Why name it Van Goghs Ear?
The first title I came up with was Arching Flyer, which Alice didn’t care for. Then I sent her a bunch of other titles such as: Go Ask Alice, The Untitled Review, and Earthlings on Uranus. None of them thrilled her. She said, “Trying to name a poetry journal’s like trying to name a rock band.” Since she was the inspiration behind the journal, it seemed only right that she appreciate its title. Finally I read through all of the titles in the contents of Allen Ginsberg’s Collected Poems 1947-1980. When my eyes landed on the title “Death to Van Gogh’s Ear” I immediately turned to the poem and read it. The poem begins: Poet is Priest/Money has reckoned the soul of America. Those first two lines pretty much sum up what the poem is about. And it was written in Paris, December 1957. I knew then that Van Gogh’s Ear would be the journal’s title. Alice responded with: “I like Van Gogh’s Ear–it seems to be listening in detachment’, I mean the ear.” 3. What has been the response to the first two
