Interestingly, even though the Beats call for a social and political reformation within the United States, their poetry only existed within the context of their small community. Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman expanded the San Francisco Beat contado by founding the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. The purpose of this school was to teach its students the importance of self-discovery and personal enlightenment and how they can apply their learnings to a broader context of serving the world and bettering society.
Waldman expresses her need for her poetry to "be the experience... a sustained experience, a voyage, a magnificent dream, something that would take you in myriad directions simultaneously, and you could draw on all of these other voices and you could pay homage to ancestors and other languages--a poem that would include everything and yet dwell in the interstices of imagination and action." Waldman seems to understand that in order for poetry to have an impact, it needs to be big. She stands separate from other Beat writers because she thinks in terms of the Beat movement contado. She stands in opposition to other Beat figures, like Ferlinghetti for instance. Ferlinghetti founded City Lights Bookstore, which proved to be a huge success in getting out texts that would otherwise not have been seen, but he founded it on the idea that it would be an independent bookstore in San Francisco for San Francisco. By taking root in Boulder, Waldman shows the importance of institutionalizing the Beat movement so it takes on a broader significance.
The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics hosts a small writing program that teaches its students the importance of art in every day life. Prolific poets of the Beat movement like Diane Di Prima frequently hold lectures and poetry readings at the school:
The Jack Kerouac School gives academic validity to poetry and ideas that stem from the Beat movement. Ginsberg's "Howl" is partially a critique of modernity's narrow-mindedness when it comes to liberal, free-flowing ideas. With writers such as Gregory Corso actually sitting down and teaching these ideas in a classroom setting, the Beat movement suddenly gains a sort of intellectual credit.
A poetry seminar with Gregory Corso. Allen Ginsberg sits in as a student.
According to Naropa Institute's "facts at a glance" page, 77% of its students come from out-of-state to attend the university. Additionally, 69.2% of those students come from over 500 miles away. This is a test to the huge scope of influence that Naropa has. In a way, one could argue that Naropa Institute has branched off and formed its own contado. Regardless, the writing program is a driving force at Naropa that would not have been possible had it not been for Waldman and Ginsberg's commitment to spreading the Beat movement beyond the borders of San Francisco.
If you're interested in hearing Waldman and Ginsberg read some of their poetry at a Naropa lecture, click this:
http://www.archive.org/details/naropa_anne_waldman_and_allen_ginsberg
* * *
quotes from:
http://www.kerouacalley.com/
school information from:
http://www.naropa.edu/
