Broadsides of Their Poems Signed by Allen Ginsburg and Other Poets and Writers

Poet and independent freethinker, founder with William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac of the “Beat Movement,” which generated social awareness and profoundly affected culture in the 1950’s. Later he helped shape the 1960’s youth movement, and was its gentle guru. Thus, he proved enormously influential at two points in history. Number 33 of 50 signed limited edition broadsides of the River City Portfolio, 1987, a Cottonwood Commemorative of the River City Reunion of writers, poets, artists, filmmakers and others in Lawrence, Kansas.

The broadsides are 12 by 20 inches. Ginsberg’s is from his poem “Europe, Who Knows?”, and is signed by him above his printed name. The poem takes up about a third of the page, beneath which is a blue and white picture of handwritten music set to the poem’s lyrics by Steven Taylor, who has signed vertically to the right of this music. At the very bottom, Ginsberg has written the word “Proof,” indicating that this may be the original proof for the broadside. There are 9 additional broadsides of poems. The writers include Anne Waldman, who was part of the Sixties poetry scene in the East Village and ran the St. Mark's Church Poetry Project; Michael McClure, who was in the Beat vortex of the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance; Jim McCrary, poet with the Midwest Artists' Coop in the Sixties who was active in the publication of Grist magazine; Victor Contoski, author and poet who has written on fantasy and science fiction subjects; Andrei Codrescu, author, poet, editor of The Exquisite Corpse review, and a commentator on National Public Radio; and poets Ken Irby, Diane di Prima, Denise Low and Donald Byrd.