Letters From Attica [an excerpt] by Sam Melville (1934 – 1971) & the Frederic Rzewski Composition ‘Coming Together’
by Steven McCabe
I think the combination of age and the greater coming together is responsible for the speed of the passing time.
it’s six months now and i can tell you truthfully few periods in my life have passed so quickly.
i am in excellent physical and emotional health.
there are doubtless subtle surprises ahead but i feel secure and ready.
As lovers will contrast their emotions in times of crisis, so am i dealing with my environment.
in the indifferent brutality, incessant noise, the experimental chemistry of food, the ravings of lost hysterical men, i can act with clarity and meaning.
i am deliberate–sometimes even calculating–seldom employing histrionics except as a test of the reactions of others.
i read much, exercise, talk to guards and inmates, feeling for the inevitable direction of my life.
Sam Melville (Letters From Attica)
Above is how the spelling appears on more than one site.
I narrated this text four years ago or so with professional musicians performing Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together & Attica.
Sounding this text to the music was one of the most emotional things I’ve experienced: hypnotic, exhausting and exhilarating.
Frederic Rzewski selected this body of text for his composition.
A performance featuring narration by stage actor Steve Ben Israel with Frederic Rzewski on piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSuuwJFw4wU The video opens in a new window so you can follow the text here if you wish.
Credits and information about this recording: http://incessantnoise.blogspot.ca/2009/08/frederic-rzewski-coming-together.html
poemimage 
Wow! I loved your narration. You have a great voice! I can certainly see why you found it to be such an emotional experience. After viewing the video I read up on the story in Wikipedia and found it fascinating. Thanks for the exercise in creative mind-stretching!! Again, wow!!
Thank you Jeanie for your thoughts about the posting & investigating the YouTube video but the recording isn’t my narration! I simply modelled what I did after this. Oops, I’ll have to rephrase my introduction to the link! I agree he has a great voice! With only an orange album cover on the YouTube screen there’s no way of seeing who is speaking.
Well, whoever he is, he’s good!!! (I meant to say I liked the orange cover!)
That orange cover is gorgeous!
Attica was one of many scenes of carnage we all witnessed, during the 60s and very early 70s. To me, it was another death blow to our social security net (not Social Security). I remember it arriving with it’s own displaced persons with no voice, among so many.
Heavy times Barry. I hear you.
Our youth was tainted, celebrated, invigorated and stymied.
http://barrycomersblog.com/2014/09/25/america-the-beautiful/
I wrote this about those times a couple of years ago.
I’ll check it out. Thank you for the link. Yes a lot was coming from every direction.
You are very welcome.
I love your visual interpretation, Steven – saying what can’t be said in words. The Youtube performance is really quite something.
Thank you Richard for twigging into these images and adding a new layer. Yes that performance! Quite something indeed.
Mind blowing!!!! …. Great post…. BTW, I am inviting you to join a Poetry challenge called Non Love in More Than Ten Words
You can check it out on this post, after the mythology section
wp.me/p60vo-4ah All my best wishes, Aquileana 😀
Thank you Aquileana. Okay I’ll check that out. All the best from here.
A very intriguing & powerful piece of cohesive art.
Thank you very much. I’m happy with how it worked and glad it appears cohesive.
How you images convey the spirit of the text, Steve! Truly brilliant. It amazes me how your work is indeed cohesive and yet ea. piece so different. Bravo!
Thank you very much Penn. I found this text (and with the music) so very moving. I wanted to do it ‘honour.’ I’m really glad the images seem to convey the spirit of the text! Thanks for letting me know.
[…] I have previously used this text in poemimage: https://poemimage.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/letters-from-attica-an-excerpt-by-sam-melville-1934-1971-… […]