I have no idea why this is here

                              Allen Ginsberg and friend .... 

            Two strays contemplating the mysteries of life ....

Thoughts .... as 2020 fades into history

Allen Ginsburg was many things to many people. His name should be familiar to most, if not to all. While he was a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he became friends with William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. Of the three, Kerouac's name most likely is the most familiar. Kerouac wrote, "On the Road," among other things. The three evolved into the core of the so-called Beat Generation of the 1950s. Ginsburg has been dead since April 1997. He obviously is alive when this photograph is taken, so it obviously was taken before that date. It also is a black & white shot, which might demonstrate it once appeared in a publication. It also is a photograph of a photograph, which would seem to indicate it is my photograph.

I am not going to say when or where or under what circumstances this photograph was taken other than point out Ginsberg is sitting on the floor in a hallway waiting for something or someone, and that the dog is not his .... other than those things, the story behind the photograph will remain among the unanswered questions in this maze of life. I will say straight up I am not an admirer of the man, Ginsberg, but think he was a complicated and an interesting individual, and the poetry he wrote is worth reading.

For the curious and more daring among you, I would suggest reading, "Howl," written in 1955-56 in San Francisco and considered a literary classic in the sense that it broke through cultural barriers and challenged the American establishment. The operative word here is "suggest," not recommend. "Howl" is a rambling social commentary which often centers on the fringes of society -- poets, artists, radicals, homosexuals and the mentally ill -- to convey deep frustration, joy and energy.

There is a possible subliminal reason for having a post today. If that were the case, it would be to mention a lengthy article about former Saint Paul newsman and present-day writer Kermit Pattison and his first book, "Fossil Men: The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind." The article is by Mary Ann Grossmann. She is retired from the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, but still keeps her hand in by coordinating and interviewing and reporting book news. Reading her lengthy, detailed article is something I do recommend.

My December 12 post was about Pattison and his book and the subject of his book is "Ardi," a 4.4 million-year-old Ardipithecus ramidus in the process of evolving from Hominid into Hominin. "Her" fossil remains were found in Ethiopia's Afar rift valley and excavated between 1994 and 1997. It took Pattison eight years researching and writing to produce the book.

To paraphrase and partially quote a Grossman statement from Pattison,  he had to learn and understand all the sciences involved (at least eleven of them, by my count) and then "'disengage and write in a way that an intelligent lay person could read and comprehend. I had to span two worlds; making it a faithful look at science through a lens accessible to everyday readers.'"

I do have a copy of the book and, theoretically, I will read it cover-to-cover and write another post about it in more detail and, undoubtedly, with more opinion.

Included here are four videos, one with Ginsberg talking about Bobby Dylan and the other with Ginsberg and Dylan at Kerouac's grave in Lowell, Massachusetts .... and, two regarding Ardi, one with general information and one featuring author Pattison.

Carry on, if and as you so wish, baby ....

https://www.twincities.com/2020/12/27/st-paul-authors-fossil-men-is-a-tale-of-discovery-thats-anything-but-old-and-dry/