(no subject)

[crashedcarstar]

i got hold of Allen Ginsberg's Howl. this is my definition of a beautiful book. it contains "original draft facsimile, transcript & variant versions, fully annotated by author, with contemporaneous correspondence, account of first public reading, legal skirmishes, precursor texts & bibliography". it's in a rather large 28 by 20 cm format. it contains photocopies of Ginsberg's type- and handwritings. and this particular book seems to have something genuinely pencil-written on the first page, which is, i think, by comparison of handwriting, by Ginsberg himself. like a personal note. or pre-poem. if i read it properly, it goes something like this (much of it is unintelligible, and i very well might be misreading it):

vastness of america + how(l) small he is
lack of compassionate companionship
up on a plane of desolation

adolescent yearning
public bard

child who might fall comes of age
mirror of america
friendship with people
long lives like [unreadable]