tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post4792810099526972665..comments2024-01-28T03:56:39.351-08:00Comments on TOM CLARK: Peter Orlovsky: NamasteUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-81213841458134375742010-06-04T03:09:39.092-07:002010-06-04T03:09:39.092-07:00And thank you, Steve. Lovely.And thank you, Steve. Lovely.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-66543592811034436822010-06-03T16:44:53.774-07:002010-06-03T16:44:53.774-07:00Tom:
I loved your statement about Peter. This w...Tom: <br /><br />I loved your statement about Peter. This was perhaps my favorite thing said about him yet: "Hey, where's Peter? Banging pans around in the kitchen, a dissonant music when necessary to keep the celestial mechanics in order."<br /><br />I wrote my own memoir of knowing Peter here, with some photographs of him that the world has not seen before:<br /><br />Impossible Happiness<br />http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=16901<br /><br />Thank you Tom.Steve Silbermanhttp://www.stevesilberman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-1436010392485330952010-06-03T04:36:44.982-07:002010-06-03T04:36:44.982-07:00Well, in saying poets are useless, I probably shou...Well, in saying poets are useless, I probably should have said I am speaking not only for but of myself.<br /><br />But yes, Don, what better epitaph could there be for anyone.<br /><br />It is moving to hear of the affection and respect with which Peter's memory is held by those who have commented here.<br /><br />I wish it were possible to say that a similar respect has encompassed the notices I have seen elsewhere. It was disturbing to see the treatment accorded this departed poet in commentary allowed to stand without response on perhaps the most popular of poetry information blogs. But I am constantly being surprised by what is after all not really surprising. <br /><br />Outside this country, where perhaps the perspective is a little less skewed, there have been some relatively more encouraging signs. <br /><br />Here for example is an obit by Marcus Williamson in <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/peter-orlovsky-beat-poet-and-life-partner-of-allen-ginsberg-1990004.html" rel="nofollow">The Independent</a>.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-78635422505368190982010-06-02T22:57:55.914-07:002010-06-02T22:57:55.914-07:00useless
u se(e) less
you feel more
isn't...useless<br /><br />u se(e) less<br /><br /><br />you feel more<br /><br /><br /><br />isn't this the way of poets?<br /><br />:Dhuman beinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09232419187783429903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-65647723579493872552010-06-02T13:17:44.128-07:002010-06-02T13:17:44.128-07:00Tom, magnificent epitaph ...
Most poets are usele...Tom, magnificent epitaph ...<br /><br />Most poets are useless,<br />Peter was not.<br /><br />DonIssa's Untidy Huthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07352841590717991698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-80315866664428573422010-06-02T04:05:27.516-07:002010-06-02T04:05:27.516-07:00Bobby, Bruce, Doowman,
Many thanks for testifying...Bobby, Bruce, Doowman,<br /><br />Many thanks for testifying. I owe it to Peter for bringing so many good souls here in the middle of my long night. <br /><br />Peter really comes alive in this testimony, indeed I fear that while reading these great comments I have more than once been guilty of wishing he could be reincarnated on the spot to show up and give a hand with shoring up the ruin of this collapsing old domicile. Things like kitchens and fixing... well, bottom line: most poets (i.e. me) are useless, Peter was not.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-81564226352817430802010-06-01T11:51:48.511-07:002010-06-01T11:51:48.511-07:00Sorry, here's the address from that last (unin...Sorry, here's the address from that last (unintentionally anonymous) posting: http://elsadorfman.com/housebook/flagg_streeta.html#orlovskydoowmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-80695333979308741082010-06-01T11:44:46.867-07:002010-06-01T11:44:46.867-07:00Bruce/Tom:
