Allen Ginsberg S Buddhist Poetics

Publisher description

This unique collection brings us African Americans reading the Black diasporahrough the eyes of exiled Tibetan monks; Americans of Vietnamese and Tibetaneritage wrestling with the cultural norms of their parents or ancestors; Zennd Dada inspired performance pieces; and groundbreaking writings from theioneers of the Beat movement, so many of whom remain not just relevant butital to this day. With its eclectic mix of acknowledged elders and newlymergent voices, this landmark anthology vividly displays how Buddhism isnfluencing the character of contemporary poetry.

The encounter between Buddhism and American literature has been a powerful one for both parties. While Buddhism fueled the Beat movement's resounding critique of the United States as a spiritually dead society, Beat writers and others have shaped how Buddhism has been presented to and perceived by a North American audience. Contributors to this volume explore how Asian influences have been adapted to American desires in literary works and Buddhist poetics, or how Buddhist practices emerge in literary works. Starting with early aesthetic theories of Ernest Fenollosa, made famous but also distorted by Ezra Pound, the book moves on to the countercultural voices associated with the Beat movement and its friends and heirs such as Ginsberg, Kerouac, Snyder, Giorno, Waldman, and Whalen. The volume also considers the work of contemporary American writers of color influenced by Buddhism, such as Maxine Hong Kingston, Charles Johnson, and Lan Cao. An interview with Kingston is included.

In the 1950s, the authors of the Beat Generation helped introduce American readers to Eastern philosophies and, in particular, to Buddhism. Poets like Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Jack Kerouac are often credited with this phenomenon, while, as is so often the case, the women are sidelined. In this illuminating new study, Max Orsini examines the impact of two female poets, Diane di Prima and Lenore Kandel, in shaping American Buddhist poetics. Orsini charts the evolution of their poetry against a backdrop of cultural conservatism, and explores the journeys they set out on that were very different from those trodden by their male counterparts.

In the first biography of Ginsberg since his death in 1997 and the only one to cover the entire span of his life, Ginsberg's archivist Bill Morgan draws on his deep knowledge of Ginsberg's largely unpublished private journals to give readers an unparalleled and finely detailed portrait of one of America's most famous poets. Morgan sheds new light on some of the pivotal aspects of Ginsberg's life, including the poet's associations with other members of the Beat Generation, his complex relationship with his lifelong partner, Peter Orlovsky, his involvement with Tibetan Buddhism, and above all his genius for living.

With poems from spiritual teachers to jazz musicians, from the monastery to the street, What Book!? brings together a boad range of verse, expressions of living in an awakened way. " A poet once located poetry as somewhere before or after words take place. Mindfulness is the practice of finding that realm, dwelling there, and cultivating the ability to live completely in the present, deeply aware and appreciative of life." - from the author's Preface. "This enigmatically titled anthology offers numerous delights and valuable evidence that great poetic variety, from haiku and witty two liners to page-long discourses, has by now given distinct expression to Western Buddhism." - Publisher’s Weekly.

An anthology showing the widespread influence of Buddhism on American poetry, with over 200 poems and essays by 45 prominent American poets. It examines the work of, amongst others, Ezra Pound, Gary Snyder, Lucien Stryk and Jackson MacLow, with contributions from John Cage and Allen Ginsberg.

In May 1985, author Trevor Carolan was offered the chance to attend a workshop with Allen Ginsberg at Hollyhock Farm on Cortes Island, British Columbia. For Carolan, a journalist, aspiring poet, and fan of Ginsberg's poetics, the opportunity couldn't be turned down. Giving Up Poetry recounts Carolan's transformation under Ginsberg's influence, and reveals an intimate portrait of Ginsberg as an icon and inspiring leader, as well as a man of appetites, disappointments, wisdom and lusts.