City Lights (this year celebrating their 70th birthday) this week debuted new banners outside the store – images and a quote from Allen (alongside Toni Morrison, Debbie Reese, Luis Rodriguez.. ) The quote on display from Allen? – all too fitting to these current times –
and all too relevant to City Lights – the literal absurdity of book-bans and censorship –
“They censor words not the things they denote”
A Burroughs-ian – Korzybski observation? – The source is actually via Carl Solomon from “The Wisdom of Solomon (Carl)” in Journals Early ‘Fifties, Early Sixties
Here’s the full quote (taking it a step further!) – “They censor words not the things they denote – It would create less of a stir to drop a piece of shit on Grant’s tomb than to write it out in white paint. Because people recognize that’s what memorials are for – old bums & dogs to shit on.”
Well, the Fall’s looking to be a great time for Ginsberg vinyl. We’ve already mentioned The Fall of America Tribute Part 2 – see here
Plans afoot also for, come November, a new issue (extended issue) of The Lion For Real -“The Lion For Real-Reborn” – a double LP with eight new tracks mixed and mastered by music legend (Mark) Kramer, (who has also composed new music for two tracks for which previously no compositions had been attached).
Producer Michael Minzer writes:
“It’s been 34 years since the first release of Lion, and I hope that this expanded re-issue will inspire the poets of today, and those future artists yet to come”.
BBC broadcaster and author Michael Goldfarb looks at the controversies surrounding Amiri Baraka (part of a series on American writers and controversies) – see here
Simon Warner follows up
We’ve spoken on Allen’s “Anger Advice” before – see here (and, most recently, here), but look – worth mentioning again – what filmmaker (and sometime Allen neighbor) Wes Anderson has up on his wall:
