The Poet Speaks

Two giants of contemporary music come together for an intimate recital of poetry and song in tribute to their friend and seminal beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Punk poet Patti Smith performs both her own and her favourite Ginsberg poems, as well as reciting the work of Robert Louis Stevenson, with accompaniment and solo pieces for piano by "minimalist" composer Philip Glass.

Photo courtesy of Eoin Carey

A long with his friends Jack Kerouac and Bill Burroughs, Ginsberg were the originators of the Beat Generation. Inspired by his friends Ginsberg's poetry hails their contribution, spirituality and the fury of growing up in 1930's/40's America. Acclaimed for his poems such as; Wichita Vortex Sutra, Kaddish andHowl. Although not all music and poems were about Ginsberg his presence was felt through the entire performance and theatre. As a back drop to the event Glass and Smith curated photographs and images of and inspired by their friend that reveal his diverse achievements. A slow progression of black and white images of a man in different stages in life, a young man socialising with beat friends in what appears to be a diner to sophisticated man sporting an electrifying beard on his visits abroad.

Photo courtesy of Eoin Carey

The set up was simple, Glass at a black grand piano, Smith at a microphone dressed in mostly black, beginning withWichita Vortex Sutra that was accompanied by piano music composed Glass, later complimented by Smith's own poem The Blue Thangka, a poem about the death of an old man watched over by his faithful dog. Separating for their own individual sections of the performance, Smith joined on stage by Tony Shanahan play acoustic guitar versions of Dancing barefoot and pissing in a river and a rendition of John Lennon's Beautiful Boy. In contrast Glass plays three piano pieces as one that included two of his "Etudes" and the only break in the spoken word throughout the evening. Although the three elements work successfully on their own, bringing them together brought about something special, something sensual and something that will be remembered for a while to come.

The beat of Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy, the final segment of Ginsberg's trademark piece Howlbrought the evening to an end, which resulted in a standing ovation from the crowd, with an encore of People have the power. The audience were left in awe and possible witnessed the best show of the festival