Bard, Kinetic - by Anne Waldman (Paperback)

About the Book

"In Bard, Kinetic, Anne Waldman assembles a layered compendium of essays, letters, poems, and interviews that form a portrait of her life and praxis as a groundbreaking poet. Waldman charts her journey through a maelstrom of radical artistic activity, from growing up in Greenwich Village to creative partnership with Allen Ginsberg and touring with Bob Dylan. She recalls founding the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church and later the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, and she discusses the political and artistic philosophies that guide her activities as writer, activist, performer, instigator, and Buddhist practitioner. Throughout Bard, Kinetic Waldman pays homage to the friends and collaborators, many of whom are no longer with us, including Amiri Baraka, Lou Reed, John Ashbery, and Diane di Prima. Waldman's experiences serve as a guide for others committed to making the world a conscious and conscientious place that soars with poetry"--

Book Synopsis

The expansive, countercultural, and wildly prolific life of celebrated poet Anne Waldman, in her own words.

In Bard, Kinetic, Anne Waldman assembles a multifaceted portrait of her life and praxis as a groundbreaking poet. Waldman charts her journey through a maelstrom of radical artistic activity: growing up in Greenwich Village, creative partnership with Allen Ginsberg, touring with Bob Dylan, and founding the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church and later, the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University. She discusses the philosophies that guide her as a writer, activist, performer, instigator, and Buddhist practitioner, and pays homage to friends and collaborators including Amiri Baraka, Lou Reed, John Ashbery, Kathy Acker, and Diane di Prima. Waldman's experiences serve as a guide for others committed to making the world a conscious and conscientious place that soars with the discourse and activism of poetry and poethics.

Review Quotes

Praise for Anne Waldman

Winner of the 2015 American Book Awards Lifetime Achievement Award

"A major poet." --Allen Ginsberg

"When Allen Ginsberg passed from us it was Anne Waldman who dutifully gathered up his many burdens, continuing his work as poet, activist, and teacher. In following his example she has bloomed as an example herself. How fortunate we are to have her among us and may we all reach out and take a small amount of her burden upon ourselves." --Patti Smith

"Anne Waldman's voice is epic, mythic and above all, wild. She gives us direct courage from the force of her great heart. Her words: sacred text." --Terry Tempest Williams

"An essential poet of our time." --CA Conrad

"Wit, real teaching and speed all meet up here. . . . Anne Waldman's poetry being nothing but the eye and sound of prophecy itself." --Eileen Myles

"On the map from east to west and across the scale from treble to bass, Anne Waldman is possessed with a passion to witness, to understand, and to describe. . . . Enlightening, challenging, and crucial to the American tradition." --Lisa Jarnot

"Reading Waldman is like being in the world today. . . . It's easy to feel drawn to this poet's idealism and generosity of spirit." --Daisy Fried, The New York Times

"The legitimate heir to Allen Ginsberg's crown as America's underground 'poet-ambassador' laureate." --The Colorado Springs Independent

"Waldman's epic goes splendidly on and on, mixing the shamanistic with the diaristic, the topical with the prayerful, incorporating almost everything." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Anne Waldman is the author of numerous volumes of poetry including the feminist epic The Iovis Trilogy, Colors in The Mechanism of Concealment which won the USA Pen Center Award for Poetry in 2012. Other recent books include Manatee/Humanity, Gossamurmur, Jaguar Harmonics, and the anthology CROSS WORLDS: Transcultural Poetics (Coffee House Press 2014, co-edited with Laura Wright). She is a recipient of the Shelley Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, and is a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets. She has been at the forefront of cultural activism, and one of the founders of the Poetry Project at St Marks Church In-the-Bowery and a co-founder with Allen Ginsberg of the celebrated Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, the first Buddhist-inspired University in the west. Her work has been published, most recently in French and Finnish.