106
PARTI SAN REVIEW
Berryman , a Delmore Schwartz, a Sy lvia Pl a th , a J ack Kerouac o r
Norman Ma il er (whose chi ef cla im
to
a ll enti on th ese days is the n ovel
h e
can't
write), an d mu ch o f hi s initi a l impact in the fifti es came fr om
the impress ion , whi ch he cu lti va tE'd , th a t he h ad p ri vil l'gl'd insight into
the tragic fa te o f the imagina ti on in Ameri ca : " 1 saw the bes t m inds of
my genera ti on destroyed by madness," Bu t, unli ke Kerou ac, he eventu–
a ll y recoil ed from the a llure o f self-des tru cti on , and saved u s, in the
barga in , from an o th er tiresome lesson in how Amer ica trea ts her poets,
and yet an o ther spe llbind in g case-hi story in poetry as a by- p roduct of
termina l eup h ori a, He was fin a ll y too ironi c a nd w illful for mart yr–
dom , and , desp ite hi s rages aga in st Amer ica a nd her wars, too en –
amored o f th e
idea
o f Amer ica (whi ch h as been bo und lip for him with
the idea o f Wa lt Whitman ) to ren ege on hi s initi a l p romi se: "Amer ica
I'm p utti ng my q ueer sho ul der to th e wh cl' l. "
Specia l cred it fo r G in sberg 's surviva l must go to hi s Buddhi sm,
whi ch h as ta ught hi m how to ma rsha ll a nd conserve hi s energ ies , and
h as g iven him the emotio na l ba ll ast
to
sta nd up aga inst cru shin g
psychi c p ressures, T h e a ir o f w ise pass iveness tha t a ttends hi s p ubli c
appearances these days is a delibera te ca lm, a steady vigil a nce ovcr hi s
own seethin g emo ti on s, whi ch he has lea rn ed to ho ld in ch eck and
sublima te into a sono rou s a nd ag ita ted dC'li vny. In a rl'cent poem on
the subj ect of bein g mugged in hi s own neighbo rh ood ("Mugg in g," in
M ind Breaths)
G in sberg tell s o f surrender in g to a tl'OOP o f young thugs
whil e fra nti ca ll y intonin g a mant ra
to
keep hi s own telTo r a nd rage
under cont ro l: " I went down shoutin g Olll Ah Hum to ga ngs o f lovers
on the stoop wa tching ." But wha tever such a cont a inmcnt o f rage h as
contributed to hi s dura bility a nd hi s p ubli c fi gurc-tha t is, th e
instructi on al examp le-it h as brought lillie to the poetry save a
treas ury of li q uid p h rases to be sp rinkl ed over a poe
III
like spi ces over
stew, fo r p iqua n cy. T h ey scan wondcrfull y. while lendin g an a ir of
mys ti cal illum in a ti on . Thus a few poem s in
M ind Breat hs
a re g raced
with such sweet caden ces as " Bom Bom ! Shi vayc! Ram Na ill Sa tya hcy!
Om Ga nipatti , Om Sa raswa ti Hrih Sowha!" whi ch, [or Ill os t of us,
mi ght just as well be " Po ll y wo ll y doodle a ll the da y. " Yct, desp ite
suggesti on s o f Tagore or Lao-T ze th a t han g like smog
m 'lT
hi s pOl'tr y,
G insberg has kep t fa ith w ith hi s o ri g ina l mentors-Willi ams, Whit–
ma n , a nd Bl a kc- a nd no thing h e has done since th l' poems in
Kaddish
(196 1) shows an y adva nce in vis ion or skill.
In
Mind Breaths,
excep t fo r a stra n ge bit o f roma nti c a ll egory,
" Cont es l o f Ba rds. " whi ch C in sberg hill lScl l h" , h <l il l'l l
<I, <I
\ is it <l ti on
from th e mu st'. but \\'h ose studi ed Rl " k(' i"lll s
(" Ie\
int (' llect fir 'y beau t)'
