Mary Paniccia Carden‘s Women Writers of the Beat Era – Autobiography and Intertextuality, (part of the University of Virginia Press’s “Cultural Frames, Framing Cuture” series, published back in April), somehow passed us by. We’re happy to get a reminder about this important and provocative book from David S Wills – Read his review of it in Beatdom – here.
and read another review of his – on Simon Warner’s Kerouac on Record anthology – here (David’s been keeping busy!). (Rick Dale, over at the Daily Beat, incidentally, this week examines one sub-section of that Kerouac musical world (and one not usually remarked upon) – Kerouac and bluegrass)
Steven Taylor on Burroughs and Ginsberg and the Beats (Don’t Hide The Madness). We recommended an audio last week (his podcast with Ken Jordan of The Evolver). To supplement that we’d also recommend Sean West’s print interview with Steven (appearing this week in the San Francisco Book Review)
Steven Taylor: “.. I think of the Beats as the last Romantics, and the punks as the shredded ends of the Romance. So nostalgia is part of it. In “Howl”, Ginsberg wrote “Denver is lonesome for her heroes“, substitute America for Denver. The Beats were the first major American literary movement of the Cold War, but the way they hit the culture paralleled and fed something larger than literature…” Read the entire interview – here
Another book we somehow missed – how did we miss this? – Michael McClure‘s Persian Pony – Jack Foley reviews it for Jacket2 – here
Allen and Ram Dass, (Richard Alpert), Allen and Ram Dass – the 87-year-old Ram Dass is profiled by GQ reporter, editor-in-chief, Will Welch (check out this illuminating profile)
Kaddish has been ambitiously adapted, and is currently being presented on stage at Harvard, in a production directed by Eli Zuzovsky. (John R Creed, Harvard 2019, plays Allen).
“The show follows Allen Ginsberg as he interacts with four different Naomi Ginsbergs, each embodying a different element of her memory through Allen’s consciousness. As the show progresses, we flow in and out of various memories and plot points”, reports The Harvard Crimson
Philip Glass received his Kennedy Center award this past weekend from Paul Simon. Congratulations, Philip.
RIP two sweet souls – virtuoso clarinetist and free jazz improvisor, Perry Robinson (he was on several tracks on the Record Plant 1971 sessions that made it onto the First Blues record that veteran producer, John Hammond produced for Allen in 1982) – and – Julia Vinograd, Berkeley poet, street poet, and beloved “bubble lady” (see Tom Dalzell’s thoughtful, heart-felt appreciation – here)
Please note that next Monday is the Worldwide Reading for Freedom of the Press on the 70th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights and in Memory of Jamal Khashoggi – How fragile our liberties, how fragile press freedom!