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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
Illusion And Reality: A Study Of The Sources Of Poetry (Hardcover)
Strangely that picture of the book there is a picture of The Expert at the Card Table it seems to me. http://www.flipkart.com/illusion-reality......43740365 Playing Cards are the poetry of magic perhaps. Anyway it may be an interesting book.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Hofzinser called card tricks the poetry of magic.
Unfortunately there are not so many poets in our craft. Our literature is getting stuffed with doggerel and student level homework assignments Which do little to honor Hofzinser himself or the craft he loved. Pick up a copy of something by Thomas Lux and see what that inspires. Listen to the TV in the other room and write out the dialog as you think it might be.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
Thanks Jon.
If poetry is written in language and language is the instrument whereby men communicate and persuade each other; then what form of communication is the performance of magic in dumb?
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
In dumb or by ignorant?
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
Forgive my ignorance but is it action? Action speak louder than words. Is it poetry in motion perhaps? I am trying to relate what this fellow is saying in his book on poetry to magic, as I read it. I found the book is on line by the way.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9981 Posts |
As the author of more than 2,000 published poems I would offer that poetry in any form requires a tranfer of emotion from the writer/performer to the reader/spectator as well as cogeant ideas. Gestures, motion, words, music and magic can all create images in the mind that can be poetic. Poetry can be found in the heart of the spectator even if never intended by the performer, just as poetic passages can be found in prose. Part of a magician's task in scripting and orchestrating a routine is to make it poetic; or in contast, a lot of magic performances suffer from a lack of poetry.
I offer this previoulsy written piece as an illustration: A magic effect is a form of communication between the performer and spectator that may transcend the intentions of either. Other threads are focusing on the intent and mindset of the performer as to the type and nature of illusions and dilemmas he wishes to construct. Here I hope we can focus on the expectations and “wish fulfillment” of the spectator. For the moment I would suggest that this “spectator mind set” falls into two general areas; those events that happen at the hands of a known magician, and those that just seem to happen every day. For both the spectator has been trained to apply the word “magic”, and most performers would agree that “magic” occurs in the minds of the spectators rather than in their hands. For now we might focus on the magic that occurs during a planned performance – holding the other type aside of the moment. Fred buys a ticket to see a magic show. He has seen magicians before both live and on TV. He enters the hall expecting for magic to happen, i.e. to be entertained by mysteries and illusions for which he will have no ready explanation. The performer: He walks on stage and casually shows his hands to be empty. He draws a white handkerchief from his breast pocket and snaps it in the air, then lays it over his empty hand. It gradually rises to betray something underneath. The kerchief is whisked away to reveal a red ball. He places the kerchief in his coat pocket and tosses the ball back and forth and suddenly there are two balls, one in each hand. He juggles these a bit and a third ball appears. He then sets these on the table and goes into a Cups and Balls routine. The spectator: The vibrant hush of the audience creates a vacuum of attention as the famous magician suddenly is noticed standing on the stage. His hands flit about like dark birds – searching – searching. Excitingly, a white bird appears above the others – a dove perhaps that drifts down to his fingers and changes into a wedding veil. But it is still alive and twitches and tries to fly again – succeeding at last and leaving a scarlet egg behind. Why a red egg? No matter – the bird has disappeared! The egg is tossed into the air – will it break? Will it change into a bird again? No – it now splits into two eggs, these are tossed into the air and amazingly do not fall to the ground, but are kept aloft by a breeze from the performer’s fluttering hands. I cannot be! – there is a third egg --- and the magician wisely sets them on the table before they crash to the ground. I hold my breath to see what further wonders these magic eggs will display.
"the more one pretends at magic, the more awe and wonder will be found in real life." Arnold Furst
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