I
met Ira Cohen on
the Weesperzijde home of poetanarchist
Simon Vinkenoog – I had read
& marveled at his works – editing Americans Abroad, Vol.2 w. Lynne Tillman –
unpublished, Amsterdam 1974. Ira arrived at Simon's moments
after I'd received a psychic message don't meet him –
I was trying to preserve a love relation, absent lover in India,
I knew close contact w. Simon & his entourage wld. bring the circle to a close – IRA
appeared – the conversation centered
on confetti in Benares imprinted w. images of
Antonin Artaud, Daniel Moore's Floating Lotus
Opera Company had I slept w. him? & Petra Vogt,
Ira's great love – great actress of the German stage & the Living Theatre.
Ira was returning fr. a visit w.Jodorowsky – he had wanted to score a part for
Petra in Dunes. He now wanted to get back to Nepal as soon as possible.
The next morning Ira arrived at
my place on the Laings Nek Straat–
(Daumal & Michaux translations – literally – hidden
under my bed– The boyfriend did not approve.
I knew someone wld. be sent who did. )
Ira needed a place to stay, yes, of course, welcome,
It reminded him of Nepal, Indian
instruments, books on Buddhism, very quiet.
Ira, Heathcote Williams & I, that night do a
show at the Milky Way. The boyfriend returns, luckily
headed for his parents, his twin – or double – had already found another
place for him. IRA had entered my life –
A symbolic, empowered (by the
muse of poetics), entirely personal (Uncle Ira where are you?)
relation – over the next 4 decades–evolved. Countless readings,
publications, photos, a film, musical accompaniment (for his
readings), radio shows, endless talks, cafes, bars, living rooms,
his living room that is – I never had my own apartment
after the Laings Nek Str., Ira the rival
of my sweethearts but never my sweetheart –
it wld. be incest we agreed. Poems written for
you, written together, a few out bursts
diabetic rage. Louise what shld. I do,
toward the end, bravely persisting,
you can't kill yourself. It wld. be terrible for Lakshmi, yes.
Breathing yr. last the
day I return fr. my retreat. I was
thinking of you on the island, dancing
for you. the dance encapsulates the teachings–
why didn't you ever talk abt. it?
you never asked.
Sweet prince,
You waited until the day
I returned to die/you are living
In my heart, O my poems have flown
away
w.
you
*
IRA-AMSTERDAM/NYC
You
wind up on my
bicycle, you are so heavy,
but I do not falter, notebooks, photos,
Petra is a princess fr. a dark world, you are
a ruler of an other wordly planet, or
place, as yet unencountered,
We are friends, we
are the priests of the nation*, you
have the social gifts, I am an outsider, a temple
musician, according to tradition – By the
same tradition women are not allowed
to play, we break – at a cost – w. these
traditions. It is a long road
clad in black, we meet in Naples,
in Amsterdam, in NYC, in London, when
the paradigm is changing & I am playing w/o you,
But the photos, in the gallery are yours. The relation
at this point. Changes.
You are bedridden & your
mind has been affected by the endless medications
imposed on you & by whom? I will ask that question
for the rest of my life. Your poetry continues,
We write & work together. The tables of fortune
turn on a vast mandala & you are mine & I am yours,
that is, we never took the poetic voice, it overtook
us – talks of deep personal nature, the poets
Li Po & Tu Fu maintained such dialouge.
Wasn't it you who introduced me to Arberry?
Wasn't it you who was as light as
a
shaman?
(in lore of 10 lost tribes, the Cohens occupy the position of
the socially active 'priests' or rabbis, the levites are
wanderers, are not permitted to own land,
but teach as travelers. The Cohens &
the Levites guard the treasury
of the 5 books.
Ira Cohen and Louise Landes Levi, 2003. Photographed by Jennifer Cameron.
Louise Landes Levi travelled through Afghanistan in the late sixties during the reign of King Nadir Shah. She took the route to India, alone, via Istanbul, Tabriz, Mashed, Herat, Khandahar, Kabul, Peshawar, Rawalpundi & Lahore. In India, she studied the North Indian traditions of music & poetry & made several translations, one of Mira, an Indian singer-saint of the 16th century (Sweet On My Lips: The Love Poems of Mira Bai, Cool Grove Press, 1997 & 2003).
Her recent books: Avenue A & Ninth Street (Shivastan, 2004), Uvasi & Mohammed (Il Bagatto, 2005), Banana Baby (with facing Italian translations by Alessandro Tuoni, Super Nova, 2006), Tower 2 Tower or dc X (Il Bagatto, 2008), The Book L (Cool Grove Press, 2010), and Love Cantos, 1-5 (Jack In Your Box, 2011). Her electronic chapbooks The Highway Queen, Banana Baby and HO are available on Big Bridge. Part of this passage was published in Reality Sandwich's memorial to Ira Cohen, curated by Steve Dalachinsky.
Comments (closed)
JPenton
2011-06-02 01:21:10
Ira's New York Times obit is at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/arts/ira-cohen-an-artist-and-a-touchstone-dies-at-76.html
Steve Dalachinsky's kaddish for Ira is at http://www.realitysandwich.com/kaddish_ira_cohen