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 3 of Salt & Iron (5:02)

DAVID HARRISON HORTON in “19-28” of Salt & Iron (Part 3)

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[19]

the haycock is a fakement
the haw is real

the caliber of conversation
detuned fiddle from the south

there are three for one bed
all sleep on the floor

the only dog a poodle
delicate masonry

exclusionary interlocking
an old boys network

[20]

scuffle at the expat bar
book tour dog and pony

brazilian coffee
she calls herself “apple”

she looks like an apple
—you should learn the classics (Xu)

there are four tones
I have one

a good night’s sleep
will do us both good

[21]

thoughts of winter
the coat I will purchase

the bourbon in the cupboard
a plate of hot bread

there are luxuries to be found
among the ruins and trifles

ritual of teas
the letters of a name

Sun was away at the time
it must have felt very important

[22]

the Piro boys are dead
cold hill in autumn

and Greg is hanging bumpers
the smell of oil and plasticene

she wears a waistcoat
ave maria la montagne

metaphor of apron strings
twine bound box

the pitch is dirt
dirty dirty little fuckers

[23]

the country of my boredom
when Apollo weeps, we are done for

the dead will bury themselves
a flight futile in its progression

the color orange
earthbound crow

this victory is small
marginalia

gunner over an empty field
obelisk

[24]

foursome playing cards in the lounge
the umbrellas he did not use

a western style bronze
columbia triumphant

ripe fruit in a bowl
vineyard mid-august

worth exactly the paper its printed on
a seat in the balcony

antebellum plantation
the Qing dynasty

[25]

an arcade of maples
ocular

a sweater for 50 RMB
the wind that makes it a necessity

he keeps a photograph of his twin
vague notion of perpetuity

to be buried or burned
lone figure in the apse

lathes morticed together
oestrus

[26]

not even last year’s model
a string of tin cans

there are crayfish and brine
beads to make a rosary

smoke throughout the city
death in the countryside

she wears a purple dress
says not to worry

wo shi mamahuhu
it gives itself away

[27]

kill you again
cows of Bashan

feast for an army
bicycle spoke

haven’t put a man in space
difficulties unexpected

skirmish with the Russians
with the barkeep

a day of nothing
nothing quite nothing

[28]

my old man’s smokes
an afternoon by design

westside
Beijing equivalent

craw in the throat
the ghetto and the burbs

antiquated
wrinkle against the hem

a bus map
plane ticket out

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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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