Humanophone

The poetry in <strong>Humanophone</strong> the third volume from awardwinning poet JanetHolmes celebrates composers and creators such as Harry Partch Raymond Sc... » 

The poetry in Humanophone the third volume from awardwinning poet JanetHolmes celebrates composers and creators such as Harry Partch Raymond ScottLeon Theremin and George Ives who had to invent new instruments to capturethe music heard in their minds ear. Taking its title from a George Ivesinvention an instrument made from a group of humans each of whom sings asingle note arrayed like a xylophone Humanophone appears on its surface tobe about music. But its real subject is the artists creative dilemma how todeliver a new idea whether it be a song or a poem through existing media.Holmes works language into a variety of forms both familiar syllabicscouplets villanelles sonnets and engagingly new. With everything fromkumquats to abandoned wedding pictures Clara Bow to Bill Robinson Keatssbelle dame to Dantes Francesca feng shui to a recipe for octopus Humanophonecelebrates how the body shapes art from the world it is given.In Humanophone Holmes not only chronicles events such as Harry Partchstransformation of glass chemical containers from the Berkeley Radition Lab intothe melodious and beautiful CloudChamber Bowls but also traces a playful paththrough the familiar as a trombones upwards glissando becomes a backwardspratfallin brass. Engaging a broad array of subjects Holmess poetry is asdelightful as it is thoughtful as simple as it is complex. «