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The Riverside Interviews #3
The Riverside Interviews 3: Gregory Corso
Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
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April 3, 2019
While much has been said and written about Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs and Gary Snyder and Lawrence Ferlinghetti (who just turned 100 years old), there has been far too little analysis on the work of Gregory Corso.
Perhaps as one of the youngest 'members' of the beat generation circle of poets and writers, many considered him to be Ginsberg's protege or sidekick clown. However, as this book reveals, Corso definitely had his own style of writing and was influenced by the pre-Socratic poets and writers, which makes him very different from the Olson school of writing for example.
This book features an intelligent-written introduction by Gavin Selerie, which gives the reader some fascinating background leading up to the interview, the interview itself with Corso, followed by two essays by Jim Burns and Michael Horovitz.
Jim Burns' essay I found slightly harsh and unfair at times as he writes about the "fumblings of his early verse." Many poets take time to find their 'voice' which means that much of their early work is below par - take for example Ginsberg's first book of poems, Empty Mirror, - there's plenty of 'fumbling' there. The same could be said about Creeley's early works in The Charm. While Corso's first book The Vestal Lady on Brattle is somewhat weak compared with what followed in subsequent years, when Burns says that the poems in this book "rarely have much to recommend them in terms of form" I thought that was a bit excessively harsh and also inaccurate. Sea Chanty and Early in the Morning are two examples of great early Corso, as well as the Coney Island poem he wrote.
Michael Horovitz I felt was a little fairer and more level-headed in his analysis of Corso's writing.
Finally, this book contains some great rare photos of the legendary beat poet - most of the time smashed out of his mind, as he tended to be.
I think in years to come, his work will be more and more analyzed and appreciated as he slowly emerges from the overbearing shadows of Allen Ginsberg's life alongside which he walked.
Perhaps as one of the youngest 'members' of the beat generation circle of poets and writers, many considered him to be Ginsberg's protege or sidekick clown. However, as this book reveals, Corso definitely had his own style of writing and was influenced by the pre-Socratic poets and writers, which makes him very different from the Olson school of writing for example.
This book features an intelligent-written introduction by Gavin Selerie, which gives the reader some fascinating background leading up to the interview, the interview itself with Corso, followed by two essays by Jim Burns and Michael Horovitz.
Jim Burns' essay I found slightly harsh and unfair at times as he writes about the "fumblings of his early verse." Many poets take time to find their 'voice' which means that much of their early work is below par - take for example Ginsberg's first book of poems, Empty Mirror, - there's plenty of 'fumbling' there. The same could be said about Creeley's early works in The Charm. While Corso's first book The Vestal Lady on Brattle is somewhat weak compared with what followed in subsequent years, when Burns says that the poems in this book "rarely have much to recommend them in terms of form" I thought that was a bit excessively harsh and also inaccurate. Sea Chanty and Early in the Morning are two examples of great early Corso, as well as the Coney Island poem he wrote.
Michael Horovitz I felt was a little fairer and more level-headed in his analysis of Corso's writing.
Finally, this book contains some great rare photos of the legendary beat poet - most of the time smashed out of his mind, as he tended to be.
I think in years to come, his work will be more and more analyzed and appreciated as he slowly emerges from the overbearing shadows of Allen Ginsberg's life alongside which he walked.
Displaying 1 of 1 review