"Wichita Vortex Sutra" is an anti-war poem by

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

, written in 1966. It appears in his collection '' Planet News'' and has also been published in ''Collected Poems 1947-1995'' and ''Collected Poems 1947-1980''. The poem presents Ginsberg as speaker, focusing on his condemnation of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. It features imagery of the war and America's Heartland interspersed with news reports and cultural references. It is also written in Ginsberg's distinctive Whitman-like long-prose style.On "Wichita Vortex Sutra"
english.illinois.edu, retrieved Dec 10, 2009

Description

The poem originated as a voice recording that Ginsberg made with an

Uher Uher may refer to: * Uher (village), a village in Poland * Uher (brand), a German brand of electronic equipment People

*Karel Uher (born 1983), Czech curler *Rudolf Uher, Canadian psychiatrist *Štefan Uher (1930–1993), Slovak film director ...

tape recorder while traveling across the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

.Potts, Rolf; November 14, 2006
The Last Anti War Poem
, thenation.com, retrieved Feb 27, 2014, He composed it spontaneously, dictating the words into the recorder as they came to him. In transcribing the poem, Ginsberg arranged the lines by the natural pauses and dictation in his recordings, according to the "organic space-timing" that they provided. Throughout the poem, Ginsberg contrasts images of the Midwest (and, in particular, the Kansan landscape) with snippets of news reports about the war, linking its violence with the political conservatism of the Heartland. He decries

Carrie Nation Caroline Amelia Nation (November 25, 1846June 9, 1911), often referred to as Carrie, Carry Nation, Carrie A. Nation, or Hatchet Granny, was an American who was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the advent ...

's work in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

as beginning "a vortex of hatred that defoliated the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

." The poem also uses images highlighting the sensuality and intimacy of the human body to humanize the violence of the war. Such images are found elsewhere in Ginsberg's work. The title reflects Ginsberg's interest in

Eastern religions The Eastern religions are the religions which originated in East, South and Southeast Asia and thus have dissimilarities with Western and African religions. Eastern religions include: * East Asian religions such as Confucianism, Taoism, Tengrism ...

as well. In

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, "

sutra ''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...

" often refers to canonical scriptures, many of which are regarded as records of the oral teachings of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

. Ginsberg also references religious figures, including

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

, and

Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...

, in addition to various Indian holy men. A prominent theme running through the poem is the proliferation and power of language. As Rolf Potts wrote in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', Ginsberg aimed to "reclaim language for its higher purposes," and that the poem is ultimately "an elegy for the power of language in an age of competing information." In his book ''Out of the Vietnam Vortex: A Study of Poets and Poetry Against the War,'' James F. Mersmann writes that "a chief virtue of he poemis that it makes the reader experience the proliferation and abuse of language ... and in doing so, makes one painfully aware that in every case language is not to communicate truth but to manipulate the hearer."

In culture

Phrases from the poem are used in the song " Three-Five-Zero-Zero" from the 1967 rock musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

''. Music was written in 1988 by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

to accompany Ginsberg's performance of the poem, and was included in '' Solo Piano'' and his chamber opera '' Hydrogen Jukebox'', as well as Sally Whitwell's ''Mad Rush: Solo Piano Music of Philip Glass''. A long section is quoted (in heavily French-accented English) in the French film Cold Water (''L'eau froide'') (1994).

Artemis Records Artemis Records was a New York–based independent record label, founded in June 1999 by Danny Goldberg with Daniel Glass as president, and closed in April 2006. The label was acquired by E1 Entertainment. As of 2006, Artemis Records was owned b ...

released a live recording of the poem on CD in 2004. In January 2010, Glass's cousin Ira performed the poem with Glass's live accompaniment at the SoHo Apple store in New York City.PHILIP GLASS @ APPLE SOHO
quietcolor.com, January 25, 2010, accessed October 12, 2010 The poem was used in

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

's 2016 film '' Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk'', which focuses on a group of soldiers who take a short leave home after a winning battle in Iraq.

Notes

References

*Miller, Scott. ''Let the Sun Shine In: The Genius of Hair'' (Heinemann, 2003)

External links

* Excerpts from poem
wings.buffalo.edu
(archived on Feb 24, 2012) {{Authority control Poetry by Allen Ginsberg Beat poetry 1966 poems Vietnam War poems Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War Anti-war works