nocturnal

Given I’m 61, I was a bit self-indulgent with this piece. After writing it I realized it would have meaning for those around the ‘baby boom’ generation, but perhaps not beyond — so the audience would be narrow… which is not always wise when creating poetry. But it felt good writing it, so here it is.

The explanation above was to allow for some understanding among a broader group.

Your blogs are a constant pleasure. This one was no exception.

Here is a bit of background to help you, and others who were not a part of the ‘peace & love’ 60’s generation, “get it” – with regard to Bohemian Nightfall…

• bohemia = beat generation of writers

• tie-dyed psychedelia = 60’s rock & roll generation

• jack and neal = Jack Kerouac & Neal Cassady — Jack is author of “On The Road”, Neal was inspiration for the Dean Moriarty character in “On The Road”

• allen = Allen Ginsberg — writer, author of the famous ‘beat’ performance poem “Howl”

• corso = Gregory Corso, Allen’s life-long friend and frequent writing collaborator

• peter = Peter Orlovsky, Allen’s life-long lover

• hunter = Hunter S. Thompson, father of Gonzo journalism and author of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”

• bill = William S. Burroughs, author of “Naked Lunch”

• jelly-roll = slang for heroin, which was a strong element in “Naked Lunch”

• gary = Gary Snyder, beat poet who became deeply involved with nature and the environment in his writing and his life

• cold mountain = reference to Cold Mountain Poems, which is a translation by Gary Snyder, of the ancient poems of Han-Shan – an undertaking inspired by Gary’s affinity for Zen Buddhism

• sourdough = reference to two Snyder poems, “Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout” and “August on Sourdough, a Visit from Dick Brewer”

• electric bob = Bob Dylan, after he ‘plugged in’ at the Newport Folk Festival — to the horror of his original folk fan-base. Dylan was influenced by Kerouac and Ginsberg.

• subterranean = Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, his homage to Kerouac’s “The Subterraneans”, a novel published by Jack in 1958 about the Beats

• ken and tim = Ken Kesey and Timothy Leary – both writers. Ken was the cultural link between the Beat Generation of the 1950’s and the Hippies of the 1960’s. Tim was the LSD ‘guru’. He coined and popularized the catch phrase “Turn on, tune in, drop out.”

• magic bus = a reference to Kesey’s bus, named “Further”, aboard which he and his psychedelic troupe of “Merry Pranksters” traveled the United States – whose escapades were chronicled by Tom Wolfe in his book, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test”.

Gemma