The Poetry Jukebox, by Jorge Clar
I remember the day I realized I wanted to write poetry.
I was waiting for my dad, lying on the hood of our family car, a Ford Torino 500, at the end of my junior year of high school. Looking through the branches of a lemon tree at the sky above, I realized I could be a poet if only I could write my thoughts on paper with the speed and precision of a tape recorder.
Allen Ginsberg’s Howl was part of my high school curriculum and I was immediately drawn to the poem by its title and small trim size. Sitting on my rocking chair ready to read, this moment would open a door into a world where I would belong.
Enthralled by the rhythm and musicality of Allen’s writing, I became lost in the parade of images and rapid-fire phrases that took me on mental detours to unchartered areas of spirit.
I became aware of the fluid nature of reality. The tap of poetry opened, flowing from an inner region and transmitted through writing. I imagined myself as a radio broadcasting the running document of writing like a tape recorder.
Now, I am ecstatic to encounter the Poetry Jukebox, installed by Czech coffeehouse owner, Ondřej Kobza, and cultural manager, Michaela Hečková, at Howl! Happening. The first of its kind in America, it was created to celebrate Ginsberg’s recent birthday. Located in the aptly-named Extra Place, the alley next to the gallery, the Jukebox pours recordings of poems curated by Hečková out to anyone willing to listen.
What a delight then, to walk to this streamlined speaker, press its button, and stand mesmerized listening to the voices of beat poets and to some of the phrases that got my poetic instinct going.
“Potato salad at CCNY lectures on Dadaism…”
“Alchemy of the use of ellipses…”
“Trap the archangel of the soul between two visual images…”
“Shimmied the city down to the last radio…”
“Lifting the city to the heaven that exists and is everywhere around us…”
I push the button again after Allen is done reading. I hear Lawrence Ferlinghetti minutely describing, trying to capture in words, the experience of listening to a young jazz musician. A filigree of words turns into phrases stringing an allegory for the music—ultimately creating a parallel textual music.
The Poetry Jukebox is ultimately an metaphor of myself and my own process of writing and performing. What an honor to share my thoughts in Howler and to be in the company of all the folks at Howl! Happening, a place I consider a spiritual home.
Treat yourself to this wonderful experience, available 24 hours a day at Extra Place until the end of July. The Jukebox also contains recordings by Jack Kerouac, Gary Snyder, Gregory Corso, Charles Bukowski, Amiri Baraka, Ken Kesey, William S. Burroughs, Diane di Prima, Anne Waldman, Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, Robert Duncan, Kenneth Rexroth, Peter Orlovsky, Patti Smith, Ed Sanders, John Giorno and Bob Holman.
Follow Jorge Clar on Twitter @jorgeclar & Instagram @jorgeclar… and do visit http://jorgeclar.com/ !
