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Silence: Lectures and Writings | 
 enlarge | Author: John Cage
Publisher: Wesleyan
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.65
You Save: $9.30 (37%)
New (17) Used (20) Collectible (3) from $15.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 30912
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 7 x 0.9
ISBN: 0819560286
Dewey Decimal Number: 780.8
EAN: 9780819560285
ASIN: 0819560286
Publication Date: June 15, 1961
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
Silence, A Year from Monday, M, Empty Words and X (in this order) form the five parts of a series of books in which Cage tries, as he says, to find a way of writing which comes from ideas, is not about them, but which produces them. Often these writings include mesostics and essays created by subjecting the work of other writers to chance procedures using the I Ching (what Cage called writing through).
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 A Seminal 20th Century (And Beyond) Text (from Ahadada Books) June 14, 2008
I always think of John Cage as "Klatuu" in "The Day The Earth Stood Still," arriving in a turn-table-shaped rig to deliver the truth about the future of music to the masses. He parks his space ship, and his buddy Gort, on the mall and goes out to make a point. At first only the smartest man in the world could understand the equations he and Billy left on the office black board, but soon everyone would be standing stranded on the streets of Paris and Beijing wondering what the heck's up, and what's all this noise about? Of course, Klatuu gets killed and brought back to life (Cage wisely skipped that), and flies back to wherever he came from (as did Cage a few years back), but our man Cage beats Klatuu by light years, because this MAN FROM THE FUTURE left behind a collection of lectures and writings on the nature of sound, art, literature and BEING that still resonates. This is a fascinating tool box to dig through, even though some of the most interesting selections pre-date Klatuu. One innovation that Cage pioneers in this book is the use of random processes to give form to his lectures. This results in timed "silences" in the texts (very similar to performance scores) and poem-like structures of words. Cage also adds the 20th century's plastic-fantastic Americanized (and therefore ever more elastic) concept of ZEN to the tool box of avant-garde poly-practioners, which results in yet another permission given to innovate. In fact, when I encounter new music, writing, art, one of the basic things I seek is PERMISSION TO DO, and that's exactly what Cage is up to in these lectures. Not only is PERMISSION GIVEN, but he hands over many of the tools to begin. That's why this book is vital, seminal (pun intended) and necessary for every experimentalist in the arts and in life. Cage also has a great sense of humor in these writings. YOUTUBE includes a wonderful video of a guest appearance that Cage made on the old "What's My Line." Before the barely comprehending black & white stares of Gary Moore, Bess Myerson and the crew, Cage plays mix-masters, toasters, and other appliances, watching the clock, as always, and with a straight face bringing the odd beauty of new sound and his own Houdini-like showmanship into America's living rooms, just as he unpacks his ideas in the minds of any attentive reader of this book to this day. As classic as a 1960 limited edition T-Bird guaranteed to bring wows if driven into the 21st century and on and on into the future of human thought.
 Very Interesting!! February 16, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is a work of art in itself. John Cage takes so many of his theories and applies them to his writing style, formatting, and type style. I suggest knowing a little about him before reading this book as it is a little easy to get lost in translation (figuratively speaking). Overall, it is definitely worth reading, and it is fairly affordable...a good addition to any collection.
Essential May 8, 2002
26 out of 28 found this review helpful
Not just for musicians, but for anybody who is interested in music or philosophy. Cage's ideas presented in the work are fascinating in and of themselves, but even the manner in which he physically notates his thoughts on paper is amazing to see.There's a common argument that his ideas (and this book) are overrated. I find this difficult to digest, especially when one considers the enormous impact Cage's writings and compositions have had on countless composers (basically anyone composing after 1950 has most likely taken a thing or two from the ideas in this book). Sometimes he can be a little tough to follow in the book, as properly constructed sentences are not high up on Cage's list of priorities. However, this book has so much to offer that it is worth wading through the occasional slow spot. So give it a whirl. Even if you don't like Cage's music, reading this book will give you insights into what he did that may change your mind or at least instill a newfound respect. At its best, this is inspiration of the highest sort.
Quintessential Cage August 17, 2001
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I keep reading it year after year and I keep finding sections of it I've never seen before. magic. A the same time, I read the same part overs and over again years later and they just get better.It's just a remarkable text. You have to get it.
This book is slightly overrated, actually June 13, 2001
12 out of 27 found this review helpful
There is no denying the importance of John Cage as a composer as well as a writer. But even though this book is a necessary provocation for anyone who thinks they know what music is and should be, he is not a philosopher, and his ideas are often contradictory, naive and even romantic.Romantic? Yes, I would say that for instance his idea of "sounds in themselves" and "nature" are romantic. Can we really eliminate all cultural impact and distortion just by refusing intention? I think not. Sounds are always inflected by history. Still, I would not want a world without the challenge of his extreme stance.
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