Songs for Schizoid Siblings
"I find this joyful irreverent book of wordplay, humorous surrealism and limerick wisdom a perfect choice to begin to reveal the amazing unpublished writings of the legendary New York Lower East Side recluse sage, Lionel Ziprin, who T.S. Eliot once conceded was a better poet than himself." --Jonas Mekas
Beginning in the early 1950s Lionel Ziprin and his wife, Joanne, formed the nucleus of a hidden group of New York City creators who had a foundational influence on what was to come. For over half a century, Lionel was deeply esteemed by associates ranging from Harry Smith and Bruce Conner to Thelonious Monk and Bob Dylan. Per Ira Cohen, "He was much larger than a poet ... He was one of the big secret heroes of the time."
A prolific author, Ziprin did not write for publication, and only a fragmentary handful of his literary writings saw print while he was alive. Songs for Schizoid Siblings is the first manuscript of Ziprin's work to ever be published in its entirety. This book of nearly 300 profound verses, limericks, and esoteric rhymes is startlingly fresh and innovative though written nearly six decades ago, and is accompanied by supplemental materials that provide valuable context for this unheralded genius.
Lionel Ziprin (1924-2009) was a Jewish mystic, poet and artist, who was born and died on the Lower East Side of New York City. He was the author of the unpublished 1,000-page epic poem Sentencial Metaphrastic, as well as many other unpublished manuscripts including Math Glass and What This Abacus Was.
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