Poetry from M.I.T.; Robert Penn Warren

Part of From the Vault. Part of Nine Poets Walk Into An Institute of Technology.

01/01/1963

In this recording, one of several poetry readings and talks from M.I.T. that aired on WGBH in 1963, Robert Penn Warren offers some biographical retrospections before reading several recent poems. Acknowledging that he "considered the invitation to come to M.I.T. with some trepidation," Warren references C.P. Snow's The Two Cultures, but indicates that he himself been interested in chemistry as a youth, and had initially intended to major in chemistry as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University. Explaining that poets "cultivate ignorance" and that poems are written "to find out what you think or feel" and "to be alone with that unshaped inside fuzziness," Warren contrasts the way of poetry and the way of science, reading a series of poems that obliquely address this distinction, including "Eidolon"; "Original Sin: A Short Story"; a pair of poems from the sequence "To a Little Girl, One Year Old, in a Ruined Fortress," titled Sirocco" and "The Child Next Door"; "Country Burying, 1919"; "Dragon Country: To Jacob Boheme"; a poem from the "Garland for You" sequence, titled "Man in the Street"; "Harvard '61: Battle Fatigue"; and three poems from the sequence in process tentatively titled "Delight," titled "Into Broad Daylight," "Something is Going To Happen," and "Not to be Trusted." The most provocative moment of the reading comes in Warren's performance of a poem titled "So You Agree With What I Say? Well, What Did I Say?" In prefacing this piece, Warren says: "here's a little poem that has an IBM machine in it; in fact it ends with one. You can take that as a tribute if you like." Summary and select metadata for this record was submitted by Jim Cocola.

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Series: Poetry from M.I.T.
Program: Robert Penn Warren
Series Description: Radio series. Series release date: 1963
Program Description: Radio
Duration: 00:52:59
Asset Type: Broadcast program
Media Type: Audio
Subjects: Cambridge, Massachusetts; Poetry; Poetry readings (Sound recordings); United States Poet Laureate; Art and Science; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Warren, Robert Penn, 1905-1989; Artistic Influences
Locations: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Genres: Performance for a Live Audience; Event Coverage
Topics: Literature
Contributors: Warren, Robert Penn, 1905-1989 (Speaker)
Citation: Chicago: “Poetry from M.I.T.; Robert Penn Warren,” 01/01/1963, GBH Archives, accessed December 30, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_7C9118CD12D042D6AE795D1BAEBB538B.; MLA: “Poetry from M.I.T.; Robert Penn Warren.” 01/01/1963. GBH Archives. Web. December 30, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_7C9118CD12D042D6AE795D1BAEBB538B>.; APA: Poetry from M.I.T.; Robert Penn Warren. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_7C9118CD12D042D6AE795D1BAEBB538B

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Poetry from M.I.T.; Robert Penn Warren