The Last Antiwar Poem: My new essay in The Believer

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[Above: Allen Ginsberg performing during his 1966 “Wichita Vortex Sutra” journey.]

For the second month in a row I have literary criticism appearing in The Believer — and my new essay, “The Last Antiwar Poem,” moves beyond travel themes to discuss the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. As the American literary community prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Howl and Other Poems, my essay points out how “Howl” is not the most relevant of Ginberg’s poems these days:

Amid the festivities, it’s easy to forget how dated “Howl” can sound in 2006. Fifty years removed from the social constraints that made it seem scandalous in 1956, Ginsberg’s poem has become a victim of its own success — a quaint reminder that profane, stream-of-consciousness verse is no longer shocking or significant. Written as a Whitmanesque ode to id in an era of repression, “Howl” now brings to mind reality TV programming — a drug-addled, homoerotic variation of “Jackass,” wherein Ginsberg gleefully recounts how he and his Ivy League buddies slummed it with the impoverished and the insane, “burned cigarette holes in their arms,” “walked all night with their shoes full of blood,” “jumped in the filthy Passaic,” “threw potato salad at CCNY lecturers,” and “threw up groaning into the bloody toilet.”

No doubt “Howl” will continue to be recognized as an essential 20th century poem, but if we aspire this year to recognize the anniversary of a Ginsberg poem that still seems relevant and challenging, we should fast-forward ten years to 1966, when the iconic Beat poet penned “Wichita Vortex Sutra” — an anti-war lament that carries an observational honesty not present in the MTV din of “Howl.”

“Wichita Vortex Sutra” originated as a kind of proto-podcast that Ginsberg intoned into an Uher tape recorder while traveling across the American heartland in the winter of 1966. Though the language of the poem is specific to Vietnam War (which was escalating at the time), it certainly speaks to the conditions of 2006 — not only in its refrain about how empty language started, but cannot end, a military action, but also in its riff on the contradictions between distant Asia and the Middle American conservatism that has enabled a war there; in its alarm at the numbing impact of global telecommunications and the media preoccupation with statistics; in its despair at the hypocritical politicians and corporations that are profiting from the war.

My essay goes on to assert that “Wichita Vortex Sutra” reads like a “prophetic and final anti-war poem, an elegy for the power of language in an age of competing information.”

The full essay is available online, and can be found here.

A shorter and more concise (if less colorful) version of this essay appeared yesterday in The Nation.

Posted by | Comments (7)  | November 15, 2006
Category: Book Release and Tour Diary, Rolf's News and Updates, Travel Writing


7 Responses to “The Last Antiwar Poem: My new essay in The Believer

  1. Brian Says:

    Rolf,

    Excellent and well thought out reviews from both sites. Provactive, too, in that you examine poetry’s self-aggrandizement and awareness of its own limitations. Be careful, though, such insight might land you a real job and you’ll end up chained to a desk, tied down and miserable.

  2. Tom Clifford Says:

    Too bad. Too good a travel blog to be clouded with the current political group think of the elites. Better to stick to travel posts.

  3. C.M. Mayo Says:

    Congrats Rolf! Viva poetry!

  4. Karen Bryan Says:

    I was surprised to hear Rolf being criticised by Brian for “clouding a good travel blog with current political group speak”. I think that too many people perceive politics as a separate sphere, in which they have little or no interest. However I think that the majority of people are concerned about taxes, healthcare, education, crime which are all part of politics. I think that the behaviour and actions (or lack of action) of many politicians have alienated many people from politics. I think one of the ways to overcome this is to avoid compartmentalising politics, make it more part of every day life.

  5. Brian Says:

    Re: Karen Bryan’s post Normally I wouldn’t post twice on the same topic, as I feel this is not that kind of forum. However, I hate being mislabeled, and if Ms. Bryan would reread the above posts, she would find I did not disparage Rolf in any way. It is unlikely I would find reason to do so on any post, much less this one. Moreover, I thanked Rolf for insightful reviews from both sources. The post in question is the sole responsibility of one Tom Clifford. Please pay attention Ms. Bryan, and credit those who actually said what you believe me to have said. Thank you.

  6. Zoe Says:

    Very well-written and absolutely well read, too. Bon Courage et Merci de partager tes idees brillantes avec nous!

  7. Karen Bryan Says:

    Brian I apologise for my error