Zukofsky’s Texts 

 

For an overview of the state of LZ’s texts, see Mark Scroggins’ “Note on Texts” in Louis Zukofsky and the Poetry of Knowledge (1998). Below is an incomplete list of errata that have been recorded so far, followed by a list of textual variants for “A” 1-8.

 

“A”

 

Errata designated (CZ) were reported by Celia Zukofsky in Paideuma 8.3 (Winter 1979): 585.

 

1.3.27	were [should be] are (CZ)
1.5.25	lamposts [should be] lampposts (Scroggins)
6.25.8	soldiers!” [should be] soldiers!’
6.36.19	they [should be] thy (CZ)
7.40.19	fellow [should be] follow (?)
7.42.13	Bother [should be] “Bother
8.75.7	Make [should be] Made
8.88.27	hat [should be] hath (CZ)
8.93.9	Jenny [should be] Johnny
8.94.14	illusions..” [should be] illusions . . “
8.103.24	Molinare [should be] Molinaro
8.104.26	shard [should be] shards
12.138.20	I [should be] it (CZ)
12.164.28	“Plato and…” [should be] “Plato” went first and then “Aristotle.” (CZ)
12.167.31	check [should be] cheek
12.171.4	Is is [should be] Is it
12.171.21	widsom [should be] wisdom
12.172.31	be [should be] he
12.191.10	inalnd [should be] inland
12.214.30	fact” [should be] “fact”
12.251.28	Is is [should be] It is or Is it (?)
12.261.17	his and [should be] and his (CZ)
13.277.7	flourescents [should be] fluorescents (CZ)
14.357.13	them [should be] thim (?)
21.446.11	(broken type) [should be] festers (CZ)
21.456.8	(broken type) [should be] traction (CZ)
22.508.20	grammer [should be] grammar
22.510.19	every yet [should be] ever yet (Leggott)
23.555.36	desért [should be] desert (CZ)

 

Collected Shorter Poems

 

Anew 15

85.1

Not [should be] No

 

Textual Variants in “A”

 

LZ carefully revised most of the pre-World War II movements of “A”, specially “A” 1-6 and -8, subsequent to their original printings. In later movements, LZ seems to have done little more than correct printing errors between journal and book publications, although this has yet to be systematically verified. “A” 1-6 were revised in the summer of 1942, while “A”-8 was less extensively revised in Oct. 1957 as LZ prepared the text for the publication of “A” 1-12 (1959).

 

Characteristically, LZ’s revisions are largely a matter of cutting and concision, sometimes rearrangement, but only rarely rewording, much less adding to the earlier text. Particularly in “A” 1-7, which was published complete in An “Objectivists” Anthology (1932), LZ went meticulously through the earlier text, making numerous changes on the level of punctuation and lineation, as well as cutting a number of substantial passages. In the case of “A”-4, he rearranged the collaging of the segments in the majority of the movement. Nevertheless, on the whole these revisions are in the nature of tightening the poetic text rather than a significant rethinking of the poetic presentation. It is noticeable that he tends to delete the more personal details in the early movements, as well as toning down the more explicit references to the Soviet Union, the Communist Party and its discourse in “A”-8, although it is equally evident that he makes no effort to downplay the Marxism and Leninism of the original version. Interestingly, some of the deletions in “A” 1-6 and even a few in “A”-8 cut out repetitions that were originally intended to imagistically and thematically bind together the sequence, but subsequent developments appear to have encouraged LZ to conceive of the movements as relatively autonomous, although the idea of the poem recycling itself recurs intermittently.

 

The textual variants listed below compare the text of the final edition of “A” (1978) with that of “A” 1-7 as they appear in An “Objectivists” Anthology (OA), with page and line numbers referring to the former. For “A”-8 the comparative text is that published in New Directions 1938. Other early printings of individual movements that have been examined are listed at the head of each movement (see Printings of “A” for full listing) and are assumed to follow the OA text, unless otherwise noted. As far as I can tell, LZ did not significantly revise “A”-10, but at present I do not have access to the original printing in Calendar: An Anthology of 1941. The OA printing was done in France and reflects European punctuation conventions in putting spaces before colons, semicolons, question and exclamation marks, as well as putting punctuation outside quotation marks (although not entirely consistent on this score); this has been standardized to American practice below. Except in obvious cases, no effort has been made to determine which line breaks are due simply to insufficient right margin since it is extremely difficult to second guess LZ’s practice in such cases, or what might be due to the decisions by the compositor.

 

All material that appears below is copyright © Paul Zukofsky, is used by permission, and may not be quoted by third parties without the express written permission of the copyright holder.

