According to the blurb "Two of the pillars of contemporary music come together for an intimate evening of poetry, music and song in tribute to their friend, the great Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg.
Punk poet and provocateur Patti Smith performs both her own and Ginsberg’s poetry, with accompaniment and solo pieces for piano from founding father of minimalism Philip Glass.
Renowned as one of the originators of the Beat movement, Ginsberg tirelessly championed the work of his friends Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. His raw, visceral poems, including Howl, Kaddish and Wichita Vortex Sutra, range from forceful fury to profound spirituality.
As a backdrop to the evening’s event, Smith and Glass have curated a collage of images, paintings and photographs, projected live on stage, that reveals the richness of Ginsberg’s achievements."
This was one of the most eagerly awaited events during the whole festival.
The first reading was from "Notes To The Future" , a version captured in the video below:
This super 5 star review from the Independent newspaper records the proceedings.
"“Allen, despite Allen, contained multitudes,” said the New York punk priestess Patti Smith of her late friend, the beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Cut to five words, it was possibly the most profound tribute Ginsberg received during this 90-minute joint homage from Smith and his friend and collaborator Philip Glass. Even when the music and poetry weren’t necessarily about him, Ginsberg’s presence hung in the room.
Partly this was because a slow-rolling feed of sepia-tinted old photos, Ginsberg inevitably wild-eyed and masked behind an electrified beard, was projected in the background; mostly it was thanks to the rich sense of transference between these three marquee names and their art, much of it responsible for a large swathe of late 20 century North America’s counter-cultural consciousness."
The Guardian also reveled in the event , if you look at the comments sections you will find the glory of the Internet in which Philosophers;Poets; Musicians and wankers can meet on equal terms.
"The show is called The Poet Speaks, which applies to both Ginsberg and Smith. There's no question of mimicry here: Smith is a magnetic performer and spoke Ginsberg's words in her own vivid voice. Through the fiery verses of Wichita Vortex Sutra and Footnote to Howl, her flat vowels rose from conspiratorial whisper to urgent drone; to rich, earthy drawl. At times she lapsed into half-song, following Glass's shifting chords; elsewhere, her voice cracked with emotion that still felt fresh.
Despite her punk-priestess moniker, Smith is as warm as Ginsberg was provocative. She sang her own folksy songs with guitarist Tony Shanahan, and read poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson is one of her childhood favourites, and his awe for the natural world was another link between her, Ginsberg and his hero, William Blake."
Last word goes to Patti reciting Howl.
