bend of bay features a changing selection of prose, poetry, images and other projects. It takes its name from the opening line of Finnegans Wake by James Joyce:
riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.
“How far my efforts agree with those of other philosophers I will not decide.
Indeed what I have here written makes no claim to novelty in points of detail; and therefore
I give no sources, because it is indifferent to me whether what I have thought has already
been thought before me by another.”
Then two remained with not much to say, with not much to say at all. They sat together, day after day, sometimes side by side and sometimes across from one another, day after day, with nothing much to say, nothing much to say at all. Still they spoke, spoke to one another, spoke day after day. It passed the time. Confirmed each to the other that the other was alive, each to the other. They sat together, and spoke, and heard. They sat and spoke and heard. They sat and spoke and heard and so are content.
Carlos Vilardebo’s 1961 film of Calder’s circus, featuring the master of wire sculpture and inventor of the mobile’s fully functional circus, is streamed in full below. More information on Calder.
Our page announcing an upcoming realization of Project Finnegans Wake has been updated. The date and time will be set when about forty people express interest. Sign up now by leaving a comment on this post or visit the project page for more information.
In the United States, the most common identifiable cause of dilated cardiomyopathy is extensive coronary artery disease. Such coronary artery disease results in an inadequate blood supply to the heart muscle, which leads to permanent injury and death of heart muscle. As a result, the heart cannot pump as forcefully. The dead heart muscle is replaced by fibrous (scar) tissue. The remaining uninjured heart muscle then stretches and thickens (hypertrophies) to compensate for the lost pumping action. The more the heart muscle is stretched, the more forcefully it contracts or pumps but only up to a point. After that point, the stretching and thickening do not adequately compensate, and dilated cardiomyopathy with heart failure develops which leads to permanent injury and death of heart muscle. As a result, the heart cannot pump as forcefully. The dead heart muscle is replaced by fibrous (scar) tissue. The remaining uninjured heart muscle then stretches and thickens (hypertrophies) to compensate for the lost pumping action. The more the heart muscle is stretched, the more permanent injury and death of heart muscle. As a result, the heart cannot pump as forcefully. The dead heart muscle is replaced by fibrous (scar) tissue. The remaining uninjured heart muscle then stretches and the most common identifiable cause is extensive artery disease to compensate for the lost pumping action.
James Joyce reads the Anna Livia Plurabelle episode of Finnegans Wake. A sound file is also available from UbuWeb.More Finnegans Wake on bend of bay, including recommendations for readers new to Joyce and the Wake, can be found here.
Mick there, falling. Standing on the railing, then falling. Arms out, deep breath, hold it, holding it. Raising his head and closing his eyes, squeezing them shut tight. Rocking. Letting his body drift forward. Maybe having second thoughts just a little too late, arching his back to regain his balance but it is too late and he slips from the railing. Cars passed behind him. Headlights sometimes struck him as he stood, then fell over. Such a long way down. Silence. Wind in his ear. Then a crack when he hit the surface. Probably didn’t mean to do it, didn’t really mean to do it. A dare. Meant to stop himself, wanted to stop. Mick on the rocks. The same thing. Falling forward then tucking himself into a ball as he fell to make a bigger splash. Cannonball. Jackknife. Let’s have a splashing contest. He hit the water with a thunk and the spray shot straight toward them. Mick had good aim. His jackknife was the best. He always hit the water at just the right angle and got you even when you were thirty feet away. His intention on the bridge. Cars on the bridge. None stopped, saw him fall.
A member of bend of bay recently participated in a recording of John McDonough’s John Cage tribute “Landscape Under Construction.” This recording will be part of “The Radio Pieces,” a two CD set forthcoming from mode records. In addition to Landscape Under Construction, the set will include Radio Music, Imaginary Landscape #4, and world premiere recordings of Speech and WBAI.
Landscape Under Construction is performed using boom boxes. In this particular realization, all CDs were performances released as part of mode records’ Complete John Cage Edition. Performers were given a score which generally contained instructions as to when to start or pause the CD, or raise or lower the volume. Some parts required more decisions on the performer’s part or prior preperation. A clock served as conductor.
More pictures from the session can be found on this Flikr page by vidiot, from which this image was taken.
In the 1980s I spent a lot of time reading and thinking about Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, while, over the same period, listening to the music of John Cage and reading his books. The two came together in a few performance projects which, for a variety of reasons, have never been realized. They were published by the The Abiko Quarterly in the early 1990’s. Versions of both can be found on bend of bay’s“projects” page.
bend of bay is setting up a realization of Section II of Projects Finnegans Wake. This section calls for participants to read assigned sections of the text at a specific time. The reading is performed at a location of the participant’s choosing. Participation doesn’t require any particular knowledge of Joyce or previous experience with Finnegans Wake. All that is required is interest in taking part in an event that attempts to bring Finnegans Wake to the world in as inclusive a manner as possible. Its premise is that Joyce meant the work to be read and enjoyed. Participants will also be asked to provide some form of documentation of their performance by means of photographs, video or other recording. This should be submitted along with an indication of the location at which the reading took place. Documentation will be made available on this web site.
The length of the passage assigned will depend on how many readers we line up. If we had thirty readers the entire performance would take about thirty or fourty minutes. If the initial performance is successful or interest is particularly strong, we may repeat it or move on to Section I.
If you are interested in participating, please leave a comment on this page. As soon as I receive at least sixty expressions of interest, the date and time will be set and readers will be asked to confirm their availability along with an indication of where they will read. I chose sixty to account for the possibility of some having a change of heart or simply not being available at the appointed time.
Please note that comments will not be published so feel free to ask as many questions as you like. You can also use bend of bay’scontact form or write info@bendofbay.org.
This page will be updated as details are finalized.
If you have never read Finnegans Wake, the full text is available here.
