It’s been a monumental week. Here at the Ginsberg blog now on Ginsberg.org we’re transitioning (as you see) from our old site to our new presence (part of the spruce-up of the entire site). Some work remains, protecting and reconstituting our archives, (not to mention, other aspects of the site), meticulously going through old posts one-by-one, so bear with us.
Meanwhile, like the rest of the world, still reeling, Here’s the ACLU’s statement.
Not enough that a madman is handed keys to the world. The death, yesterday, aged 82, of poet-troubadour legendary rock star, Leonard Cohen. R.I.P.
Rolling Stone‘s notices are here and here. The New York Times obituary here, The Washington Post and the LA Times, here and here.
Here’s a little rock gossip: “One night, (Leonard) Cohen and (Phil) Spector were unexpectedly joined by Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg, who sang backup on “Don’t Go Home With Your Hard On“. The night before Cohen and Harvey Kubernik from Melody Maker had gone to the Troubadour (in L.A) for a poetry reading by Ginsberg. The next evening, Ginsberg and Dylan were eating with Ronee Blakley at Canter’s delicatessen on Fairfax when they learned that Cohen was recording with Spector at the Gold Star studios. They dropped by, and before long, Hal Blaine, the drummer, was directing Ginsberg and Dylan in backing vocal parts. Spector also joined in on the song. However Dylan wasn’t an influence on Cohen’s songwriting on that album (Death of A Ladies Man)…as Ginsberg noted, “Dylan blew everybody’s mind except Leonard’s” (From Ira B Nadel – Various Positions – A Life of Leonard Cohen (originally published, 1996, subsequently revised, 2007, etc)
No Friday Round-Up for a couple of weeks, so a few write-ups you may not have seen. Our good friend Simon Warner pens this one (in the Yorkshire Post) – “Allen Ginsberg’s Howl at 60 – The Beat Goes On“, Lew Whittington surveys the new Kerouac volume (noted on the Ginsberg Project here) for the Huffington Post Bob Dylan may or may not turn up for his Nobel (“I’ll be at the Nobel-Prize ceremony… if I can”) . And there’s a great show up at the moment at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, of Robert Frank photos. If you’re anywhere in the vicinity, don’t miss it.
Leonard Cohen’s last interview – http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/leonard-cohen-a-final-interview