BIRTHDAYS JUNE 3
ALAN GINSBERG
FOLLOW YOUR INNER MOONLIGHT; DON’T HIDE THE MADNESS.
POETRY IS THE ONE PLACE PEOPLE CAN SPEAK THEIR ORIGINAL HUMAN MIND.
IT IS THE OUTLET FOR PEOPLE TO SAY IN PUBLIC WHAT IS KNOWN IN PRIVATE.
POETS ARE DAMNED . . . BUT SEE WITH THE EYES OF ANGELS.
THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD IS LOVE. UNDER THE WEIGHT OF SOLITUDE, UNDER
THE BURDEN OF DISSATISFACTION.
I WANT PEOPLE TO BOW AS THEY SEE ME AND SAY HE IS GIFTED WITH POETRY,
HE HAS SEEN THE PRESENCE OF THE CREATOR.
THE ONLY THING THAT CAN SAVE THE WORLD IS THE RECLAIMING OF THE AWARENESS
OF THE WORLD. THAT’S WHAT POETRY DOES.
I’VE BEEN WRATHFUL ALL MY LIFE, ANGRY AGAINST MY FATHER AND ALL OTHERS.
MY WRATH MUST END. ALL OF MY IMAGES ARE NOW OF HEAVEN.
MY EXPERIENCE IS THAT A CERTAIN KIND OF GENIUS AMONG STUDENTS IS BEST BROUGHT
OUT IN BED.
I THINK IT WAS WHEN I RAN INTO KEROUAC AND BURROUGHS – – WHEN I WAS 17 —
THAT I REALIZED I WAS TALKING THROUGH MY EMPTY SKULL . . . I WASN’T THINKING MY OWN
THOUGHTS OR SAYING MY OWN THOUGHTS.
WHOEVER CONTROLS THE MEDIA, THE IMAGES, CONTROLS THE CULTURE.
I SAW THE BEST MINDS OF MY GENERATION DESTROYED BY MADNESS,
STARVING HYSTERICAL NAKED.
TONY CURTIS. 1925–2010
I LOOK AT EVERYTHING IN AN ARTISTIC WAY.
I WOULDN’T BE CAUGHT DEAD MARRYING A WOMAN OLD ENOUGH TO BE MY WIFE.
I USED TO BE GOOD FRIENDS WITH MY DEPRESSION, SAYING OH I’M SO DEPRESSED,
OR LIFE IS TERRIBLE.
I LIKE VEGAS FOR ITS SPONTANEITY.
MY WHOLE WORLD BEFORE I JOINED THE NAVY WAS MY NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE BRONX.
SYDNEY SMITH 1771–1845 ENGLISH CLERGYMAN
A COMFORTABLE HOUSE IS A GREAT SOURCE OF HAPPINESS. IT RANKS IMMEDIATELY
AFTER HEALTH AND A GOOD CONSCIENCE.
LIVE ALWAYS IN TH BEST COMPANY WHEN YOU READ.
HAVE THE COURAGE TO BE IGNORANT OF A GREAT NUMBER OF THINGS, IN ORDER
TO AVOID THE CALAMITY OF BEING IGNORANT OF EVERYTHING.
I LOOK UPON SWITZERLAND AS AN INFERIOR SORT OF SCOTLAND.
NEVER GIVE WAY TO MELANCHOLY; RESIT IT STEADILY, FOR THE HABIT WILL ENCROACH.