light gazing, ışığa bakmak

Thursday, March 18, 2010

ora vamos lá, "Salutations to Fernando Pessoa" de Allen Ginsberg


Salutations to Fernando Pessoa
Allen Ginsberg

Everytime I read Pessoa I think
I'm better than he is I do the same thing
more extravagantly - he's only from Portugal,
I'm American greatest Country in the world
right now End of xx Century tho Portugal
had a big empire in the 15th century never mind
now shrunk to a Corner of Iberian peninsula
whereas New York take New York for instance
tho Mexico City's bigger NY's richer think of Empire State
Building not long ago world empire's biggest skyscraper -
be that as't may I've experienced 61 years' XX Century
Pessoa walked down Rua do Ouro only till 1936
He entered Whitman so I enter Pessoa no
matter what they soy besides dead he wouldn't object.

What way'm I better than Pessoa?
Known on 4 Continents I have 25 English books he only 3
his mostly Portuguese, but that's not his fault -
U.S.A's a bigger Country
merely 2 Trillion in debt a passing freakout,
Reagan's dirty work an American Century aberration
unrepresenting our Nation Whitman sang in Epic manner
tho worried about in Democratic Vistas
As a Buddhist not proud my superiority to Pessoa
I'm humble Pessoa was nuts big difference,
tho apparently gay - same as Socrates,
consider Michelangelo Da Vinci Shakespeare
inestimable comrado Walt
True I was tainted Pinko at an early age a mere trifle
Science itself destroys ozone layers this era antiStalinists
poison entire earth with radioactive anticommunism
Maybe I lied somewhat
rarely in verse, only protecting other's reputations
Frankly too Candid about my mother tho meant well
Did Pessoa mention his mother? she's interesting,
powerful to birth sextuplets
Alberto Caeiro Alvaro de Campos Ricardo Reis Bernardo Soares & Alexander
----------------------------------------------------------- Search simultaneously
with Fernando Pessoa himself a classic sexophrenic
Confusing personae not so popular
outside Portugal's tiny kingdom (till recently a second rate police state)
Let me get to the point er I forget what it was
but certainly enjoy making comparisons between this Ginsberg & Pessoa
people talk about in Iberia hardly any books in English
presently the world's major diplomatic language extended throughout China.
Besides he was a shrimp, himself admits in interminable "Salutations to Walt Whitman"
Whereas 5'70" height
somewhat above world average, no immodesty,
I'm speaking seriously about me & Pessoa.
Anyway he never influenced me, never read Pessoa
before I wrote my celebrated "Howl" already translated into 24 languages,
not to this day's Pessoa influence an anxiety
Midnight April 12-88 merely glancing his book
certainly influences me in passing, only reasonable
but reading a page in translation hardly proves "Influence."
Turning to Pessoa, what'd he write about? Whitman,
(Lisbon, the sea etc.) method peculiarly longwinded,
diarrhoea mouth some people say - Pessoa Schmessoa.


---
publicado na Threepenny Review em 1994.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice brief and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you as your information.

Anonymous said...

o allen ginsberg não era assim uma coisa ..."pessoalmente" prefiro o pessoa ,nem sei para que serve tão longa comparação ,encaixa num poeta beat fala -barto com algum/bastante ás vezes talento e que fez questão em ser fotografado ao pe´de verdadeiros génios ,esses sim muito melhores do que ele ,salutations to burroughs ah ah ah ah ,,,salutations to bob dylan ...ah ah e etc.way better than me -tinha ele de dizer

Anonymous said...

e já não ouvia tanta gabarolice desde o oscar wilde e esse com infinitamente mais

Anonymous said...

mais wit

Ana V. said...

é é...

jorge vicente said...

a mim, parece-me uma grande experiência, uma grande ironia própria de um beat.

mas, enfim, é preciso conhecer a biografia do allen ginsberg para saber isso...

grande abracito
Jorge

 
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