Origins and Meanings: Primitive and Archaic Poetry

Poets Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson MacLow, and Rochelle Owens come together to recite translations of “primitive” and archaic stories of creation, nature, death, and mourning. Sources of the poems include indigenous groups such as the Gabon Pygmies, the Maori, a number of Native American peoples, classical Indian texts, and various Australian and African peoples. This collection of poems was performed at the Hardware Poets Playhouse and the Metro Coffeehouse in New York City in 1964. Liner notes contain the poem texts and biographical information about the poets.

Track Listing

101	Creation Accounts - Uitoto Indian Myth / From the Book of Enoch / A Maori Poem on the Creation of Light / From the Chhandoga Upanishad Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	05:25
102	Definitions - Poem for the Sun (Eskimo) / Series of Aztec Definitions Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	06:05
103	Descriptions (Eskimo) / Descriptions (Australian) / Descriptions (Gabon Pygmy) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	02:08
104	Elephant Hunter Take Your Bow (Gabon Pygmy) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	01:53
105	The War God's Horse Song (Navajo) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	01:12
106	He Is Firm and Strong (Yoruba, Nigeria) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:33
107	To the God of Fire as a Horse (Rigveda) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:57
108	The Stars (Algonquin Indian) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:41
201	The Flight of the Quetzalcoatl (Aztec) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	06:11
202	When Hare Heard of Death (Winnebago) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	01:01
203	Poem from the Middle Kingdom (Egypt) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	01:49
204	Ayacucho Dance Song (Peru) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:27
205	She Has Gone from Us / The Blowfly (Australia) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	02:06
206	Lamentation (Fox Indian) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:32
207	Death Song (Papago) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:15
208	Three Songs (Chippewa) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:26
209	For Tlacahuepan (Aztec) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:34
210	Song of the Butterfly (Chippewa) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:12
211	Some Attributes of the Book of Changes Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	03:35
212	Lament (Gabon Pygmy) Jerome Rothenberg, David Antin, Jackson Mac Low, and Rochelle Owens	00:51