A CARAFE, THAT IS A BLIND GLASS -- The Versioning Machine 5.0

Bibliographic Information

A CARAFE, THAT IS A BLIND GLASS

Original Source

"A CARAFE, THAT IS A BLIND GLASS" is transcribed from the 1914 Marie Claire edition of Tender Buttons. "Reading a Selection from Tender Buttons" is transcribed from Language no. 6, and the audio of Jackson Mac Low is housed by and used with permission from PennSound.

Witness List

Witness reading_poem: Mac Low Reading, 1990
Witness poem: A CARAFE, THAT IS A BLIND GLASS
Witness essay: Reading a Selection from Tender Buttons

Textual Notes

critIntro:

This edition combines "A CARAFE THAT IS A BLIND GLASS," the first section of Gertrude Stein's Tender Buttons, originally published in 1914, with an essay on the section by Jackson Mac Low, published in Language No. 6 and audio of Mac Low reading the poem in Charles Bernstein's poetry seminar in 1990. It is intended as a demonstration of the Versioning Machine 5.0's audio alignment features.

Electronic Edition Information:

Responsibility Statement:

Transcribed, encoded, and edited by Daniel Carter

Publication Details:

Published by Daniel Carter.

The audio of Jackson Mac Low's reading is used here with permission from PennSound. The text of Mac Low's essay, "Reading a Selection from Tender Buttons," is used with permission from Charles Bernstein.

Encoding Principles

Transcriptions are encoded in TEI(P5)-conformant XML using a schema created for the Versioning Machine 5.0.

Critical Introduction

Version reading_poem: Mac Low Reading, 1990

A CARAFE,

THAT IS A

BLIND GLASS

A kind

in glass and

a cousin,

a spectacle

and nothing strange

a single hurt color

and an arrangement

in a system

to pointing.

All this and

not ordinary,

not unordered

in not resembling.

The difference

is spreading.

A carafe. A carafe

that is a

blind glass.

A kind

in glass

and a cousin,

a spectacle

and nothing strange

a single hurt color

and an arrangement

in a system

to pointing.

All this and

not ordinary,

not unordered

in not resembling.

The difference

is spreading.

Anyway, reading a selection from Tender Buttons.

I start reading

"A CARAFE

THAT IS

A BLIND GLASS."

I go from word to word, seeing the shapes of the printed words, hearing the sounds inwardly, noting rhymes, assonances, alliterations. Where an image is suggested, I see it inwardly.

I go from word to word, seeing the shapes of the printed words, hearing the sounds inwardly, noting rhymes, assonances, alliterations. Where an image is suggested, I see it inwardly. I hear the alliteration

"kind,"

"cousin,"

"color,"

with the near-alliteration

"glass."

The rhyme in

"strange" &

"arrangement."

The alliteration of s's:

"spectacle,"

"strange,"

"single,"

"system,"

"spreading."

The assonance of short i's that binds the three sentences

("system,"

"this,"

"difference")

as does the ending of each sentence with an "ing" (which is reinforced by the short e's in

"resembling"

"spreading").

There are also the 2nd sentence's rhymes (

"ordinary,"

"unordered")

& the alliterative sequence

"spectacle,"

"pointing,"

"spreading."

The three sentences are a bound system of sounds. But can I specify anything beyond the sounds? To use a phrase I first heard from Spencer Holst, it gives "the sensation of meaning," but can I connect the meanings of the words as readily as I find their sounds connected? Beyond the obvious fact that the carafe is made of glass, I can see only certain connections of meanings:

"a blind glass,"

"a kind

in glass"

(I didn't notice consciously the

"blind"-

"kind"

rhyme before), & then

"a spectacle"

(something seen or to be seen, but also

"spectacles" are

"glasses").

Then

"nothing strange,"

"not ordinary,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

"difference"

form a meaning sequence. Another sequence of meanings:

"blind,"

"spectacle"

(with the intervening

"glass"'s

causing the ambiguity of

"spectacle"

which might not have been as apparent without them), &

"color,"

that seems to carry over to

"arrangement,"

"pointing,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

& even to

"spreading."

