Unquell the Dawn Now — Deluxe
A collaboration by Robert Kelly, Friedrich Hölderlin, and Schuldt
Slip Cased, 2 volumes, cd recording, 8 x 12", 1999, 0-929701-57-7
In this unique book/text of serial homeophonic and literal translations, the great 18th-century German poet Hölderlin's mad symphonic poem, "Am Quell der Donau" — "At the Source of the Danube" — becomes the appropriate origin and metaphor for two contemporary poets' transformation and exploration of the German and English languages. There are five sections:
1) Hölderlin's poem
2) Kelly's homeophonic translation of (1)
3) Schuldt's literal translation of (2)
4) Schuldt's homeophonic translation of (3), and
5) Schuldt/s literal translation of (4).
This 8 x 12" slip-cased production consists of two volumes: A. One folder containing the accordion folded sheets of the stanzas of the whole cycle, each printed in a different color. These sheets are suitable for framing or performance situations. B. An eighty page, thread sewn volume in wrappers containing: 1) the poem cycle in all five voices set up for line-by-line comparison and printed in the same 5-color scheme as (A); 2) a radio play titled "Schallgeschwister" ("Sound Siblings") constructed by Schuldt from the poem cycle; 3) a descriptive afterword by Schuldt, en-face in English and German; and 4) a full-length CD containing the full performance of Schuldt's "Sound Siblings," realized at the studios of the Bavarian Radio.
Documentext commissioned a literal translation of Hölderlin's poem by Susan Gillespie exclusively for this edition, permitting the English-speaking reader a starting point or contrasting conclusion. This unusual publication was produced by the noted printer/publisher Steidl in Göttingen, Germany, and published in the United States under the Documentext imprint of McPherson & Company in two strictly limited editions, totaling 176 copies:
§ The Deluxe Edition in marbled paper slip-case, lettered A-Z, signed by Schuldt and Robert Kelly, and containing an original holograph text by Robert Kelly.
§ The Standard Edition numbered 1-150 in gray slip-case. For this edition, go here.