Friday, December 02, 2011

Ginsberg: The Ugly Spectre of Revisionism

The rather wonderful Allen Ginsberg blog (http://ginsbergblog.blogspot.com) reminds us that Allen's poetry has been left out of Rita Dove's Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Poetry.

WHAT??? Who the hell is going to represent American poetry at mid-century and into the Sixties then? Robert Lowell?? Kenneth Patchen??

This doesn't warrant a polite "Boo!", Ginsberg people, it warrants a howl, if you'll pardon the pun, of objection. It's philistinism. Absolute philistinism. And an absurd attempt to rewrite history, excluding the only serious challenge to the strangulating dullness of respectable literary life in those times.

I recommend we all write emails and letters of strenuous complaint and refuse to buy any more Penguin books until they correct their ridiculous error.

9 comments:

Bruce Hodder said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bruce Hodder said...

Well, I say the ONLY serious attempt, but I find that Kerouac's not in there either. Gary Snyder and Lawrence Ferlinghetti are, which is fine, but by no stretch of the imagination could it be said that they've written work of the same profound, original, epoch-making significance as Ginsberg and Kerouac. And I think they'd probably both tell you that too.

Fred Viebahn said...

I suggest you a) read Rita Dove's introduction to the anthology and b) her interview in the current (December 2011) issue of the AWP "Writer's Chronicle", where she explains it all.

Fred Viebahn said...

I suggest you all write emails and letters of strenuous complaint and refuse to buy any more HarperCollins books, and while you are at it, also write to HarperCollins owner Rupert Murdoch, until they give up their stranglehold on Ginsberg and their other poets.

Bruce Hodder said...

Sounds like a good plan on all fronts Fred. I didn't even know about the Murdoch connection.

Bruce Hodder said...

Who are the other poets by the way?

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