Howl! East Village Festival of the Arts celebrates Allen Ginsberg

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Parent Category: Other Festivals

Category: Theater

Published on Saturday, 11 September 2010 10:30

Written by Brad Balfour

The annual Howl! Festival, the East Village Festival of the Arts, celebrates its seventh anniversary with a vibrant schedule of events in Tompkins Square Park, September 10th, 11th and 12th, 2010. Beginning Friday night, September 10th, from 5 to 7 pm, the festival’s holds its traditional reading of the iconic Allen Ginsberg poem, Howl, on the South stage (Avenue A and 7th Street). The reading will feature an amalgam of the East Village’s finest poets, including John Giorno and Anne Waldman and will be led by poet Bob Holman, proprietor of The Bowery Poetry Club, founding member of the Festival and East Village luminary.

As for who was Allen Ginsberg -- FFTrav has lifted the following excerpt from his Wikipedia entry:

Irwin Allen Ginsberg (pronounced /ˈɡɪnzbərɡ/; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet who vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression. In the '50s, Ginsberg was a leading figure of the Beat Generation, an anarchic group of young men and women who combined poetry, song, sex, wine and illicit drugs with passionate political ideas that championed personal freedoms.

Major literary works of the Beat Generation include the novels On The Road by Jack Kerouac and Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs, as well as Ginsberg's epic poem Howl, in which he celebrates his fellow "angelheaded hipsters" and excoriates what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States.

The poem, dedicated to writer Carl Solomon, has a memorable opening:

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by
madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn
looking for an angry fix...

In October 1955, Ginsberg and five other unknown poets gave a free reading at an experimental art gallery in San Francisco. Ginsberg's Howl electrified the audience. According to fellow poet Michael McClure, it was clear "that a barrier had been broken, that a human voice and body had been hurled against the harsh wall of America and its supporting armies and navies and academies and institutions and ownership systems and power support bases."

In 1957, Howl attracted widespread publicity when it became the subject of an obscenity trial in which a San Francisco prosecutor argued it contained "filthy, vulgar, obscene, and disgusting language." The poem seemed especially outrageous in 1950s America because it depicted both heterosexual and homosexual sex at a time when sodomy laws made homosexual acts a crime in every U.S. state. Howl reflected Ginsberg's own bisexuality and his homosexual relationships with a number of men, including Peter Orlovsky, his lifelong partner.

Judge Clayton W. Horn ruled that Howl was not obscene, adding, "Would there be any freedom of press or speech if one must reduce his vocabulary to vapid innocuous euphemisms?"

In Howl and in his other poetry, Ginsberg drew inspiration from the epic, free verse style of the 19th century American poet Walt Whitman. Both wrote passionately about the promise (and betrayal) of American democracy; the central importance of erotic experience; and the spiritual quest for the truth of everyday existence.

J. D. McClatchy, editor of the Yale Review called Ginsberg "the best-known American poet of his generation, as much a social force as a literary phenomenon." McClatchy added that Ginsberg, like Whitman, "was a bard in the old manner – outsized, darkly prophetic, part exuberance, part prayer, part rant. His work is finally a history of our era's psyche, with all its contradictory urges."

On Saturday, Sept. 11th, the fest opens with a program sensitive to the memory of 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.

Tompkins Square Park will resound with Buddhist gongs, chanting monks, chamber music, yoga practice, poets and musicians, coupled with additional quiet and tranquil activities.

On both Saturday, September 11th, and Sunday, September 12th, The Lower East Side Girls Club will present The East Village Earth Circus, including live performances, art and science projects, pony rides (!), and numerous other interactive activities for children.

For adults, both Saturday and Sunday will be filled with surprises, as well as Howl’s long-established events such as the fun-filled, innovative and entertaining Hip Hop Howl, House of Howl and Lowlife.

The full park schedule is below:

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10th

SOUTH STAGE
Avenue A at 7th Street
5:00 – 7:00p   
Annual reading of the Allen Ginsberg poem, “Howl,” to commemorate the opening of the Howl! Festival with Host and MC Bob Holman features: 

• Anne Waldman w/Ambrose Bye
• John Giorno
• Betsy Andrews,
• Jennifer Blowdryer,
• Ana Bozicevic,
• Guillermo Castro,
• Steve Dalachinsky,
• Thomas Fucaluro,
• Greg Fuchs,
• Daniel Gallant,
• Alan Gilbert,
• Amy King,
• Mariposa,
• Douglas A. Martin,
• Angelo Nikolopoulos,
• Amy Ouzunian,
• Meghann Plunkett,
• Jon Sands,
• Susan Scotti,
• Jean Ann Verlee,
• Michael Warr,
• Chavisa Woods,
• Advocate of Wordz,
• Ra Ara ya

Suffer Art Gallery
616 East 9th Street (between Avenues A and B)
8:00 – 9:00 p        
Theresa Byrnes’  “The Measure of Man” – A Howl! Festival Special Event: Perfomance Art Through A Storefront Window in One Hour. Byrnes challenges the assertion of the centrality of the human soul in the order of creation, as dictated by Leonardo DaVinci ‘s’ The Vitruvian Man’.

