Our thanks to David Shook, on the web-site, Molossus, for his presentation this week concerning “Allen Ginsberg’s Recycled Erotic Manuscript” (sic) [2018 update – regrettably, this article and this web-site are no longer available] – ( a note on the one side from Allen, a porn-text on the verso (“”Now, lick it”, I ordered her”), said text, singularly not from Allen, a line briefly drawn through it and the word, “recycled” scribbled in the margin).
Here’s the text from the recto page:
6/18/89 -Dear Mrs Ashby, I don’t think “Godhead” is conceivable in Zen. Buddhism is non-theistic, so far as I know it, to use common words. Zen means sitting, experience sitting practice of meditation. The “ideas” are extra, pithy if you sit, verbose without the psychological insight into texture of consciousness (ordinary mind) resulting from patient, boring, sitting on yr behind. So I hear. Naropa had Buddhist-Xtian Conferences many years running, dialogue on hermetic, monastic, and mystic terminology, and prayers, plenty there on tape and some transcribed. I think there’s lots of texts on the subject. Chogyam Trungpa’s Cutting Thru Spiritual Materialism (Shambhala, Boston) probably would clarify some of your concerns. I have First Blues on Folkways Records, now part of Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, at Naropa’s Vajradhatu Tapes – maybe they can supply you with taped readings of mine and others. Fantasy Record Howl is supposedly still available from Fantasy, 10th and Parker, Berkeley. I’m not able to digest German philos. Terminology, or mix (hodge-podge?) of Crowley and aztec in your essay – best wishes, Allen Ginsberg”.
We’ve written here before about Donnie Mather’s Kaddish. A quick announcement for those of you fortunate enough to be in New York. His “Adaptations Project” production opens at the end of the month, September 29, at the Theatre Workshop (83 East 4th Street), and runs until October 9, a limited engagement. More NYC theatre and performance news – the “3rd Annual Howl! Project” has just been announced for the month of October (click here for more details).
Events will take place at Theater 80 (80 St Mark’s Place) – “Proceeds benefit HOWL! Help, an emergency services assistance and health fund for eligible and qualifying East Village artists, administered by The Actors Fund”.
“Techno” and “House” music specialists Jondi & Spesh (J.D.Moyer & Stephen Kay) have just released their mix (and re-mix) of “Howl” on their own Looq records. More on that experiment here.
Two obits. We reported earlier on the death of Fran Landesman, here‘s a slightly more irreverant note (only irreverant because more honest) by her friend, the poet Michael Horowitz. And speaking of obituaries and follow-ups, Peter Whitehead‘s assistant director, and one of the initial primary organizers of the 1965 Royal Albert Hall International Poetry Incarnation, “Acid King”, John Esam, recently passed away. Here‘s Andrew Philip Smith’s loving recollection of him in The Guardian.
Belatedly noting too Albert Saijo‘s death (on June 2, in Hawaii, aged 85)
Al Hinkle is very much alive, and has a web-site (sic – sadly, no more)
Finally, September 24, a reminder, only 8 more days to go before an explosion of events (Michael Rothenberg’s hugely ambitious – but truly historic and significant) – 100 Thousand Poets For Change – “600 events in 450 cities and 95 countries”!