

from EveryWayOakly

a carafe that is a blind glass a blue coat a method of a cloak a red stamp a box () a seltzer bottle a red hat objects a drawing

water raining cold climate ( ) a time to eat a fire a little called pauline a sound a dog a white hunter this is this dress, aider

Shifters

from IntimateDistortions

Seven Thirteen Sixteen TwentyThree TwentyThree 2 Thirty Six Sixty Sixty Two Sixty Two2 Sixty Nine Ninety Two Ninety Nine One Hundred

from Evoba:The InvestigationsMeditations

from Crown’s Creek

from In EnglandNowThat Spring

Wordsworth: A PerformanceTransform An Ambleside Event Position of Sheep I 186Position of Sheep II 187LoughriggTarn Nutting

Dunmail Raise An Afterthought From:The Prelude Book IV Definitions fromWordsworth Grasmere and Dunmail Raise A Prescription for Art From: ‘To A Butterfly’

The Scenarios

from KnowledgeNever Knew

from Panopticon

from The BlackDebt

from Lag from An Effect of Cellophane

from Theory of Sediment

fromHegel’s Eyes from Clints &Grykes from Theory of Sediment from Breakthrough Nostalgia The Entries

fromModernReading

TheMind of the Frontispiece Feathers and Song Stair from Op Poems Graphetic Study Seven untitled Forecast Poem from Vowel-Grid Sequence Beet AnOrbit of Epsilon The Vasarely Poems

Popular Simulated A�onishment Predicament Five Shifter Four Versions of Pound’s ‘In A Station of the Metro’ ADefence of Rhyme On aTheory of Mayan Signali� Poem

from TheCheat ofWords

Catech(I)ism Serbia mon amour Organized Happiness Writing a SandThinking Prohibition: for David Bromige Critique of Cynical Poesis Motive for Mass InstructionManual BroadTopics from TeachableTexts Envoi Future Indicative Pin Yin

Documents

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

ANote on theDesign

Preface

locates the ontological predicament in a crisis ofchronology. We are too late for God but too early for being. Ifaced a less dauntingpredicament in arriving at the present book,which is too short for a colle�ed but too large for a sele�ed. I’veopted then to think of this gathering as a representative worksand as such have guided the choice of material according torepresentativity, relegating ‘quality’, ‘maturity’, ‘desirability’ andsuch to a secondary consideration.Hence, the paucity of materialfrom The Black Debt and The Cheat of Words and the relativepreponderance of visual texts that for the mo� part have notreceivedwide circulation or discussion.This fir� volume colle�swork from previously published books and chapbooks. VolumeTwo will contain much furtive ephemera that made it into printbut eluded gathering into book form.

It seemed useful to provide in the ‘Documents’ se�ion anumber of brief�atements (many taken from anonymous jacketcopy) on the relevant texts. These, of course, are supplied fordocumentary purposes and don’t necessarily refle� my currentthinking. I’ve also included a number of mediating descriptionsof some of the early material which readers are encouraged toignore.

I chose not to include any collaborative work that hasappeared in book form, hence the absence of material fromLegend and the collaborative sessions of In England Now ThatSpring, with bpNichol. Owing to formatting re�raints, themajority of visual texts have been reduced from their originalpage size of ." x ". I’ve also corre�ed obvious typographicerrors in the originals and tacitly emended some pun�uation.

Louis Zukofsky averred that the te� of a poet is to remaina poet thirty years later. Hopefully the cross-sampling of threedecades of my work in these volumes will provide the evidencefor others to judge.

Steve McCa�eryToronto

O�ober ,

from ,

(composed ‒)

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from ,

(composed -)

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from’ ’ “”, (composed -)

fromTen Portraits: one

like the things you a�ually arelike breathing,you can say

if he was performingon you

like breathingthe things you a�ually

are excited,

you could a� as though you weregetting carried,

like breathingthe things a�ually

you have the mo�as afterwardslike breathing

a�ually on you

driving you crazylike a�ually

breathing the mo�in every way

you thinklike the things youa�ually are

excited

if he was performingyou can say it, even if

like breathinga�ually

a big produ�ionwhether

a�uallylike thrilling

you,petting

wasperforming onyou

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six

look its wellnot its thatmen wellor like anything

its that same thingthat works for

its well that its menlookits anything well like the samenot that things work

its well as oranything its not forexample foranything

its well that itsanything

men would the samelikethe well not forwellas its anything

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seven

whatever you dont dogo

put being down thatbeing calledlong and depressivedont make whatever youdo

dont put whatbefore wasbecame whatever the yearsand what turned to meput down that being

what into meturns that

what put downdepressive

was longbeforewhat i came

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eight

when i tell himthisthat i dont even knowwhen i told him

to tell me the parti dont know what he meanswhen he gives methat part

what i tell him totold himthe part ofthe things i’lllearn

when i tell totellwhen i told it tothat part i dont knownot expe�ingto tell thisi dont part

when i told himthis even whenhe gives medont tell

when i learn i’llthinkwhen i tell him he givesthat part

what i toldhimthe things tell

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Newton’s Optics Four

order of red end fir�the violet end of other

co-incident,i caused the naked eyethis order

red as orange colours yellow

green in the naked,blue as indigodeep violet chamberin the dark, the red isfalling onthe red end viewing them

violet in degrees,illuminated violetin the eye the imagedisappeared

i viewedless di�ance greater thanless purple more dividedtwo mixed colours indi�in�

the su�ered violet su�erednothing else than red the purplepaper disappeared

in summerwhen i placed the book

beyond the red,the image changedthe blue passed over letters weakenedby the lightthe scattered indigos in colours

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i described the bright clouds nextthe sunthe body of the indigoa beam of light shut slowlyas i shut the beam in clouds.

