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Louise Landes Levi


Jack Kerouac at 100; A Talk given at Ruigoord, Amsterdam, NL Did I create that sky? Yes, for, if it was anything other than a conception in my mind I wouldnt have said "Sky"-That is why I am the golden eternity. There are not two of us here, reader and writer, but one, one golden eternity, One-Which-It-Is, That-Which- Everything-Is. (fr. the Scripture of the Golden Eternity) * A * Am I JACK KEROUAC NOT As a youngster, I meet Ginsberg Orlovsky, also Gregory at age 20, first informed of them, indeed introduced to Gregory by high school delinquent guru boyfriend, I go to India & relocate to Holland. Once free of stifling but compelling love affair & after long journey, I meet 2nd. GURU somewhat more qualified & live around the corner in Amsterdam from Simon (Vinkenoog). I now enter the realm of Jack Kerouac, not through the book but ON THE ROAD Hilarious adventures & some danger, not too much. ONE WORLD POETRY its 1984 Franco & Udo, first long hitch hike, first truck driver is a poet. He recites; Sto bovendo un café molto dolche ed amare perce tu non che sei. Returning, on this same journey . fr. lst. Dzog ChenTeaching, in Italy, I read the TEXTs, like Cut-Ups enscribed on the vehicles, especially the trucks. TARA picks me up, I am delivered, safely to Amsterdam. * The possibility of liberation fr. Intense Suffering over rides convention, dismisses sexuality as convention & almost every other form of perception. Instead of middle aged ‘huis vrouw’ I’m middle aged ‘BEAT’ at least in the eyes of others. The former associates are amazed to see me playing on the streets — hitch hiking 1000s of kilometers to meet my ‘master’. In truth I learn ‘concrete’ speech fr. those behind the wheel I also learn mind reading, as protection, curious images, some very violent, which appear in the mind, clearly belong to the ‘other’. I graciously ask for a coffee stop & disappear. * Am I another of Jack Kerouac’s disinherited daughters? Or his ‘heir’, at least ON THE ROAD * We encounter, in the occidental poetic, a lack of spiritual tradition. In India & Japan, deep respect for the Power of the Word, the poetic formula, or Utterance has reigned since ancient times. In the USA this tradition has been desiccated, the greatest genocide in our planetary history: the America Indian We are the red men, now down among the dead men, HOW. G. Corso * The ‘BEATS’ insist on the liberation of Body, Mind & Word – they transform what had become academic tradition into a living extension of LOVE in fact they perform a spiritual & artistic alchemy. * Poetry, the Spoken Word, the Fiery Tongue returns to essence. The Body, via Artaud & onward, the Mind, via Pound, Rexroth in the Netherland Bert Schierbeck et.al. set the precedent for this transformation. Simon finds in the roots of the Dutch literary heritage Jan Luyken Ik meende ook de Godheid woonde & Guido Giselle O Wilde Papever Mijne, the root of his community & of the ‘beat’ expression which so attracts him.. Graciously & modestly he opens his door to Ginsberg, Orlovsky & Corso. I am present Doux present du present J.Prévert * We are faced w. utter calamity, look to the Beats, still, for affirmation of community, for a refusal of the War Doctrine & for defense of the Earth. Ruigoord Galvanizes these aspirations keeps the code & does not transform itself into the usual institution. It remain as a canter for creative innovation, sans POLICE * The BEATS were somewhat misogynist, not really acclaiming the social feminine, they did acclaim the Goddess, the great SHAKTI of the Sanskrit tradition the Shekinah of the Judaic, Ginsberg proclaims Holy, Holy,Holy Kadosh This existent creation. * I will read now fr. Kerouac’s early verse & his master work, Mexico City Blues (1959) Chogyam Trungpa proclaimed it a perfect manifestation of mind & which I discovered appropriately in the library if the Ali Akbar school of music, in San Rafel, amazed, at its power of revelation & its presentation of the Buddhist doctrine, in context & terminology * Jack & Allen, in the 50s, in NYC were the portals, along w. Suzuki Roshi less proclaimed, in San Francisco & Alan Watts through which the Buddhist Dharma was introduced to the USA Avant Guard & gradually to the society of large. A LA LA HO *
For when the Tide of Disaster Rises water will disintegrate And all be left Is the successful savoir Abiding Everywhere Beginningless Ecstatic NOBODY *
To further understand what I’m doing Here at the Kerouac Centennial, in Ruigoord, not at all an expert on Jack Kerouac I Return to Margarita island. – I’m studying w. 2nd Guru the terton master Namkhai Norbu, instructed in dream, to reveal the entire cycle of his ‘terma’, or dream teaching, there on the Pearl Island, as it’s called, near Caracas, Venezuela.. I live in the ‘gar’ very simply - attend The teachings & explore the island, by bike & on Foot when possible & not too dangerous. One grey afternoon I’m Unusually obsessed w. the Hebrew word Elohim – meaning grace’or ‘g-d’, What’s the exact spelling – I recall the letters but not perfectly – In my inner silent vision, I keep looking for the spelling of the word. Now it’s raining , I leave the ‘gar’ to walk to nearby village, Pedro Gonzales. It’s a very poor village - no one reads, only recently has Chavez introduced literacy, to the very poor & free water. A young man calls to me He invites me to sit on his ‘veranda’ Until the rain stops. I agree, sit & watch the rain as he disappears, into his shanty, returning after a few minutes w. a book in hand. It’s the bible, in Spanish. He hands it to me, to pass the time, I open at random, to a page, where, to my astonishment, Elohim, is written in bold Hebrew. Leaving I look at the face of this individual & note he looks EXACTLY like the young JACK KEROUAC one sees in Those iconic photos * It’s now years later, preparing this, I come Across, as if by chance, the following In the City Lights JK Edition Pomes of All Sizes, On ETHER Jordon Belson: Everything is reduced to its absolute meaning The Heel of ELOHIM Ether brings them out Let slide sweetly The transformation Of the thinking. The Liberation From Jack Kerouac. *
Originally presented as spoken word & song, at the Jack Kerouac Centennial: Jack Kerouac at 100. The Beats in Ruigoord (9.10.2022) Excerpts reprinted in Italian in ALIAS, Il Manfesto Ruigoord, Beat e Oltre D. Bellini (17.1.23) With grateful thanks to Rene Van Voort, for his kind invitation, Bastiaan Lips master chef , Ernst de Pon peerless chauffeur & RUIGOORD for hosting JK at 100 *
Louise Landes Levi is still in Kyoto.
 
 
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