By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:18:50 +0000

I’m very interested in the connection between Dylan and Ginsberg, but have a somewhat different take on it. I apprenticed to Allen at Naropa in Boulder, Colorado in the summer of 1981 and had the chance to talk with him quite a bit. Personally I think that as a writer, Allen’s early work such as “Howl” and a handful of other poems is much better poetry than Dylan ever wrote (as much as I love Dylan and greatly esteem the quality of his lyrics) (and by the way, when Dylan did try to write straight poetry outside the structure of a song his writing lacked the spark of his great songs), nevertheless Allen had a way of being humble with other writers he respected. He always talked of Kerouac as though Kerouac’s writing was better than his own (I very much disagree). In terms of Dylan he said back in the mid 60′s that at the same age i.e. about 24 or 25 Dylan was writing much better than he himself was. (But Allen’s great work begins when he’s 29). He also told me that when he first heard Dylan he felt that Dylan was doing something very original and could feel the affinity with his own work. Allen liked fame to quite a degree and fantasized about being a rock star and dabbled in music during the period way past his early poetical peak. I really don’t believe that he saw Dylan as his artistic superior at all except in the fact that Dylan’s medium gave him a much larger audience. (I think the comment about Dylan’s writing better at the age of 24/25 was indicative of this assessment).
I wish I could have attended the talk or your class, but my schedule makes that impossible. Thanks for writing your blog. Be well, Mark

Comments on: Take What You Need You Think Will Last: Sean Wilentz Discusses Bob Dylan, Beat Culture, And More On 92nd St

By: Mark