Friday’s Weekly Round-Up – 365

May 11, 2018Simon Pettet

[Allen Ginsberg, San Francisco, September 1991. Snapped by Rick Dickenson with Allen’s camera, courtesy Stanford University Libraries/Allen Ginsberg Estate.]

Bill Morgan, archivist, editor, and Allen’s biographer, is interviewed by host Charlie Rossiter on the latest episode of the podcast Poetry Spoken Here. He gets to speak of his most recent book, The Best Minds of My Generation – A Literary History of the Beats (based on transcriptions of Allen’s lectures both at Naropa and at Brooklyn College). In addition, Rossiter reviews Wait Till I’m Dead, Bill’s edition of Allen’s posthumous poems, now fresh out in paperback.

Speaking … Read More

Friday’s Weekly Round-Up – 353

February 16, 2018Simon Pettet

[Allen Ginsberg in his kitchen, 1988 – Photograph by Brian Graham]

The Toronto photo show, “Fleeting Moments, Floating Worlds..,“ that we mentioned last week continues. What we omitted to mention was the accompanying catalog (printed and designed by the legendary Coach House Press). As curator, John Shoesmith writes in the forward – “The accompanying catalog attempts to further the story behind the Ginsberg photographs. It contains the voices of several key individuals who were crucial to the poet’s “second coming” as a photographer, beginning in the mid-1980s; from the person who planted the seed within Ginsberg to … Read More

Composed on The Tongue

June 19, 2017Simon Pettet

AG: (It’s a collection of) ..spontaneous writings, at different times. And some of the stuff is (from quite (recent), here,) at Naropa (The last piece from (19)74-(19)75, and some interviews done here around (19)75. And then a long conversation with Michael Aldrich, Edward Kissam & Nancy Blecker, (in Cherry Valley) ,”Improvised Poetics” { editorial note – subsequently reprinted in Spontaneous Mind] …..done in 1968.  And then, 1967, about twenty-five pages– twenty pages – of conversations, laconic conversations, with Ezra Pound about the Cantos and about what he thought about life – All this has been published in Loka or … Read More

Friday’s Weekly Round-Up – 318

June 2, 2017Simon Pettet

Anniversary of Allen Ginsberg’s birth tomorrow. Anne Waldman and guests will be celebrating it at the Fox Theatre in Boulder

Meanwhile in NYC (from 3-9) at the Howl Happening Gallery (also celebrating the upcoming re-release of the Ginsberg-Blake Songs of Innocence and Experience on CD)  – Ed Sanders, Steven Taylor, Ernie Brooks & Bear 54 and readings by Bob Rosenthal, Bob Holman, Hettie Jones, David Henderson, Basil King, & other surprise guests.

Speaking of Anne Waldman, how about this? – the Anne Waldman comic! – “the story of Anne Waldman in her … Read More

Allen Ginsberg’s Parinirvana

April 5, 2014admin

[Allen Ginsberg, Bob Rosenthal, James Grauerholz, Michael McClure, Peter Orlovsky – from Colin Still’s No More To Say And Nothing To Weep For – An Elegy For Allen Ginsberg 1926-1997 (1997)]

Saturday April 5th – Allen Ginsberg’s Parinirvana. Two Perspectives on Allen’s Last Hours  First, Gelek Rinpoche We lost Allen [Ginsberg], but believe me, he died very well – extremely well. We would be very lucky to go like he did. He was absolutely ready. It is interesting. It looked like he was always thinking that he had another ten years to live. Last year, after the summer retreat, … Read More

March 1 Birthdays – Lucien Carr & Basil Bunting

March 1, 2014admin

Basil Bunting

[Basil Bunting (1900-1985)]

[Lucien Carr (1925-2005)]

Two strangely contrasting birthdays, celebrated today (strangely contrasting? – or maybe not). We’ll draw your attention to fairly comprehensive initial postings on each of our two subjects of study – Basil Bunting – here  and Lucien Carr – here First, the latter. Due to the success of Kill Your Darlings, (out in America on DVD later this month), from a quiet unassuming back-seat, Lucien, (at least in the Dane DeHaan version), has been catapaulted to, clearly unwanted and unsought for, global notoriety, slandered (the movies can do this, even if it is just … Read More

Friday’s Weekly Round-Up – 149

October 25, 2013admin

[Allen Ginsberg, Eastside Highshool Paterson NJ 1942 or 43. Ginsberg family photo/c. Allen Ginsberg Estate]

[Allen Ginsberg, Mexico, 1954. c Allen Ginsberg Estate]

Jordan Larson in The Atlantic last week on that Beats-on-the-silver-screen phenomenon – “What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Jack Kerouac and The Beat Generation”. Nice to see critical eyes returning to Walter Salles’ labor of love “On The Road” – and Michael Polish’s equally reverential “Big Sur” (not to mention Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s “Howl”, with James Franco’s unforgettable performance). Larson’s primary thesis – “The current Beat revival arguably goes too far with … Read More

Friday’s Weekly Round-Up – 144

September 20, 2013admin

[Leonardo DiCaprio and Allen Ginsberg – Photograph by Jerry Aronson]  

“The film of the year”? – “The film of the year”? –  Well, obviously, we had to run this one! – Rebecca Cope, in Harpers Bazaar, on Kill Your Darlings.  Kill Your Darlings “buzz” continues to roll on, full pace. Here’s Timothy M Gray, in Variety: “The chief lure of “Darlings” for mainstream audiences and kudos voters will be word of mouth about (Daniel)Radcliffe’s breakthrough performance [as Allen Ginsberg], though the film has many other assets…Radcliffe said he’s dissimilar to Ginsberg, but added, “We are both

… Read More

Friday’s Weekly Round-Up – 141

August 30, 2013Peter Hale

[Johnny Depp at Allen Ginsberg’s kitchen table, New York City, 1994. c. Allen Ginsberg Estate]

[Harry Smith with Flowers and Cigarette in the kitchen 437 East 12th Street NYC,  August 3, 1986. c. Allen Ginsberg Estate]

[Joanne Kyger, Allen’s kitchen, 437 East 12th St.NYC, November 1989 c.Allen Ginsberg Estate]

[Gary Snyder, 437 East 12th St kitchen table, March 1991. photo c. Allen Ginsberg Estate]

[Peter Orlovsky 437 East 12th St, New York City, 1996. Photo Allen Ginsberg. c Allen Ginsberg Estate]

Allen’s table. We’ve been contacted about Allen’s kitchen-table, historical hearth and meeting point, also setting for innumerable photos. … Read More

Friday’s Weekly Round-Up – 121

April 12, 2013admin

A couple of weeks back (yes, it’s taken us that long to recover from all of the travel!) Allen was honored as one of the national heroes of the liberation struggle for the creation/establishment of the modern state of Bangladesh .“September on Jessore Road”, it seems, had, in 1971, an extraordinary effect in publicizing the appalling plight of the refugees and spreading word on the refugee-crisis there. Bob Rosenthal and Peter Hale, of the Ginsberg Estate, flew out to the official ceremonies to accept the award on Allen’s behalf. Here’s a few notes about (and selected images from) what … Read More