I've just read your wonderful article on Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding (on www.popmatters.com, which led me here). To me it conveys very well why they're not only hilarious, but also heartwarming. Their reserve, even toward their entirely fictional characters, is in short supply these days.
I was introduced to Bob and Ray in a rather unusual way. In the early 1970's, as an undergraduate at Columbia just arrived from the Midwest, I had the great fortune to take poetry classes with the late Kenneth Koch. Knowing my admiration for the poetry of his close friend John Ashbery, he introduced us, and occasionally Ashbery would take the time to chat with me at the Chock full o' Nuts across the street from Columbia. His Three Poems had just come out and he asked me what I thought of it. I probably mentioned the references to the philosophical essays of Francis Bacon or the like. He asked if I didn't see something a little Bob-and-Ray-like in it. He was astonished when I asked, "Who are Bob and Ray?" I followed up his recommendation and promptly became ensnared. And indeed, rereading "Three Poems," I see the same quiet humor there now.
Lately I've been listening through all the routines I could find on-line, and I'm sure I'll be buying some CD's from Larry Josephson's great collection soon. Best wishes and thank you for your insightful article.
Your wonderful Bob & Ray article
I was introduced to Bob and Ray in a rather unusual way. In the early 1970's, as an undergraduate at Columbia just arrived from the Midwest, I had the great fortune to take poetry classes with the late Kenneth Koch. Knowing my admiration for the poetry of his close friend John Ashbery, he introduced us, and occasionally Ashbery would take the time to chat with me at the Chock full o' Nuts across the street from Columbia. His Three Poems had just come out and he asked me what I thought of it. I probably mentioned the references to the philosophical essays of Francis Bacon or the like. He asked if I didn't see something a little Bob-and-Ray-like in it. He was astonished when I asked, "Who are Bob and Ray?" I followed up his recommendation and promptly became ensnared. And indeed, rereading "Three Poems," I see the same quiet humor there now.
Lately I've been listening through all the routines I could find on-line, and I'm sure I'll be buying some CD's from Larry Josephson's great collection soon. Best wishes and thank you for your insightful article.
Michael Flory
Brooklyn, NY