Description:

Ginsberg Allen 1926 - 1997 Allen Ginsberg archive, poet's annotated list of stolen or missing material, circa 1981.

In late November 1981, poet Allen Ginsberg annotated 2pp of typed notes listing works he believed missing or stolen over an almost 20-year-period. Ginsberg annotated the list in black ball point and felt tip pen, jotting down various thoughts in the margins and within the text. Also accompanied by two copies of a typed list itemizing the lost items, likely to be released to the press. In near fine condition with expected paper folds and wrinkles, light toning to edges or backs, and tiny staple in upper left corner of annotated list. All pages are 8.5" x 11".

2pp typed notes of a working draft entitled "Stolen/Missing journals and typescripts of Allen Ginsberg, Nov. 28, '81" identifying eighteen items with an unknown status. The list is comprised exclusively of notebooks, but Ginsberg differentiates them by providing physical descriptions of the items (such as "pocket size", "Cambridge" brand, "red or blue side spiral", etc.), or by including a date, place, or life event in the title to jog his memory. Some notebooks were written while the poet was in Hollywood or traveling in Italy, Cuba, England, or India. Ginsberg has noted if any of his notebooks had been loaned, returned, or bought by various agents or bookshops like Gotham, Phoenix, or Lowenherz.

Individuals who found any of Ginsberg's lost materials were directed to contact either him or his personal secretary Bob Rosenthal at "Allen Ginsberg, P.O. Box 582, Stuyvesant Station, New York, N.Y. 10009". The final list includes additional notebooks, books dedicated to the poet, or foreign language editions of his works. Seekers were warned that forged Allen Ginsberg signatures could be found on the market.

Irwin Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) was one of the leading intellectuals of the 1950s Beat Generation that also included Jack Kerouac (1922-1969). His counterculture poetry railed against the stifling conformity of postwar America. Like other Beatniks in his circle, Ginsberg embraced Eastern religions. He also advocated self-expression in all forms including sexuality. Ginsberg produced a large volume of work during his lifetime, and was assisted by secretary Bob Rosenthal between 1977-1997. Rosenthal was a poet and playwright in his right; his poem "Cleaning up New York" scintillated readers in the 1970s.

Ginsberg's lists mention notebooks that were later incorporated into famous works. Item #13, "Car Crash Hospital Notebook Dec. 3 '68 - May '69" on Ginsberg's annotated list would later become the free form verse poem "Car Crash" (1968). Item #8, notes on "Crooked Mirror on the Glassy surface, Italy Sept, Oct 1967", contained thoughts that later crystallized into Ginsberg's homage to Ezra Pound's Canto II describing light reflected on water in Venice. The poet noted that three playscripts of his partly autobiographical 1957 poem "Kaddish" were also missing.

Allen Ginsberg takes inventory in his own hand!

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