WYSTAN CURNOW has published four books (not collections) of poetry. Cancer Daybook (Vanguard Xpress, Auckland, 1989), Back in the USA, (Black Light Press, Wellington, 1989), Castor Bay (Pictures and Proses, 1996) and the book from which ‘10 Rue d’Anjou, 1pm’ was taken, Modern Colours (Jack Books, Auckland, 2005). He has been teaching modern and contemporary poetry at the University of Auckland for many years, ‘language poetry’ in recent times. Last year he taught a course in creative writing. He is well known as a curator and  art critic.

Curnow comments: ‘ “Modern Colours” is a sampler from the a longish manuscript known as The Art Hotel. I stayed there. It’s in Wroclaw, Poland. Although there are other art hotels in Europe, that’s the one with which I am acquainted.  The poem in question however is set in Paris; Jean Cocteau’s mother had a fourth floor apartment at 10 Rue d’Anjou, and around about 1 pm on the 10th or 11th of August, 1916, Cocteau took a photograph of Erik Satie, the composer, and Valentine Gross, the painter and socialite, on the balcony.  Kluver is Billy Kluver who wrote about the photograph, and Gertrude is of course Gertrude Stein who wrote about shutters and many other matters.’

 

 

Poem: 10 rue d’Anjou, 1pm