The sequence

"kind"

(with its two meanings),

"cousin,"

"nothing strange"

seems opposed to

"not ordinary,"

"not resembling,"

"The difference

is spreading.":

a meaning movement from near-sameness to greater & greater difference.

"A single hurt color"

is the most emotional phrase, altho

"blind glass"

with its implied oxymoron (glass is usually transparent—at least we first think of transparency when we hear the word

"glass"

—&

when it is made into spectacle lenses, it helps people to see better) is perhaps even more so. Maybe the

"single hurt color"

is the blackness of blindness. The whole poem suddenly seems to be about seeing!

But what of the

"carafe"

that starts it all? Why is it

"a blind glass"?

Ordinarily a carafe is one of the least

"blind"

—that is, the most transparent-of glass containers. It usually contains plain water. The OED defines it as "a glass water-bottle for the table, bedroom, etc." Its Romance forms (F. carafe, It. caraffa, Neapol. carrafa (a measure of liquids), Sp. & Pg. garrafa, Sicil. carabba) are related by some authorities to the Pers. garabah, a large flagon, & the Arabic gharafa, to draw or lift water.

Why, then, is this carafe a blind glass?

Is the whole poem then a

"pointing"

from the ordinary transparent carafe

("nothing strange")

to one

"not ordinary"

—one that is

"blind"

—an orderly

("not unordered")

movement

"spreading"

from transparency & clarity thru the

"single hurt color"

to the implied darkness & opacity of blindness, a movement condensed & made explicit in the title?

READING A SELECTION FROM TENDER BUTTONS

I start reading

"A CARAFE

THAT IS

A BLIND GLASS."

I go from word to word, seeing the shapes of the printed words, hearing the sounds inwardly, noting rhymes, assonances, alliterations. Where an image is suggested, I see it inwardly.

"kind,"

"cousin,"

"color,"

with the near-alliteration

"glass."

The rhyme in

"strange" &

"arrangement."

The alliteration of s's:

"spectacle,"

"strange,"

"single,"

"system,"

"spreading."

The assonance of short i's that binds the three sentences

("system,"

"this,"

"difference")

as does the ending of each sentence with an "ing" (which is reinforced by the short e's in

"resembling"

"spreading").

There are also the 2nd sentence's rhymes (

"ordinary,"

"unordered")

& the alliterative sequence

"spectacle,"

"pointing,"

"spreading."

"a blind glass,"

"a kind

in glass"

(I didn't notice consciously the

"blind"-

"kind"

rhyme before), & then

"a spectacle"

(something seen or to be seen, but also

"spectacles" are

"glasses").

Then

"nothing strange,"

"not ordinary,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

"difference"

form a meaning sequence. Another sequence of meanings:

"blind,"

"spectacle"

(with the intervening

"glass"'s

causing the ambiguity of

"spectacle"

which might not have been as apparent without them), &

"color,"

that seems to carry over to

"arrangement,"

"pointing,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

& even to

"spreading."

The sequence

"kind"

(with its two meanings),

"cousin,"

"nothing strange"

seems opposed to

"not ordinary,"

"not resembling,"

"The difference

is spreading.":

a meaning movement from near-sameness to greater & greater difference.

"A single hurt color"

is the most emotional phrase, altho

"blind glass"

with its implied oxymoron (glass is usually transparent—at least we first think of transparency when we hear the word

"glass"

—&

when it is made into spectacle lenses, it helps people to see better) is perhaps even more so. Maybe the

"single hurt color"

is the blackness of blindness. The whole poem suddenly seems to be about seeing!

But what of the

"carafe"

that starts it all? Why is it

"a blind glass"?

Ordinarily a carafe is one of the least

"blind"

Why, then, is this carafe a blind glass?

