It’s William Carlos Williams birthday today. It’s also the birthday of Ken Kesey
Both prominent figures in Allen’s life and both featured extensively previously elsewhere on The Allen Ginsberg Project.
For Williams, we’d direct you to here, here, here, here, and here
For Kesey here, here, here and here
A new Ginsberg title just out from Il Saggiatore – Senza Filtri (Uncensored) –Interviste 1958-1996 – an Italian translation, by Sara Sullam (with introduction by Edmund White.) of Spontaneous Mind, David Carter‘s 2001 book of Selected Interviews
and did we note this one (from last year) – the Italian edition of Don’t Hide The Madness (translated by Silvia Albesano)
A further reminder of Tuesday’s photo-show opening in New York – “Transforming Minds – Kyabaje Gelek Rimpoche & Friends – Photographs by Allen Ginsberg 1989-1997“.
The curators explain the background:
“The idea of this show evolved over several conversations Peter Hale of the Ginsberg Estate had with Carole Corcoran and Ben Paljor Chatag of Jewel Heart starting in the summer of 2018. (Gelek) Rimpoche had left us the previous year, and the highly polarized environment in the country and world was becoming more worrisome by the day. Aware that Allen had taken many photos of Rimpoche between 1989-1997 and that an interest in dharma, spirituality and possibility of transformation was again gaining popularity in certain circles, we thought we could make a positive contribution through a photo exhibit of Allen’s photographs celebrating Gelek Rimpoche and their unique relationship.
The timing for the show was also ripe for re-exploring & re-examining Allen’s photography. While his archive has been safely housed at Stanford University since his death in 1997, the over 2500 contact sheets – proof sheets for every roll of film in the archive – had only been digitized in 2016, making them far more accessible and much easier to view
Late in the summer of 2018 ..(we) began narrowing our selections from the 139 contact sheet pages Rimpoche appears on (easily 500 images) down to the forty here on exhibit at Tibet House. Allen’s extensive notes on the contact sheets, and the countless images he’d circled intending to print up but hadn’t the time or the funds to do so within his lifetime, guided our selection process…”
Also opening on Tuesday (in the UK, at the Oxmarket Gallery at the University of Chichester in West Sussex, curated by two professors there, Dick Ellis and Hugo Frey) – a multimedia exhibition of artworks by Gregory Corso.
David Amram will headline a free outdoor concert tomorrow Saturday September 18, launching this year’s The Village Trip arts festival
Meanwhile, on the West Coast, it’s the Michael McClure celebration at the California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda – see here
Speaking of Michael, a belated note on Brian Hassett’s recent sleuthing of the hitherto-mysterious George Harrison-Michael McClure connection – and a deep-dive into the history of “The Beard”
and don’t forget Mule Kick Blues
Very much appreciate reading this and further references.
May I ask why there is no mention of Philip Glass who is on the picture and was involved ?
Thank you for your answer
The image of the poster, (with, indeed, Philip Glass included), was a late addition to the Friday Weekly Round-Up which addresses not merely this upcoming event at Tibet House but, with equal significance, much else besides. Philip’s deep engagement with Buddhism, and with Allen has been. and will continue to be, celebrated often and at length on this forum. Please check out – https://allenginsberg.org/2016/01/philip-glass-1/ & https://allenginsberg.org/2016/01/philip-glass-2/. & please make use of the search bar available for searching our voluminous archives – for Philip: https://allenginsberg.org/?s=Philip+glass