 

“A”-1

An “Objectivists” Anthology, ed. LZ. Le Beausset, France and NY: To, Publishers, 1932.

Pagany 3.3 (Summer 1932).

 

Title      In OA the first six movements are presented in pairs with titles: First and Second Movements: "Come, ye Daughters"

1.2        Round of fiddles] justified left; Pagany printing as in final text.

1.2        Bach.] Bach— / The double chorus.

1.3        Come, ye daughters,] “Come, ye daughters, [throughout italicized lines from the libretto of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion are also in quotations marks].

1.4            dresses,] dresses

1.5            Whom?] whom?—” [Pagany printing: Whom?—”].

1.7        How?] How?—”

1.8        His legs blue, tendons bleeding,] His legs, blue tendons bleeding, / Tinsel over his ribs

1.9        holy!] holy—”

1.10      Black full dress of the audience.] Black, black full dress in the audience—

1.11      Dead century, where are your motley] Dead century where is your motley,

1.13      Easter] indented.

1.14            Matronly flounces, starched, heaving,] Matronly flounces, / —starched, heaving, / Belly freighted—boom!

1.16            Where’s] where’s

1.17      “Ah, there’s the Kapellmeister / in a terrible hurry—] “Ach, dort eilt sich der Keppellmeister—”

1.19      Johann Sebastian, twenty-two / children!”] “Johann Sebastian! (twenty-two / children!)”.

1.21      The Passion According to Matthew,] According to Matthew,

1.23            Rendered at Carnegie Hall, / Nineteen twenty-eight, / Thursday evening, the fifth of April. / The autos parked, honking.]
             Repeated here at Carnegie,
That was Thursday, ‘twenty-eight, the fifth evening
                        of April,
     April, and autos honking outside, all those
     that were parked there.

2.1        A German lady there said: / (Heart turned to Thee) / “I, too, was born in Arcadia.”] (“Hearts turned to thee”) / German lady / Auch ich war in Arkadien geboren. [Pagany printing has no stanza break following].

2.7        “Not that exit, Sir!”] “No suh! / Not past that exit, Zukofsky!” / “Agh, Satan!    Agh—gh!”

2.8            molting,] gradual molting, [separate line].

2.9        As tho blood stained] Blood staining

2.11      “Not that exit!” / “Devil! Which?”—] “Not past that exit, Zukofsky!” / “Devil! what!—?”

2.13      Blood and desire to graft what you desire, / But no heart left for boys’ voices. / Desire longing for perfection.]
“Blood of your desire to graft what you desire,
Consider the Angels who sang in the boys’ choir
God’s cherubs,
If seen near the ocean, stripped white skins, red
                                                coat of the sunburn,—
They have mothers.”
“No, Satan, not heart that bled
Over boys’ voices, nor blood
Flowing for lost sons,—
I have harbored perfection.” [no stanza break following].

2.16      stars] the stars

2.17      Spits across] Spits free across

2.18      the spittle drowning worlds—] and his spit seems to drown worlds,

2.19            stepped free] passed free

2.21      The usher faded thru “Camel” smoke;] Asmodeus fading to “Camel” smoke,

2.22      The next person seen thru it, / Greasy, solicitous, eyes smiling minutes after, / A tramp’s face,] Greasy, solicitous, eyes longing minutes after, / Smiling, a tramp’s face,

2.29      About me,] But about me,

3.2        High necks turned for chatter:] Stopping of turned necks for chatter:

3.4        He admired so our recessional architecture—] It was he who admired so our recessional / architecture,

3.7            mother?] mother,

3.9            perused] had perused

3.10      Patrons of poetry, business devotees of  arts and letters, / Cornerstones of waste paper,— / “Such lyric weather”— / Chirping quatrain on quatrain; / And the sonneteers—when I consider / again and over again— / Immured holluschickies pesisting thru polysyllables,]
The immature pants that filled chairs
Patrons of poetry, business temples erected to
                                                arts and letters,
                                    The cornerstones of waste
                                                     paper,
“Such lyric weather!” chirping
Quatrain on quatrain, empty and
The sonneteers when I consider again and over
                                                     again
                                    Limp wet blanket pentameters,
Immured holluschickies, dead honor men
Persisting thru polysyllables,

3.17            accretions;] accretions,

3.18            “mélange adultère de tout,”] “mélange adultere de tout”. [Pagany printing has comma].

3.19      Down East, Middle West, and West coast flaunters / of the Classics and of / Tradition] The Americanizers of the Classics, / Tradition!

