Sun Ra: The Immeasurable Equation - Collected Poetry and Prose

539 Pages·2005·27.828 MB·English

by  James L. Wolf, Harttnut Geerken

To
Maestro MarshallAllen
& theArkestra
who continueconstructing
"the Cosmo bridgeto the
DarkUnknown Eternal"
& to the memor'yof
LesterI)owie
Ronnie I)o'ykins
Don Cherr'y
Dann'y Davis
Malachi favors Maghostut.
johnGilmore
Thomas'I)ugs' Hunter
jamesjackson
Cliffordjarvis
rat Laurdine r atrick
EricWalker/ SamaraiCelestial
Earl'I)uster'Smith
juneT'yson
Richard Wilkinson
DougE.Williams/ AkhTal Ebah
&man'yothers

The Immeasurable
Equation

SunRa
The Immeasurable
Equation
The Collected Poetry and Prose
compiled and edited by
James L. Wolfand Harttnut Geerken
Introductions and Essays by
James L. Wolf, Harttnut Geerken
Sigrid Hauff, Klaus DetlefThiel,
and Brent Hayes Edwards
Photography by
Robert Lax, AngelikaJakob
WAiTAWHILE
2005
This isaWAlTAWHILEbook. Publishedby HartmutGeerken.0-82211 Wartaweil37.
Allrightsreserved.
©Copyright2005 byENTERPLANETARYKONCEPTSfortheworksof
HermanPooleBlountaka LeSony'rRaaka SunRa. Copyrightforthe other
contributionsbythe authors.
All rightsreserved. No part ofthis book may be reproducedorutilizedinany form or byany
means,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,recordingor byany information
storageand retrievalsystemnow knownorto be inventedwithoutthe consentinwritingfrom
the copyrightholdersENTERPLENATARYKONCEPTSand/orWAITAWHILEbooks,
exceptby areviewerwho wishestoquotebriefpassagesinconnectionwith areviewwritten
for inclusion inamagazine,newspaper,orbroadcast.
Publishedand PrintedbyBookson DemandGmbH,Norderstedt
CoverDesign: HartmutGeerken,Dr. Anton1.Kuchelmeister.
Coverphotos(front, frontispiece, verso): byRobertLax. Athens,Greece. February 1984 (Sun
RaArchiveWaitawhile).
Otherphotos: byAngelikaJakob, Sun RaatMunichCentral Station,March 17th, 1984 (Sun
Ra ArchiveWaitawhile).
Sun Ra'ssignatureand cul-de-lampefrom an undatedletter(Sun Ra ArchiveWaitawhile).
Electronicdataprocessingfrom Wordfiles toproductionmaster: Dr. Anton1.Kuchelmeister.
Layoutand formatting: James L.Wolf, Dr. AntonJ.Kuchelmeister.
First published: May 2005
Printedin"Old"Europe.
ISBN3-8334-2659-4
The sun ishere and radiates
inthedarkness, and your darknesses
don'tcomprend it.
(Giovanni Pieodella Mirandola, 1463- 1494)
And they are gone: ay,ages longago
These lovers fled away into the storm.
(John Keats, 1796- 1821)
What, there's nothing inthe moon note-worthy?
Nay- for ifthat moon could love amortal,
Use, tocharm him(so to fitafancy)
Allher magic ('tisthe old sweet mythos)
Shewould tum anew side to her mortal,
Side unseen ofherdsman, huntsman, steersman
Blank to Zoroasteron histerrace,
Blind toGalileoon his turret,
Dumb to Homer, dumb to Keats - him,even!
(RobertBrowning, 1812-1889)
Goddam, Goddam, 'tiswhyIam, Goddam,
So 'gainstthe winter'sbalm.
Singgoddam, damm, sing Goddam,
Sing goddam, sing goddam, DAMM.
(EzraPound, 1885- 1972)
Our shit isbeyond the people
who are trying todefine it.
(LesterBowie, 1941- 1999)

Contents
Preface 1
James L. Wolf Sun Ra's Poetry 3
Hartmut Geerken His majestic insignificance 7
Sigrid Hauff Thought isaMental Force 17
Klaus DetlefThiel Samisdat- The Secret Message ofSun Ra'sPoetry 23
Brent Hayes Edwards The Race for Space: Sun Ra's Poetry 29
The Poems 57
The Prose 445
Appendices 479
The Sun Ra Library 481
Keys used inthe Source Description 500
Sources ofthe Poems 501
Sources ofthe Prose 518
Index ofFirst Lines ofthe Poems 519
Sources ofthe Introductions and Essays 527
The Contributors 528
Radio Broadcasts on Sun Ra's Poetical Works 529
ix