"It is the Word that is the Ground of Love..."

Diane di Prima is one of the most talented twentieth century American women poets, and the most important female figure of the Beat literary movement. She has authored thirty four books, including the two that have appeared in 1998, Loba, and the re-issued edition of Memoirs of a Beatnik, a classic of Beat narrative-a witty chronicle of the cultural conditions from which it grew. When the first part of Loba first appeared in 1978, it was hailed as the female counterpart to Allen Ginsberg's Howl. Loba is a series of poems forming a compact whole, presenting in a visionary manner all forms of the female experience. Anyone who knows Diane di Prima and her work knows that she is Loba, the protagonist of the work and the focal point of the poems. Loba, meaning she-wolf in Spanish, is an archetypal figure, fusing qualities that are both human and animal, terrestrial and divine. Diane di Prima's poetry has been essentially lyrical, even in its most radical aspects, but she has chosen to define this work of her maturity as an epic, inasmuch as an epic is a narrative poetic work about a quest. As in all epics, di Prima starts in a present time that echoes the past and that clearly foreshadows the portion of the journey to come: the conclusion. The poem opens with an invocation to the "lost moon sisters", to whom di Prima's poetry is addressed, who all partake of the divine multiplicity of the wolf-goddess. As poet Marge Piercey commented, di Prima, in this book, has taken from many mythologies to create her own. Loba is not just one figure, rather, it is a conglomeration of the re-incarnations of many personae within one character. We see the Loba under many other masks: in Flanders, we see her in the soft light of a Vermeer painting; in the exquisite Kali-ma versions, she is "as fresh as jasmine", but also bloody and ferocious; we see her also as the Maternal Principle, singing to her children or making an amulet for her daughter; we see her as the principle of Female Creation, Lilith; geographically, we see her in the most diverse places, from Brooklyn to the Bardo; we see her young, ageless and as an old hag. Born in Brooklyn in 1934, having lived in Manhattan for a period of time, Diane di Prima moved to Northern California where she has lived for the past thirty years. She has studied Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, and has delved in the science of alchemy and in the western magical traditions. This work summarizes her life and work, presenting to us her poetic itinerary. In Loba di Prima deals with mythical figures from the native American mythology to the heroes of Western medieval romances (from Tristan and Iseult to Guinevere), to the figures of the Judeo-Christian religion in The Seven Joys of the Virgin, to the acclamations to Lilith, to the personal re-creation of the myths of classical antiquity (such as Persephone, Ariadne, Helen, et al.), to the saga of the Sumerian Goddess Inanna, and finally to the hymns in honor of the Goddess Kali. Loba lives her own eclectic myth and encourages all of us to create our own magical reality. The superiority of the Female Principle permeates the whole volume, as openly declared in one of the Inanna poems: "The king is expendable, but not the Queen." Di Prima has evolved from a poetry that was essentially a poetry of protest and denunciation to a poetry that is meditation in motion, and that includes, comforts, teaches and soothes, rather than confronts. The style is fresh, crisp, and abounds with startling and powerful images. But there is a new, hieratic, classical tone in many of the poems in this volume. The volume is replete with teachings, reflections and musings on life that di Prima wants to share with her readers, and that come forth as brief and powerful aphorisms, as in the first verse of poem "He Who Was Not Born from a Lotus": "It is the Word that is the Ground of Love. . ." In many poems, di Prima speaks like a Hermes-like messenger come down to speak to men: "I come to speak of the long & slender vase / of the goblet like a sphere laid open / of the vessel with two handles, the one with none. . ." The epic properly ends with a poem entitled "Persephone: Reprise", a poem about severance and rebirth. Every great poem is a descent to what di Prima calls "the fluid boundaries of Hades," from which "we spring continuously into life & death." It is apparent that under the persona of Loba, the poet is talking about herself, the woman "with broom and pen," describing herself in a remarkably objective way, as if she were on the outside, looking at herself: "There is a woman who is full of grace / her lap is ample & empty / she is not abstract or sheepish / ... I warmly recommend this volume as one of the most important books of poetry of the twentieth century.

