One of six unique works in “A PICTURE OF MY MIND: Poems Written by Allen Ginsberg’s Photographs,” theVERSEverse’s inaugural collection of ekphrastic poetry using natural language processing technology and text-to-image/image-to-text techniques to respond to the iconic words and images of the legendary Beat poet. Developed in conjunction with The Fahey/Klein Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition “Muses & Self: Photographs by Allen Ginsberg,” in partnership with VV member Ross Goodwin, the Allen Ginsberg Estate, and the Tezos Foundation.
SHARED REFLECTIONS: A SNAPSHOT
Who can capture
the fleeting essence
of such a moment,
fragments of the infinite?
Glasses reflecting
the enigma of India,
a cigarette burning slowly
as our lives together.
Peter, buttoned and brooding,
a mirror to my own curiosity.
Who can forget
two beatnik souls
adrift in time, space,
the endless pursuit
of the poetic?
Camera,
faithful companion –
hold our hands!
– theVERSEverse after Allen Ginsberg, “Calcutta Self-Portrait with Peter Orlovsky, 1962”