Is the whole poem then a

"pointing"

from the ordinary transparent carafe

("nothing strange")

to one

"not ordinary"

—one that is

"blind"

—an orderly

("not unordered")

movement

"spreading"

from transparency & clarity thru the

"single hurt color"

to the implied darkness & opacity of blindness, a movement condensed & made explicit in the title?

Version poem: A CARAFE, THAT IS A BLIND GLASS

A CARAFE,

THAT IS A

BLIND GLASS

A kind

in glass and

a cousin,

a spectacle

and nothing strange

a single hurt color

and an arrangement

in a system

to pointing.

All this and

not ordinary,

not unordered

in not resembling.

The difference

is spreading.

A carafe. A carafe

that is a

blind glass.

A kind

in glass

and a cousin,

a spectacle

and nothing strange

a single hurt color

and an arrangement

in a system

to pointing.

All this and

not ordinary,

not unordered

in not resembling.

The difference

is spreading.

Anyway, reading a selection from Tender Buttons.

I start reading

"A CARAFE

THAT IS

A BLIND GLASS."

I go from word to word, seeing the shapes of the printed words, hearing the sounds inwardly, noting rhymes, assonances, alliterations. Where an image is suggested, I see it inwardly.

"kind,"

"cousin,"

"color,"

with the near-alliteration

"glass."

The rhyme in

"strange" &

"arrangement."

The alliteration of s's:

"spectacle,"

"strange,"

"single,"

"system,"

"spreading."

The assonance of short i's that binds the three sentences

("system,"

"this,"

"difference")

as does the ending of each sentence with an "ing" (which is reinforced by the short e's in

"resembling"

"spreading").

There are also the 2nd sentence's rhymes (

"ordinary,"

"unordered")

& the alliterative sequence

"spectacle,"

"pointing,"

"spreading."

"a blind glass,"

"a kind

in glass"

(I didn't notice consciously the

"blind"-

"kind"

rhyme before), & then

"a spectacle"

(something seen or to be seen, but also

"spectacles" are

"glasses").

Then

"nothing strange,"

"not ordinary,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

"difference"

form a meaning sequence. Another sequence of meanings:

"blind,"

"spectacle"

(with the intervening

"glass"'s

causing the ambiguity of

"spectacle"

which might not have been as apparent without them), &

"color,"

that seems to carry over to

"arrangement,"

"pointing,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

& even to

"spreading."

The sequence

"kind"

(with its two meanings),

"cousin,"

"nothing strange"

seems opposed to

"not ordinary,"

"not resembling,"

"The difference

is spreading.":

a meaning movement from near-sameness to greater & greater difference.

"A single hurt color"

is the most emotional phrase, altho

"blind glass"

with its implied oxymoron (glass is usually transparent—at least we first think of transparency when we hear the word

"glass"

—&

when it is made into spectacle lenses, it helps people to see better) is perhaps even more so. Maybe the

"single hurt color"

is the blackness of blindness. The whole poem suddenly seems to be about seeing!

But what of the

"carafe"

that starts it all? Why is it

"a blind glass"?

Ordinarily a carafe is one of the least

"blind"

Why, then, is this carafe a blind glass?

Is the whole poem then a

"pointing"

from the ordinary transparent carafe

("nothing strange")

to one

"not ordinary"

—one that is

"blind"

—an orderly

("not unordered")

movement

"spreading"

from transparency & clarity thru the

"single hurt color"

to the implied darkness & opacity of blindness, a movement condensed & made explicit in the title?

READING A SELECTION FROM TENDER BUTTONS

I start reading

"A CARAFE

THAT IS

A BLIND GLASS."

I go from word to word, seeing the shapes of the printed words, hearing the sounds inwardly, noting rhymes, assonances, alliterations. Where an image is suggested, I see it inwardly.

"kind,"

"cousin,"

"color,"

with the near-alliteration

"glass."

The rhyme in

"strange" &

"arrangement."

