International Poetry Incarnation
Encyclopedia
The International Poetry Incarnation was an event at the Royal Albert Hall
in London
on June 11, 1965.
In May, 1965, Allen Ginsberg arrived at Better Books
, London
, and offered to read anywhere for free.
Shortly after his arrival, he gave a reading at Better Books
, which was described by Jeff Nuttall
as "the first healing wind on a very parched collective mind". Tom McGrath
wrote "This could well turn out to have been a very significant moment in the history of England - or at least in the history of English Poetry".
Shortly after Ginsberg's reading at Better Books
, plans were hatched for the International Poetry Incarnation.
The event attracted an audience of 7,000 people to readings and live and tape performances by a wide variety of figures, including Adrian Mitchell
, Alexander Trocchi
, Allen Ginsberg
, Harry Fainlight
, Anselm Hollo
, Christopher Logue
, George Macbeth
, Gregory Corso
, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
, Michael Horovitz
, Simon Vinkenoog
, Spike Hawkins
, Tom McGrath
, Ernst Jandl
, and William S. Burroughs
.
The event was formative for what became the UK underground
over the subsequent years. Jeff Nuttall
, author of Bomb Culture said "the Underground was suddenly there on the surface". Barry Miles
described "a sense of constituency that was never there before... All these people recognised each other and they all realised they were part of the same scene".
Peter Whitehead
documented the event on film and released it as Wholly Communion
.
Horovitz's related anthology Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain
was published by Penguin in 1967.
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on June 11, 1965.
In May, 1965, Allen Ginsberg arrived at Better Books
Better Books
Better Books was an independent bookstore. It was founded by Tony Godwin and was located at 94 Charing Cross Road, London.-History:It was founded by British publisher Tony Godwin who took over the premises at 94 Charing Cross Road, London, in 1946....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and offered to read anywhere for free.
Shortly after his arrival, he gave a reading at Better Books
Better Books
Better Books was an independent bookstore. It was founded by Tony Godwin and was located at 94 Charing Cross Road, London.-History:It was founded by British publisher Tony Godwin who took over the premises at 94 Charing Cross Road, London, in 1946....
, which was described by Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall was an English poet, publisher, actor, painter, sculptor, jazz trumpeter, anarchist sympathiser and social commentator who was a key part of the British 1960s counter-culture. He was the brother of literary critic A. D. Nuttall.-Life and work:Jeff Nuttall was born in Clitheroe,...
as "the first healing wind on a very parched collective mind". Tom McGrath
Tom McGrath (playwright)
This article is about the Scottish playwright. For other people named Tom McGrath, see Thomas McGrath.Tom McGrath was a Scottish playwright and jazz pianist....
wrote "This could well turn out to have been a very significant moment in the history of England - or at least in the history of English Poetry".
Shortly after Ginsberg's reading at Better Books
Better Books
Better Books was an independent bookstore. It was founded by Tony Godwin and was located at 94 Charing Cross Road, London.-History:It was founded by British publisher Tony Godwin who took over the premises at 94 Charing Cross Road, London, in 1946....
, plans were hatched for the International Poetry Incarnation.
The event attracted an audience of 7,000 people to readings and live and tape performances by a wide variety of figures, including Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell FRSL was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British anti-authoritarian Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's anti-Bomb movement...
, Alexander Trocchi
Alexander Trocchi
Alexander Whitelaw Robertson Trocchi was a Scottish novelist.-Early career:Trocchi was born in Glasgow to a Scottish mother and Italian father. After working as a seaman on the Murmansk convoys, he attended University of Glasgow. On graduation he obtained a traveling grant that enabled him to...
, Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, Harry Fainlight
Harry Fainlight
Harry Fainlight was a British/American poet associated with the Beats movement.He was the younger brother of Ruth Fainlight , also a poet, who edited a posthumous volume of his work, Selected Poems, published in 1986.-Personal life:...
, Anselm Hollo
Anselm Hollo
Anselm Paul Alexis Hollo is a Finnish poet and translator. He has lived in the United States since 1967.-Life and work:...
, Christopher Logue
Christopher Logue
Christopher Logue, CBE is an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival. He has also written for the theatre and cinema as well as acting in a number of films. His two screenplays are Savage Messiah and The End of Arthur's Marriage...
, George Macbeth
George MacBeth
George Mann MacBeth was a Scottish poet and novelist. He was born in Shotts, Lanarkshire.When he was three, his family moved to Sheffield....
, Gregory Corso
Gregory Corso
Gregory Nunzio Corso was an American poet, youngest of the inner circle of Beat Generation writers...
, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...
, Michael Horovitz
Michael Horovitz
Michael Horovitz is an English poet, artist and translator.-Life and career:Michael Horovitz was the youngest of ten children who were brought to England from Nazi Germany by their parents, both of whom were part of a network of European-rabbinical families...
, Simon Vinkenoog
Simon Vinkenoog
Simon Vinkenoog was a Dutch poet and writer. He was the editor of the anthology Atonaal , which launched the Dutch "Fifties Movement"....
, Spike Hawkins
Spike Hawkins
Spike Hawkins is a British poet, best known for his 'Three Pig Poems', included in his one book, the Fulcrum Press collection The Lost Fire-Brigade . He was part of the poetry scene in Liverpool during the 1960s and much of his output upholds the values of that group; short, modernistic, humorous...
, Tom McGrath
Tom McGrath (playwright)
This article is about the Scottish playwright. For other people named Tom McGrath, see Thomas McGrath.Tom McGrath was a Scottish playwright and jazz pianist....
, Ernst Jandl
Ernst Jandl
Ernst Jandl was an Austrian writer, poet, and translator.- Poetry :Influenced by Dada he started to write experimental poetry, first published in the journal "Neue Wege" in 1952....
, and William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
.
The event was formative for what became the UK underground
UK underground
The Underground was a countercultural movement in the United Kingdom linked to the underground culture in the United States and associated with the hippie phenomenon. Its primary focus was around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill in London...
over the subsequent years. Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall
Jeff Nuttall was an English poet, publisher, actor, painter, sculptor, jazz trumpeter, anarchist sympathiser and social commentator who was a key part of the British 1960s counter-culture. He was the brother of literary critic A. D. Nuttall.-Life and work:Jeff Nuttall was born in Clitheroe,...
, author of Bomb Culture said "the Underground was suddenly there on the surface". Barry Miles
Barry Miles
Barry Miles is an English author known for his participation in and writing on the subject of the 1960s London underground. He has written numerous books and his work has also regularly appeared in left-wing papers such as The Guardian...
described "a sense of constituency that was never there before... All these people recognised each other and they all realised they were part of the same scene".
Peter Whitehead
Peter Lorrimer Whitehead
Peter Lorrimer Whitehead is an English filmmaker who documented the counterculture in London and New York in the late 1960s...
documented the event on film and released it as Wholly Communion
Wholly Communion
Wholly Communion is a short documentary film made in 1965 by British filmmaker Peter Whitehead. It was filmed at the Royal Albert Hall, London, and documents a poetry event held on 11 June 1965 called the International Poetry Incarnation. It features poetry readings by Beat poets from the UK and...
.
Horovitz's related anthology Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain
Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain
Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain, an anthology of poetry, was edited by Michael Horovitz and published by Penguin Books in 1969...
was published by Penguin in 1967.