Wichita Vortex Sutra
Encyclopedia
"Wichita Vortex Sutra" is an anti-war poem by Allen Ginsberg
, written in 1966. It appears in his collections Planet News
and The Fall of America: Poems of These States
. On its 40th anniversary Rolf Potts
, writing in The Nation
, described it as "an elegy for the power of language in an age of competing information."
tape recorder as he travelled across the mid-west. He composed it off the top of his head as he spoke into the recording device. He stated that "these lines in 'Wichita' are arranged according to their organic time-spacing as per the mind's coming up with the phrases and the mouth pronouncing them. With pauses maybe of a minute or two minutes between each line as I'm formulating it in my mind and the recording ... I was in the back of a bus, talking to myself, except with a tape recorder. Every time I said something interesting to myself I put it on tape".
Ginsberg juxtaposes images of the landscape of Kansas
with snippets of media reports about the war in Vietnam
and links the violence of war with the conservatism of the heartland. He believes that Wichita
, where Carry Nation championed the temperance movement
, "began a vortex of hatred that defoliated the Mekong Delta
." In Buddhism
, the term "sutra
" refers mostly to canonical scriptures, many of which are regarded as records of the oral teachings of Gautama Buddha
.
"Wichita Vortex Sutra" speaks of the power of language and the poet's desire to end war by making a mantra. Lines from the poem include, "Rusk
says Toughness / Essential for Peace ... Vietcong losses leveling up three five zero zero ... headline language poetry ... On the other side of the planet ... flesh soft as a Kansas girl's / ripped open by metal explosion ... shrapnelled / throbbing meat / While this American nation argues war / conflicting language, language / proliferating in airwaves." Potts writes:
James F. Mersmann, in his book "Out of the Vietnam Vortex: A Study of Poets and Poetry Against the War," writes:
and included in albums Hydrogen Jukebox
and Solo Piano. Phrases from "Wichita Vortex Sutra" ("ripped open by metal explosion ... caught in barbed wire, fire ball bullet shock") are also used in the song "Three-Five-Zero-Zero
" from the rock musical Hair
. Artemis Records released a live recording of the poem on CD in 2004.
In January of 2010, the poem was performed on stage by Ira Glass to Philip Glass's live accompaniment at the SoHo Apple store in New York City. Ira Glass, of NPR’s This American Life
, is Philip Glass's cousin.
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, written in 1966. It appears in his collections Planet News
Planet News
Planet News is a book of poetry written by Allen Ginsberg and published by City Lights. It is number twenty three in the Pocket Poets series. It contains poems written by Ginsberg between 1961 and 1967, many written during his travels to India, Japan, Europe, Africa, and many other places...
and The Fall of America: Poems of These States
The Fall of America: Poems of These States
The Fall of America: Poems of These States is a book of poetry by Allen Ginsberg, published by City Lights in 1973 for which Ginsberg won the National Book Award. It's characterized by a prophetic tone inspired by William Blake and Walt Whitman, as well as an objective view characterized by William...
. On its 40th anniversary Rolf Potts
Rolf Potts
Rolf Potts is a travel writer whose work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, the New York Times Magazine, Slate.com, Condé Nast Traveler, Outside, The Believer, The Guardian, National Public Radio, the Travel Channel, Salon.com and World Hum. His travel advice book Vagabonding, which has...
, writing in The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, described it as "an elegy for the power of language in an age of competing information."
History and description
"Wichita Vortex Sutra" originated as a voice recording Ginsberg made with an UherUher (brand)
Uher is a German brand of electronic equipment currently owned and licensed by Assmann Electronics of Bad Homburg.The manufacturer, Uher Werke was based in Munich, Germany, and is probably best-known for its former range of portable reel-to-reel tape recorders which were once widely used by...
tape recorder as he travelled across the mid-west. He composed it off the top of his head as he spoke into the recording device. He stated that "these lines in 'Wichita' are arranged according to their organic time-spacing as per the mind's coming up with the phrases and the mouth pronouncing them. With pauses maybe of a minute or two minutes between each line as I'm formulating it in my mind and the recording ... I was in the back of a bus, talking to myself, except with a tape recorder. Every time I said something interesting to myself I put it on tape".
Ginsberg juxtaposes images of the landscape of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
with snippets of media reports about the war in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and links the violence of war with the conservatism of the heartland. He believes that Wichita
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, where Carry Nation championed the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
, "began a vortex of hatred that defoliated the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
." In Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, the term "sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
" refers mostly to canonical scriptures, many of which are regarded as records of the oral teachings of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
.
"Wichita Vortex Sutra" speaks of the power of language and the poet's desire to end war by making a mantra. Lines from the poem include, "Rusk
Dean Rusk
David Dean Rusk was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Rusk is the second-longest serving U.S...
says Toughness / Essential for Peace ... Vietcong losses leveling up three five zero zero ... headline language poetry ... On the other side of the planet ... flesh soft as a Kansas girl's / ripped open by metal explosion ... shrapnelled / throbbing meat / While this American nation argues war / conflicting language, language / proliferating in airwaves." Potts writes:
"Despairing at the idea that the power of poetry was being lost in a sea of proliferating and contradictory language, Ginsberg invokes icons of transcendence--Christ, Allah, Jaweh, William Blake, various Indian holy men--to help him reclaim language for its higher purposes ... to make his startling assertion--that war can be declared over by the powers of poetry--Ginsberg's apparent aim is to reclaim American language."
James F. Mersmann, in his book "Out of the Vietnam Vortex: A Study of Poets and Poetry Against the War," writes:
A chief virtue of "Wichita Vortex Sutra" is that it makes the reader experience the proliferation and abuse of language. Its technique is to notice and reproduce the language that inundates the senses everyday, and in doing so it makes one painfully aware that in every case language is used not to communicate truth but to manipulate the hearer.
In culture
Music was written for Ginsberg's performance of the poem by Philip GlassPhilip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
and included in albums Hydrogen Jukebox
Hydrogen Jukebox
Hydrogen Jukebox is a phrase coined by beat poet Allen Ginsberg, from his poem Howl.It is also the name of a chamber opera featuring the music of Philip Glass and the poetry of Ginsberg.-History:Of the project, Glass said:...
and Solo Piano. Phrases from "Wichita Vortex Sutra" ("ripped open by metal explosion ... caught in barbed wire, fire ball bullet shock") are also used in the song "Three-Five-Zero-Zero
Three-Five-Zero-Zero
"Three-Five-Zero-Zero" is an anti-war song, from the 1968 musical Hair, consisting of a montage of words and phrases similar to those of the 1966 Allen Ginsberg poem "Wichita Vortex Sutra". In the song, the phrases are combined to create images of the violence of military combat and aspects of the...
" from the rock musical Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
. Artemis Records released a live recording of the poem on CD in 2004.
In January of 2010, the poem was performed on stage by Ira Glass to Philip Glass's live accompaniment at the SoHo Apple store in New York City. Ira Glass, of NPR’s This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
, is Philip Glass's cousin.
External links
- Excerpts from poem: Arras.net, Wings.buffalo.edu