Family Business : Two Lives in Letters and Poetry

Rating:
Summary: A Poetic Conversation Across the Generation Gap
Review: Allen Ginsberg used to joke that poetry was "the family business." These letters between the late author of "Howl" and his poet-father, Louis, are more than a series of poignant exchanges between conservative father and Beat son. They comprise a 30-year conversation between conflicting ideas of the role of poetic tradition in making sense of the difficult world. Allen calls for a "full-scale revolution" in poetry, while Louis - a philosophically minded punster who wrote in rhymed couplets - coyly observes that Allen's comrades seem to think they have "invented honesty."

As the landmark events of the 20th Century unfold around them (the Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam War, and explosive confrontations in the Middle East), they strive to find a common ground in their craft. The elder Ginsberg's tolerance is tested by his son's rebellion. Louis instructs Allen to "exorcise" his muse Neal Cassady as a destructive influence, and he's outraged when his son's longtime companion, Peter Orlovsky, is listed as Allen's "spouse" in Who's Who. Along the way, Allen's fame as the bearded paterfamilias of the flower-power generation grows, and he becomes the most trusted critic of his father's work. Louis comes to recognize that poems like his son's "Kaddish" - a shockingly frank portrayal of Allen's mother Naomi - pointed the way to the future of the art.

Poet Louis Untermeyer once remarked to Louis, "You are good for Allen, and he is good for you." Tracing their journey toward a shared conviction that poetry has the power to change history makes Family Business important reading for us all.

Rating:
Summary: A Poetic Conversation Across the Generation Gap
Review: Allen Ginsberg used to joke that poetry was "the family business." These letters between the late author of "Howl" and his poet-father, Louis, are more than a series of poignant exchanges between conservative father and Beat son. They comprise a 30-year conversation between conflicting ideas of the role of poetic tradition in making sense of the difficult world. Allen calls for a "full-scale revolution" in poetry, while Louis - a philosophically minded punster who wrote in rhymed couplets - coyly observes that Allen's comrades seem to think they have "invented honesty."

As the landmark events of the 20th Century unfold around them (the Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam War, and explosive confrontations in the Middle East), they strive to find a common ground in their craft. The elder Ginsberg's tolerance is tested by his son's rebellion. Louis instructs Allen to "exorcise" his muse Neal Cassady as a destructive influence, and he's outraged when his son's longtime companion, Peter Orlovsky, is listed as Allen's "spouse" in Who's Who. Along the way, Allen's fame as the bearded paterfamilias of the flower-power generation grows, and he becomes the most trusted critic of his father's work. Louis comes to recognize that poems like his son's "Kaddish" - a shockingly frank portrayal of Allen's mother Naomi - pointed the way to the future of the art.

Poet Louis Untermeyer once remarked to Louis, "You are good for Allen, and he is good for you." Tracing their journey toward a shared conviction that poetry has the power to change history makes Family Business important reading for us all.

Rating:
Summary: THE BOOK OF WISDOM
Review: Allen, the rebellious writer responsible for HOWL and member of the BEAT GENERATION, is a homosexual who subjected himself to research experiments with drugs. Louis is the conservative Jew, who, although sympathetic to socialism, is very much against Communist Russia. Schumacher's book FAMILY BUSINESS (SELECTED LETTERS BETWEEN A FATHER AND SON) is their story.

Louis Ginsberg wrote to his son:

"... it is our duty, as creative artists, to let ourselves be used by forces deep in us, forces which we do not fully understand but which seem greater than we are or which are the fountains of our beings..."

Fascinating statement, if not a true mantra, for the society of writers. But this is a rather deceptive notion from Louis. He was not, of course, a free-willing individual who would advise his son, without hesitation, to commit acts of self-indulgence. Louis is not Allen.

The debates, confusion and arguments between father and son is insightful- on politics, on communism and American imperialism, on (esp.) homosexuality.

FAMILY BUSINESS is a book of wisdom.