AllenGinsberg

Allen Ginsberg in Halifax

The celebrated gay poet, bard of the Beat Generation, visited Halifax in March and gave a benefit a performance of spoken poetry, chants and harmonium blues at the McInnes Room, DalhousieUniversity on March 6, 1986, and conducted a 1-day workshop on 20th century poetics on the March 8, 1986. The event was produced by the Naropa Institute.

Ginsberg, who died in 1997, had two links to Nova Scotia: one day in 1970, hailing a taxi in New York City, he met Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who became his guru and led him to take Buddhist vows.

Trungpa, who established Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, moved his home and headquarters to Halifax in 1986.1

Martin Wallace wrote about the visit, here.2

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