Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Sun Ra - Space Poetry and The Immeasurable Equation


In celebration of the 99th anniversary of Sun Ra's arrival on our Earthly plane.


Sun Ra’s wordplay, poetry, and language equations are as entertaining and thought provoking as his music and all seem to be parts of the same creation/presentation. I don’t think you can fully appreciate Sun Ra's music without also considering this poetry as an element of the grand equation.

With this in mind I would like to share not only the recordings below but what is perhaps my most treasured piece of Sun Ra ephemera, the small self-published volume of The Immeasurable Equation originally sold at Arkestra concerts around 1980.  This particular edition includes 81 poems on as many pages, printed on the rainbow's envy of colored construction paper.





Strange Worlds in My Mind



The Sub Dwellers



The Outer Darkness




The Immeasurable Equation (1980)

pdf
FF


"My Music is Words" - The Poetics of Sun Ra
by Nathaniel Earl Bowles (2008)


In addition, don't miss out on Charles Blass' 6-hour Arrival Day celebration:
OMNIVERSE MYSTERY NINETY-NINE INFINITY



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21 comments:

  1. mattiaMay 22, 2013 at 10:01 AM

    Yotte you are the best!!! THANKS!!!THANKS!!!THANKS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. mattiaMay 22, 2013 at 10:02 AM

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUN RA!!! (22/5/1914 - 30/5/1993)

    ReplyDelete
  3. rev.bMay 22, 2013 at 10:26 AM

    Why, it IS Sun Ra’s birthday. It’s customary with many people to leave flowers and a note at the burial site of a departed loved one. If you’re so inclined, please feel free to do that here:

    http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?GRid=2682&page=gr

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  4. rev.bMay 22, 2013 at 10:37 AM

    Yotte, the copy of The Immeasurable Equation you have really is something to be treasured. I think the one I have is the same edition as your or at least pretty close. The format certainly sounds the same; various colors of construction paper with fonts and printing in the same style as El Saturn albums covers and labels from the 80s. A wonderful pamphlet of short poems, wisdom, observations and essays that reward revisits and repeated reading.

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  5. AnonymousMay 22, 2013 at 11:53 AM

    > HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUN RA!!! (22/5/1914 - 30/5/1993)

    99 years since he arrived, and twenty since he left...

    I-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. LYSERGICFUNKMay 22, 2013 at 2:10 PM

    IN SUN RA WE TRUST !

    Hi Yotte, many thanks

    ReplyDelete
  7. steveMay 22, 2013 at 2:28 PM

    Awesome Yotte! Thanks. Is there a way to use FF without downloading their exec?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yotteMay 22, 2013 at 3:16 PM

      Hi Steve,
      You shouldn't have to download anything except my file. Scroll down the page and choose the download option on the right (Regular Download or Slow Download). It's been awhile since I've seen the page since I have a premium acct and I can't remember exactly what it looks like. Good luck!

      Delete
    2. steveMay 22, 2013 at 5:03 PM

      Thanks Yotte! This is choice stuff.

      Delete
  8. AnonymousMay 22, 2013 at 2:42 PM

    Yotte, let me say thank you for all this fantastic music of Mr. Ra!

    ReplyDelete
  9. yotteMay 22, 2013 at 3:39 PM

    I'm glad everyone is enjoying the poetry post as I've been saving The Immeasurable Equation for some time, waiting for a special occasion. I was thrilled when the poetry LPs were released a few years ago - I feel like being exposed to Sun Ra's lectures and poetry really helps with hearing his music. The subject matter, wordplay, mnemonic inversions and humor all show up in his music and song lyrics.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMay 22, 2013 at 6:11 PM

    Yotte:
    Thank you for this delicious post. It's a perfect complement to
    Charles Blass's Sun Radio presentation for Sun Ra's 99th Arrival Day, today - May 22, 2013 - "Omni Mystery 99 Infinity."
    Read the Immeasurable Equation, listen to Sun Ra's recitations of his own Space Poetry, and then go over to Charles Blass's Audio Gumbo and listen to "Omni Mystery 99 Infinity."

    Thanks once again, Yotte!

    Best

    Jim

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousMay 23, 2013 at 8:54 AM

    Thanks Sun Ra, Thanks Yotte and all Friends of RA!!!!

