in parentheses

In Parentheses would like to present this collection of poetry by David Harrison Horton, whose work will be forthcoming in Volume 6. They are written in the style of Russian film theorist Sergei Eisenstein’s methods of montage: Metric, Rhythmic, Tonal, Overtonal, Intellectual. We have the privilege of presenting this selection of poetry with an accompaniment of audio from the author’s reading. In this first installment, Horton will explain briefly their methods, inspiration, and process with specific regard to the selections herein. Please join us again in a future post to continue the conversation as we complete the series.

David Harrison Horton is a Beijing-based writer, artist, editor and curator. He is author of the chapbooks Pete Hoffman Days (Pinball) and BeiHai (Nanjing Poetry). His poetry has recently appeared in Spittoon, swifts & slows and Otoliths, among others.

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“Introduction,” to Salt & Iron (2:00)

“I’d like to thank Phillipe and everyone at In Parentheses for this opportunity to discuss and read my poems Salt and Iron. Let’s start with the title. In ancient China, salt and iron were made imperial monopolies in an effort to thwart the rising economic power of the traders of those commodities. So, we can see two simple words, salt/iron, two very mundane object images, placed together to form a historic tension that still resonates in contemporary society. Likewise, these poems operate between and across timelines and geographies. We have the Chinese Dowager Wu who died in 705 AD set palimpsested inside other threads that include more modern known and unknown names, like Auden or my childhood friends from Detroit, the Piro brothers. There are references or appropriations from Western and Chinese literature intertwined with images of everyday life, hopefully done in a way that includes you and brings you in. In short, there is a lot of material used in these very terse 10-line poems. This is where Eisensteinian film theory comes in. Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein was one of the first proponents of montage, a way of juxtaposing images to induce an effect in the audience. The greater the contradiction in the images, the greater the response. In these poems, images or ideas are placed beside one other in an attempt to elicit meaning from you. The fact that these poems are sparse leaves more room for reader response and meaning creation. These incongruities help drive the piece in ways that are hopefully equal in rigor and playfulness. This, for me, is where the fun is. I hope you agree.”

DAVID HARRISON HORTON in “Introduction” of Salt & Iron (Part 1)

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Audio, Part 2 of Salt & Iron 6:00)

DAVID HARRISON HORTON in “9-18” of Salt & Iron (Part 2)

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[9]

a Fats Waller morning breeze
accompanying lilt

undergarments hanging from second storey window
unadorned overpass

the eel cutter at the market
shoes everywhere and flip-flops

rooftop garden, slightly overgrown
uncanny lack of birds

packed soccer pitches
the fat kid plays goal-keep

[10]

the difference between palace and monastery
rooster devoid of fanciful plumage

the old part of the old district
dredged canal steadily flowing

a persistent beggar with child
thorough understanding of throng

a place as any under construction
sky darkened to nightfall dampness

human faced divinities
a redefinition of charity

[11]

again rain
shade of an impotent barrel

through the streets and shops, departure
voices squelched, a form of oppression

newspapers stashed under benches
high-heeled ladies making a run for it

downstream, the flood
not as bad as 97, but still not good

postdiluvian, without ark
without fins to make us fishes

[12]

indifference as to whether San Jorge
killed a dragonfly or leviathan, right or sperm

this lake does not freeze in winter
is warm year round

this bus will get you there
this one will not

this is a location
if only material

fuck me, if the floods downstream are not a worry
and anyone has ever heard of you

[13]

candelabra
necessitate

witches on backs
and fog rolls among the mountains

she is quite cute, but does not understand
the opposite of coquette

layers of silt to be reckoned with
at home and abroad

Mr. Lusk is quite industrious
despite his slack-jawed approachments

[14]

a fear of the machine
a great armament and factory

the etymology of burden
borne upon the multitude

down this alley you can buy food cheap
down this one whores

red signs with yellow characters
the building of a works

military youth morning exercises
—war has made a mockery of everything (Xiao Qing)

[15]

the fact is
I am not feeling well

a jade death suit
and some bottles

a porcelain plate
a green dragon on a yellow field

Lydia with a migraine
nomenclature of roaches

an incessant clicking sound
dearth of breeze

[16]

a map of the city
differential from Auden

failure of planning
people, christ the people

seven star slope
fresh cut pine

kuai stashed in books, various places
centipedal graveyard

use of the word ‘negro’
the whale a demise

[17]

the furthest distance of points
on top of

amphibian on a sill
tableau non-sedentary

the shit that gets imported
a housewife’s tits

box-shaped architecture
ornamental cicada

what is garbage
what is eaten

[18]

Fu-chan and the work team
a new row of poles

myth of the peasant
white america

a boiling pot
but not quite ready

rat along the tracks
sanitation sacrificed to efficiency

this work in translation
would not be this work

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Release Guideline // Salt & Iron by David Harrison Horton

June 10, 2020 – Chapter 1: Intro, Parts of Chinese history while using Eisensteinian juxtapositions of images, Reading of Salt & Iron 1 – 8

June 14, 2020 – Chapter 2: Reading of Salt & Iron 9 – 18

June 17, 2020 – Chapter 3: Reading of Salt & Iron 19 – 28

June 20, 2020 – Chapter 4: Reading of Salt & Iron 29 – 38

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