GBH Openvault
Poetry from M.I.T.; Mark Van Doren
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, Mark Van Doren speaks extemporaneously on several themes relating to his own poems. Selecting examples that he has specifically chosen for their relevance to the work of MIT, Van Doren reads original works including "Segments," Axle Song, Men Do Not Leave Things So, The Last Look, and Nights End, many of which come from much earlier volumes, ranging from 7 P.M. and Other Poems (1926) to The Last Look (1937). In the process, Van Doren speaks on a number of pertinent topics, from numbers and numbering to lines and lineation, gesturing more implicitly toward emergent sciences from biochemistry to ecology to particle physics. "My subject," Van Doren concludes, "is the Earth." This recording also includes an extended question and answer period, with Van Doren fielding queries about symbolism in his work, his writing process, and the compatibilityor lack thereofbetween a scientific background and poetic activity. Summary and select metadata for this record was submitted by Jim Cocola.
License Clip
More material may be available from this program at the GBH Archives. If you would like research access to the collection at GBH, please email archive_requests@wgbh.org.
- Series
- Poetry from M.I.T.
- Program
- Mark Van Doren
- Series Description
Radio series. Series release date: 1963
- Program Description
Radio
- Duration
00:50:01
- Asset Type
Broadcast program
- Media Type
Audio
- Subjects
- Artistic Influences
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Poetry readings (Sound recordings)
- Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Van Doren, Mark, 1894-1972
- Poetry
- Art and Science
- Locations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Genres
- Performance for a Live Audience
- Event Coverage
- Topics
- Literature
- Contributors
- Van Doren, Mark, 1894-1972 (Speaker)
- Publication Information
- Posted with permission provided by the Estate of Mark Van Doran
- Citation
- Chicago: “Poetry from M.I.T.; Mark Van Doren,” 01/01/1963, GBH Archives, accessed April 16, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_A88B452ED84143CE88E07AF54974E16D.
- MLA: “Poetry from M.I.T.; Mark Van Doren.” 01/01/1963. GBH Archives. Web. April 16, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_A88B452ED84143CE88E07AF54974E16D>.
- APA: Poetry from M.I.T.; Mark Van Doren. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/A_A88B452ED84143CE88E07AF54974E16D