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Author:
Title: Ginsberg, Allen
Place Published: Typed Letter Signed by Allen Ginsberg to Lizzie Lehrman Rubens Gold Williams, Written in Calcutta, India, Dated June 29, 1962
Publisher:[Calcutta, India]
Date Published:
Description: 22826

One and a half pages, single-spaced typed letter, written on an American Express Aerogramme, including a handwritten memo in blue ink in the left margin by Ginsberg, and signed at the end by Ginsberg in blue ink. Page measures 26.5x19 cm (10½x7½").

Lizzie Lehrman Rubens Gold Williams was a colorful bohemian character and girlfriend of Lucien Carr, a key member of the original New York City circle of the Beat generation in the 1940's, and she was an integral part of Ginsberg's New York "Subterranean" crowd. She was living in South Africa at the time of this letter, apparently having just divorced her husband there. Later she was briefly involved with Charles Bukowski and is called Dee Dee Bronson in his novel Women.

In this letter Ginsberg offers up some literary connections and journals he thinks might be helpful to Williams, and congratulates her on the fact that she is once again painting steadily. This leads into a nice description of goings on in the New York and San Francisco art scenes: "Seems incidentally like some progress in paint going forward from total abstract to what looks like a pure color neo expressionist neo gaugin visionary dream painting, this I saw signs of in SF & NYC both about 3 years ago -- I mean literally visionary not corny poetic--some inspiration derived from real obsessive dream scenes, some from mescaline-peyote visions & one SF painter I know sees primitive dream flatland scenes on his canvas & literally just colors them in  like 5&10cent store canvass. What you missed in NYC last 5 years was great social scene plenty of abstract painters money, everybody in the Cedar Bar every nite and everybody coming together a lot of poets & painters & jazz musicians there, one central intellectual melting-pot I've never seen elsewhere --Kerouac drunk with Kilne, De Kooning giving Corso money, the above procuban poets drinking with black mountain refugees..." Ginsberg ends the letter asking Williams to send reproductions of her paintings. Overall, the letter offers some wonderful insight into the bohemian/artist scene at a very exciting time in its history.

Original folds, general wear, a few small chips and tattered a bit at the edges; very good