Loss of face, by Sinclair Beiles

the time came for the bridegroom
to kiss the bride.
when they pulled apart
the bridegroom was munching
and the bride was seen to have no face.

(published in 20 Poems, privately printed, 1980)

Richard Wright, haiku and Sinclair Beiles

"In 1959, he (Richard Wright) was introduced to haiku by Sinclair Beiles , a young South African poet who loved its form. Beiles was living in Paris and associating with other poets of the 'Beat generation' such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Gary Snyder. Beiles's and the Beat poets' interest in Zen led Wright to the knowledge of haiku. Because the Beat Hotel was in the Latin Quarter and Wright lived very close to the hotel, Wright often frequented the hotel bar....Wright borrowed, from Sinclair Beiles,  RH Blyth's four volumes on the art and history of the haiku and its relationship to Zen philosophy and settled down to rediscover his old dream of oneness with life..."

(from The Richard Wright Encyclopedia,  Jerry W Ward, Robert J Butler)   

The child in the corner, by Sinclair Beiles

there is a child in the corner.
cobwebs cover it
and it is so white.
the other children have been playing
outside for years,
but all it can do is thump its little chest.
its mother is holding a tea party on the verandah.

(from 20 Poems, privately published, 1980)

Yannis Livadas on Sinclair Beiles

‘I believe Beiles was an extraordinary poet. One of the masters of the last century; and one of the most tragically unappreciated. Possibly because of his mastery, because of his holy shadow which danced only to its own tambourine.

‘When creativity and pathos were coming down from the heavens like an acid rain, Beiles was walking his lonesome road soaked to the skin. That's it, that was and that will ever be. 

‘I have no intention of ruining Sinclair Beiles's memory with a special essay on his tremendous work; he simply does not need it. If you are able to read him someday, you will also understand. Everything you may need is there. For sure.’ 

‒ from ‘Sinclair Beiles: a way of committing poetry’, Bone Hebrew, published by Cold Turkey Press, France, 2012.

At the time of the Christmas cut sales

At the time of the Christmas cut sales
Slash, in red, screamed at an angle
Across the shopwindows behind which lifelike puppets sat
Made festive with glitter and tinsel.
Overnight to everyone's amazement the puppets changed their price tags
And no-one could afford to buy them.
The tinsel and glitter turned into a kind of camouflage.
From their pulpits priests announced that infant Christ
Had thrown an elaborate tantrum
And was spoiling Christmas.
Many Worlds shut down.
All that was left was printer's ink
For fingerprints.
This year many martyrs were manufactured
Not for export.
The electricity bills at police stations increased unaccountably.

Published in Quarry '78-'79: New South African Writing   

On the ninth floor

On the ninth floor
it was on the ninth floor where they plotted
on the ninth floor
the top of the Baobab Hotel
where the gleaming razors were passed out
to the blackfaced maids
from the ninth floor from the ninth
they descended when dawn was lifting its coffin lid
every throat was slit
from the ninth floor
they walked with silent smiles to the suburbs
they scattered
they threw off their clothes
and leaped into the swimming-pools
from the ninth floor Christ descended
and blessed them with his sword.

Published in Quarry '78-'79: New South African Writing

Michael Adamis - Sinclair Beiles: collaboration on Genesis

Sinclair Beiles: "(I wrote a) choral drama called Genesis, which I did with the Greek composer Micheal Adamis, which was originally performed at the Athens festival, which is the largest cultural festival in the world. The text was a cut-up which I used from a book on water, and after the cut-up, the text began to look like the story of a rise and fall of a civilisation. I wanted to have it performed here (in Johannesburg), but the arsehole I spoke to said no, because it was written in Greek. I objected, saying that it had been performed in Japan, to which he replied 'That’s different'.

(Sinclair Beiles interviewed by Gary Cummiskey, 1994, included in Who was Sinclair Beiles?, edited by Gary Cummiskey and Eva Kowalska, Dye Hard Press, 2009). 

You can read more about Beiles's Genesis collaboration with Michael Adamis here

A review of Who was Sinclair Beiles?

Before I opened Dye Hard Press‘ new volume, its title, Who was Sinclair Beiles? was a question I certainly didn’t know the answer to. His is a name I’ve occasionally come across, as a poet who, as a resident of Paris’ famous “Beat Hotel,” created cut-ups with William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, and Gregory Corso, and helped to edit Naked Lunch and as a resident of the famed “Beat Hotel” in Paris. But there’s where my knowledge stopped.

Gary Cummiskey and Eva Kowalska have brought together a collection of eleven essays and interviews which address the question, “Who Was Sinclair Beiles?” from multiple angles...Read more here

Gossip Column - a cut-up by Anne Rooney and Sinclair Beiles

Found in a drawer 44 years later, this cut-up first appeared in Jan Herman's arts blog Straight Up.

Sinclair Beiles talking about meeting William Burroughs and Brion Gysin

In Bone Hebrew, the White Kaffir speaks

A long-awaited copy of Bone Hebrew from Cold Turkey Press showed up in my mailbox. The title is taken from Paul Celan. The cover is by Antonin Artaud. The poems are by Sinclair Beiles. Here are two of them...read more here