Correspondence #40: Jonah Raskin

Whalen and howlin'....

One of the foremost Allen Ginsberg scholars and regular contributor to Rock and the Beat Generation, Jonah Raskin, has shared some thoughts on the recently re-discovered 1993 conversation between Six Gallery poet Philip Whalen and the journalist Steve Silberman, which we ran in recent days and of which the respected counterculture historian read a preview.

Raskin published American Scream, an acclaimed history of ‘Howl’ in 2004. Here is his take on this new material concerning the 1955 San Francisco night on which Ginsberg premiered his long verse…

Email, October 2nd, 2024

Simon,

Some comments on the interview by Silberman with Whalen

I read Steve Silberman’s interview/conversation with Phil Whalen, who is perhaps the least known poet who read at the Six in October 1955. It was not that long ago in the history of hipster San Francisco, but long enough ago so that only Gary Snyder at 90 has survived all these years.

In the piece, I found Whalen to be a believable and likeable eye witness, candid and compassionate; a real Beat brother. I enjoyed his memories of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Kenneth Rexroth.

Perhaps what’s most valuable about the interview is Whalen’s ability to conjure the ambience of San Francisco in the 1950s. He puts readers inside the Six and also on Milvia Street in Berkeley where Ginsberg revised ‘Howl’, though Kerouac insisted he not change a word.

I’m delighted that this interview has finally surfaced. Students, teachers and aficionados of the Beat Generation will benefit.

Bravo Silberman. Bravo Whalen.

Jonah Raskin

See also: ‘Philip Whalen talks to Steve Silberman’, October 4th, 2024; American Scream at 20’, May 26th, 2024