One of my earliest poetic loves and inspirations was Gregory Corso, for his wild, beautiful, irreverent use of language and for the pure energy and vitality of his work. If gorgeous angels were prone to "getting in your face" all while being thoroughly entertaining, that's what Grepory Corso was, and is, in his writing.
Strongly associated with Ginsberg, Kerouac, and the "Beats", Corso was nevertheless different from them. His early life was about as hard as can be imagined, and he was left largely or completely on his own from a young age. He once sold a toaster he was meant to deliver for enough money to buy nice clothes so he could attend "Song of Bernadette." (What street kid does that?!?) He was arrested and sent to New York's infamous "Tombs" and put in a cell next to a man who had murdered his girlfriend with a screwdriver. He was 13 years old. Somehow, he survived and managed to educate himself by reading during his incarceration. Along the way, several people recognized his genius and helped him to get started as a poet. However, he was never a conventional one, and even though he was one of the Beats, he was never considered the equal of the "stars" of that movement, though time has shown him to be every bit their equal, and in my opinion he outshines them all.
What we do here is this: write a poem using at least 3 of the twenty words on the following list. Your poem need not have anything to do with Corso except for the three(or more) words. The list is a springboard. Then just link, visit, comment. Prompt stays "live" through Friday. And now, without further ado, your list:
acrobat
beauty
birthday
bones
eat
Egyptian
engines
erupt
fierce
ghost
glorious
nuns
ocean
Rimbaud
sorrow
steal
tv
weather
wig
yawns
I remember buying The Happy Birthday of Death when I was about nineteen, working at a bookstore chain called Kroch's and Brentano's,long gone now, I'm sure, where I basically recycled my paycheck in the poetry and history departments. Corso isn't famous-notorious like Ginsberg or Kerouac, but in many ways, he was far more into the written word and its magic. I am working on something, will post it when it decides to be finished.Great list, Shay!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you worked in a book store! And yes, Corso, for all his rough beginnings, was versed in the classics and knew his stuff.
DeleteSo glad to have you here every week for the word list, my BFF!
Well, for once I actually wrote something related to your subject, not just borrowed the list words--or channeled something, perhaps, that hit a nerve. Anyway, I will return later to read everyone else's.
DeleteI am unfamiliar with Gregory, but this will be a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted. Thank you so much Shay for another amazing list!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like it, Carrie! I look forward to seeing what you'll do with the list. :-)
DeleteYour lists are brilliant, each and every. And I so appreciate and enjoy the education that goes along with. Thank you for doing this. It’s perfect.
ReplyDeleteP.S. There is also a hole that needs filling on Wednesdays, prompt- and entertainment-wise. Perhaps you or one of your cohorts might be willing to fill that as well. <3
I wish there were also a prompt that involved gardening lessons, perhaps featuring a different flower/plant/method/mythology each week. I am useless in a flower bed, but I want to learn.
DeleteI'm glad you like the lists, and thank you for suggesting I do this! The first two did not have the background stuff, but I am really enjoying doing that aspect of it, now. As for Wednesday, maybe someone else? I quit Sunday Muse to concentrate on these lists, and am right at my comfort level--I don;t want to do any more than I am currently doing. The gardening thing also sounds like it has possibilities, as most flowers have symbolic meanings in addition to their beauty or medicinal aspects.
DeleteWhich brings us to 'fragrance.' Love today's list.
DeleteYes, can't forget their fragrance while chatting about flowers! Glad you like the list, Helen. :-)
DeleteChanneled the beat poets with a spontaneous bit of poetry, in three minutes flat. Timed. Go-Go's an extra treat.
DeleteAwesome, Helen :-)
DeleteIt's my first time hearing of Corso but with the company you mention he's linked with, I need to learn more about him. I enjoyed learning and choosing from the list to write to.
ReplyDeleteYes, check him out! Then I'll have paid you back for Steve Earle. ;-)
DeleteOK, wow, Corso. Throwing down.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
DeleteGreat list from a great poet who has so much energy that he almost dares us to confront it. I haven't thought about him in years, Shay! Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeletePax,
Dora
Yes, I let him languish on the shelf for a long time before remembering him a couple of years ago. Love his poems.
DeleteLoved working on this one, Shay, wrangling the Corso word list into what I had in mind. Your prompts are irresistible enough to make me crawl out from under poetic hibernation, which I'll now promptly go back into.
Deletexx
You try to hibernate, and i come along and poke you with a stick! Some friend I am! LOL.
DeleteThank you for this marvellous prompt, Shay. I always learn something new from you <3 I'll be back to read everyone's poems later :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad, Sunra! I am really enjoying putting them together!
Delete...while in prison he read the dictionary, read the dictionary! from beginning to end... i love that. corso was also one of my personal favorites, the mad honeymooner, the bomb. i'm putting together a blog of spoken word poets, recordings and printed poems, corso is next on my list, and if you or anyone else has poets they would like me to add, just let me know, all styles of recorded poems welcome. sorry i've missed so many of these, i just had surgery and back into form. i have this week's word list and see what i can come up with
ReplyDeleteYes, the dictionary, just amazing. That's a hungry mind at work, and we reap the benefits by having his poems to read and his energy in the world.
DeleteStill fairly new at this blogging and writing thing. This is a great prompt. Will look for future editions.
ReplyDeleteWho is this, please?
Delete