Poems from a classical Tibetan Buddhist 3-year retreat (1992-1995) with an introduction by Allen Ginsberg.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Olmsted's sinuous poetry moves on the page... thoughts at the instant they become muscular movements. -- Michael McClure
This book is a fierce and honest portrayal of the struggle toward realization... -- Diane di Prima
This book is a fierce and honest portrayal of the struggle toward realization... -- Diane di Prima
About the Author
Allen Ginsberg said "MARC OLMSTED inherited Burroughs' scientific nerve & Kerouac's movie-minded line nailed down with gold eyebeam in San Francisco." Olmsted has appeared in CITY LIGHTS JOURNAL, NEW DIRECTIONS IN PROSE & POETRY, OUTLAW BIBLE OF AMERICAN POETRY, SIGNS OF LIFE (a Manic D Press anthology), PROCESSED WORLD, Flesheater Chris D's BONGO CHALICE, BLUE SATELLITE and a variety of small presses. His work includes the books MILKY DESIRE (Subterranean Press, 1991) and RÉSUMÉ (Inevitable Press, 1998).
He has also made two short films, BURROUGHS ON BOWERY, a portrait of the NAKED LUNCH author, and AMERICAN MUTANT, with Burroughs, Ginsberg & Leary.
Olmsted appeared at the L.A. Ginsberg Memorial along with Tom Waits, Exxene and Johnny Depp. His new book, WHAT USE AM I A HUNGRY GHOST? - POEMS FROM 3-YEAR RETREAT (Valley Contemporary Press, 2001), has an introduction by Ginsberg.
Olmsted is a senior student of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche. Olmsted has studied Buddhism since 1974 and completed a 3-year retreat supervised by his teacher. Afterwards, he was encouraged to teach in the San Francisco chapter of Tharchin Rinpoche's students, Last Chance Gompa.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Endure the Rain Until a Flash,
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This review is from: What Use Am I a Hungry Ghost? (Paperback)
"What traffic of spirits swirls in the darkness? . . . Will I wake up? . . . I burned my nerves for nothing . . . Regret my dark reward . . . Tears for open heart . . . " Marc Olmsted's book of poems serves as a journal of his three years in a Buddhist retreat in California. The book is a record of struggle and discovery in the search for enlightenment. He writes in a very accessible free verse; his stream-of-consciousness style harks back to the Beat poets, especially his friend and mentor Allen Ginsberg. Olmsted has an honest soul and his poems speak directly from the heart. As much as he was a student at the retreat, he is also a teacher to readers who, like me, would probably never have the stones to make such a huge commitment but who appreciate hearing something of what it's about. There were plenty of flashes of insight along the way; I look forward to more works -- and more insight -- from Olmsted.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
When I was making a little anthology of poets whose work I liked about maybe 15 years ago or longer for New Directions annual volume [#37], Marc Olmsted was one of the poets whom I thought gifted and coherent, and I was impressed by the freedom of his verse form which seemed to be that he had adapted Kerouac's free style Mexico City Blues notation and association lucidity to his own purpose and was one of the few practitioners post-Kerouac that had picked up on the loose and lucid form that Kerouac had developed. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
San Francisco New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
When I was making a little anthology of poets whose work I liked about maybe 15 years ago or longer for New Directions annual volume [#37], Marc Olmsted was one of the poets whom I thought gifted and coherent, and I was impressed by the freedom of his verse form which seemed to be that he had adapted Kerouac's free style Mexico City Blues notation and association lucidity to his own purpose and was one of the few practitioners post-Kerouac that had picked up on the loose and lucid form that Kerouac had developed. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
San Francisco New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 2
books:
- Mexico City Blues: 242 Choruses by Jack Kerouac on page 1
- Buddha Mind: An Anthology of Longchen Rabjam's Writings on Dzogpa Chenpo (Buddhayana series :) by Klon-chen-pa Dri-med-®od-zer on page 28
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