On The Subject of Gonzo Poetry

A characteristic of contemporary time has been its preoccupation with brevity and ephemerality: here today, gone tomorrow … instant communication … speed dating … step right up … act now, or never. Readers of Giuliano’s Gonzo poetic style must fight against such impulses and go off a different tack.

Giuliano takes to heart the adage “Brevity is the soul of wit.” The terse, minimalist style fits the poems beautifully. The poems may be short in length, but they insist on the reader’s time and contemplation. They are imbued with beneficent accessibility that plays well as a contemporary device to retool the reader’s attention span.

What exactly is this poetry? It is telling the story, gonzo style, with an excessive economy of words. It is a tug-of-war between lyrical intimacy and analytical distance. It also mirrors the tension between the poet’s appreciation of the magic of language and his knowledge of its limitations. Eventually, it boils down to an upbeat mix of poetics: two measures of Language poetry, one of Beat and half a measure of Gonzo shine shaken not stirred; et voilà, a Charles Giuliano poetic cocktail, somewhat whimsical and playful … but it calls for serious play.

Robert Henriquez

J. M. Robert Henriquez is a Multimedia Artist and Broadcast Media Professional who relocated from New York City to the Berkshires. His broadcasting career as a Line Producer at the CBS Television Network spanned more than twenty years. Henriquez subsequently worked in Integrated Advertising (Broadcast, Online, and Print) as a freelance Media Consultant and Art Director/Producer.

Me behind Moondog performing at Spectrum Gallery

Miles Davis

Dexter Gordon

James Brown

Me as a teenager

David Felton in Rolling Stone dubbed me Harry Bikes.

Family at Bal de Versailles

Family touring Windsor Castle

Yoko and Me

My grandparents Andrea and Maria Giuliano

My grandfather as a young fruit seller.

Dad and my Grandmother.

Me competing on WCOP's Quizdown.

Poetic consigliore and former CBS News producer Robert Henriquez

Shards of a Life

The works comprising Shards of a Life were written intensively over several months starting in the summer of 2014.  Giuliano’s unique style of poetry has earned him notice and respect from his fellow poets, including Stephen Rifkin:   ” .  .   a rushed, expressive, and cataloguing quality, a bit like stabs on a canvas;  and Christopher Busa, of Provincetown Arts:  “With a reporter’s hawk-eye for seizing on salient detail, Charles Giuliano’s gonzo poems are guided by laser-like evocations of key scenes from rich experiences.”

Astrid Hiemer at MIT

Astrid with former CAVS fellow Nam June Paik

At Castle Hill rock party in Ipswich with me new Nudie suit and Jan Nelson. Photo by Steve Nelson

Avatar editors David Wilson and Me

Philip Glass

Marvin Gaye

Dennis Hopper

Total Gonzo Poems

This colorful, richly, illustrated book explores his Irish and Italian family history with an emphasis on the Nugents of Rockport. In gonzo style he writes about the famous musicians he covered over the years. The range of subjects is diverse, accessible, packs a punch, and is always witty, unique, and entertaining. There is nothing precious, esoteric, or pretentious about this lively and fun collection of poetry. The book includes a scholarly essay, “Gonzo Shine,” by former CBS News producer Robert Henriquez.

 

Cyndi Lauper

Sonny Rollins

Sarah Vaughan

Frank Sinatra

Double Astrid with Harry and Mary Bartnick in Maine

Astrid in London Giuliano photo collage

Chic Corea

Ella Fitzgerald

Stan Getz

Spirit Boat. Giuliano photo collage

Marilyn in Paris. Giuliano photo collage

Watson and the Shark. Giuliano photo collage

Ultra Cosmic Gonzology

 Given the enormous interest in all matters related to gonzo, with this book Giuliano founds the field of gonzology. Its range of topics, hipster style, outrageous humor, and aesthetic irony offer vivid examples of what he means by the freshly-minted term.

As gonzology is absorbed by academia, these poetic volumes comprise rich and amusing additions to the study and appreciation of a major movement of outrageous style.

This book is profusely illustrated by the author and includes many vintage images of seminal jazz, blues, and rock performers, as well as visual and performance artists.

 

Young Sturgeon

Venice

Vermont

Kansas

Icarus by Raeford Liles

Lisbon

Little Richard

Statue of Liberty

Paul Simon

Mt Greylock, Adams, Mass

Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz

Harbor seals San Francisco

Fisherman's Memorial, Gloucester

Harvest Festival Giuliano photo collage

Mummies. Giuliano photo collage

Caryatids Giuliano photo collage

Topsy Turvy

The late arts critic Larry Murray described Giuliano’s unique gonzo poetry as “stacatto style.” In this fourth book of verse the gonzo style has been fully evolved morphing from journalism to avant-garde literature. The writing is less about subject and content and more about words, improvisation and style. It comprises a unique development of contemporary literature.