The Poetry Project Newsletter, Issue 25, May 1, 1975

The fifth page of this issue has a news article about the “Rencontre Internationale de la Contre-Culture” in Montreal, and mentions Burroughs and his attendance: “William Burroughs felt the radioactive vibes, wasn’t surprised when Claude Pélieu & Mary Beach left huffing as it was all stale flower power.”

Published in New York City by The Poetry Project at St. Mark's in May, 1975.

This copy is addressed to the [Detroit] Alternative Press (Ann and Ken Mikolowski), and is part of an archive of Poetry Project Newsletters acquired from Type Punch Matrix (Silver Springs, MD.).

To note, there is a passage in Charles Plymell's "Eating and Drinking with the Beats" in his compendium Hand on the Doorknob (Water Row Press, 2000) that recounts some of the experience of this "Rencontre Internationale:

"During that time I went with Anne Waldman, Ginsberg and Burroughs to Montreal for a 'counterculture' reading at the Bibliotèque Nationale... We met Mary Beach and Claude Pélieu there. Claude immediately made enemies refusing to speak French. The organizers had pegged him as a CIA agent. The whole reading turned into a farce, Allen [Ginsberg] and Anne [Waldman] putting the best face on it. Allen visited with Emmett Grogan. Claude saw all of the 'counterculture' as bullshit and put down the Quebequois."

Bibliographic Information: 

• Not in Shoaf
• Not in Schottlaender (v4)
• Raven 19750501TPPN.0.25

Contents: 

• Jack Spicer: "Hibernation" (poetry)
• news:
• on Lawrence Ferlinghetti's April 30 reading, and upcoming readings including John Cage, Bill Berkson, Lewis MacAdams, et al
• on John Ashbery's Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror
• on Robert S. Young, Freedom of Information Coordinator of the C.I.A.
• on Barbara Baracks' Big Deal, issue 3 
• on paintings by Ray Kass at Allan Stone Gallery
• on Ann Sciortino seeking a loft to rent
• on "Battery" a dance tribute to Suzanne K. Langer at Exchange for the Arts
• on Judge Julius Hoffman and on Allen Ginsberg's Chicago Trial Testimony
• on Anne Waldman's Fast Speaking Woman
• on Kenward Elmslie's body art work and trip to Nepal
• on John Giorno heading to Nepal
• on paintings by Denise Green at the Whitney Museum Art Resources Center
• on Stanley Kunitz reading at The Poetry Center
• on the mayor of Amsterdam, Ivo Sankalden, touring St. Mark's
• on poets at Noho Gallery
• on new releases from North Atlantic Books
• on Broadway Boogie, issue 3
• on the winner of the one-word poetry prize
• on Robert Kelly, Diane Wakoski, John Eskow, Louis Phillips, and William Lane at Dr. Generosity's
• on Bill Zavatsky's Sun Book series
• on the Kulchur Foundation publishing of Charles Plymell's The Trashing of America
• on Cecile Abish's artwork "Shifting Concern"
• on Paladin Press and The U.S. Army Sniper Training Manual
• on the Theatre Genesis calendar
• on David Ball's Praise of Crazy and The Mutant Daughter
• on workshops at St. Marks
• on Michael Lally's Rocky Dies Yellow
• on the first New York City Post Card exhibition at Loeb Student Center
• on The Coldspring Journal, issues 5 and 6.
• on the Poetry Project mini-library
• on Charles Reznikoff's Holocaust, and John Ashbery's The Vermont Notebook
• on radio poetry from WBAI
• on Carolee Schneeman's Cezanne, She Was a Great Painter
• on dancing at St. Mark's 
• on Rudy Burckhardt photographs at Brooke Alexander
• on the "Rencontre Internationale de la Contre-Culture" in Montreal, attended by Burroughs Pélieu, Beach, Ed Sanders, Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, John Giorno, Charles Plymell, more
• on a May 5th open reading 
• on Ken Kesey reading at St. Mark's on May 12

Publishing Information: 

• Editor: Bill Mac Kay