Spoken World Poetry: bpNichol and Eco-criticism - Katrina Vogan

Katrina Vogan

It is a common trope in nature poetry that language seems to have a limit when describing the non-human. We might cite E.J. Pratt, who wrote in

“Sea-Gulls” that “The language had no simile” (2); or Duncan Campbell Scott, who in “The Height of Land” speaks of an “inarticulate part” (53), and asserts that “no man may tell/the secrecy of that spell/golden and inappellable”(57-59); or Robert Bringhurst in “The Anecdote of the Squid” who describes an “unspoken/word, whose muscular/non-pronunciation the squid/ alone is known to have mastered” (29-32). In this context, there is something distinctly refreshing about the philosophies of Canadian poet bpNichol. A researcher and lover of language, bpNichol’s theories encourage a redefnition of what counts as poetry and an expansion of how poets use language. In his hands, language ceases to be a restriction and becomes an apparatus for discovery. Barrie Phillip Nichol, commonly stylized as bpNichol, was a Canadian poet who became famous for his works in the genres of visual, sound, and concrete poetry. Born in Vancouver in 1944, he would publish “30 chapbooks, books and pamphlets” (Poetry Foundation) before his death at 44 in 1988. He was a “great believer in the power and reach of collaboration” (Barbour), as evidenced by the number of his works dedicated to other fgures of the Canadian art scene. He was a member of the editorial board of Coach House Press and a founder of grOnk literary magazine and Ganglia Press. He was also a member of the sound poetry collective “The Four Horsemen”. He won the Governor General’s Award for poetry in 1970. Nichol’s poetry is notable for its experimental forms. His visual poetry often incorporates cartooning, comic strips, and other forms of illustration. Nichol called this technique “borderblur”, borrowing the term from Dom Sylvester Houédard. Borderblur is “poetry which arises from the interface, from the point between things, the point in which poetry and painting and prose are all coming together” (“Interview: Nicette Jukelevics” 134). A key feature of his aesthetic is a formalized curiosity. In an interview with Nicette Jukelevics, he said “In a way, what I am into is research. I know that, I am into research writing...there is an element of research in most of what I do.” (137) The area that Nichol researched most rigorously was language. Nichol was deeply fascinated with the structures and systems of language: he “constantly explored the dualism of language as both container and content” (“Visual Poetry”). His poetry refects an ethos of experimentation. Nichol isolated variables and repeated procedures in the same way that a scientist

designs an experiment, both over the course of his career as a whole and in individual poems. See, for example, the “probable systems” series of poems:

probable systems 25

the empty place – some signs of the existence of anti-earth Preliminary Notes: apoetic atheistic asymbolic asymmetrical etc. If “a” as a prefx (from the Greek ‘a’ (negative)) means, essentially, ‘anti-’,* is an opposite, then, logically, we are lead to the following… (“Probable Systems 25” 373) Nichol’s “values in writing tend to be governed by sound and the music [he heard] in the spoken word” (“Interview: Nicette Jukelevics” 135) This focus on sound is fundamental to Nichol’s understanding of language structures. It is also fundamental to Nichol’s understanding of how to communicate and represent properly. Nichol’s critical writings references a “Hopi Indian creation myth” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 105) in which a son of spider woman called “palongwahoya” (Ibid.) was given the task to set the world in motion by singing: “when he did this he set the vibratory axis of the earth in motion so that the earth vibrated in tune with the vibratory axis of the universe […] then men ceased singing & retreated into their homes & began to use speech only to communicate between themselves & the world began to vibrate out of tune & the creator destroyed it…what is their creation myth telling us if not that man as an organism must be in harmony with the organic universe he lives in & that the medium thru which that harmony can be achieved is human sound” (Ibid.) It must be emphasized that by “human sound” Nichol does not merely mean “language” or speech. Human sound is also the visceral “howling screaming & crying” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 104); “human sound” is in some ways primordial. “Sound is an expression of the total organismmuch of what we know about a person we know because of the sounds he makesthere is a close link between body & breath between breath & sound between sound & articulation (which can mean conceptualization)” (Ibid.) “take the classical case of your lover saying to your “i love you”meaning here is not conveyed by the words but by the feeling within the words by the nuance & tonethe words themselves have become hackneyed & meaninglessit is what the sound conveys that gives the credibility” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 109)

