Allen Ginsberg is the man.
As a resident Lower East Sider and poet, I’ve always heard of his stuff, and respected him on street cred alone. Little did I know that this whole time, I’d already been exposed to Ginsberg through one of my already favorite poets, Amiri Baraka. In “Somebody Blew Up America,” he has a meme that always begins with “who,” just as Ginsberg’s “Howl” does in the first part of his seminal piece, and very coincidentally, just as my entries always end.
At some point, this must have prompted Taylor the Teacher (along with listening to some Pink Floyd) to ask me whether or not Ginsberg inspired me to tag my entries the way I did. Of course, the ingenious mind that she is, she thought it’d be a cool idea to turn this into a poetry meme. Follow the rules:
1. My first line will start off just like Ginsberg’s:
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical, naked, …
2. The rest of the poem is where you come in. Write your next post, and make it about anything you want. No really. Not that you wouldn’t do it anyways, but …
3. At the end of the meme, sign off like I do, starting with a “who …”
4. Link back to this post for the rules and the origins.
For example, I’ll start off with “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical, naked …”
and Taylor might write her next post sign-off with “who never understood the power of the Internet until that last post …” and mzvirgo might follow up with, “who is really more than just a gossip blogger,” and JD might chime in with, “who wishes the UFT were a more perfect union,” and so on and so forth.
I’m calling on anyone who’s reading to chime in, even if it’s something small. In 2 weeks time, I should have enough sign-offs to complete the first part of the poem from everything you all said. I’ll also complete parts 2 and 3 based on who responds to the call.
So …
Tracy. Bam. Talda. -1-. Damian. Jeff. NYCEd. Hugh. J. Dakar. BBC. LeeSee. AM.
CTG, aulelia, Bill, JM Holland, Wayne, Joanne …
I was ready to link all of you, but my keyboard’s melting …
jose, who saw the best minds of his generation emboldened by madness, hungry, hysterical, enlightened …
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sounds like fun, I will try to get that one done…..
how did you know I had poetry in the crusty beginings of my journey? how did you know you had been inspiring be to start digging in that dirt.? how did you know I would take you up on your challenge, even though my street cred is mostly paved with clean white sidewalks and bright green grass made vibrant by killing powder mixed with hose water then trodden by little feet
I’m in let me stop before i run out
i’ve been tagged. i’ll get to work…
ohhh.. I will post again in time to participate.
Fa sho.
Love this! Wasn’t tagged but I participated anyway
Jose – I am so intrigued to see/read/hear where you are going with this!
mmmm….cheerios…think I’ll have me some, too
Although you didn’t tag me I didn’t take that personally and listened to your howl anyway
http://frumteacher.blogspot.com/2008/06/grading-shmading.html
I may do this one again in the next few days if it’s still going strong….
http://www.taylortheteacher.com/2008/06/18/southern-merchandise/
the relevant part:
Taylor,
who is waiting for a ticket to ride
I wasn’t asked, but in case you’re interested… http://socmethod.blogspot.com/2008/06/howl-for-jamaal.html
Socrates, who has learned to love unconditionally…
Hey Jose,
Took me a while to realize I’d been tagged, but I heard the howl. Here’s the post:
http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/2008/06/introducing-dig.html
Looking forward to reading through all the links in the final product!
Great idea,
Bill
Just checking email tonight, will do this tomorrow and will send you the link.
Thanks you’re too cool!
Here it is:
http://hastalosgatosquierenzapatos.blogspot.com/2008/06/border-can-we-get-any-dumber.html
“Leesee, who despairs the suffering of the immigrant will never cease and by extension crushes our souls, it’s a death by a thousand cuts…
Done and done.
http://nyceducator.com/2008/06/i-howled-cause-i-heard-you.html
Feeling too overwhelmed to write, you gave me direction. Thank you
We weren’t tagged, but it was such a cool idea that I couldn’t resist:
http://avoicecriesout.com/2008/06/27/they-howled-and-now-theyre-gone/
I had to respond because this is so full of potential. I can’t wait to read what every one has to say:
http://avoicecriesout.com/2008/06/27/a-voice-howls-out/
This has become much bigger than I anticipated. You’re all added. I gotta wait for a couple more people to contribute. After that, it’s getting posted … hopefully live from Dominican Republic.
My first attempt at meme…thanks for the opportunity. Here’s the post http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/teachmoore/2008/06/howl-meme.html