A Milwaukee Tribute to the Cosmic Spirit of Allen Ginsberg

By the early 1980s, seminal beat poet Allen Ginsberg was fascinated by punk. He began recording with The Clash, reading his poems as they played, and although little material resulted from their sessions together, Ginsberg took a liking to the set up. In 1982, fresh off sessions with The Clash, Ginsberg read for an overcapacity crowd at the UWM Ballroom, backed this time by a Milwaukee punk band, The Blackholes. Tonight, to commemorate the anniversary of that controversial performance, local poets will pay tribute to Ginsberg, and The Blackholes will perform his music and give away 500 CDs of that 1982 performance. It’s all part of an 8 p.m. event at the UWM Union Ballroom called “A Milwaukee Tribute to the Cosmic Spirit of Allen Ginsberg.”