It's that time again to purge my bookshelves of items I never return to.
I'm getting rid of a bunch of Ginsberg's books.
I recognize the historical importance of HOWL and I dig that he turned himself into a funny type
of icon but his stuff just doesn't get me off.
There are many things I must keep.
Books that are trusted friends one holds onto until the (real) end.
These I go to when troubled or if I need a strong quote.
The pages have become interwoven into my daily existence.
That makes them sacred.
I believe I may be continuing in John Wiener's odd, overlooked tradition.
I'm not up on his work but in one of her poems Diane diPrima describes his style thusly:
“not breaking grammar's rules, nor respecting them, uncouth and incomplete, definitive,”
In another piece she notes that he is “mad and in makeup.”
I'm not a drag queen but I do like wearing a bit of eye shadow now and again.
Over the years there have been a few books I have thrown out in haste and now regret it.
They were not literature but I sorely miss them.
--
Kevin M. Hibshman has had his poetry, prose, reviews and collages published around the world.
He has edited his own poetry journal, FEARLESS for the past thirty years. He has authored sixteen chapbooks, including Incessant Shining (2011, Alternating Current Press).His latest books: Cease To Destroy, Just Another Small Town Story and The Mirror Masks Nothing, a co-authored book with John Patrick Robbins, published by Whiskey City Press, are now available on AMAZON.