A Voice from Joy St: John Wieners and “The Hotel Wentley Poems.”
By Doug Holder
John Wieners the late Boston “Black Mountain School” poet wrote a collection of poems “The Hotel Wentley Poems” over six June days in 1958. They were conceived in an undistinguished hotel room in the Hotel Wentley in San Francisco. The first edition was put out by the Auerhahn Press,, but the press censored “A Poem for Cocksuckers,” and made it : “A Poem For Suckers.” “The Hotel Wentley Poems: Original Versions” was released in 1965, and was acclaimed by the likes of New York School poet Frank O’Hara.
Somerville poet and publisher Joe Torra dropped off this new and limited edition in my mailbox on School St. Torra explained the book is not for sale, but is given to people who would appreciate it. I had met Wieners several times through Jack Powers and his Stone Soup Poetry venue. Wieners was a legend, plagued by mental illness, living for years in a cramped walk-up apartment in the Beacon Hill section of Boston. In spite of his hardships he continued to write until he dropped dead in front of Mass. General Hospital. In the introduction to the book it states:
“This edition is for all those poets and fans of Wieners who want these poems on their own but can’t afford the increasingly expensive first and second editions of the book.”
Here is a selected poem from this Joy St. Press (Boston) release:
A poem for vipers.
I sit in Lees. At 11;40PM with
Jimmy the pusher. He teaches me
Ju Ju. Hot on the table before us
shrimp foo young, rice and mushroom
chow yuke. Up the street under the wheels
of a strange car is his stash—The ritual.
We make it. And have made it.
For months now together after midnight.
Soon I know the fuzz will Interrupt, will arrest Jimmy and
I shall be placed on probation. The poem
does not lie to us. We lie under
Its law, alive in the glamour of this hour
able to enter into the sacred places
of his dark people, who carry secrets
glassed in their eyes and hide words
under the coats of their tongue.
Doug Holder/ Ibbetson Update
