I enjoyed this piece; admittedly, I've never been a fan of Ginsberg (more for biographical reasons than literary ones), but generally, I appreciate your approach (looking at a singular literary event) and your self-awareness of its implications. The way you discuss memory at the end, particularly our tendency to write over things, is really engaging. Thank you for giving me some food for thought :)
But why a photo that was clearly taken not in San Francisco, but in London, prior or just after the Albert Hall reading, circa 1965, with Ginsberg alongside such poets as Adrian Mitchell, Harry Fainlight, Alexander Trocchi, Mike Horovitz, etc.. Other than Ginsberg, and possibly Trocchi, none of whom would have anything but a tenuous relationship with the Beat movement, nor, with the exception of Ginsberg, in attendance at the Six Gallery reading.
I was fortunate enough to hear Ginsberg read Howl when he visited Boise shortly before he died. A packed crowd of around 400 people came out to hear him speak. A testament to the transformative and lasting impact of this particular work. Also, a testament to his lasting impact as a counter-culture icon. My good fortune extends in having had a chance to hear Gary Snyder, who is still around at 95, read a few times over the years. An icon of a different, quieter sort. Any time I visit San Francisco I pay a visit to City Lights and buy a few books to help keep the lights on. Thanks for this informative stroll into the history of this period. No reason we can’t enjoy the mythology, and appreciate a record set straight.
This era expanded (spawned?) several gens, each its own Gen and an evolving, intersecting Gen with its own and the next. Think Ven diagram. All and collectively Gems. It was something special to have been in San Francisco or near her during the time of this ascendancy- color full, soulful, beat, hippie, Market Street, Golden Gate, Carol Doda’s, books, authors, painters, dancers, the Ocean, Geary St., the Tenderloin, California Street, the Pier, the Sunset, the Avenues, Pauli’s, John’s Grill, Tadich Grille, Mamas, the Haight, DeYoung, The Marina, Tower Records, music- Grace Slick, Janis, J. Magnin, Union Square, earthquakes, Ferry Plaza, North Beach, SFO, where I landed at 9 in 1959. Front row seat.
Thanks for this! Excellent piece.
Nice-uh!
Gary Snyder <3
Great article - thanks for sharing!
I enjoyed this piece; admittedly, I've never been a fan of Ginsberg (more for biographical reasons than literary ones), but generally, I appreciate your approach (looking at a singular literary event) and your self-awareness of its implications. The way you discuss memory at the end, particularly our tendency to write over things, is really engaging. Thank you for giving me some food for thought :)
But why a photo that was clearly taken not in San Francisco, but in London, prior or just after the Albert Hall reading, circa 1965, with Ginsberg alongside such poets as Adrian Mitchell, Harry Fainlight, Alexander Trocchi, Mike Horovitz, etc.. Other than Ginsberg, and possibly Trocchi, none of whom would have anything but a tenuous relationship with the Beat movement, nor, with the exception of Ginsberg, in attendance at the Six Gallery reading.
I was fortunate enough to hear Ginsberg read Howl when he visited Boise shortly before he died. A packed crowd of around 400 people came out to hear him speak. A testament to the transformative and lasting impact of this particular work. Also, a testament to his lasting impact as a counter-culture icon. My good fortune extends in having had a chance to hear Gary Snyder, who is still around at 95, read a few times over the years. An icon of a different, quieter sort. Any time I visit San Francisco I pay a visit to City Lights and buy a few books to help keep the lights on. Thanks for this informative stroll into the history of this period. No reason we can’t enjoy the mythology, and appreciate a record set straight.
This era expanded (spawned?) several gens, each its own Gen and an evolving, intersecting Gen with its own and the next. Think Ven diagram. All and collectively Gems. It was something special to have been in San Francisco or near her during the time of this ascendancy- color full, soulful, beat, hippie, Market Street, Golden Gate, Carol Doda’s, books, authors, painters, dancers, the Ocean, Geary St., the Tenderloin, California Street, the Pier, the Sunset, the Avenues, Pauli’s, John’s Grill, Tadich Grille, Mamas, the Haight, DeYoung, The Marina, Tower Records, music- Grace Slick, Janis, J. Magnin, Union Square, earthquakes, Ferry Plaza, North Beach, SFO, where I landed at 9 in 1959. Front row seat.
Even quite far away and 20 years later up in snowbound Fairbanks, Alaska, all of this gave color, sound, texture and hope to us cold lost punk kids!