1

Nichol argues that written communication, especially the advent of type, caused a fundamental shift in communication style. As “the emphasis on sound [is] dropped” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 107), the dominant cultural institutions of “linguistics & philosophy tend to...…remove ambiguity… there is an emphasis on a ONE STATEMENT = ONE MEANING”( “Sound and the Lung Wage” 108); “society looks with fear & suspicion upon a real use of vocal sound & hence multiple meaning” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 110). The pun is “one of the more powerful uses of language” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 108) because it consciously takes advantage of sound’s multiplicity – “because it links sound & meaning (uses similarities in sound to pivot between many meanings)” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 109). The use of the pun “always referred to as ‘the lowest form of humour” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 108) removes some of languages rigidity and formality. In a note titled Sound & Poetry, he writes: “so—d--human so—d--has become dignifed. the scream is a social taboo. music and singing tend to take us far away from our own soun”s.” (27) Nichol views this discomfort with sound and the resultant reliance on rigid language structures as a symptom of a larger cultural discomfort and disconnect with the biological and the organic. In the most extreme cases, this disconnect can become outright fear. In Sound and the Lung Wave, he writes: “man has a strange fear of vowel sound nowhere is this better illustrated than in the tragic story of the gradual extermination of the wild wolveswhat we know of the wolf comes from the SOUND of his how howling & our feelings about it& it is our FEELINGS about it (the terror & loathing) that governs our handling of the wolves.” (104) In a note dated August 28, 1966, Nichol entreats poets to “let the sound out…it’s sound frst. it was sound frst. it will become words later. fnd your own sound. relax. rest. now speak in the calmness of your sound. listen to your own words. fght the withdrawal symptoms by following your words back thru your sound to your core.” (22). To borrow a popular dichotomy: we might classify “language” as cultural institution and “sound” as nature experience. By setting nature and culture at opposites and by separating language from pure sound, we willingly ignore that we ourselves have a bit of the messy, not-easily-classifed organic in us. Nichol’s innovation is to insist that language is not a wholly cultural artifact. Nichol instructs poets to be conscious of the origins of sounds. He is also highly aware that the use of sound might create connection between seemingly disparate objects: humanity and the wolves both howl. It should also be noted that what Nichol is looking for specifcally is harmony, not unity. He seeks connection, commonality or co-existence, not assimilation. Man does not need to become one with the wolves; he needs only not to close himself off from

them. As Nichol wrote in a statement written November 1966: “now that we have reached the point where people have fnally come to see that language means communication and that communication does not just mean language, we have come up against the problem, the actual fact of diversifcation of fnding as many exits as possible from the self (language/communication exits) in order to form as many entrances as possible for the other.” (18) “Human sound...must be released again & the full potential explored” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 111); “we use only a fraction of [human sound’s] potential & if we are to believe the Hopi myth this could be the...world’s downfall” (“Sound and the Lung Wage” 112). There is an urgent need for experimentation. There is also a need to willingly disregard language rules if those language rules are restrictive. Nichol advocates for the discovery of a more holistic communication style that has fully realized representative abilities in both the visual and the auditory senses; and a use of language that is fully cognizant of its roots in organic sound. Nichol inspires critics to pose two sets of questions. The frst set of questions focuses on the aesthetics of the poem. Does the poet or poem seek out the full potential of sound or language? Does the use of sound/language succeed in “fnding as many exits as possible from the self … in order to form as many entrances as possible for the other”? Does the poet succeed in creating “harmony”? The second set of questions are useful specifcally to eco-critics and pertain to the historical relationship between environmental and organic sound, language and meaning. Is language a purely cultural artifact, or is the critic in agreement with Nichol that language is in some way rooted to the natural history of the planet through the sounds we have in common? What is the relationship between our use of language and our use of the planet? There are certain poets who seem to be a natural ft to consider under such a paradigm because they share key values with Nichol; the most obvious are his fellow Canadian concrete poets. Another would be Gerard Manley Hopkins. A fellow researcher and innovator of language, Hopkins invented and codifed “sprung rhythm”. A word list written by the poet as a student is strikingly similar to the probable systems poems: “Grind, gride, gird, grit, groat, grate, greet    ... Greet, grief, wearing, tribulation. Grief possibly connected. Gruff, with a sound as of two things rubbing together. I believe these words to be onomatopoetic. Gr common to them all representing a particular sound. In fact I think the onomatopoetic theory has not had a fair chance. Cf. Crack, creak, croak, crake, graculus, crackle. These must be onomatopoetic.”(Lewis “Extreme Welsh Meter”) A complete comparison of the two author’s philosophies and aesthetics is outside the scope of this paper but would be a natural extension of the theories proposed here.