A Reader from Berkeley, CA

I had the privilige of hearing Diane Di Prima read recently, and discovered a new found appreciation for this collection. Many of her volumes have been published as a smaller collection previously, and then expanded to include the later works. 'Loba' is an amazingly, deceptively layered collection weaving together many themes and images over a length of her life. I highly recommend this, among others!

To say that this collection of poems is "delightful" would be the understatement of the decade. Diane DiPrima quickly knocked her way up to being one of my favorite poets in the space of 5 days (the time it took for me to read this book !). These poems are bohemian and contemporary. They're forlorn in a controlled way, romantic but smirking, and strong willed. DiPrima truly outdid herself penning every word.

As one of the poets featured in Will Work for Peace, one might expect me to be a bit biased, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Most poets work in a virtual vacuum, only tenuously connected to each other by the occasional workshop or shared membership in a 'poetry society'. When Brett Axel first approached me for a submission to an anthology he was considering, the names Marge Piercy, Lyn Lifshin, Moshe Bennaroch and so many others were abstractions to me as a fledgling poet. I knew these tremendous writers were 'out there' somewhere, beating down doors with their words and keeping a struggling artform alive. But to think that someday I would ever share a credit with these dynamic modern poets would be a pipe dream at best. It is through the sincere efforts of Brett Axel that many newer voices like mine have an extraordinary opportunity to appear with Pulitzer Prize winners and other poetic heavyweights. By way of an honest review, however, I will say this- not everything in this book will be to your particular liking. I myself came across some works that did not move me in the way the author may have intended. Some imagery can be raw and visceral, using shock value in place of craft at times. But to ignore those voices would be an even more shocking turn of events, so praise be to the editor for not sacrificing his vision to a senseless conformity. As Pete Seeger so aptly put it in his quote, trying to read all these poems at one time would be like trying 'to swallow Manhattan whole'. I say to you- buy this book, read this book, but understand that it's what you do after reading this book that will ultimately define who you could be. Poetry is alive and well, and lives in the blunt pages of Will Work for Peace.

Just amazing start to finish! I like the disregard for fame used in putting the book together. That great poems got in even if they were writtenby nobodys. Look at Roger Bonair-Agard's poem on page 74. Shortly after Will Work For Peace came out he won Slam Nationals, becoming Slam Champion of 1999, which will be getting him lots of offers. But Zeropanik Press didn't need to be told he was good by an award. They could tell by his writing! Good for them and good for all of us because Will Work For Peace is a literary milestone. It's a new standard for all future anthology editors to try to live up to. Thumbs up to Brett Axel and Thumbs up to Zeropanik Press for their guts and integrty.

Brett Axel visited my Church and I bought a copy of Will Work For Peace from him, not for poetry, but because I care about working for peace. I started reading through it thinking It'd just go on my shelf and that'd be the end of it, but the book grabbed me and kept me rivited. If I had known that poetry was this alive I'd have been into poetry. I've been reading some of the poems to my friends who also didn't think poetry was important and they are saying the same thing. Fantastic! There's no way to get through this book without having your old mindsets challenged. It's funny, powerful, sad, and uplifting. A book that deserves to be read by everyone. A book that really can make the world a better place!

This is a wonderful book, presenting a brilliant vibrant picture of a cultural movement and time, the Beats/Hippies, and a woman who embodied all the artistic and humanistic values in an incredibly pure form. To me, the book (and the woman) are inspiring in their dedication to the values of art, spontanaeity, love, and Zen naturalness. An invaluable read for women artists, especially, and also for artists in general, and people interested in a certain world view and life style.

I found this book to be captivating. I felt as though I was right along side her on her journeys. The eras she lived through were so richly detailed. She had so much hope and energy. I never wanted this book to end.

