Dear List

I came across another Duncan reference to tone leading of vowels.

It is in Duncan's essay "The Lasting Contribution of Ezra Pound" in "Robert Duncan: A Selected Prose" edited by Robert J. Bertholf.

In it Duncan seems to attribute the tone leading concept to Dallam Simpson  who, Duncan writes, issued a Manifesto I in "Four Pages".  Duncan quotes this Manifesto in his essay.  Part 2 of that Manifesto reads  "2) If the verse-makers of our time are to improve on their immediate precursors, we must be vitally aware of the duration of syllables, of melodic coherence, and of the tone leading of vowels.".  Simpson probably got the concept of tone leading from Duncan who in turn got it from Pound on a post card as Burt Hatlin reported.  Duncan does not say and for some reason allows the reader to think the concept is Simpson's.  The idea of duration of syllables obviously (to me at least) originates with Pound's quantitative verse experiments and thoughts on verse timings.  Duncan does introduce the Manifesto by saying of it, "I have always thought of as Poundian in origin".

Duncan in this essay also seems to suggest that Pound and Duncan's circle of poets were using a metric of phrases where the phrase takes the place of the syllable.  Duncan writes, "Pound's craft takes the shape of the phrase as its base".  This may come as old news to many of you but it was an eye opener to me.  Suddenly a light began to dawn over Pound's insistence "to compose in the sequence of the musical phrase".  It is still dawn and it might be a false dawn but hope reigns for understanding. :>)

Duncan also makes reference to vowels and consonants in his poem "An owl is an only bird of poetry".  Vowels are compared to the fluttering of an owl and "The consonants are a church/ of hands interlocking".  Duncan provides sketches for clarification.  In one an owl head is peering out of the wrapped fingers of two hands.

I would enjoy comments from any and all who have seen this essay and poem by Duncan.

Rick Seddon
McIntosh, NM