Tuesday, February 15, 2005

The Cold Poultice

Ron Silliman has his finger on something important today in his reading of Duncan's H. D. Book. There's too much about Duncan I don't know and a lot of theory/theosophy that is likely simply to get in the way of my own. But this "picture that must be put together" in order to "take over the seeing", this "kopóltuš" of a "group of three objects in a certain light", is so orthodox in the Wittgenstein-Kitasono sense that I'm digging for myself that it would be arrogant of me to let it pass unnoticed. Thanks Ron.

(I note that Duncan's "Cold Poultice" reading of "kopóltuš" evokes the "Naked Lunch": "a frozen moment when everyone sees what's on the end of every fork," though an evocation is obviously not a reference.)

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Naked Lunch is an interesting connection. But wouldn't that be Cold Poultry?

Thomas said...

Depends on what part you want to favour (cold & naked, or lunch & poultice/poultry), also, how far you want to depart from the phonetics of the association . . . or perhaps what you have for lunch (ever boil yer ham on rye? chill, and you got yerself a cold but (I'd guess) nutritional poultice of sorts). In any case, it may actually have been the definition rather than the name that clinched it:

The Cold Poultice =def "this picture that must be put together [to take] over mere seeing."

The Naked Lunch =def "[this] frozen moment when everyone sees what's on the end of every fork."

Thanks for the comment. Glad to have you by.