Allen Ginsberg

“The idea for starting an international anthology of prose, poetry and art from people of all walks of life, everywhere in the world, began with Allen Ginsberg. He said creativity is a great way to bring people together. We discussed giving a chance to never-before-known talents by publishing them alongside the famous. He said everyone’s a genius. It’s just a matter of how one’s genius is expressed. Since Allen was the inspiration for the anthology series, it seemed only right to read through all of the contents of Allen Ginsberg’s Collected Poems 1947-1980 for a title. When my eyes landed on his poem ‘Death to Van Gogh’s Ear,’ I immediately knew. The poem begins: ‘Poet is Priest / Money has reckoned the soul of America.’ Those first two lines pretty much sum up what the poem is about. And it was written in Paris, December 1957. I knew then that Van Gogh’s Ear would be the anthology’s title.”     ~ Ian Ayres, creator of the original Van Gogh’s Ear Anthology Series

Ian Ayres & Allen Ginsberg in Paris, March 1996. Photo by Eric Ellena.