Passage Through India: An Expanded and Illustrated Edition

by Gary Snyder

In 1962 Gary Snyder, with his wife, the poet Joanne Kyger, joined Allen Ginsberg and his companion Peter Orlovsky for a long trip to India and surrounding countries. As always, Snyder kept extensive journals of his travels and, in this particular case, also wrote the whole account in one long letter to his sister. It was an amazing trip, and one that eventually took on legendary status as an iconic Beat Voyage. Complete with slides and photographs, Passage Through India takes us on a journey that transcends time.

Genres: Travel, India, Poetry, Nonfiction, Biography

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Gary Snyder is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate of Deep Ecology". Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the American Book Award. His work, in his various roles, reflects an immersion in both Buddhist spirituality and nature. He has translated literature into English from ancient Chinese and modern Japanese. For many years, Snyder was an academic at the University of California, Davis, and for a time served as a member of the California Arts Council.

Reviews

[Jim Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating journey. Snyder writes in journal style with some poetry thrown in for good measure.

This edition of the book is a lovely little book printed on clay paper with photographs taken by Snyder and Joanne Kryger on their trip to India in 1962. Despite the trip being taken after the publication of The Dharma Bums by Kerouac (1958) in which he chronicled his adventures with Snyder this is definitely a Dharma Bum type of journey.

Snyder and his companions explore the temples, ashrams, and cites of India. They even had a meeting with a then young Dalai Lama.

In a word, fascinating. If you like Snyder, the beats, or are interested in Buddhism this book is not be missed.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

a marvelously satisfying long letter by gary snyder to his sister, from india in the late 1960s. i savored it, mostly in the bathtub. want to read it again. wonderful photos. snyder in prose is so hard-headed, even at times a bit hard-hearted... by the end, the syncretism and mess of india put him off and he longs for clean streamlined japan. everywhere he goes, wisemen want to talk about zen, and he complies.... funny to think of a western poet, no matter how learned, bringing enlightenment to the sadhus, whom he often find lacking in scholarship and sloppy in their practice. snyder is seldom enthusiastic about anything, but his descriptive powers and eye are the keenest you could want. he does go fully gaga-lyrical only once, really, in khajuraho, a place i found hard to see, so i am grateful for that alone.

[Kathleen (itpdx) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A blast from the past! In 1962 Gary Snyder who had been studying Zen Buddhism in Japan went to India with his wife Joanne Kyger. He was interested in visiting Buddhist shrines and ashrams as well as other religious sites. The book is based on a long letter that he wrote to his sister. It is written in a very casual style. Lots of interesting descriptions and observations. The fact that he is a poet comes through sometimes as in this description from the harbor in Hong Kong-"a junk in full sail, batwing taut membrane over bones--goes out darkly and silent, a single yellow kerosene lamp dim in the stern."

Some of his comments gave me insight into Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's sojourn in Oregon in the early 80's.

I was pleasantly suprised by some phrases that have seemingly disappeared from US parlance, such as "too much" as in "the music was too much".

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A A beautiful book, with photographs and poetry scattered throughout this deliciously described book of a trip Gary Snyder and Joanne Kyger took in India in the 1960s. Highly recommended to those interested in India, beat fans, poetry fans, and travelers.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Snyder's book in pieces as I traveled around India myself- I found many similarities, and really enjoyed his lyrical descriptions of the holy and the commonplace. Wish I'd had a chance to visit all of the places he chronicles.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

the only thing more pleasurable than reading a travel memoir about someplace you've never been is reading a travel memoir about places you have been

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable, illustrated with photos; perspectives on beat travels through India early 60's

[Haylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its like a journal of the trip to India Snyder took with his them wife Joann Kyger.

[Devon Leger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Snyder’s poetry and there’s some great examples here, but mostly this is an unvarnished journal of his travels through India over a bit less than a year. It’s refreshingly blunt, a little cynical, but also compelling and beautiful. The small details of traveling that he renders are the best part here, as well as the sparseness of his prose. Despite the fact that he met and hung out with some key people, including the Dalai Lama, Allen Ginsberg, Ali Akhbar Khan, a famous guru whose name I forget... Of course Snyder knows a ton about Buddhism and India, so he has lots of background info. His writing on the Indian classical concerts he attended was a special highlight for me.

[Agnese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and intimate writing that directly spoke to me. This journal tells of people, places and events of about 60 years ago, but the account is so vivid and engaging. Snyder says that he was often bad-tempered during this travel, but it doesn't transpire at all. Instead, I slowly became calmer and gently glided into the tale, savouring every sensation blooming in me as I read each word and watched the images they evoked.

[Jim McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful selection of diaries and notes prepared by Snyder in the very early 60s when he travelled through India with his wife Joanne Kyger and the fellow poet Allen Ginsberg.
Illustrated with Snyder’s photos taken on a small camera, many black and white.
A must for Snyder scholars.
The Indian journeys took place five years before the great invasion by teenage Westerners and the account is of a lost world.

[Nicholas Massey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. Beautiful pictures.