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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Portland / News "Four brown English jacket christhair boys..." Ginsberg's Coliseum Poem About Beatles

Posted by Matt Davis on Thu, May 14, 2009 at 3:47 PM

Courtesy of architecture blogger Brian Libby. Nb: This breaks Blogtown's no poetry rule.

Portland Coliseum

From the Penguin Classics: Read the Beatles
"Portland Coliseum"
by Allen Ginsberg

A brown piano in diamond
white spotlight
Leviathan auditorium
iron run wired
hanging organs, vox
black battery
A single whistling sound of ten thousand children's
larynxes asinging
pierce the ears
and following up the belly
bliss the moment arrived

Apparition, four brown English
jacket christhair boys
Goofed Ringo battling bright
white drums
Silent George hair patient
Soul horse
Short black-skulled Paul
with the guitar
Lennon the Captain, his mouth
a triangular smile,
all jump together to End
some tearful memory song
ancient-two years,
The million children
the thousand words
bounce in their seats, bash
each other's sides, press
legs together nervous
Scream again & claphand
become one Animal
in the New World Auditorium
—hands waving myriad
snakes of thought
screetch beyond hearing

while a line of police with
folded arms stands
Sentry to contain the red
sweatered ecstasy
that rises upward to the
wired roof.

-August 27, 1965

 

Comments (10) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
Oh, holy Christ that was horrible. Goddammit Matt, there's a reason we have RULES!!
Posted by Wm. Steven Humphrey on May 14, 2009 at 3:55 PM · Report
2
Okay, after reading this poem, I'm reversing my decision: Throw all of Allen Ginsberg's poetry into Memorial Coliseum and burn it down.
Posted by Wm. Steven Humphrey on May 14, 2009 at 4:04 PM · Report
3
"Silent George hair patient
Soul horse"

BLECCHHH!!!
Posted by Wm. Steven Humphrey on May 14, 2009 at 4:08 PM · Report
4
SERIOUSLY? Are you SERIOUSLY putting the three things I hate most in the world (Allen Ginsberg, The Beatles, Poetry) in one blog post? Why don't you just serve me a turd covered in diarrhea in an ice cream cone made out of shit?
Posted by Wm. Steven Humphrey on May 14, 2009 at 4:15 PM · Report
5
On its way.

"Lennon the Captain, his mouth a triangular smile,"

oh yesssssss.
Posted by Matt Davis on May 14, 2009 at 4:28 PM · Report
6
[That was an expression of satisfaction over the succesful creation of the cone...]
Posted by Matt Davis on May 14, 2009 at 4:29 PM · Report
7
Steve acts in Two boys
One cup. Awful? Gross? Yes, but
better than this post.
Posted by Matthew D on May 14, 2009 at 5:05 PM · Report
8
With all due respect to the honorable, brave, trustworthy, sexy, and loyal Dr. Humphrey, the poetry ban is poorly considered in the age of anti-cockney soccer-troll dross prose.

Free the versification! At the very least, please permit poetry trashing the derivative posts of Pattie Coleman!

Thank you for your consideration.
Posted by Patty has three names on May 14, 2009 at 5:49 PM · Report
9
Laissez la poesie anti-Patty roulez!
Posted by patty has three names on May 14, 2009 at 5:51 PM · Report
10
Geez, Steve, at least they were not Catholics.
Posted by Jim Lee on May 14, 2009 at 6:48 PM · Report

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