The alliteration of s's:

"spectacle,"

"strange,"

"single,"

"system,"

"spreading."

The assonance of short i's that binds the three sentences

("system,"

"this,"

"difference")

as does the ending of each sentence with an "ing" (which is reinforced by the short e's in

"resembling"

"spreading").

There are also the 2nd sentence's rhymes (

"ordinary,"

"unordered")

& the alliterative sequence

"spectacle,"

"pointing,"

"spreading."

"a blind glass,"

"a kind

in glass"

(I didn't notice consciously the

"blind"-

"kind"

rhyme before), & then

"a spectacle"

(something seen or to be seen, but also

"spectacles" are

"glasses").

Then

"nothing strange,"

"not ordinary,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

"difference"

form a meaning sequence. Another sequence of meanings:

"blind,"

"spectacle"

(with the intervening

"glass"'s

causing the ambiguity of

"spectacle"

which might not have been as apparent without them), &

"color,"

that seems to carry over to

"arrangement,"

"pointing,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

& even to

"spreading."

The sequence

"kind"

(with its two meanings),

"cousin,"

"nothing strange"

seems opposed to

"not ordinary,"

"not resembling,"

"The difference

is spreading.":

a meaning movement from near-sameness to greater & greater difference.

"A single hurt color"

is the most emotional phrase, altho

"blind glass"

with its implied oxymoron (glass is usually transparent—at least we first think of transparency when we hear the word

"glass"

—&

when it is made into spectacle lenses, it helps people to see better) is perhaps even more so. Maybe the

"single hurt color"

is the blackness of blindness. The whole poem suddenly seems to be about seeing!

But what of the

"carafe"

that starts it all? Why is it

"a blind glass"?

Ordinarily a carafe is one of the least

"blind"

Why, then, is this carafe a blind glass?

Is the whole poem then a

"pointing"

from the ordinary transparent carafe

("nothing strange")

to one

"not ordinary"

—one that is

"blind"

—an orderly

("not unordered")

movement

"spreading"

from transparency & clarity thru the

"single hurt color"

to the implied darkness & opacity of blindness, a movement condensed & made explicit in the title?

Version essay: Reading a Selection from Tender Buttons

A CARAFE,

THAT IS A

BLIND GLASS

A kind

in glass and

a cousin,

a spectacle

and nothing strange

a single hurt color

and an arrangement

in a system

to pointing.

All this and

not ordinary,

not unordered

in not resembling.

The difference

is spreading.

A carafe. A carafe

that is a

blind glass.

A kind

in glass

and a cousin,

a spectacle

and nothing strange

a single hurt color

and an arrangement

in a system

to pointing.

All this and

not ordinary,

not unordered

in not resembling.

The difference

is spreading.

Anyway, reading a selection from Tender Buttons.

I start reading

"A CARAFE

THAT IS

A BLIND GLASS."

I go from word to word, seeing the shapes of the printed words, hearing the sounds inwardly, noting rhymes, assonances, alliterations. Where an image is suggested, I see it inwardly.

"kind,"

"cousin,"

"color,"

with the near-alliteration

"glass."

The rhyme in

"strange" &

"arrangement."

The alliteration of s's:

"spectacle,"

"strange,"

"single,"

"system,"

"spreading."

The assonance of short i's that binds the three sentences

("system,"

"this,"

"difference")

as does the ending of each sentence with an "ing" (which is reinforced by the short e's in

"resembling"

"spreading").

There are also the 2nd sentence's rhymes (

"ordinary,"

"unordered")

& the alliterative sequence

"spectacle,"

"pointing,"

"spreading."

"a blind glass,"

"a kind

in glass"

(I didn't notice consciously the

"blind"-

"kind"

rhyme before), & then

"a spectacle"

(something seen or to be seen, but also

"spectacles" are

"glasses").