Sifting through the googlaze I stumble...Bruce/Tom:<br /><br />Sifting through the googlaze I stumbled upon Elsa Dorfman's recount (on her Housebook website) of experiencing PO's supernatural at-your-serviceness:<br /><br />"As if sensing that I needed to be distracted from any self-pity, the steam pipes in my cellar burst. All of a sudden I heard this rushing water. Unmistakable. I had to find the plumber on a Saturday night, turn off the oil furnace, do something about the mess. I sat in the kitchen figuring out what to do next. There was a hard knock at the door. The plumber so soon'! No. Peter Orlovsky. God couldn't have been more provident."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-85376214540457001302010-06-01T08:31:55.764-07:002010-06-01T08:31:55.764-07:00I met Peter O. at the Naropa Institute in the summ...I met Peter O. at the Naropa Institute in the summer of '75. I was living in Boston and a good friend from Ann Arbor called and said they just had dinner with Ginsberg and Burroughs and that I should get out there, so in three days I was in Boulder at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Ginsberg would hang out with us sometimes, so when Orlovsky hit town he came over as well. Without saying a word he cleaned our dirty pots and pans for over a half hour before he sat down. We said thanks and he just said "Kitchen Yoga." He was in good spirits, his collected works, "Clean Asshole Poems and Smiling Vegetable Songs," was just published (I don't have my copy, lent it out too many times). He was remarkably without pretension of any kind, a gentle righteous soul with the old country strength of a stevedore. A poetry savant of sorts. Wasn't it Ron Padgett who coined the "Dumb Guy Meditations?" Orlovsky was the true original, at once hilarious and spiritually cleansing. Kitchen yoga, indeed.Bruce Shlainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410194423434637398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-79900952776057661782010-06-01T08:22:34.891-07:002010-06-01T08:22:34.891-07:00This is very beautiful. I never knew Peter O, exce...This is very beautiful. I never knew Peter O, except through his words on pages, his angelic presence, as you say, in the domestic constellation. The stories I've heard along the way. But now, with this--Anne W's words, your words, the snail poem (again, after a long time), the biography (“Enjoy mopping floors, cleaning up cat vommit. Enjoy swinning underwater. I want the moon for fun.”)--I feel I've missed so much and at the same time somehow having known him. Many thanks.<br />Bobby ByrdBobby Byrdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17990783036661848472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-90104439543817884922010-06-01T08:18:10.682-07:002010-06-01T08:18:10.682-07:00Steve,
Thanks for the welcoming sky made of your ...Steve,<br /><br />Thanks for the welcoming sky made of your blues,<br /><br />blue jay calling on branch<br /><br />left, bleu / bleu pale<br /><br />blue-white haze reflected in channel<br /><br />-- all the more welcome as here it's a heavy, leaden grey overcast morn. (With slight sprinklies.)TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-57152798535471992652010-06-01T07:29:52.538-07:002010-06-01T07:29:52.538-07:00Yom,
