Gregory Corso and Allen Ginsberg in conversation continuing from here
GC: We’re taking the whole world thing, right? Look, the French didn’t do shit, did they? – maybe in a way they did..
AG Alright, go ahead.
GC: Yves Bonnefoy.
AG: Bonnefoy. And who’s the lady we read with that died recently? that (Henri) Michaux liked, the North African, North African..
GC: I don’t know.
AG: …rich girl..
GC: Poet? I would know a rich North African girl..
AG: …rich, rich lady from North Africa
GC: Did I meet her? Did I know her?
AG: You may have. We read with her at the American Center once
GC: That’s right, that’s right..
AG: …with jazz, what’s her name..?
GC: I don’t know.
AG: Joyce Mansour
GC: Ok – But, ok so, (the world..)
AG: And (Jean Jacques) Lebel is an activist.
GC Ay, with that guy, man! He was once with the Happenings.
AG: I hear he’s real rich now.
GC: Yeah he’s..well, his family..his family owned (and) made.. his family made armaments, remember?
AG: Was that was it was?
GC: Yes, how do you think they knew DuChamp and all that? and (got) invited to those parties? They made all their money buying their paintings. They made armaments. They were the ones who made..
AG: I thought he was an art dealer – Robert Lebel
GC: He could have been that too, but the family’s armaments. So he’s rich, what? by his family’s money? or by his own?
AG: Well, his father, I think.
GC: Yeah by his family, not on his own. I’ll tell you why I didn’t like that guy, I’ll tell you why I didn’t like Lebel.. He had this Happening once right?…
AG: Yes
GC: …with Ferlinghetti of all people! (and he fell right for it – Ferlinghetti with Happenings, he was so great). They let out little live turtles and little chicks on an audience and everybody said, “Hey, look at that!” – “Well, what happened afterwards when it was over, what happened to the turtles and the chickens ?” – “Oh, they were stepped on then” – I said, “great! beautiful, you asshole!” (He liked to tease with all that, please!, creepy…)
A: Well, he translated our poetry.
GC: I should love him because he translated our poetry?
AG: He works hard.
GC: He worked hard!
AG: And he also gave me a copy of Artaud’s “To Be Done With The Judgement of God” from Radiodiffusion Française
GC: That’s good.
AG: …which we gave to the Living Theater back in the early ‘Sixties…
to be continued