In 2007, Book*hug Press published my second collection of poems, Blissful Times. The book contains 63 poetic ‘translations’, mainly from English to English, of manipulated text from Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days. I also included several ‘URL translations’, which are multimedia links to online audio, video and photographic poems. Over time, website providers no longer supported .htm and .mp3 addresses, so I had to rename them.
For anyone who wants to experience the low-budget wonders I created in 2007, here are the updated URLs with their corresponding page numbers from the book. I’ve included some remixed versions from various collaborations, as well as post-publication translations not in the original book. There are transcripts for access.
I’m proud to have kept Blissful Times’ multimedia links online for almost 20 years (despite zero skills at web design), and grateful to have met amazing folk who keep expanding the book’s possibilities. Enjoy!
-San
Post-Publication Collaborations
NEW! (not in original book links; audio with transcript)
“Bfillssu Eimst” (text on page 10), translation to libretto for soprano melody, 2022; and “M. le fils is bust” (text on page 43), translation to morse code for percussion on piano lid, 2022. From ongoing musical translations by composer Nick Williams, in collaboration with singer Anna Snow, Kate Ledger and Spelk.
Link to “Bfillssu Eimst / M. le fils is bust”.
NEW! (not in original book links; video with captions and British Sign Language)
“Watching You Move” (text on page 31), live performance with oboe, guitar, drum kit and film. A poetry-music-film collaboration with They They Theys (Sandra Alland, M. Lawrence, Nathan Gale, Chris Red & Ania Urbanowska), 2016. Captioned and BSL-interpreted.
Link to clip of Watching You Move.
NEW! (not in original book links; audio with transcript)
“Tilt / Flip ” (text on pages 20-21), reading with electric bass and vocal melody. From the EP, Doctor Says, Zorras (Sandra Alland & Y. Josephine), MAR, 2012.
Original Book Links (2007)
pg. 15; Title: Tone (video with no dialogue)
Original Link: blissfultimes.ca/tone.wmv
New link to “Tone”.
pg. 24; Title: BefiillmsssTu (audio with transcript)
Original Link: blissfultimes.ca/alpha.mp3
New link to “Befiillmssstu”.
pg. 37; Title: After the Phone Call 2 (audio with transcript; includes 2009 version with Zorras)
Original Link: blissfultimes.ca/aftercall.mp3
New link to “After the Phone Call 2”.
pg. 40; Title: Measure (photos with alt text)
Original Link: blissfultimes.ca/measure.htm
New link to “Measure”.
pg. 50; Title: Rant (audio with transcript)
Original Link: blissfultimes.ca/rant.mp3
New link to “Rant”.
pg. 64; Title: Slippery (video with captions)
Original Link: blissfultimes.ca/slippery.wmv
New link to “Slippery”.
pg. 71; Title: After Going Out 2 (audio with transcript; includes 2009 version with Zorras)
Original Link: blissfultimes.ca/aftergoingout.mp3
New link to “After Going Out 2”.
Footnotes / Index to Translation Methods (text)
Original Link: blissfultimes.ca/footnotes.htm
New link to “Footnotes”.
Talk on San’s writing process (audio; contact San for a transcript)
Original Link: blissfultimes.ca/speakeasy.htm
New link to “Speakeasy”.