Yes, "a Heavenly Ride Through Our/Your ...Yom,<br /><br />Yes, "a Heavenly Ride Through Our/Your Silence by way of that wonderful Lucy in the Sky photo of your Patagonian Andes at the bottom of the post. To be traveling through eternity there, in that state of elevated tranquility, would be, for him, to be in his natural element." That's the way to go,and also a way for us still here to imagine/think about being up there in the blue ---<br /><br />6.1<br /><br />grey whiteness of cloud against invisible<br />top of ridge, blue jay calling on branch<br />in foreground, sound of wave in channel<br /><br /> graphite inscribed in middle<br /> left, bleu / bleu pale<br /><br /> transpires, sight looks that<br /> is, telling perception<br /><br />blue-white haze reflected in channel,<br />wingspan of osprey flapping overheadSTEPHEN RATCLIFFEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12339481653546188412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-65284322029289569842010-06-01T03:45:26.792-07:002010-06-01T03:45:26.792-07:00Elmo,
That was my first thought too. (Think about...Elmo,<br /><br />That was my first thought too. (Think about that moment more and more often, now.)<br /><br /><br />Aditya,<br /><br />I have been to India only in my imagination, in my dreams, and through words, and pictures, and music, and so... is that a "no" or a "yes"?<br /><br />To hear this place in invisible space feels like home to you warms my ancient heart and helps make the place feel a bit more like home to me, too.<br /><br /><br />Curtis, <br /><br />Many thanks to you and Caroline. But perhaps condolences are not in order. This was a spirit of great essential lightness, suffering perhaps less from material attachment than many of us, so that it would be good (albeit maybe impossibly hopeful), to think that what has happened is less a loss than a setting free of that "sahara gost"...<br /><br /><br />Dan,<br /><br />It is very lovely to hear from you. You probably won't remember (why would you??), but we had a few times together, way back when. In particular I recall your big dark Berkeley craftsman house where a celestial orchestra performed, my memory of it is probably being amplified by reconstructive fantasy when I say I remember great ungainly Tibetan style horns or perhaps diggeri-doos or the like... you will of course know about that.<br /><br />(The specific evening I summon to these misty sessions of memory is one from early April, 1968.) <br /><br />This --<br /><br />"...he of little words and quiet gestures, who would sweep your floors and rearrange your fridge before you even knew he was there..."<br /><br />-- is absolutely Peter to a T.<br /><br />See you on that white road someday 'ere long...<br /> <br /><br />hb,<br /><br />I should have said "reminding me". Those are questions one ought to be ready to ask oneself. The first I think is the hardest. I discussed them with my closest friend, who thought the fourth one was the only one that would allow an unqualified "yes". (As to the first, she, a confirmed realist, said, Yes, sometimes it is too late -- meaning, I think, we should get to work on this earlier.)<br /><br />Ah the qualifications.<br /><br />("Crow style", to me, by the way, means the same thing as "poet style". This because of the effect your airborne words have had, over this period of time.) <br /><br /><br />Lucy,<br /><br />"Mother Nature's Son," perfect. I think Peter believed he had been born to be a farmer... and then in the fullness of time he did become one. <br /><br />My guess or hope is that his soul is at this very moment enjoying a Heavenly Ride Through Our/Your Silence by way of that wonderful Lucy in the Sky photo of your Patagonian Andes at the bottom of the post. To be traveling through eternity there, in that state of elevated tranquility, would be, for him, to be in his natural element.<br /><br />Muchissimas gracias, y besitos.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-87146509659722048132010-05-31T20:29:40.978-07:002010-05-31T20:29:40.978-07:00He must have had a full life, being Mother Nature&...He must have had a full life, being Mother Nature's son, and he certainly is wearing the sweetest smile as he spies on your kind tribute. <br /><br />May he have a wonderful journey to Ithaca.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-5164766165139111442010-05-31T20:29:06.694-07:002010-05-31T20:29:06.694-07:00Tom...
