M (John Cage book)
Encyclopedia
M: Writings ’67–’72 is a book by American
avant-garde
composer
John Cage
(1912–1992), first published in 1973 by Wesleyan University Press
. It contains the following writings:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
(1912–1992), first published in 1973 by Wesleyan University Press
Wesleyan University Press
Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The Press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist...
. It contains the following writings:
- "Foreword" (1973)
- "Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse)" (continued 1968; revised version)
- "62 MesosticMesosticA mesostic is a poem or other typography such that a vertical phrase intersects lines of horizontal text. It is similar to an acrostic, but with the vertical phrase intersecting the middle of the line, as opposed to beginning each new line....
s re Merce CunninghamMerce CunninghamMercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
" (1973, originally a musical composition) - "36 Mesostics Re and Not Re Marcel DuchampMarcel DuchampMarcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
" (1970, also known as "36 Acrostics re and not re Marcel Duchamp") - "Mureau" (1971–72)
- "Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse") (continued 1969)
- "Song" (1973)
- "Six Mesostics":
- "Present" (1970, also known as an untitled "Poem for Edwin DenbyEdwin Denby (poet)Edwin Orr Denby was one of the most important and influential American dance critics of the 20th century, as well as a poet and novelist. His dance reviews and essays were collected in Looking at the Dance , Dancers, Buildings, and People in the Streets and Dance Writings...
") - "On the windshield of a new Fiat for James K. (who had not made up his mind where to go) and Carolyn Brown" (1973)
- "In Memoriam S.W." (1973)
- "July 13, 1972" (1972)
- "For A.C. on his 70th birthday" (1973)
- "Ten years before sixty-seven" (1967)
- "Present" (1970, also known as an untitled "Poem for Edwin Denby
- "Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse)" (continued 1970–71)
- "Mushroom Book" (1972, collaboration with Lois A. Long and Alexander H. SmithAlexander H. SmithAlexander Hanchett Smith was an American mycologist known for his extensive contributions to the taxonomy and phylogeny of the higher fungi, especially the agarics.-Early life:...
) - "25 Mesostics Re and Not Re Mark TobeyMark TobeyMark George Tobey was an American abstract expressionist painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. Widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe, Tobey is the most noted among the "mystical painters of the Northwest." Senior in age and experience, Tobey had a strong influence on the...
" (1973) - "Diary: How to Improve the World (You Will Only Make Matters Worse)" (continued 1971–72)