Yes! It's a Ginsberg Figurine....

Tokyo's Presspop Gallery introduce the 'Ginsberg Doll' we've all been waiting for. Adding Allen to their highly select list of American cultural personalities, Bob Moog & Raymond Scott among the most recent, Presspop enlisted Chicago based illustrator (Sof' Boy) & musician (The Sea and Cake, The Cocktails) Archer Prewitt for the design and we're more than pleasantly surprised! We'll try to keep you posted once it's available since Presspop run very limed editions of everything they do. As with their Raymond Scott figurine, Ginsberg will come with an unreleased recording on 7" vinyl to boot.

The Poetry Project/School of Visual Arts/NYU & Columbia University Present: Naked Lunch @ 50

Wednesday October 7- Saturday October 10

School of Visual Arts (SVA), in conjunction with Columbia University and New York University (NYU), are presenting a series of free events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Naked Lunch, with Screenings, talks and readings at all locations. Check the SVA website for complete schedule & list of guests, which will include poet Michael McClure, Burroughs scholar Oliver Harris (editor Yage Letters Redux, The Letters of William Burroughs 1945-1959) , Barry Miles (The Beat Hotel), Regina Weinreich (Kerouac's Spontaneous Poetics), Anne Waldman, producer Hal Willner, among many others.

The Poetry Project at St Mark's Church will kick things off Wednesday night (October 7) with readings by Eric Andersen, John Giorno, Jan Herman, Thurston Moore, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Simon Pettet, Jürgen Ploog, Anne Waldman and Nick Zedd, alongside a digital projection presentation of Kate Simon's Burroughs photos. For further information check out the Poetry Project website >>

Jim Carroll 1949-2009

[Jim Carroll, a the Bottom Line, NYC September 1984, c. Allen Ginsberg/Corbis]

Jim Carroll passed away on Friday at his home in NYC, he was 60 years old. So far, Tom Clark's got a moving tribute going on his blog really worth checking >>

Los Angeles poet, Lewis MacAdams, remembering Jim Carroll in the LA Times >>

Jeffrey Brown interviews Patti Smith on the life of Jim Carroll on PBS.org >>

New York Times obit >>

New York Times "Jim Carroll's Long Way Home" >>

And Jim Carroll talking about Basketball in a 1991 interview in Cleveland. (via New Yorker "The Book Bench.")

Jim Carroll interview 1/18/91 Cleveland Ohio

Gospel Noble Truths

Our friend Kirt Markle has been busy experimenting with collage images for quite some time. Starting with still images, he's recently moved into treating video & film footage with visual collage & textures. This round he took on Allen's "Gospel Noble Truths" performed with Steven Taylor, with stunning & pleasing effect

The Death of Joan Vollmer Burroughs

[Joan Vollmer, Morningside heights, NYC, ca 1944. c Allen Ginsberg Estate]


[W.S. Burroughs and Joan Vollmer, East Texas, August 1947. c Allen Ginsberg Estate]


[La Prensa September 1951]

So much to post, so little time! But, since September 6, a few days ago, was/is the (58th) anniversary of Joan Vollmer's death, we wanted to draw some attention to James Grauerholz' excellent, & meticulously researched, essay on the subject - the event which marks one of the most, if not the most, pivotal points in William Burroughs' life (for Joan, that goes without saying!) Joan's role in the early days of the Beats cannot, in any way, be overstated - it was her apartment where Allen first met Kerouac, and her wit and intelligence easily matched those around her, (as both Herbert Huncke and Allen himself would later recall). At any rate, kudos to Grauerholz for some amazing work here.

More recently, Jed Birmingham's take on the "William Tell act" posted on Reality Studio dissects it's symbolism as well as the Burroughs family dynamic from (father) Mort down to (son) Billy Jr.

Howl Fest 2009 Complete Schedule