Diane di Prima is one of the most foremost and noteworthy female writers of the Beat generation and the 20th century. She has been affiliated with such writers as Jack Keroac, Allen Ginsburg and Robert Creeley. She wrote and inspired in a mans world bringing to life a new female perspective in the 1950's. She continues to write extraordinary poetry, essays, and amazing prose. Her writing style is original and still refreshing to read fifty years later. Diane in her latest book Recollections of My Life As a Woman : The New York Years, an autobiography, goes on to embrace all aspects of her life as a woman. It was an amazing book. I enjoyed it, and I think most will, even if your forte is not beat generation history. It's a good read for others who want to learn more about the beat generation, and it's a great book because of the excellent narrative, and the obvious love she has for writing as well as life it's self.

I should begin this review by stating that it is biased. I do not like Diane Di Prima's writing. I do not like Diane Di Prima. I spoke to her on the phone for about an hour and you know what? I still don't like her. I wish I did. I wish I could sit and read and enjoy the works of a woman who managed to pull off what no other woman really did as a woman of the beat generation. Most women of the beat generation are associated with it because, though they may be talented, they were married to Kerouac or Cassady or were some great feminine ideal or something like that. Not Di Prima. As she tells it, she had to give up most of her femininity in order to take her place as a Beat Gen author. That deserves respect.

That said, "Memoirs of a Beatnik" was written to make money. Sex sells. If you are searching for the truth you won't find it here really. But it is worth reading. The reader must take into account the fact that it is not about truth, but about the exploitation of an image of a generation. I found it to be pretty insghtful as far as what people expected of a beatnik book (as this was already covered by another reviewer I will not go into the differences between beatnik and Beat, but suffice it to say, in my opinion, yes, this is a beatnik book). This is what people thought the beat lifestyle was about. This is what caused them to hire Beatniks for entertainment at parties. I think it is definitely worth reading if only to look at the whole thing through that sort of a light - what beatnik as an image meant. And most of all, we should not critisize Di Prima for wanting to make money. She saw how to do and she did. That's all right in my book. Overall she is a woman to be respected, even if I don't like her poetry and find her to be a rude and abrasive person (both of which are traits that I think made her able to succeed).

This book has been both torn apart and praised but I seem to view it as something other than what most others do and in that I find entertainment and an intersting (if somewhat oversexed) version of her life. But that is the crux of the matter...it is entertaining and well written. Keep this in mind and you will enjoy it.

a recent article on diane diprima in the chicago tribune (4/19/2000) called di prima's "memoirs of a beatnik" - "a sort of insider's Beat exploitation book Di Prima wrote in 1968 for Maurice Girodias' Olympia Press in Paris because she needed money badly--and quickly." It goes on to state that "It is mostly accurate, [di prima] said, except for the sex parts."

with that said, i doubt the book aspires to make any type of high-brow feminist or literary statement. the fact that is does make any such statement can be attributed to the time in which it was written. it is basically an account of a young woman venturing out on her own in times when young women did not do such things. young women lived at home, maybe went away to college, met a nice suitable young man, and got married. maybe had a job as a typist in the meantime. sex was not something young women from nice families experimented with.

this is not to say the book does not have its merits. it is artfully written, intelligent, and poetic. it's a great look at the obstacles women faced when they decided to do their own thing, especially when that differed from society's norms. it's a peek inside the counterculture that was growing larger and larger thanks to a certain jack kerouac. all of this raises the book above being just plain old erotica. as a fan of beat writing and culture, i enjoyed the book very much.

of course, the drawback to this book is that someone reading this book without knowledge of the context in which it was published will come away from it with a view of the beats that is as cartoonish and two-dimensional as the rest of society's view was of them at the time. "oh wow, look, the beats were always having sex." - "oh yeah, man, that's what they were about. coffee, sex, and alcohol. (and bongos and poetry and black berets)"

maybe that's why the title of this book is "memoirs of a beatnik," and not "memoirs of a beat." major difference.