American Hipster – Hilary Holladay‘s long-awaited biography of the legendary Herbert Huncke – is now out.
Holladay, former director of the Kerouac Center for American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell (and, in that capacity, long-time co-ordinator of the annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac celebrations) now teaches at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Here she is, discussing the book on WAMU (American University radio) with Allison Quantz, (recorded earlier in the year).
She recently (just last month, in fact) gave a presentation of the book in San Francisco, at The Beat Museum.
“Hilary Holladay does a magnificent job of documenting Huncke’s high-and-low cultural accomplishments.. An essential book”, writes historian Douglas Brinkley – “The most comprehensive and accessible tome of Herbert Huncke created to date”, declares Stephen Bergman – and, Amos Lassen – “an intelligent look at the man and the research is amazing”
Jaap van der Bent reviews it for the European Beat Studies Network – here
Simultaneous with American Hipster is the release (on Tate Swindell’s Unrequited Records) of the CD – Guilty of Everything
For an immediate dip into his extraordinary narrative prose, see here
The recently-conceived Huncke Tea Company promises to be an important Huncke source (check out their blog)
The Allen Ginsberg Project features Huncke (frankly, essential viewing) – here, here and here
More Huncke tomorrow (stay tuned!) – transcription of his 1982 workshop given at the Jack Kerouac Conference at Naropa