BOTW: A Coney Island of the Mind

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Books reading:

“Horns” by Joe Hill — started again after reading the first fifth a while ago, interesting book. Lots of time jumping. Wondering where it’s going. 40% (Kindle) (4-GR)

“Love is a Dog From Hell” by Charles Bukowski (poetry) — Been reading this a few poems at a time, interesting gutbucket poetry. Love some poems more then others (4 stars – Goodreads)

Books Finished:

A Coney Island of the Mind — Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Poetry)
Beautiful book. Lovely language. I knew Ferlinghetti’s name well as one of the San Francisco beat poets and creator of the famous City Lights bookstore in North Beach. (5 – GR)

For an over 40 year old poetry book (1958) it feels amazingly modern.

Here’s an example (3) from the main “A Coney Island of the Mind” poem:

The poet’s eye obscenely seeing
sees the surface of the round world

with its drunk rooftops
and woodern oiseaux on clotheslines
and it’s clay males and females
with hot legs and rosebud breasts
in rollaway beds

and its trees full of mysteries
and its Sunday parks and speechless statues
and its America
with its ghost towns and empty Ellis Islands
and its surrealist landscape of

mindless prariries
supermarket suburbs
steamheated cemeteries
cinerama holy days
and protesting cathedrals

a kissproof world of plastic toiletseats tampax and taxis

drugged store cowboys and las vegas virgins
disowned indians and cinemad matrons
unroman senators and conscientious non-objectors

and all the other fatal shorn-up fragments
of the immigrant’s dream come too true
and mislaid
among the sunbathers

I don’t think WordPress will allow me to get the formatting right, but the consumerism is still front and center today.

And I noticed Ferlinghetti doesn’t like punctuation too much.

Marvelous book if you are curious about beat poetry at all or love Ginsburg, Kerouac, Burroughs, etc .. get it!

Books checked out: (all from Walker — Westbrook, ME)

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear — Walter Moers — Was halfway through this when I read this the first time. Love the illustrations and style, if anything I think Moers books might be a little too long. There’s a TON of story here

their eyes were watching god — Zora Neale Hurston — if Alice Walker says it’s one of her favorite and most important books, that’s enough for me. A book I have been curious about for a while.

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty (graphic novel) — by G. Neri, illustrations by Randy DuBurke. Been loving graphic novels, this one seemed interesting.

Did finish this one already, hard book to read abut a life far too short and violent. I wish it was longer and richer (3 – GR)

George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking – Yes, that Stephen Hawking, curious to see how a book with him and his daughter is.

Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Revelation edited by Roger Housden — Might find some new favorite poets. Been on a poetry reading kick.