Allen ginsberg brief biography of marks

Today marks 50 years since the death of Allen’s old Columbia teacher, Mark Van Doren.

We wrote about him at length last year – see here 

Mark Van Doren – Portrait of A Poet, a documentary film made by his son, Adam, in 1994, includes a brief contribution from Allen

He can be heard first at approximately two-and-a-half minutes in:

“Since his (Van Doren’s) own form was so conservative and Frost-ian and sort of mid-American, he wasn’t’ very much of an inspiration for (the) experimental, but he was an inspiration for the tone and the position of poet, for the prophetic role of poet, or the sensitive role of poet, or the spiritual search as poet, so that was a really important thing.”

then, at approximately ten-and-three-quarters, (with the following anecdote):

“No , he wasn’t totally soft, he wasn’t totally soft.

In fact, you know, one of the funniest things that ever happened was..yea