Вопль. Кадиш. Стихотворения 1952-1960 – Allen’s Howl & Other Poems and Kaddish and Other Poems in Russian translation (deftly translated by Dmitry Manin, with an introduction and commentary by Dmitry Khaustov) was launched this past week in Moscow (and this coming Sunday in St Petersburg) to what we hear were positive and enthusiastic reviews.
This, Podspisnie, the publishers, inform us, is the first time that these two books have been published in Russia in full and presented in their proper compositional sequence. Some of the poems in Howl have been translated before and have appeared in various collections. Most of the poems from Kaddish, however, have never before seen publication in Russian. These versions are entirely new.
Podspisnie, incidentally, note that the image shown above is “a picture we made for our Instagram page. It’s a tribute to Los Angeles readings when Ginsberg got undressed while arguing with hecklers.” It’s also a great way of selling books!
The news reported here of a recently-discovered “Howl‘ manuscript? – asking-price $425,000? – as City Lights rightly point out – “The final version is only $7.95, and it comes with extra poems – just saying!”
City Lights – “A Woman’s History of City Lights” check out this illuminating interview with the great Nancy J Peters
and another great City Lights pioneering woman, Janine Pommy Vega – Her Poems to Fernando (1968) was one of the rare earliest titles to be published in their iconic Pocket Poets series (Pocket Poet #22) by a woman author
A beautiful new edition has just been published by Longhouse Books. Cause indeed for celebration!
And Anne Waldman‘s a Pocket Poets author – Fast Speaking Woman (1975) (Pocket Poets #33)
It’s Anne Waldman‘s birthday today – indefatigable Anne, still indefatigable, 76 years old and, thankfully, (“keeping the world safe for poetry”), showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.
Here‘s an interview with her recorded back in August 2020 for the Louisiana Channel, “Poetry as a Performance”
Here‘s her and Kyle Dacuyan of the St Marks Poetry Project discussing “creative life in the context of our new social reality”
Here’s her and Ammiel Alcalay and a recent Zoom reading.
It’s also the anniversary of the birth of the late “conscience of America”, Ed Dorn
Speaking of birthdays – Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday coming up in a couple of months. More on Bob and Allen, May 24th
and coming up soon (even sooner – in fact, out today!), the official release by Omnivore of the legendary Reed College Howl recording – Read more about that in an article from the current Portland Monthly – here
Allen Ginsberg – Photographer – We’d like to remind you (in case you missed it first time round) of this informative series – here & here, here & here, here & here – and here & here
For an overview/useful survey – check out Claudia Stritof’s recent article in Photolux Festival magazine (originally in Italian but also available in English translation) – here
Herbert Huncke, “The Godfather of the Beats”. We’ve always been grateful to Laki Vazakas for his extensive video documentation of Herbert. Here’s a recently up-loaded piece – Huncke reading an excerpt from his story “Ed Leary” (from The Evening Sun Turned Crimson (Cherry Valley Editions, 1980), at The Living Theatre in New York, on November 20, 1990 – “Eddie was a new type of person to me”, Huncke declares, “I had never known anyone like him nor for that matter have I since met anyone his equal in independence and scheming know-how.”