Peter Cole's poetry is the culmination of a whole series of studies, practices and translations of works of Jewish Mysticism known as Kabbalah. He reads us a translation of a mystical poem, then he moves into his new book The Invention of Influence, (New Directions) and he reads a poem about Kabbalah in which the world, made of letters, is "coming together as it falls apart." We explore the "influence machine," which generates schizophrenic behavior. Finally we hear Coles' "Summer Syntax," which brings Kabbalah, schizophrenia and blissful vision together into one powerful poem.
Photo: © Adina Hoffman