Johnny and Ginsberg

In some interviews, Johnny said he is attracted to people outside of the ordinary, or rather, outside the standards imposed by society. This attraction made, throughout his life, people find unusual which had an immediate connection, and from there a strong friendship was established. Some of these people like Marlon Brando, Hunter S. Thompson and Allen Ginsberg among others had a very brief both in the world and in the life of Johnny. They caused a strong impact on world culture and certainly in the life of Johnny.

Today I bring a video and a transcript. The quality is not great, the video was removed from circulation by the journal which published it, but I managed to save it before it and as I am not a magician of the videos, I could not put subtitles ... sorry .
In this video Johnny talks about Allen Ginsberg and what he represented in his life. It's worth taking the time, watch - despite the nearly 11-minute-and see how Johnny gets emotional when speaking of his friend.

But before, you know who was Allen Ginsberg? Here is a summary about on this American poet.
Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) was a writer - famous poet of the Beat Generation. He was known for his fame crazy, obsessed with sex, drugs and literature, as well as his literary friends, including Jack Kerouac. His most famous book "Howl" (Howl-1956) was the bestselling book of poetry in the history of American literature. It was an important figure in protests against the Vietnam War. Had many famous admirers with Jim Morrison, the punk-rock band The Clash, Ian Astbury of the band The Cult and more.

In this video tells how Johnny Allen met and how he told her he was dying. A video moving from friend to friend.

Transcription

"I was introduced to the work of Allen Ginsberg by my brother, my older brother, who since I can remember, has always been a writer and not going anywhere without at least three or four books in their hands.
I was very young. I remember he hooked me in Kerouac "On The Road" ("On the Road"), at a very young age, and I remember him reading parts of "Howl" (Howl) for me when I was about seven years ! I finally gathered myself physically with Allen, which was a dream come true. First it was by phone. I met him by phone. It was something to, I think, the magazine "Interview", and it was only a phone conversation between Allen and myself, and was, like, you know ... It was amazing. You're talking to ... Walt Whitman on the phone!

And then I went to New York to make this movie with Mark Pellington. I was just reading some stuff from Kerouac to "United States of Poetry" (The United States of Poetry) ... and as I was ... he told me ... you know, some guys will be here today, bla bla bla ...

(E) I was in the cabin, you know, and they were filming my reading, and I was reading (Kerouac) "Chorus 211" (the Mexico City Blues), and, yeah, out of the corner of my eye, was this figure , and I knew immediately that it was Ginsberg, and we took a break, and you know, we were introduced.
And we were talking, and he was really sweet, very sweet, very funny, and I was of course 'wah, wah, wah!' (Mimics frantic nervous embarrassment!). And then he started telling me how he would read the piece and then he was telling me how Jack (Kerouac) would read the piece, and it did not take long for me to understand that he was trying to change the way I was reading the play, so I type ... you know, you're here ... you are looking for this ... one of the most important poets of the twentieth century, or any time, and you are faced with a situation like ... " Hey, I understand what you're saying, and I respect him immensely, and I understand what you're saying, but I'm not playing the part as Jack or you, I'm reading like myself, then this is my business at the time - and was one of the hardest things I've ever said to anyone. And he was great ... he kind that "Oh, okay, okay," and I remember the time I had a cigarette and lit it, was smoking and remembered his song "do not smoke" ("Put Down Your Cigarette Rag ") and I'm like" Oh God, "you know, treading m *** a, one foot after the other, it was like stepping into a long pile of m *** a.

Then we went to his house and he invited me to tea, (we) went there and had tea and sat down and talked about Kerouac and Burroughs and heyday was really, again, you know, a dream come true. And in one of the gestures kinder, sweeter and beautiful ... he said ... we were in his kitchen, and he said: "You want to smoke, do you?" And I said, "Yes, I do," I was on the verge of one nicotine withdrawal ... he said: "Well, you can smoke, but you'll have to sit by the window," then I reversed sides and opened a window, and sat down to smoke, and he took my picture - it was great.

Photo taken by Ginsberg

I have to remember one night he called me, he was coming to California, to Los Angeles (he was doing a presentation here) and called me, and he said: "Let's have dinner?" And I said : "Oh, great! "... I went out and picked it up in Malibu (he was staying in someone's home), got him, we got in the car, and we had this dinner were very good, we had fun, we talked about everything in the world, and then we went back to the car (a friend of mine was driving, a friend of Allen was in front, I was sitting in the back with Allen), and he reached over and took my hand and just held my hand for like, I dunno, (one ) hour and a half? - We were driving around, talking - and he just wanted to hold hands, you know, as a comfort, you know, hold the hand of someone as a friend, or whatever. It was just such a nice gesture. Coming from anyone else you would say "whoa, whoa, wait a minute now," no, no, it was not that, it was ... he just wanted to hold hands, he just wanted comfort, he just wanted to feel the pulse of another person or something. It was incredible.

I got a call here in LA ... because we had talked before on the phone (or something) before, and he said - he said, "Oh, I'm going ... I think I'm going to Los Angeles to make a presentation, another presentation, and it would be good for us to meet and spend some time ", and I said," Great! Yes, wonderful, yes we will! . "

And then ... at a certain time, I got a call (that) said that Allen had called "Ginsberg called, call him back." So I called back (I think I called back and he ... - Anyway, one way or another, together we on the phone). And he said, "Hey, I just want you to know that I ... I'm not going to Los Angeles to make that presentation, or something, you think that comes to New York in some way? "And I said," Not that I know, "and he said," Oh, that's too bad "... and I said," Well, what's happening? "And he said:" Well, I just want you know that er ... yes, I'm dying "-" Huh? How? How, how? "- He said:" Yes, I'm dying, you know. " I said "What? What do you mean? "He said," I have this ... this cancer ... and bla bla bla ... and you know, I will not survive, "- And I was like ... that way, you know, you're upside down, you're floating, you're floating upside down, and I said: "How much time do you have? and he said: "I have a few months", a few months or something, and I said, "I'm sorry" - or whatever. But he seemed so calm, you know, when he was saying that everything was as if he were saying: "I can not go to Los Angeles, I have this other thing" - boom, nothing, you know. And I told him: "You're really ... you seem very calm about it, you know, it's all ... you're taking it very well, you seem very calm," and he said: "Oh yeah," he said "It's like a wave in the sea of ​​tranquility" - which was one of the most beautiful ... poetic, and only one way of dealing, playing forward.

And then he started crying a little bit, not uncontrolled, without screaming, but he began to cry a little, and I started crying and he said ... and he said: "I love you." I said, "I love you too." And then I started talking about going to New York and I said, "Absolutely, I'll be there, do what you want, great," and then came the call ... about three days later ... it was said Allen.
And I was so honored to have had the opportunity to meet him, having spent time with him, and yes, talk things over with him, and I was looking forward to many more years and many conversations and, you know, night apart wandering, and, hell, even hold hands if he wanted to just be with him - and then he was gone. But ... from what I understand he was, and what I felt when I spoke with him, he was ready, and he was right, and he's probably up there laughing at us all somewhere, probably saying "you have no idea! . " Yes, he was an absolute diamond and pure, pure, pure he was, not many people like that. "

This is the story of a late friend about a guy who was considered crazy, drugged, debauched by American society (and who lived much of it actually). What made me think that a mirror actually has two sides, so chose to post today. Allen Ginsberg, another friend Johnny presented to you. Nice to meet you through a person so sensitive to this point have looked the other side of the mirror.

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