Between the Ears - The Man with the Blue Guitar

Wallace Stevens and Pablo Picasso were two great modernists who had much in common: rather than representing the world in their art they transfigured it. They said, "You have a blue guitar, You do not play things as they are." The man replied, "Things as they are Are changed upon the blue guitar." Meaning is something created - like the playing of a song or the painting of a picture. In Picasso's painting the old guitarist is gaunt and his clothes ragged - yet he plays. The poem is playful, but like the painting melancholic in tone. It quietly rhymes, it is subtly rhythmic, the theme is stated then variations are played on it. The poem is the guitarist's music, a blues. This programme realises all this in music and language, as a collaboration between actor, musician, artist - even critic. Martin Simpson is an extraordinary guitarist, 'the nearest Britain has to Ry Cooder' (Mojo) and has made a dozen CDs, including 'Righteousness and Humidity', a homage to the great delta blues players. He lived in the US for 15 years and combines British, Afro-American and old-time music. The poem is wonderfully musical in its language, but somewhat elusive. So Dana Gioia, American poet, essayist and until recently Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, offers ideas about the poem and Wallace's poetics. The poem and the comments are mixed with the new music by Martin Simpson, inspired by the poem itself and the painting. Producer: Julian May.