Dennis Downey: Poet Visionary, Stand-Up Philosopher

Dateline: 10/21/97

He speaks with that Cape Cod twang, which makes his Confucian mind all the deadlier. Through him you can talk with television sets, have a myth for breakfast, get married in the Upanishad Room (pre-Alphabet, if you please). I could quote his words but he’s just quoting as usual: "What is written does not give the fullness of what is said; what is said does not give the fullness of the concept in the mind" (Confucius says -- who else?). I have witnessed numerous Downey nights and got a couple of his poetry videos on TV. Now, he seems to basically write proposals. This is an art, folks.

Huckleberry Homer

I propose to float down the Providence River and "explain" the city of Providence as an ever-changing series of simultaneous rivers to a small audience assembled on a barge. I will create an oral performance that interweaves the geology, geography, and history of Providence with descriptions of its man-made infrastructure including water-supply, streets and highways, electric power grid, natural gas lines, telephone system, television cable system, airwave bradcast frequencies, microwave transmissions (cellular phones), and communications to and from satellites. The performance will last about 45 minutes as the boat weaves the river from the State House to the gas tanks at the opening of the harbor. Two cameras aboard the boat will record footage of the event, and a third camera will follow from above in a helicopter.

Who will fund this masterwork? Or, is the proposal the art? (Because you should really see the image track. To do so, write Dennis.

--Bob Holman

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