2021 update – the video that accompanied this post is no longer available]“
Mugging”, we featured yesterday. Here’s the rest of Allen’s reading from 1977 at the University of Cincinnati
The opening chant, a long mantric repetition of (shri ram jai ram jai jai rama), William Blake’s “Spring“,(“Words by William Blake, tune by myself, dances by yourself, and voices by yourself”” – “Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year”) – This is followed by a second chant –AHHH – (“Best done if you sit up straight on your spine. Eyes open. Not tripping. Not tripping but appreciating the actual spacious space that we share. So it’s actually an appreciation of our presence in the enormity of the universe”)
Allen’s own reading proper begins with “Continuation of A Long Poem of These States“ (“Philadelphia city light boiling under the clouds…”) and a section from “Wichita Vortex Sutra”. This is followed by “Uptown New York” (see above) and “First Party at Ken Kesey’s with Hell’s Angels“, “Wales Visitation” and five songs (“NY Youth Call Annunciation“, “CIA Dope Calypso“,“End the Vietnam War”, “Blues” (“I come from New Jersey and I’d love to suck your prick…” (sic!)), and “Dope Fiend Blues“)
The reading continues with poems, “Flying Elegy” (“Over Denver in the air no place to take revenge…”), “To The Dead” (“Teacher, bring me to Heaven or leave me alone…”) , “Ego Confession” (“I want to be known as the most brilliant man in America..”), and
“Mugging“ (see yesterday – “Tonite, I walked out of my red apartment door on East tenth Street…”) The reading ends with more chanting – this time the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra Allen sounds out the syllables of The Perfect Wisdom Sutra to perfectly conclude.