SATURDAY 9/11
Between Avenues A and B  in front of the Park Office
Finding Sukah Yoga

11:00a - throughout the day: Finding Sukah Yoga, the East Village’s newest Yoga center, will welcome both adults and children.  Bring your yoga mat or borrow one. 

SOUTH STAGE   Avenue A at 7th Street           

• 1:00 - 1:30 p Open Music Ensemble - Awakening the senses, with sounds both pure and contemplative, this pioneering cooperative of acoustic improv musicians guides the heart and spirit in meditation, relaxation and healing.
• 1:40 - 2:00 p - Poetry –Bill Kushner + Poet TBA 
• 2:10 - 2:40 p - Vangeline Theater - performing " Mosaic", a resonant butoh dance piece to commemorate 9/11. 
• 2:45 - 3:00 p - Poetry –Eileen Myles 
• 3:10 - 3:40 p - Tyler Burba’s “Visit,” as a solo artist, he will be pay tribute to Ginsberg’s lesser-known musical side, performing Ginsberg songs.
• 3:45 – 4:15 p - Poetry –Emmanuel Xavier + 2 Poets TBA
• 4:25 - 4:55p - Timbila - Ecstatic African rock with an East Village edge, Timbila soars with stinging guitar riffs and sassy celestial vocals.
• 5:05 - 5:35p - Chris Rael – Sitar afficionado, this dynamic composer turns Indian and Western music into  a mix of highly refined pop. 
• 5:45 - 6:15p-  Vangeline Theater - performing " Mosaic", a resonant butoh dance piece to commemorate 9/11. 
• 6:30- 7:00p - Arthur’s Landing is a group of musicians who have worked in various contexts with the late Arthur Russell, a cellist and composer from Iowa who lived on the Lower East Side for most of the later part of his too-short life.

Russell brought together the worlds of dance, pop, and folk with that of downtown’s “new music,” and fused Western and Eastern musical traditions, driven by his engagement with Buddhist thought and practice. He collaborated often with Allen Ginsberg and Phillip Glass was also an early mentor. Arthur’s Landing (songs by Arthur Russell) features Mustafa Ahmed (percussion) , Joyce Bowden (voice) Ernie Brooks (voice, bass), Steven Hall (voice, guitar), ), Bill Ruyle (drums, hammered dulcimer), John Scherman (lead guitar), Peter Zummo and special guest Nomi Ruiz.

SUNDAY, Sept . 12
Between Avenues A and B in front of the Park Office

11:00a and throughout the day:
Finding Sukah Yoga, the East Village’s newest Yoga center, will welcome both adults and children. Bring a yoga mat or borrow one. 

SOUTH STAGE: Avenue A at 7th Street           

• Noon - 12:30 p - Rosie's Broadway Kids, performing a cabaret- style show. RBKids’ most senior students will take the stage singing Broadway classics.
• 12:35  - 12:55 p - Lower East Side Boys Choir -  right after from their triumphant performance at Lincoln Center, the choir from The Boys Club of New York on Ave. A and 10th St. bring their beautiful harmonies to their first appearance at the Howl! Festival
• 1:00  -  2:15 p -  Hip Hop Howl – A massive live mixtape showcase featuring the hottest up and coming artists in the country.
• 3:00  -  4:30 p - House of Howl - A flurry of color, costume and cavortin' Riki Colon's House of Howl is a vivacious variety show featuring voguers, vocalists, dancers and trendy fashion designers. “In Search Of a Dream,” marries mixed media performance - dance, song, fashion and art - in a display of house pop and contemporary couture. Features performances by House of Ninja dancers Javier, Edwin and Star Ninja and dancer Akiko Tokuoka. Fashions by the hot NYC Hemma Collection with live musical performance by Yoshi, music written and composed by Ev Price.
• 5:00  - 7:00p - Lowlife 4: BEAT GIRL   Chi Chi Valenti, Johnny Dynell and a cast of colorful downtown characters pay homage to homegrown 50s beatnik culture and the BOWERY BEATS – the rebel painters, poets and performers drifting east from Greenwich Village.  The show also sheds light on the Women of the Beat Generation, often overlooked, and their influence on 50s burlesque.

