Ginsberg’s Lens
Allen Ginsberg's photographs document a formative friendship with the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Gelek Rimpoche, introduced by Philip Glass in 1989 and lasting until the poet's death.
BY Jezy Gray
SOME POETS CARRY cameras. Images by twentieth-century iconoclast Allen Ginsberg document the poet’s relationship with one of history’s leading Tibetan Buddhist teachers in Transforming Minds: Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche and Friends at Tibet House Gallery in New York City. The exhibition, curated by Peter Hale and Ben Paljor Chatag, offers a glimpse into a formative friendship for Ginsberg and Rimpoche—one of the last Tibetan Buddhist lamas educated in Tibet—who formed a deep bond after being introduced by composer Philip Glass in 1989. The pair remained close as mutual teachers until Ginsberg’s death eight years later, sharing friendships with notable figures ranging from the Dalai Lama to musician Patti Smith, visual artist Francesco Clemente, and others whose images are also featured in the exhibition on display through December 12, 2021.
Cats’ Howl
Earlier this year, Don Stinson of Tonkawa, Oklahoma, composed a literary response to Allen Ginsberg’s most famous poem, Howl. Called Cats’ Howl, Stinson recited the poem at the ANIMAL Conference in Oklahoma City on August 29, 2021. Stinson, the conference’s poet laureate, teaches literature and writing at Northern Oklahoma College. To receive a typeset digital or printed copy of the poem, please email your request to editor@readartdesk.com.