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Olson circle

Concept
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A term referencing Charles Olson’s theories of projective verse and open field composition, emphasizing breath and energy

Detailed Definition
Olson circle denotes poets associated with Charles Olson and the Black Mountain School, who championed “Projective Verse,” open-field composition, and breath-based prosody; emphasizing process over product, they treated the page as an energy field, rejecting academic formalism in favor of organic, speech-driven, and politically engaged poetics.
Example
Example in poetry:
Charles Olson’s “Maximus Poems,” using typewriter spacing to map thought; Projective verse diagrams showing breath units as circles; Poems arranged in spiral or concentric forms on the page; Visual layout where line breaks follow circular breath patterns
Additional Notes
Olson circle refers to poets influenced by Charles Olson’s projective verse and open-field composition; emphasizes breath, field composition, and anti-academic stance.
Also Known As
Projective Verse circle Black Mountain poets Olsonian school open-field group Black Mountain school Charles Olson group
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