    Greetings Snickerboy

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousMay 28, 2013 at 7:49 AM

    Thanks! These are real gems. H.D.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousMay 30, 2013 at 11:04 AM

    the liner notes with the three lps list the dates and locales. hopefully, i matched them accurately to the track titles?

    I-)

    ----------

    Sun Ra - Strange Worlds in My Mind (LP 1)

    Yochanan, 1961
    1. Message To Earthman 2:18

    rehearsal with Roy Stubbs on vocals, 12-10-62
    2. I Seek A New World 1:49
    3. I Am Trying To Find Myself 2:27
    4. The Damned Air 3:31

    Sun Ra, 1957
    5. I Am Strange 3:12
    6. My Children 3:48
    7. If They Only Knew 4:12

    Sun Ra on zither, 1958
    8. I'm Not To Blame 1:16
    9. I Am An Instrument 1:36

    Sun Ra - Poetry Suite, 1966
    10. Once Upon A Time 2:33
    11. All In The Realm Of Death 1:44
    12. Death Speaks To The Negro 3:26
    13. I'll Wait For You 1:25
    14. At Night 1:40
    15. They Can't Accept Me 1:18
    16. I Am Not A Fantasy 2:05
    17. My World Is The Space Way 1:11
    18. Strange Worlds In My Mind 0:55

    ----------

    Sun Ra - The Sub-Dwellers (LP 2)

    Sun Ra - WXPN, 1982
    1. The Sub-Dwellers 2:07
    2. The Music Is A Universal Language 4:20
    3. When The Word Was Spoken 1:26
    4. The Past Is A Dream 1:39
    5. The World Comes To An End 0:35
    6. Pretense Desires 2:19
    7. The Universe Is Endless 2:06
    8. What Are Words? 0:48
    9. There Is Music Everywhere 2:47

    Sun Ra - Poetry Suite, 1966
    10. All Men Are Equal 2:24
    11. We Must Not Say No To Ourselves 1:20
    12. They Taught Me To Share 1:53
    13. The Worship Of A Statue 0:35
    14. This Planet Of Death 2:56
    15. Cosmic Dimension Of Music 1:46

    Sun Ra - New York City, 1968
    16. If You Are Not A Myth 0:44

    Sun Ra - WXPN, 1982
    17. I Speak Of Everything 3:44
    18. The Truth About The Planet Earth 0:57
    19. The Universe Sent Me 2:31

    ----------

    Sun Ra - The Outer Darkness (LP 3)

    Sun Ra - keyboards, Space Story
    1. I Gotta Get Away 7:22
    2. Know What It's Like On My Planet 12:08

    Sun Ra - 1969 rework of "I Seek A Better World" by Roy Stubbs
    3. The Outer Darkness Part One 7:27
    4. The Outer Darkness Part Two 4:27

    Sun Ra - The Cosmic Visitor, WXPN, 04-11-77
    5. This Is My Day 2:46
    6. The Scheme Of My Words 1:04
    7. Black Holes In Space 2:36
    8. A Better World 4:29

    ----------

    ReplyDelete
  14. mattiaMay 31, 2013 at 12:58 PM

    Hi Yotte,
    Can you upload "egyptian fantasy" from "beets a collection of jazz songs"?
    Please!!!

    (Many Thanks for Pisa 1979 and clusone 1990)

    ReplyDelete
  15. mattiaMay 31, 2013 at 1:17 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  16. mattiaMay 31, 2013 at 1:19 PM

    Hi Yotte,
    Can You upload "egyptian fantasy" from "beets a collection of jazz songs"?
    Please!!!

    (Many Thanks for Sun Ra in Pisa 1979 and Clusone 1990)

    ReplyDelete
  17. rev.bMay 31, 2013 at 3:37 PM

    Thx for the Lp info annon. Very helpful for those of us who don't have them..

    ReplyDelete
  18. sitarswamiJune 13, 2013 at 10:42 PM

    My copy of The Immeasurable Equation is dated 1972, with 60 pages. Regular book paper and a different (soft) cover. I bought this, along with a bunch of lps, mail order circa 1973. And yes, it took a long time via snail mail from Saturn.

    ReplyDelete
  19. ZyxirionJune 18, 2013 at 5:34 PM

    Smth wrong with three of Arrival day files - they won't play on mixcloud and they won't download either. Any ideas? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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