2

To this point, Nichol has been discussed primarily as a theorist. However, restricting discussion of his work in this way does him a great disservice. Nichol was also a highly regarded poet, and his contributions to nature poetry should not be overlooked. His poem “Pastoral” forces the question of what “counts” as a pastoral poem. “Pastoral” consists of a reproduction of logo of the 4-H Club of Canada, and a dedication to “Mike Ondaatje” – Nichol’s friend and fellow Canadian poet. As the poem is simultaneously poem and illustration, it can be confdently classifed as a borderblur work. The dedication of “Pastoral” locates the poem within the Canadian poetry landscape. It is a clue that the title is meant to be read within a poetic tradition: pastoral is not just an adjective, but is also a genre. In this context, the poem is a visual pun. The 4-H club is a society traditionally associated with youth agricultural learning in rural areas. The four Hs in the logo represent “head, heart, hands, and health”. Put tritely, 4-H members are “modern shepherds”; they are ambassadors for the benefts of a connection with traditional environmental living. As an illustration, the clover shape is more at home with the common use of the word: it is a representation of the rural ideal. As a logo, it recalls the historic roots of the pastoral genre: dialogues between shepherds. It is also an examination of the origins of language. The leaves of the clover grow Hs; language emerges from nature. I will fnish this paper with discussion of an untitled poem which is poured into concrete in bpNichol Lane, on the University of Toronto campus.

3

The poem, which I will henceforth refer to as “A/LAKE/A/LANE…”, is iterative. It is structurally based on repetition and variation. Through each cycle, there is a visual change of one letter, which results in a slight change of sound, which in turn results in a shift of meaning. The lines of the poem are not centre aligned but are instead aligned by their frst vowel, creating a strong line of pure vowel sound which the reader must confront. (As discussed above,

