national » reviews, features & interviews
A poet, a priest and a political activist walk into a room…
April 21, 2009 · 4 Comments
Religion distorted late twentieth century New York culture. For instance, I hosted a dinner party, and among the guests were the poet, priest and political activist, Daniel Berrigan, and the literary agent and retired epistemologist, John Brockman. John spoke nary a word. Afterwards I asked him about it, and he confessed: “I can’t help it. Maybe it’s growing up in Boston. But I hate Irish priests.” I didn’t think it would help matters to explain that Dan is more German than Irish; John is Jewish.
Andy Warhol screensaver, seen at Barneys Department Store, Madison Ave.
Andy Warhol and Allen Ginsberg hated each other. Allen was a windbag; Andy had a rapier wit. I met them both as interview subjects, and had prepared an hour’s worth of questions. Andy answered my questions quickly and wittily in about fifteen minutes; he then interviewed me. Allen somehow spent eight hours answering the same number of questions. It makes me wonder if Whitman, too, was a windbag. Warhol was a non-practising homosexual and practicing Catholic. Ginsberg was an active pederast. Warhol uttered some hilarious remarks about Allen in my interview; it was only after Andy died that Allen learned Andy was a church-goer. He enlisted Burroughs to co-pronounce this ludicrous judgment: Catholicism invalidated Warhol’s art.
Allen Ginsberg, seen here in a picture from the 1960s.
picture from Ishmael Sundarban’s website
No one asked Gregory Corso. Some of Allen’s best friends were Catholics, but they daren’t express it in his presence. I got Allen to sign a limited edition to raise money to pay some of Dan’s legal bills. But Allen would not appear on the same stage as Dan. Hannah Weiner hosted a Christmas Eve party many years ago. Gregory Corso, Erika Rothenberg and I went together. At a quarter to twelve, Erika and I got ready to leave. “I’ll come with you,” Gregory said. “We’re going to midnight mass,” I told him. A look of fear and revulsion passed across Gregory’s face. “I’ll stay here,” he said.
Tags: allen ginsberg, andy warhol, daniel berrigan, erika rothenberg, gregory corso, hannah weiner
Readers Comments (4)
Wow. Imagine how much art would be invalidated if Catholicism were such a definitive negator. Art history classes would instantly become much easier.
Self righteousness leaves no room for any other opinion, belief, or perspective. People become judgmental and elitist pricks when given a platform an drug induced adulation. I’m so over the hippie gen. And, yea Rob, art history should just start in the 1800′s. Everything prior should just get trashed right?
Well let’s see. As part of the old hippie gen I guess I’m over it too, Heather. But I have to say it was good while it lasted and good that it happened, self-righteous pricks or no. Also, as someone raised Catholic who knew only holy card art (read not the real stuff but airbrushed saccharinated versions of the storied stories) until college (in books and then in museums), I find the real religious artworks amazing for their vigor, sexiness (baroque stuff) and just plain good art-ness. Rob I love Catholicism as a definite negator…that’s funny.
We are now again in a particularly serious religious season, as Roberta emailed me: Passover and Easter approach.