3.22      (A word to them of great contours)—] (To them word of great contours),

3.23      Who sang of women raped by horses.] And raping women with horses.

3.25            Lamenting,] Lamenting contemporaneousness,

3.27      are again] again

3.29      next editorial about, Carat,] next, editorial about Carat, [Pagany printing: next editorial about, Carat?].

3.32      It was also Passover.] And I, / Upon the feast of that Passover, [Pagany printing: And I.].

4.1        The blood's tide like the music.] The bloods' tide as the music’s [Pagany printing: blood's].

4.2        A round of fiddles playing / Without effort—] A thousand fiddles as beyond effort / Playing—playing

4.4        As into the fields and forgetting to die.] Into fields and forgetting to die,

4.8        effort—] effort, playing—

4.9        traces,] traces

4.10      Not dying, and leaving no traces.] Not dying, yet leaving no traces. / Nor any conscious effort, [no stanza break following].

4.11      Not] Nor

4.11      paper] paper.

4.12      to remember—] to remember / (Three there stealing in through the music). [Pagany printing: to remember / (Three there stealing in thru the music / As pioneers moccasined stealing in thru the music).

4.13      “There are] Atheling—“There are

4.16      And quite differently to be sung";] And quite differently to be sung:" [Pagany printing has italics and semicolon].

4.17      “I heard] Carlos—“I heard

4.18            inside";] inside:" [Pagany printing has semicolon].

4.19            “Everything which] Estlang—“Everything which

4.22      wide awake, calling] the most wide awake / “Weary, broken bodies,” calling [in Pagany printing quoted phrase italicized].

4.23      earth,] earth [no stanza break following].

4.24      Cold stone above Thy head. / Weary, broken bodies. / Sleeping: their eyes were full of sleep.]
A thousand fiddles as beyond—
                        “Cold stone above thy head—”
                        Trainmen chanting
And again:
                        “He came and found them—
                        Sleeping, indeed their eyes were
                                                            full of sleep”.
Good night . . .

4.27      The next day the reverses] So the next day the reverses,

4.28      taunt:] taunt,

4.29      flower-cell, liveforever, / before the eyes, perfecting.] flower-cell in flower, live-forever / before the eyes, perfecting,—

5.1        —I thought that was finished:] I thought that was finished, Zukofsky,

5.5        looked for] has been looking for

5.6            cellar—] cellar. [stanza break following].

5.7            Remembering love in a taxi:] Remembering what? / Love, in your lap, in a taxi, unwilling—

5.9        great numbers] the greatest number

5.9            streets—] streets,

5.11            employment’;] employment,’

5.13      Yeh,] Yeah!

5.15      And] While

5.15            confrères] confreres

5.18            Pointing to a chart, between bites.] To a chart pointing, and between bites.

5.20            engineer,] engineer, [Pagany printing italicized].

5.21      Single handed,] Single-handed,

5.25      Dogs cuddling to lampposts, / Maybe broken forged iron,] these lines are placed as independent stanza immediately before 5.19: Dogs cuddling to lampposts / Lonely—look—what—maybe broken forged iron—. [Pagany printing has no final period or following stanza break].

5.28            vanished?] vanished. [no stanza break following] [Pagany printing has question mark].

 

“A”-2

An “Objectivists” Anthology, ed. LZ. Le Beausset, France and NY: To, Publishers, 1932.

Poetry 40.1 (April 1932).

 

6.1        —Clear music—] The clear music— / Zoo-zoo-kaw-kaw-of-the-sky, [Poetry printing has period].

6.2        calling you] mentioning

6.3        such things,] Poetry printing has period.

6.4        Music,] Old music,

6.7        —Kay, in the sea / There with you, / Slugs, cuttlefish,]
Damn you, Kay,
What do you, Kay, know about it!
Wherever always we are
Crowds the sea in upon us,
Slivers of slugs from the seaweed,
Tossed cuttlefish shouldering

6.10      Ball of imperialism, wave games, nations,] Ball of imperialism, / Wave-games of its stanchions: nations—

6.11            armaments, drilling,] armaments drilling—

6.12      Old religions— / Epos:] Churning of old religions, epos,

6.14      One Greek] Agamemnon

6.14      two wives] two

6.16      Those epopt caryatids,] The women, epopt, caryatid,

6.17      world-cornice.] world- / cornice, / “Please now and thank you,”

6.18            (Agamemnon). Very much like the sailors. / Lust and lust. Ritornelle.] (Agamemnon), very much like the sailors, / Lust and lust ritornelle.

6.20      All! Blue trouser seats—each alike a square inch—] Tutti! the blue square inch trouser seats

6.21      thru] Poetry printing: through.

6.22      torus,] torus

6.24      “Hi, Ricky!”] Ai-yuh, look at boy Ricky