Then

"nothing strange,"

"not ordinary,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

"difference"

form a meaning sequence. Another sequence of meanings:

"blind,"

"spectacle"

(with the intervening

"glass"'s

causing the ambiguity of

"spectacle"

which might not have been as apparent without them), &

"color,"

that seems to carry over to

"arrangement,"

"pointing,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

& even to

"spreading."

The sequence

"kind"

(with its two meanings),

"cousin,"

"nothing strange"

seems opposed to

"not ordinary,"

"not resembling,"

"The difference

is spreading.":

a meaning movement from near-sameness to greater & greater difference.

"A single hurt color"

is the most emotional phrase, altho

"blind glass"

with its implied oxymoron (glass is usually transparent—at least we first think of transparency when we hear the word

"glass"

—&

when it is made into spectacle lenses, it helps people to see better) is perhaps even more so. Maybe the

"single hurt color"

is the blackness of blindness. The whole poem suddenly seems to be about seeing!

But what of the

"carafe"

that starts it all? Why is it

"a blind glass"?

Ordinarily a carafe is one of the least

"blind"

Why, then, is this carafe a blind glass?

Is the whole poem then a

"pointing"

from the ordinary transparent carafe

("nothing strange")

to one

"not ordinary"

—one that is

"blind"

—an orderly

("not unordered")

movement

"spreading"

from transparency & clarity thru the

"single hurt color"

to the implied darkness & opacity of blindness, a movement condensed & made explicit in the title?

READING A SELECTION FROM TENDER BUTTONS

I start reading

"A CARAFE

THAT IS

A BLIND GLASS."

I go from word to word, seeing the shapes of the printed words, hearing the sounds inwardly, noting rhymes, assonances, alliterations. Where an image is suggested, I see it inwardly.

"kind,"

"cousin,"

"color,"

with the near-alliteration

"glass."

The rhyme in

"strange" &

"arrangement."

The alliteration of s's:

"spectacle,"

"strange,"

"single,"

"system,"

"spreading."

The assonance of short i's that binds the three sentences

("system,"

"this,"

"difference")

as does the ending of each sentence with an "ing" (which is reinforced by the short e's in

"resembling"

"spreading").

There are also the 2nd sentence's rhymes (

"ordinary,"

"unordered")

& the alliterative sequence

"spectacle,"

"pointing,"

"spreading."

"a blind glass,"

"a kind

in glass"

(I didn't notice consciously the

"blind"-

"kind"

rhyme before), & then

"a spectacle"

(something seen or to be seen, but also

"spectacles" are

"glasses").

Then

"nothing strange,"

"not ordinary,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

"difference"

form a meaning sequence. Another sequence of meanings:

"blind,"

"spectacle"

(with the intervening

"glass"'s

causing the ambiguity of

"spectacle"

which might not have been as apparent without them), &

"color,"

that seems to carry over to

"arrangement,"

"pointing,"

"not unordered,"

"not resembling,"

& even to

"spreading."

The sequence

"kind"

(with its two meanings),

"cousin,"

"nothing strange"

seems opposed to

"not ordinary,"

"not resembling,"

"The difference

is spreading.":

a meaning movement from near-sameness to greater & greater difference.

"A single hurt color"

is the most emotional phrase, altho

"blind glass"

with its implied oxymoron (glass is usually transparent—at least we first think of transparency when we hear the word

"glass"

—&

when it is made into spectacle lenses, it helps people to see better) is perhaps even more so. Maybe the

"single hurt color"

is the blackness of blindness. The whole poem suddenly seems to be about seeing!

But what of the

"carafe"

that starts it all? Why is it

"a blind glass"?

Ordinarily a carafe is one of the least

"blind"

Why, then, is this carafe a blind glass?

Is the whole poem then a

"pointing"

from the ordinary transparent carafe

("nothing strange")

to one

"not ordinary"

—one that is

"blind"

—an orderly

("not unordered")

movement

"spreading"

from transparency & clarity thru the

"single hurt color"

to the implied darkness & opacity of blindness, a movement condensed & made explicit in the title?

Textual Notes

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