Bill Morgan, archivist, editor, and Allen’s biographer, is interviewed by host Charlie Rossiter on the latest episode of the podcast Poetry Spoken Here. He gets to speak of his most recent book, The Best Minds of My Generation – A Literary History of the Beats (based on transcriptions of Allen’s lectures both at Naropa and at Brooklyn College). In addition, Rossiter reviews Wait Till I’m Dead, Bill’s edition of Allen’s posthumous poems, now fresh out in paperback.
Speaking of Poetry Spoken Here (sic), don’t miss some of the early broadcasts. This one, for example – David Cope speaking at length on Allen – here
Exciting news from Beatdom Books – two new titles in the pipeline – Straight Around Allen: On the Business of Being Allen Ginsberg by Bob Rosenthal and The Buddhist Beat Poets of Diane di Prima and Lenore Kandel by Max Orsini. – due out in the summer – see here
Alexander Ferrere‘s useful short survey – “Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg – A Story of Influences“, part of his on-going study of Ginsberg and contemporary poetics, can be read at the Empty Mirror site – here
Erik Mortensen‘s Translating the Counterculture – The Reception of the Beats in Turkey just out from Southern Illinois University Press. More about that book here
missing our friend, Bobbie-Louise Hawkins – Here’s one of her many grateful students, Andrew Wille – “I Remember Bobbie-Louise Hawkins”
& one of her publishers, Michael Wolfe, tells a story: “No one who heard that voice will soon forget it: earthy, cocky, in the know. Twenty years a neighbor. I was sitting by a display in the Berkeley Amphitheater with all the Tombouctou Books on a display table. Allen Ginsberg tapped me on the shoulder. “Frenchy & Cuban Pete“? he said. It was the only book he bought.
