In an Intellectual Poetry Mood

In the mood for a different type of poetry, I went searching for some intelligence. One of the gals in my Google+ writing circle had posted a video of Allen Ginsberg reading the first part of Howl. I wanted to hear James Franco read it. My intellectual side has been appeased for the moment.(warning, not for the faint of heart.)

James Franco reading Howl by Allen Ginsberg - 1 from Tommy Judd on Vimeo.

The great thing about Beat poetry and Allen Ginsberg's Howl is the language. It is deep. The rhythm is always of a tone of desire and wanting to know more. I love this kind of poetry. It makes me think more than feel. Even though, feeling is a big part of it.

We need Beats and their type of poetry back in our lives. I crave to live in a city where there are poetry readings in such a serious, rythmic vein.  In Ocala any poetry reading for that matter, would be great...

I don't mean the stereotypical Beatniks that the movies, the media and other writers meant; troubled, drunken hoodlums.I mean the ones like Jack Kerouac's version. In Aftermath: The Philosophy of the Beat Generation (interesting reading by the way), he explained that it meant, "characters of a special spirituality who didn't gang up but were solitary Bartlebies staring out the dead wall window of our civilization."

Unfortunately, I don't think there is enough writers out there to desire a higher intellectual thinking in our creative writing. I think that we have lost the leisure of presenting readings. I believe social media has created a deadening of our desire for deeper understanding.  There is a moving trend to bullet the words for a fast understanding. I think that is sad.

Image courtesy of Emblibrary.com