Looking for Gold with Heather McHugh...tonight (by Jenny Factor)

A few months ago, I went on a search for meaningful ambiguity. I held pages to the light. I read upside down in the dark. I got lost in the Cave of Celan, and rounded the Cape of William Empson (check out 7 Types of Ambiguity—a 1930 typologic classic). I separated Opacity from Obscurity, and made a Pass at some meek, mindful word-maven maidens who were waiting for epiphany on the sea cliff above the shore. (More on this journey some other time.)

In the December 2007 issue of Poetry Magazine, Heather McHugh winked at me, letting me know she'd been on the same treasure hunt. She wrote:

As soon as I detect the sign of the x at work, I'm near a buried treasure...You (the poet) make the mark of the x because to elaborate—to literate—beyond that mark would diminish its meaning...As an artist, I'm likely to love the x better than the gold.

If you're looking for treasure in Los Angeles tonight, you might want to set sail for the Armand Hammer Museum in Westwood. Heather McHugh will be reading there at 7p.m. Her appearance is co-sponsored by the UCLA Office of Cultural and Recreational Affairs, the Friends of English, the W Hotel, and several other terrific organizations.

Hammer Web Site:   www.hammer.ucla.edu
Hammer Information Line:  310.443.7000
10899 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Comments

[Rob M.]

I wish I was there as well (especially considering I work a mere 20-minute walk from the Hammer). I had a paper to finish, though. Did you go, Jenny?

[DL]

How went the reading? Wish I'd been there.