View Full Version : Special for Apeci
boycotteverything
06-28-2008, 11:57 AM
Peoplespark Redux, 1971
(From "Telegraph" by Arthur Afterburn,
Uppa U.S. Publications, 1972)
Ragtag hippie,
sagged,
by a stopt shot
that lay his head in
meaty pieces
down,
amongst the jags
amongst the shards
amongst the last
trashed
pane
Bitchkoma
06-28-2008, 12:31 PM
What is this?
boycotteverything
06-28-2008, 12:37 PM
it's from a little poetry book i rediscoved rummaging through ancient boxes of shit in my garage yesterday. from berkeley 1972. figured apeci would appreciate it since he loves hippies so much! it was written by a good friend. we both watched it happen.
Afterburn was a little known but truly fine poet- and a true tovarish. The title ‘Peoplespark’ would have been recognized by any bright commie as a reference to both the ‘park’ and the ‘spark’- an allusion to “Iskra” (The Spark), Lenin’s pre-revolution newspaper. But I guess his work is all just ancient history, meaningless to anyone who wasn’t there. On the other hand, the image and the cadence has a way of burning into your soul. Uppa U.S. Publications was owned by an anarchist named Guido-the-Red who didn’t speak any English and everything Arthur wrote was translated into Italian by his wife, Lucia, and then retranslated into English for the American editions! This process changed the work to a certain degree but she insisted on doing it this way. I think it was her way of insinuating herself into Arthur’s works. They were lovers and always in competition with one another. Nothing by Arthur is still in print, unfortunately. He died in 1992 in a spelunking accident in Belarus. His body was never recovered. I don’t know what became of Lucia. Dust to dust. Rest in pieces, AA.
WhispersInTheDark
08-26-2010, 10:39 PM
Berkeley 1972!
was Afterburn a Dada'ist?
Yeah. He was Situationalist International with roots in Zurich coffee gardens. In fact another one of his books was called 'Hobby Horse and Crème Fraiche.'
How the hell did this get bumped? hahahaha
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm creme fraische!!!
Lexion
08-27-2010, 01:19 AM
Excellent bump.
Occupy your shards
Peoplespark Redux, 1971
(From "Telegraph" by Arthur Afterburn,
Uppa U.S. Publications, 1972)
Ragtag hippie,
sagged,
by a stopt shot
that lay his head in
meaty pieces
down,
amongst the jags
amongst the shards
amongst the last
trashed
pane
Infinite`Eternal`Forever
01-30-2012, 12:14 PM
Where is apeci?
boycotteverything
01-30-2012, 12:16 PM
Happy and well in Kansas.