The Beat Goes on at Hotel Danieli in Venice

Christmas Tree at Hotel Danieli - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) American literature had always fascinated the Italian writer Fernanda Pivano (1917-2009) ever since she was young. She made her mark by translating the strange words coming from the States into Italian, opening up her countrymen's minds to what was happening across the ocean. She hung out with Hemingway and Bob Dylan, and brought the radical words of the Beat Generation to Italy, becoming a crucial part of their revolution.

On Tuesday evening, December 11, I was a guest for the performance of Art/Beat - from the Beat Generation to Contemporary Art presented at Palazzo Dandolo, better known as Hotel Danieli. The spectacular 14th century hall was transformed into a stage, and we were treated to excerpts from Allen Ginsburg's Howl, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and William S. Burroughs' Junkie and Naked Lunch, daring landmarks that liberalized the publishing industry in the United States.

Howl, which Ginsberg began writing  in 1954 and published in 1956, is considered one of the great works of American literature, and starts off like this:

 I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,

dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,

angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,

who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz,

who bared their brains to Heaven under the El and saw Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement roofs illuminated,

who passed through universities with radiant cool eyes hallucinating Arkansas and Blake-light tragedy among the scholars of war,

who were expelled from the academies for crazy & publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull,

who cowered in unshaven rooms in underwear, burning their money in wastebaskets and listening to the Terror through the wall, ...

Art/Beat at Hotel Danieli - Photo: Cat Bauer

The show was directed once again by Lorenzo Maragoni, with performances by Giulia Briata and Josh Lonsdale, who also was responsible for the text -- which included a meeting where Fernanda Pivano and Jack Kerouac battled wits. Giorgio Gobbo crooned tunes of the times accompanied by his guitar -- the same crew that brought us the Shakespeare evening last month:

Juliet texts emojis but Romeo forgets his smartphone: Shakespeare in Venice at Hotel Danieli

I will confess that I had a bit of a difficult time accepting the tall, thin, blond, waspy British Josh Lonsdale's interpretation of the heavy-set bearded gay Jew from New Jersey, Allen Ginsberg, who I actually met many years ago, having grown up in New Jersey myself. And the "howl" was more like a "meow," not ripped from the actual anguish of someone like Ginsberg who was born into such a time and place. (Although I was alive, and in the same place, even I was too young to fully grasp the war in Vietnam.) However, Lonsdale did an admirable job in trying to understand the situation on an intellectual level, several generations down the road. I applaud him as a talented 26-year-old from an utterly different culture (UK) trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together in yet another utterly different culture (Italy). He has a curious mind, and is an interesting writer, and is off to a good start. 

Afterwards, the excellent cocktail dinner by Executive Chef Alberto Fol featured themed plates like "Anarchist Organic Chicken" "Peace & Love Prawns and "On the Road Lasagnette." To me, the best was the "Beat Baccalà (codfish) with cannellini bean cream -- I had two helpings, it was so delicious. The service was excellent, with empty plates being whisked away moments after they were enjoyed. There was plenty of champagne and wine -- even vin brule for the season -- and divine desserts. 

Peace & Love Prawns - Photo: Cat Bauer

Right now, Hotel Danieli is all decked out for the holidays, looking elegant and homey, with a real Christmas tree whose scent wafts through the lobby. Venice is spectacular these days, with few tourists and many friends home for the holidays. Mixing such a rebellious topic with the holiday spirit against the grand backdrop of Palazzo Dandolo was a bit revolutionary in itself, but somehow it worked, and a splendid time was had by all.

Art/Beat - from Beat Generation to Contemporary Art is part of a collaboration between the Hotel Danieli, the Teatro Stabile del Veneto and the Chamber of Commerce of Venice and Rovigo, a cultural project whose aim is to promote Venice's uniqueness and cultural and artistic heritage. 

We were informed during the dinner that there will be another performance in February -- what the show will be remains a secret, so stay tuned!

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog