At least she’s a girl!

by Tom Canaday

Posted to WritersAndGenres on 2001-03-22 02:15:00

The text here on A.G. says, “Ginsberg entered a ‘straight’ phase: he recounced Burroughs, immersed himself in psychoanalytic treatment, and even began dating a woman named Helen Parker.”

The New Yorker, decades ago, did one of many pieces on Ginsberg. In one, the story is told that A.G. brought a woman on a trip to upstate NY to visit his father. Father, Louis Ginsberg, said is she jewish? A.G. said what do you want? At least she’s a girl!

Does anyone know if Helen Parker was the female gentile referenced in the New Yorker story? My library does not go back that far anymore.