Nichol believed that such vowel sounds were underused). When this poem is read “in the wild”, the physical location of the poem and reader is part of the interpretative experience. The physical linearity of bpNichol Lane itself emphasizes the connection between “A/LANE” and “A/ LINE”. The reader (the “LONE”) is in the lane: what is missing is the “LAKE”. Because “LAKE” is missing, perhaps it is best to read the poem through the lens of “probable systems 25”: where “A” might be used “as a prefx (from the Greek “a –” (negative))…essentially, ‘anti-’…opposite”? Such a reading forces the question: what exactly is the opposite of a lake? “A/LAKE/A/LANE” has no particular sentence structure: the meaning does not come from the relationship between the words as determined by syntax, but from the relationship between the words as determined by sound. The poem is nearly a tongue twister: to read it aloud is to be forced to be conscious of the movement of your tongue as it shapes sound into meaning. The act of reading the poem aloud in the lane is an exercise in hearing the sound of your voice through the city sounds. On August 19, 1966, Nichol wrote: “how do you approach the poem?... where are you going?...you’re behind the words. come out with them. be in them. let the sound come.” (22) The relationship he describes is literalized in “A/LAKE/A/LANE”. Has one approached the poem with purpose? Does the effect change if the poem was discovered by accident? In order to read the poem, one must stand “behind the words”; when the word “LANE” is read, the reader is physically “in” the lane. The poem asks for an examination of proximity and distance: how are a lake and a lane a-like? bpNichol lane and Toronto’s lakefront are separated by at least a 45-minute walk; the lake and lane are separated by one “LONE” letter. Concrete poetry is a genre which is historically underrepresented and underexplored in academic discussion, and Nichol’s inclusion in the eco-critical cannon would help to address this lack. However, the true value in considering Nichol’s work, and the work of his fellow concrete poets, in an eco-critical context lies in their formal innovation – their examination and re-invigoration of language and communication strategies. Nichol’s eschewal of a “dignifed” use of poetic sound and language illuminates the tremendous representative potential of language used without dignity. His writing exposes the commonalities between the cultural structures of language and naturally occurring organic sound. Don McKay writes that “poets are supremely interested in what language can’t do” (“Baler Twine”). Nichol’s contribution to eco-criticism might simply be that Nichol instead interests himself with what sound can do. Sound is not only our link to the wolves: “THE POINT, THE PURPOSE, THE CREATIVE REASON FOR SOUND POETRY IS TO SET THE BODY’S AXIS BACK IN TUNE WITH THE UNIVERSE” (“Sound & Poetry” 27).

Works Cited

Barbour, Douglas. “BpNichol.”The Canadian Encyclopedia, 10 Feb. 2008. “BpNichol.”Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation. Bringhurst, Robert. “Anecdote of the Squid.” Open Wide a Wilderness: Canadian Nature Poems, edited by Nancy Holmes, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2009, pp. 327-328. Lewis, Gwyneth. Extreme Welsh Meter. Poetry Foundation. Hopkins, Gerard Manley. Pied Beauty. Poetry Foundation. McKay, D. “Baler Twine: Thoughts on Ravens, Home, and Nature Poetry”. Studies in Canadian Literature / Études En littérature Canadienne, Vol. 18, no. 1, Jan. 1993. Nichol, bp. Meanwhile: the Critical Writings of BpNichol, edited by Roy Miki, Talonbooks, 2000. Nichol, bp. “Pastoral” a book of variations: love-zygal-art facts, edited by Stephen Voyce, Coach House Books, 2013, pp. 209. Pratt, E J. “Sea-Gulls.” Open Wide a Wilderness: Canadian Nature Poems, edited by Nancy Holmes, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2009, pp. 111–111. Scott, Duncan Campbell. “The Height of Land.” Open Wide a Wilderness: Canadian Nature Poems, edited by Nancy Holmes, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2009, pp. 94–98. “Visual Poetry”BpNichol: We Are Words and Our Meanings Change, Carleton University Archives & Research Collections.

End notes

1. Nichol’s use of capitalisation, punctuation, and spacing was often unconventional. I have striven to reproduce these aspects of his writings as closely as possible. 2. However, at no point does Nichol advocate for the complete abolishment of language structures in favour of pure sound, as this too would remove access to the complete potential of language. In a Letter to the Editor of Open Letter written in 1996, in which he defends visual poetry, he writes: “You speak of rhythm as tho it were only of the OOM PIDDY PIDDY BOOM variety … by OOM PIDDY PIDDY BOOM i don’t mean that you got that old chunka chunka rhythm going but rather that you concentrate purely on sound & ignore the facts that there are other kinds of rhythm.” (17) Sound by itself is not enough to communicate properly either. 3. Nichol had an oeuvre-spanning obsession with the letter H, depicting it over and over in different poetic forms. See his poems “Sonnet Sequence” (a book of variations: love-zygal-art facts 158) “Line Telling” 1,2,3 (a book of variations: love-zygal-art facts 164, 182, 195), “A Study of Context: H” (a book of variations: love-zygal-art facts 185), “I.T.N.U.T.S 8” (a book of variations: love-zygal-art facts 205), “Angel of Mercy” (a book of variations: love-zygal-art facts 237) among many many others.