Angkor Wat: poetry and photography

In 1963 Allen Ginsberg traveled to Cambodia and visited the ancient Khmer temples. He wrote Angkor Wat an eponymous poem about the temple complex. It was a very different time: pre-Vietnam War pre-Khmer Rouge and before the bustling tourism trade that is now the lifeblood of Siem Reap. Yet the Angkor Wat temples themselves remain a unique source of inspiration for poets and photographers who travel there from all over the world.Over half a century later Angkor Wat by luke kurtis is both the artists homage to Ginsbergs text as well a celebration of his own pilgrimages to the ancient city. Published in 1968 Ginsbergs Angkor Wat book was a single long poem accompanied by photographs by Alexandra Lawrence. kurtiss book is a suite of poems paired with his original photography. Chronicling the poets own travels where he explored mythical stories and experienced mystical visions kurtiss poems take you on a tour of Angkor Wat (and beyond) unlike any other and tell the story of one American poet deepening his Buddhist spirituality.