Charles Tomlinson, George Oppen and Richard Swigg: something to celebrate

Recordings of Charles Tomlinson reading his verse and in conversation  are now available online from PennSound in the US at 

        http://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Tomlinson.php

For those interested in twentieth century poetry the discussion with Hugh Kenner ('In conversation 1988') is fascinating, if for no other reason than it brings alive a whole range of famous names.

There are also the letters of Tomlinson and Oppen in the online magazine Jacket 2 at

         http://jacket2.org/feature/addressing-ones-peers

These recordings are the work of Richard Swigg, keeper of the Bunting Tapes, Recorder of Poets,  and a fine critic of the sound of poetry: one day soon I will have the time to reread 'Quick Said the Bird" and give it the attention it deserves. It was his "Charles Tomlinson and the objective Tradition" which put me on to Ruskin.

With Historical Amnesia on the rise, the fact that there are still people like him, curating the past and making it available, is something to celebrate.