Jonathan Williams (1) (1929–2008)
Author of A Palpable Elysium: Portraits of Genius and Solitude
For other authors named Jonathan Williams, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Image credit: NEW DIRECTIONS
Works by Jonathan Williams
Epitaphs for Lorine 5 copies
Dear world, forget it! love, Mnemosyne: A range of letters, 1984-85 : plus a few elusive items (1985) 4 copies
Only Forty Minutes More 4 copies
A Blue Ridge Weather Prophet Makes Twelve Stitches in Time on the Twelfth Day of Christmas. (1977) 4 copies
HORNY & ORNERY: POEMS OF SOLACE IN DESOLATE TIMES BY A GENTLEMAN OF THE SOUTH. Avec un Petit Prelude par James… (1994) 4 copies
Who Is Little Enis? 3 copies
And He Hath Sown 2 copies
An Omen for Stevie Smith 2 copies
Futura15: Polycotyledounous Poems 2 copies
Pairidaeza : a celebration in lithography and poetry for the Garden at Levens Hall, Westmorland, by Ian Gardner and… (1975) 2 copies
Poet's Poems No. 12 1 copy
Some Jazz From The Baz: Excperts from Basil Bunting's Letters to Jonathan Williams: 1963-1985 1 copy
TSM (1917-1962) 1 copy
Strung Out With Elgar 1 copy
LTGD: Lullabies Twisters Gibbers Drags (à la Manière de M. Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Late of the City of New Orleans)… (1963) 1 copy
Jargon Billboard #3 1 copy
Jargon Billboard #2 1 copy
Jargon Billboard #1 1 copy
A new poem 1 copy
Ray's Grays 1 copy
The Jargon Society 1951-75 1 copy
A glory about to be revealed 1 copy
T. Ben Williams 1 copy
Five Clerihews 1 copy
Texas Quarterly 1 copy
Associated Works
Led Astray by Language — Contributor — 1 copy
Vort #4, Fall 1973 — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1929-03-08
- Date of death
- 2008-03-16
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Asheville, North Carolina, USA
- Place of death
- Highlands, North Carolina, USA
- Places of residence
- Scaly Mountain, North Carolina, USA
Yorkshire Dales, England, UK
Highlands, North Carolina, USA - Education
- Princeton University
Atelier 17
Institute of Design (Chicago)
Black Mountain College - Occupations
- publisher
poet
photographer
essayist
Members
Reviews
What a retrospective book with snapshots should be and similar to Rodman's.
I have mixed emotions on this one, mostly because Mr. Williams is all over the place with his writing. He's crazy and absurd on 1 page and intricate and complex on another (although the latter appears very infrequently.) Mostly I thought the poetry was odd and strange and really not all that poetic. He did, however, keep my attention...if not only for the simple fact that I was curious just what on earth he'd say next. Not recommended...but not exactly a complete was of time either.
1 
Ape | Apr 17, 2010 |
Ape | Apr 17, 2010 | 
What a great poetic and literary sensibility, which can write in pithy essays.
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Statistics
- Works
- 120
- Also by
- 11
- Members
- 633
- Popularity
- #39,816
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 8
- ISBNs
- 73
- Languages
- 1
- Favorited
- 4
Who Is Little Enis? by Jonathan Williams
Little Enis is
"one hunnert an' 80lbs of
dynamite
with a 9-inch
fuse"
his real name is
Carlos Toadvine
which his wife Irma Jean
pronounces Carlus
Carlos says
Toadaveenie is a eyetalyun name,
used to be lots of 'em
around these parts
Ed McClanahan is the World's Leading Little Enis freak
and all this information comes from a weekend in Winston
with Big Ed telling the lore of Lexington, Kentucky,
which is where Enis has been hanging it out for years and years,
at Boot's Bar and Giuseppe's Villa and now The Embers,
pickin' and singin' rockabilly style
Carlus ain't what he was
according to Irma Jean's accounts
(and even to his own):
he was sittin' there one night in the kitchen at home
tellin' stories and talkin' trash about Irma Jean --
with her right there with her hair put up in them pink plastic curlers --
about how these days how he likes to pop it to her dog-style
just now and again and how she likes it pretty damn well
when they wander all over the house
and end up in the living room corner --
"I'm just afraid Carlus will run us out the door and down the street
opposite the automatic laundry . . ."
The 9-inch fuse hung down Enis' right leg
is called, familiarly,
Ol' Blue
Ol' Blue used to be in the pink --
way in
Blue has a head on him like a tom-cat
and ribs like a hongry hound
and he used to get so hard
a cat
couldn't
scratch it . . .
but now that Enis has the cirrhosis
and takes all these harmones
Ol' Blue just don't
stand up like a little man
and cut the mustard
anymore
but Enis will smile and say
let's all have a drink, maybe I can drown thatthere liver of ours,
it's no bigger'n a dime nohow anymore, it just floats in there . . .
Hey, Blue, let's shake that thing!
Turn loose this oldie by my boy Elvis,
a golden oldie --
let's go, Blue!
And off they go
into the wild Blue-
Grass . . .
Carlos & Blue,
thinking of you . . .
hail & farewell!… (more)