ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: UA #92 (addition)
DATES: March 1974
SIZE:4 folders
ACQUISITION: This addition to the English Department Records was deposited into University Archives by James McKenzie, UND English Department, in March 2004.
ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
This addition to the English Department Records dates from March 1974, and consists of transcripts of Open Mike sessions at the 1974 UND Writers Conference.
Tuesday, March 19, 1974: This session included the following writers/artists: Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, and Peter Orlovsky. The moderator, King (probably Robert King, UND’s English department), introduced a discussion topic on censorship due in part by a “recent flurry over poor Kurt Vonnegut’s [book] Slaughterhouse-Five in one of our smaller towns.” Other topics included America as a police state and the missile silos in North Dakota. The book Limits to Growth by Donella and Dennis Meadows was mentioned in relation to theories about returning to farm life, the abandonment of urban life in the hope of creating a self-sustaining society, and the over-consumption of energy resources. Other themes included the function of poetry and the Mother-Goddess worship paradigm versus the traditional patriarchal one. Ginsberg concluded the session with a tirade about the power of poetry to prophesy other futures for the current world.
Wednesday March 20, 1974: This session included the following writers/artists: Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, and Peter Orlovsky. Dr. John Little, professor in the UND’s English department, was moderator. Allen Ginsberg opened the session by leading a mantra chant and playing harmonium. Miriam Patchen was featured in the beginning to discuss and read poems by her late husband, Kenneth Patchen. Topics returned to Tuesday’s discussion regarding the conscientious use of energy and the reality of energy over-consumption in America. Light humor was introduced as Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, and Peter Orlovsky shared personal stories about their LSD experiences. They also discussed San Francisco as a mecca for the beatnik movement and its effects on their own poetic perspectives. Each of the poets also related their personal responses to Ginsberg’s monumental poem, “Howl.” They elaborated on the pros and cons of being associated with the Beatnik movement and their own current stage as creative individuals.
Thursday March 21, 1974: This session included the following writers/artists: Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kenneth Rexroth, Gary Snyder, and Peter Orlovsky. Thomas McGrath unexpectedly appeared at the session as an audience member, only to be egged on by the rest of the panel to join them on stage. King (probably Robert King, UND’s English department) moderated the session. McGrath told a story about poetry readings in San Francisco. The other panelists followed suit mentioning the “Six Gallery Reading.” Ferlinghetti discussed City Lights, his publishing company, and the publication of pirated editions of Ernest Hemingway’s collected poems. Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, and Ernest Hemingway were mentioned and the quality of work their work was briefly compared. The panelists also discussed their literary influences. Also mentioned were women poets in the Beatnik movement, and the tragic discrimination women poets in general have faced. The panel shared their impressions of North Dakota, while Gregory Corso read a poem he wrote about the state during his stay. Madeline Gleason, who attended the University of North Dakota and who contributed to the establishment of San Francisco’s Poetry Center, was discussed. Finally, the panelists spoke about their work habits as writers.
Friday March 22, 1974: This session included the following writers/artists: Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Peter Orlovsky, and Kenneth Rexroth. King (probably Robert King, UND’s English department) moderated this session. King asked Allen Ginsberg to summarize the political history of the Beatniks. In response, Ginsberg started with observations about political systems and each new generation’s relation to it. Ginsberg emphasized Jack Kerouac’s own desire during the 1960s to refrain from any political commitments to address the aggression present during the counterrevolutionary movement in that decade. Other topics included the nature of communes in America, and contemporary political developments, including Watergate, the Vietnam War, and the influence of Middle Eastern Oil. Orlovsky espoused a return to small scale farming, while advances in decentralized technology were discussed in relation to the improvement of alternative energy sources. Dr. John Little informed the panelists and audience that a new grant had been received by the UND English Department to examine the topics that related to the ecology discussed in these open mike sessions to the people of North Dakota. As a local aside, Little asked what the panelists thought would be the effects of industrialization to the people of North Dakota as a consequence of a possible coal mining direction the state at the time was contemplating. Ferlinghetti closed the session by reading a poem he wrote in Spanish about Pablo Neruda’s death.
Box 2
Folder
| Original Donation: UND Writer's Conference | First Addition: UND Writer's Conference, 1998 |
| Second Addition: UND Writer's Conference, March 1974 | Third Addition: Faculty Personnel Files, 1940-1997 |
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