Re: kafka and rilke

Hi Jim,

Yes, occasionally, Ginsberg would sing some of his poems as well, often while
playing one or another small strange instrument of his choice. I would not,
however, call his voice "nice."

But it was fun.

Interestingly, one aspect of the Beat moment was an attempt to revitalize the
"heard" nature of some poetry. And while many of Ferlinghetti and Ginsberg's
pieces read wonderfully on the page -- and while Ferlinghetti uses spacing
and layout quite deliberately in his shorter poems -- they also rock when
they're heard.

Check out something like "Holiday Inn Blues," for instance, or go here --

http://www.angelfire.com/mo/danielsgrrl/ferlin.html

or look at "Coney Island of the Mind #5" on this page, about halfway down:

http://www.haikupoetshut.com/poets7.htm

These poems are clearly meant to be heard and were most often performed by
the man in his day, but they are also laid out on the page quite deliberately as
well.

So I think these definitions, like the hedgehog, are rolling themselves up
and resisting us, because the poem is that which happens, it is the event, loud
or silent, seen or heard, sung or spoken, dreamt or burnt in the heart.

All the best,

--John

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Received on Sat Jun 28 10:25:37 2003