Ginsberg De Young Museum Reading – 1996
“Gospel Noble Truths” – The reading begins with a performance of “Gospel Noble Truths” (“Born in this world, you’ve got to suffer..”…”Die when you die”) – followed by
“the great Prajnaparamitra Sutra (Heart Sutra)” – I’ll do it in A – (“Thus I have heard…”…”… Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha“)
“So, turning back to the essence of that text, we have Kerouac’s Dharma Bums 1957, the later works and early works of Roshi Zen Master Philip Whalen, Naropa Institute and the development of some elegant American form of Buddhist study and meditation. Now to the present – “National Security Agency Dope Calypso”. (“Now Richard Secord and Oliver North..”…”… in 2000 AD read The New York Times”) – (January 1990 – You didn’t have to wait for the San Jose Mercury (reporting)! )
Now, next the contribution to the war on dope, my “Just Say No..” – “Put Down Yr Cigarette Rag ” (“Don’t smoke, don’t smoke…”… “…don’t smoke”)
(Now, the piece de resistance – from my new book that came out this week, Selected Poems “The Ballad of The Skeletons” (which will be out next week as a record on Mercury, the single… so this following ballad epic will be out before the election (sic) … )
AG: Of course David (referring to David Amram, who, along with Steven Taylor is accompanying him) .. we played together many years, so we’ve played some of these songs together, ” Don’t Smoke” (and later on “Father Death (Blues)”
DA: And we never rehearsed them and it always came out right
AG: Correct. Well, he’s such a great musician, so.. ready?… (“Said the Presidential Skeleton..”… “….said the newscast skeleton, that’s all good night”.)
AG: Okay, what time am I supposed to stop. that’s…
Audience member: Never!
AG: No, no, please no, come on, who is here in charge please? Who is in charge and can give me a very definite statement?
Audience member (2): You are in charge!
AG: What time?
Audience member (3): It says 5.30 on the schedule
AG: Okay – 5.30., okay, very good. I just need parameters
Allen then continues with a number of short poems:
“After The Party” (“amid glasses clinking, mineral water, schnapps…” …”…we talk the refined old doctrine/Coemergent Wisdom”)
“C’mon Pigs of Western Civilization Eat More Grease” (“Eat, eat, more marble sirloin..”…” …black forest chocolate cake you deserve it”)
“Nazi Capisce” (“Capitalism Capisce?..”Fascisti shit Capisce?”)
“You Know What I’m Saying?” – “I was shy and tender as a ten year old kid..” … “..in Paterson, New Jersey, you know what I”m saying?”)
“Excrement” – (“What goes in, what comes out” – “Everybody excretes different loads..”…”What a relief”)
“Baul Song” – B-A-U-L – that’s the Northern Bengali one-string Gopi.. ektara musician- singers of paradoxical songs, somewhat in the tradition of Kabir or Lalon Shah – phrasing like “the elephant is caught in the spider web and the ant bursts out laughing” – (“You’ve been coughing for weeks…”…”These jokes won’t be so funny when everyone leaves the seven exits”)
“Popular Tunes” (“What do I hear in my ear approaching my 70th year..” …
“General Talk” (“Carl Solomon, from Pilgrim’s State Hospital, 1953. 1953 – “My eye is gone and I can’t see anything but my nose (holding it while he speaks), my nose gets in the way”…1957 …1955 two years after the death of Carl Solomon, a friend to whom I dedicated “Howl”, (“I meet Carl Solomon/“What’s it like in the afterworld?”… “…The second rule is “Act like you’re dead”)
“Multiple Identity Questionnaire” – (“Nature empty, everything’s pure…”… “maya delusion nonentity”)
Allen then concludes with two pieces:
from Selected Poems – “New Verses For Amazing Grace“- (“I dreamed I dwelled in a homeless place..”…”…passed with eyes of stone”)
We’ll finish – with, I’ll mention it – William Blake – “The Nurses Song” by William Blake, which is a sing-along. The last line is “And all the hells echoed”, or “..all the hills echo-ed” – and please join us, we’ll all be singing together. If you don’t know how to sing, you’ll sound even better, and if you know how to make high soprano or harmony, please go ahead – (and) basso profundities, descend!
ST: ..canons.. fugues..
AG: Yes, and I’ll play harmonium. Well, the situation is the nurse and the student, it’s getting late, time to get off the stage (of life) get out of the playground, off the fields. The nurse calls the kids to go home.They say, no, no, it’s still a little light, the birds are out tweedling, we want to stay. She says, “alright. you can but you’re gonna have to go in sooner or later, you’ll want to get in from the dark”. So, “The Nurse’s Song” – text by William Blake, music by ourselves. We’ll go for four stanzas and then sing along – (“When the voices of children…”…”and all the hills echo-ed.”)