The Grand Piano

Kit Robinson sent me a copy of The Grand Piano part 5. As I understand the project, the same ten contributors will appear in each issue, each time in a different order. The sequence of this issue happens to be Tom Mandel, Ron Silliman, Barrett Watten, Ted Pearson, Steve Benson, Rae Armantrout, Bob Perelman, Kit Robinson, Carla Harryman, and Lyn Hejinian. There's a nice chart in the back of the book that explains the sequence of each volume. I read it over the weekend and I'm still attempting to articulate a response. I did find it insightful, historical, autobiographical, intellectually stimulating. Grand Piano 5 is a provocative piece that raises a lot of interesting questions about collaboration, community, writing, authorship, etc. particularly for someone of my generation. I've been reading all of these poets for the last decade, but the Bay Area moment addressed in this book (1975-1980) finds me far from California in elementary school on the East Side of Providence, R.I. That said, I've always been inclined to take each of these poets at their word, on their own terms, and generally resist tendencies towards generalizations about movements, schools, communities, etc. Grand Piano tells another story, but not surprisingly, I'm left with more questions than answers about this project.

For example, I want to be faithful to the title but to do so would require some serious re-thinking about the words 'experiment' (as someone pointed out in this installment) and 'autobiography.' If your library is alphabetized, as mine is, how to decide where to place it on the shelf? Perhaps under 'Mandel' since
his piece comes first, 'Watten' as publisher, or 'Robinson', since he sent the book my way? This isn't an issue of trivial organization, but rather an issue of identity. I entered, approached the book much in the way I would read a magazine or anthology featuring multiple authors, that is, by increment rather than the continuous womb to tomb reading that most autobiographies encourage. "So much the better," as Kit put it in his contribution.

That said, I will pick up the four volumes that preceded this one and suppose it will be equally interesting to see if and how chronology (or lack thereof) factors into the sequence of the editions and the conceptual / formal factors at work in the text. You can order individual copies from SPD for $12.95 or pick up a subscription at a discount for all ten volumes by sending a check for $90 to Lyn Hejinian, 2639 Russell Street, Berkeley, CA 94705. More information available at Barrett Watten's homepage.

PS. Tom Mandel directed me to the Grand Piano site this afternoon where you'll find more info. about the project and contributors.