Welcome recent Allen Ginsberg Project readers, and greetings and thank yous to our more long-time followers, as this site continues to build. The biggest “spike” in our history took place this week, on Tuesday, following our Sonic Youth posting (even bigger, yes, than that following our Johnny Depp, or Bob Dylan, or even “Buddha’s Footprints” postings!) Sonic Youth kindly had it on their Facebook (clearly, more perused than our Facebook!)…
Our continuing Occupy Wall Street coverage – Author, Jan Clausen:
“I’m at Zuccotti Park, where I go every day, wearing a sign that says BECAUSE THEY”RE TRYING TO DRIVE OUR PLANET OFF A CLIFF. Cold rain is blowing sideways and I fight with my umbrella while reading Allen Ginsberg’s poem, “America”. Looking up, I spy a tall young man clad in excellent rain pants, standing a few paces away. He pronounces each line as I do, with such assurance that it’s clear he knows the entire poem by heart, all the way to the famous ending (“America, I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel”). We talk. It turns out he’s one of the Occupy Wall Street librarians. “We have a whole Allen Ginsberg section in our library!” he exults. For the rest of the day, I feel more alive, because poetry lives.”
And in San Francisco (Occupy SF), Jonah Raskin had the idea of slightly updating the text.
Here‘s a classic reading of the poem by Allen.
Here‘s a video-rendition by Mike Chase – and again – (Ralph Beard – You Tube favorite – montage, Allen reading, with music by Tom Waits (“Closing Time” from his debut album) playing in the background).
Kerouac news – the University of Massachusetts in Lowell (and its Jack and Stella Kerouac Center for Public Humanities) seems to be building up some steam (focusing on the local scene).
And here is some more local focus (this time in St Petersburg, Florida).
An “Omaggio ad Allen Ginsberg“ (homage to Allen Ginsberg) takes place at Casa della Poesia (Poetry House) in Baronissi (Italy) this weekend.
Jerry Aronson will be on hand for another showing of his movie this weekend in Boulder
11/11/11 today.
Fyodor Dostoyevesky was born in Moscow, 190 years ago, November 11, on this date.