white di�ance and

refle�ed

doubted di�erenceof rays

as �ill above

i su�er inno alterationas if abovei fell upon a sheet.

and the same proposition or thingthrough that same

and the same spacefor the its

the same its retarded inthe same passagethrough the proposition

and the same thing inits space through the incidence

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and the same space itsperpendicular the samevelocity

and through the same squaresthat take

the same space forthe its

and the same emergencefrom the demon�rationwill be easy asthe same findings will befound to be samemathematician and

the same propositionaround its space the incidence

its same spaceto find the same reader similar

its same eyes to troubleits velocity

the same speed

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ElementaryTrigonometry

The origin related‘perfe�’ figures navigationpassing the line fromBabylon related so-called

‘perfe�’ figures

scope embraces

by the amount of revolution passing from

the ancient peoples of Babylonof Egypt the so-called ‘perfe�’ figures

area of undergone passing

from Babylon greate� value so-called‘perfe�’ figures

successively occupied by passing so-called

measured amount of revolution

religious observances:

the origin the initial line revolvingbe sele�ed the

Babylon or the so-called ‘perfe�’ figures

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origin seen that angles

not Egypt in religious mediumso-called ‘perfe�’

inve�igations carried on throughthe origin called seconds

‘perfe�’ figures

This was dividedarea of undergone passing

origin seconds

circumangle from

Babylon greate� value in the initial line

measured by �ating isamount of revolution in religious called seconds

shortness and convenience its proximitycircle

let a regulartheir lengths be denoted their

extremitiesto so-called ‘perfe�’ figures

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Hence equiangulartherefore

all circles Babylon

Draw any circleseconds

meet the circumference

by therefore con�ant anglehence

Babylon

The symbol to pass

ExpressBabylon so-called ‘perfe�’ figures

Let angle express

call circular measure Babylon henceminutes traverses

yards survival

how long does he take to run a mile?

hence all circles Babylon

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man runs each minutetraverses yards two places

subtends centre henceflywheel

clock is minuteshence navigation all circlesso-called ‘perfe�’ figures hence

sphereThe Earth all Babylon expresses

henceglobe through meridian

angle traced rider when wheel all circles

revolutions in a second The symbol to

cart-wheel diameter to

Babylon

a man runs

greate� path north latitudetethered �ake

hencedefinition.

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In this chapteracute, measured

abbreviated to Sin

hence Babylon acute

the earth all Sin

Babylon expresses verbal form

definitions of

Art as Sin

the earth will gain no freedomabbreviated towrite down sight

hencein value greater HenceBAC

con�ru�ed then make di�erence.

Con�ru� the following:

data sin from following data:abbreviated so-called ‘perfe�’ hence,

the same side of the common manthe wall of a house the ladder

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conne�ing link between

Babylon

meets In chapter produced expresses

Verbal Art as Sin

a ladder is placed with its foot at a di�ance

Find Sin

find navigation

Find the height of windowall circles

hence

write down all ratiosall joined between

find the middle di�ance

all points all

Babylon.

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Art as aVirtue of the Practical Intellect

Two final bring ourTwo final no aliment

its own spark

notits own no particular

On no virtue genuinely developless simultaneous nameless critical

the gifts assumptionlogical laws,

a mon�rosity

Two final

bring out no alimentits own spark

a new departure in the arts for, in my opinion,a nonsensical assumption

Assumption inevitably in�in� aloneinfallibly Twofinal

bring out no aliment

who is bornwith,

in my opinion,

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i am sorry for poets who are no alimentits own spark

a ma�er habitus

Baudelaire wrote, ‘ sy�ems of a colle�ion notrules spiritual

spiritual being no aliment its own spark

of a Dante

intelle� refle�ion by natureis born Everything, in my opiniona nonsensical assumption

originality blossoming general art usefulpoints more �ill sentence and transfiguredno aliment turn

poet reversal of all psychological mon�rosity

earth are

profitable to art the no aliment intelle�

civilized values blossoming, in my opiniongeneral art all psychological mon�rosity

nonsensical assumption

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of refle�ingthe domain of art ?

nonsensical assumption ?

Baudelaire wrote in

‘ sy�ems that prosodies all

psychological mon�rosity

Grandchild

of God nonsensical assumption

a scrutiny within himselftwo final bring out no aliment

its own sparkpsychological mon�rosity

– a new creative continuesno aliment – therefore true

as regardsrefle�ivity

the domain of art ?

mon�rosity ?

nonsensical assumption

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Newton’s OpticsTwo

and in the blue there are some dots were noticedto the whole light and the few and serving thisserved to allow blue for the colours and thenatural bodies in the colours made blue prismsof this proposition i sufficed to turn blue thewhole light would turn blue

in a very dark chamber at a round hole about theblue and turned an inch broad making the shutthe blue window where i placed the glass shutand the prism whereby turning blue it made shutupwards toward the opposite way to turn blueas it shut a coloured form it turned blue theaxis of the prism passing that shut in the glassthe blue end and the one end in a very dark bluewas followed shut at the other end

about this axis turned between the descent andthe ascent of the axis at the two sides the sideturning shut on both sides of the axis i noted thati turned the blue glass shut upon that place inoted the axis between its contrary blueness fellupon the place i described

in the po�ure as the mo� convenient i noted thelight fall in a very dark blue chamber i am notingthe figure and dimensions of the solar image formedas i noted this the glass and the blue shut in theglass formed on the paper the parallel and thesemicircular ending on its side

oblique and axis i turned to form in others i wouldprogress and regress and oblique �ood �ill i �oodat the entrance of the rays the oblique axis of the sunformed by the glass that shut in this po�ure

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