(Children’s) NORTH STAGE
Avenue A at 10th Street

HOWL! Festival presents The Lower Eastside Girls Club’s East Village Earth Circus

SATURDAY, 9/11

• 12:30PM- Middle Jamboree
• 1 PM  Brady Rymer
• 2 PM- Rosie’s Broadway Kids
• 3 PM  Girls Club Flamenco Dancers
• 3:15 PM Rod Rogers Youth Dance Company
• 4 PM Taikoza Japanese Drummers
• 5 PM Youth Poets
• 6 PM Free Art Society: The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Saturday Only:

Main Events:

• Al Gori’s Solar Powered Merry-go-Round
• The Bio-Bus (filled with microscopes and cool science stuff)
• The Federation of Black Cowboys- Pony Rides (1-3 PM)
• In the Yoga Tent:  demonstration classes for all ages taught by Trish from Bikram Yoga and Elena from Vira Yoga (noon – 3pm)

 Saturday and Sunday

On the Midway

• Fortune Telling Monkey
• Robot Pony
• Hula Hoop lessons
• Face Painting (LES Girls Club)
• Photo Booth
• Museum of LES Icons (paper mache heads)
• Girlzilla (the 14 foot tall girl robot)
• Popcorn and Cotton Candy

Art Programs and Activities for Kids

!Splash! mural painting on canvas and mask making by AAI
Recycled Paper Flower Workshops (LES Girls Club)/ Cindy Ruskin Arts
Double Dutch Demonstrations/Nicolina’s Hearts of the World Mural Project

Environmental / Community Organizations with info booths:

• The EVCC- East Village Community Coalition- Biking and Alternative Transportation.
• CHEJ (Center for Environmental Justice) Anti PVC Campaign (Sunday only)
• 350.org - Organizing around climate change issues and for 10/10/10 day of action
• Girls Gone Green (LESGC) - air quality and household cleaning products education
• FAB - 4th Arts Block- promotion and outreach, community theaters
• Middle Collegiate Church (Sat. only)
• POP - Power of Peace Youth Booth
• Peoples Garden NYC - organizing for community gardens
• Voto Latino - voter registration materials
• East Village X - new community website

NORTH STAGE (Children’s)
Avenue A at 10th Street

SUNDAY Sept 12

• noon: Opening Parade through park with the Youth Arts Marching Band.
• 12:30 p - The Youth Arts Marching Band
• 1:00 p - Jerry Joy Music and the Louie Band
• 2:00 p - Ben Rudnick and Friends Band
• 3:00 p - Art-Farm / Circus for a Fragile Planet
• 4:30 p - Solar Punch- a solar powered band

Center Ring:
House of Yes- Direct from Brooklyn and the Mermaid Parade: performing Aerial Acts

On the Midway:
Roaming performers…

• Circus Amok with jugglers, unicyclists, stilt walkers, clowns and more
• Annie Hickman’s The Lizard Lady costume act
• Free Arts Society- wild and wacky costumes and musicians

 For further information visit www.howlfestival.com

 and here's a bibliography of Allen Ginsberg:

• Howl and Other Poems (1956) ISBN 978-0-87286-017-9
• Howl & Other Poems 50th Anniversary Edition (2006) ISBN 978-0-06-113745-7
• Kaddish and Other Poems (1961) ISBN 978-0-87286-019-3
• Empty Mirror: Early Poems (1961)
• Reality Sandwiches (1963) ISBN 978-0-87286-021-6
• The Yage Letters (1963) – with William S. Burroughs
• Planet News (1971) ISBN 978-0-87286-020-9
• First Blues: Rags, Ballads & Harmonium Songs 1971 - 1974 (1975), ISBN 0-916190-05-6
• The Gates of Wrath: Rhymed Poems 1948 – 1951 (1972)
• The Fall of America: Poems of These States (1973) ISBN 978-0-87286-063-6
• Iron Horse (1972)
• Mind Breaths (1978) ISBN 978-0-87286-092-6
• Plutonian Ode: Poems 1977 – 1980 (1981) ISBN 978-0-87286-125-1
• Collected Poems 1947 – 1980 (1984) Republished with later material added as Collected Poems 1947-1997, New York, Harper Collins, 2006
• White Shroud Poems: 1980 – 1985 (1986)
• Cosmopolitan Greetings Poems: 1986 – 1993 (1994)
• Howl Annotated (1995)
• Illuminated Poems (1996)
• Selected Poems: 1947 – 1995 (1996)
• Death and Fame: Poems 1993 – 1997 (1999)
• Deliberate Prose 1952 – 1995 (2000)
• The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice: First Journals and Poems 1937-1952 (Da Capo Press, 2006)
• The Letters of Allen Ginsberg (Philadelphia, Da Capo Press, 2008) ISBN 978-0-306-81463-1
• The Selected Letters of Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder (Counterpoint, 2009)

 courtesy: Wikipedia