that was just a tribute (crow style) for th...Tom...<br />that was just a tribute (crow style) for this beautiful soul and poet i happened to know just now...<br />surely inspired by this tribute post of yours...<br />didn't want to remind anything... to anyone... <br />:)<br /><br /><br />just wanted 'him' to remember 'me'...human beinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09232419187783429903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-76898888877328703972010-05-31T20:01:31.166-07:002010-05-31T20:01:31.166-07:00First met Peter when he and Allen were living in a...First met Peter when he and Allen were living in a Volkswagen bus on Gough Street in San Francisco, he of little words and quiet gestures, who would sweep your floors and rearrange your fridge before you even knew he was there... (and how's Bob LaVigne these days...up in Seattle? I spoke to him a year or so ago by phone but he said his mind was gone...) They all formed a Kosmos, Peter, Allen, wild pioneers, deep hearts. God speed him to his rest and his compadres.<br /><br />The white road<br />speeds all our hearts<br />on the winds of our words.Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05692776372807142753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-3699870484534718742010-05-31T15:24:39.131-07:002010-05-31T15:24:39.131-07:00Please accept our condolences on the loss of your ...Please accept our condolences on the loss of your friend. Curtis and CarolineCurtis Robertsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-90961646984620208552010-05-31T15:19:55.054-07:002010-05-31T15:19:55.054-07:00I feel elated you said that Tom. I do not know how...I feel elated you said that Tom. I do not know how you describe this sort of feeling. Maybe I should have let the turbulence sink.<br /><br />I like visiting your place. Feels like home you know. The other night I re read In Bolinas again after I had stumbled on to references at other some other places and then realized you had lived there long. <br /><br />Poetry: a whistling in the void, with fifty years spent listening for the echo.<br /><br />No wonder your place feels like home.<br /><br />Regarding the Indian mythology/tradition thing, I myself am a little low on the religion thing. We are all humans and as long as all get treated the same way, well who cares. Tradition is entirely different you would say. And so I would I. Am glad you could connect your texts and poetry with our tradition. Have you been to India Tom??<br /><br />Aditya.<br /><br />ps- That usage of precious made me look up in to a dictionary. It told me you still carry a part of UK with you.adityahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16078144194220301083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-75164449321804466122010-05-31T14:04:03.378-07:002010-05-31T14:04:03.378-07:00he didn't die alone
and that's a good thin...he didn't die alone<br />and that's a good thingElmo St. Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-51493321741399893342010-05-31T11:19:25.255-07:002010-05-31T11:19:25.255-07:00Aditya, my friend, undoubtedly that curious interp...Aditya, my friend, undoubtedly that curious interplay is a result of your inspiration and influence.<br /><br />Peter's crazy-like-a-fox spellings are interesting. In anybody else they might seem fey or precious. But when he does it, I "buy it", like they say.<br /><br />Dittos with the Namaste.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-57116741880545268282010-05-31T10:46:55.673-07:002010-05-31T10:46:55.673-07:00Tom,
"Before the mirror I look like a sahara...Tom,<br /><br />"Before the mirror I look like a sahara desert gost"<br /><br />"All I need is a mirror for the rest of my life. " <br /><br />from his Frist Poem. I like the way he spelled Tom , a little eccentric but it did release you from the monotony set firm in concrete.<br />Not just the spellings Tom , but his poems too (of what little I have read).<br /><br />My dreams lifted me right out of my bed. <br />I dreamt I jumped into the nozzle of a gun to fight it out with a <br /> bullet.<br />My body turned into sugar, poured into tea I found the meaning <br /> of life <br /><br />A lovely remembrance written by you. Read it over and over. <br /><br />On a different note, I have been amused by the interplay of Hindu Mythology/Traditions at your place Tom. At the "Eternity" post and the follow up too. Now the picture of poet Jayadev bowing to Lord Vishnu. <br /><br />Namaste Tom!adityahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16078144194220301083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-50377243354452762222010-05-31T10:29:56.438-07:002010-05-31T10:29:56.438-07:00A disposition to welcome and include, sign of a na...A disposition to welcome and include, sign of a natural generosity.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-3720462095291977362010-05-31T10:15:01.275-07:002010-05-31T10:15:01.275-07:00once peter
saved me
at leslie fiedler's dinne...once peter <br />saved me<br />at leslie fiedler's dinner table<br />kindly drawing me into<br />the laughter of the big<br />boo hoos<br />of literary conversationsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-61254245528799477592010-05-31T10:05:25.054-07:002010-05-31T10:05:25.054-07:00hb,
Thank you for reminding us.
Never too late ...hb,<br /><br />Thank you for reminding us. <br /><br />Never too late to love when night is sinking down at dawn...TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-13000588612919829662010-05-31T09:43:02.771-07:002010-05-31T09:43:02.771-07:00Thanks Don (and Issa).
Ah Peter and the other wil...Thanks Don (and Issa).<br /><br />Ah Peter and the other wildflowers.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.com