Brain banjos and moon smoke


I ran a project-based blog called "Heine Site" where I invited writers to write a new poem/piece of writing based on some materials that I created derived from a poem by Heinrich Heine. 

There were many great contributions from a diverse array of writers -- from Erin Moure and rob maclennan to Satu Kaikkonen and Steve Venright. 

A couple of days ago, Bruce MacDonald sent me a poem that he'd written based on the Heine material on what he assumed was my defunct blog. This defunked the blog. I'd like to restart the project. So check out the blog -- the information about how to contribute is on the first blog post -- and then send me a text. 

I'm fascinated by how the same material can be developed differently and evolve into completely different kinds of work.  This is not only variations on a theme, but not an object lesson, but a process lesson. A way of seeing new kinds of proceedings, of thinkings, of imaginings.

Comments

M.D. Dunn said…
Great idea for a blog. I do have a small criticism about the image, however. I apologize for my nitpickery. Isn't that a braindolin and not a brainjo? It's been quite some time since I've seen either close up, or had to deal with any brain-related matter, but it seems to me a misnomer, a beautiful misnomer.
gary barwin said…
In fact, with eight strings, you are correct! It isn't a banjo, but a banjolin -- a banjo/mandolin hybrid, a fact pointed out to me by my son immediately after I'd finished creating the image.

But may the brain, too, have extra strings. May the brain be hybrid, misnamed. May it think like something else. A mindolin. Thoughtspeare. A guiltar. An encephalaphone. A Stratoconceptualizor. May there be conceptual shredding, remarkable pull-offs and slide dogs, indeed everything under the Kitchen Think.
M.D. Dunn said…
Hear, hear & Huzzah!
Long live the mindolin.
Blessings to the brainjo.
Anonymous said…

In fact, the encephalaphone does exist. It's a brainwave controlled instrument:

http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/brain-music-encephalophone-neurology-university-washington-dxarts/

Which is kind of like Alvin Lucier's "Music for Solo Performer" except the brainwaves control a synthesizer rather than percussion. Maybe someone can hook up a brainwave apparatus to a real banjolin at some point.

endwar