Introducing the Holy Litany Project. M.L.Kejara and Akina Rahman Khan hit upon the interesting idea of perhaps updating Allen’s classic “America” for the 21st Century. They’re sending out an open call (on Facebook) for new lines, new strophes – “We will try to emulate Ginsberg’s style..and update his work with our burning thoughts (contemporary thoughts) expressed in our own words.”…”Issues like the Zimmerman trial, environmentalism, gay marriage, legalization of marijuana, healthcare, information-privacy etc”, could, they suggest, “be best communicated by poetry, in the way that Ginsberg voiced his own frustrations (in the ’50s) in (the poem) “America”..”..”The (new) lines will be added by you in (a) pinned poll. You can add (your) lines in this poll for the rest of the members to comment on.” More here.
Kill Your Darlings, the much-awaited, controversial, Daniel-Radcliffe-as-Allen-Ginsberg John Krokidas movie opens this Fall (18th of October in the United States, on “limited” release) and here (in case you’ve not come across it already!) is the first teaser/trailer.
The Poet Speaks – Homage to Allen Ginsberg by Philip Glass and Patti Smith takes place at the Edinburgh Playhouse next Tuesday, as part of the Edinburgh Festival. Here‘s Patti Smith talking about her relationship with Allen (to Barry Didcock of the Scottish Sunday Herald newspaper).
Marjorie Perloff‘s memoir of Allen, in, literally, a Californian supermarket, we mentioned here. Here, in an interview for the Poetry Foundation with Curtis Fox, she expands on that, and on Allen’s “charm”, and on that poem (“A Supermarket In California”)
Anne Waldman has a new book out.
Mark Ewart recognizes Allen as a Gemini
East Village artist, Andres Bella displays, again (following display in the recent Howl Festival), his “For Howl”, (made up “entirely out of cut-up text from (the) poem “Howl””)
Last weekend (last Saturday) was the third annual Janine Pommy Vega Poetry Festival in Woodstock (up-state New York) – remembering and much-missing the triumphal spirit of Janine
If you happen to be in San Francisco next Thursday, don’t miss Michael Flanagan at the GLBT History Museum – “From Beatniks to Gay Liberation – Allen Ginsberg and Queer San Francisco” (part of that city’s on-going Ginsberg-toast).