Beat Scene – the venerable UK Beat magazine – Beat Scene, issue 92 (featuring Allen and Beat scholar, Ann Charters on the cover), the Spring issue, is just out. For more on Beat Scene see here
and Beatdom (as we have previously mentioned) – Beatdom, issue 19 is out, featuring (among other topics) Harry Lowther on the thorny topic of Beats and Women – “The Silent Generation” – Sexuality and The Code of Cool in The Female Beat Memoir”. Joyce Johnson, one of the women featured, has penned an acerbic reply – “It took Allen Ginsberg years before he got around to reading one of the complimentary copies of Minor Characters he kept losing.”… “(M)ale condescension is still firmly in place in the Beat field, even when a young scholar like Lowther apparently believes he is expressing nothing but sympathy for the poor overlooked women writers of the Beat period. With the exception of Diane di Prima, Lowther chooses to regard them as victims, even if those women did not view themselves that way.” For more of Johnson’s first-hand retort (with comments too by Hettie Jones) see here
Speaking of Diane di Prima, cause for celebration, she has a new book coming out soon from City Lights – Spring and Autumn Annals – A Celebration of the Seasons for Freddie (Freddie Herko) – Here‘s an early review of the book from Kirkus Reviews. And a new and expanded edition of her Revolutionary Letters is also forthcoming from City Lights, an important and timely volume.
and speaking of City Lights, Stephen Jonas – Arcana – A Stephen Jonas Reader has finally arrived. “A true poet of modern classic culture in mid-twentieth century U.S.A”, Allen Ginsberg accurately notes. Check out Garrett Caples interview with one of the book’s editors and sleuth of the early Jonas history, David Rich – here
Walt Whitman – our continuing notes on events leading up to the 200th anniversary of his birth – the Whitman bicentennial – “Walt Whitman – Bard of Democracy”, the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, from June through September, will be hosting a bicentennial exhibit including gallery talks, concerts, lectures and discussions. For more information see here. – see also The Walt Whitman Initiative – here
Bob Dylan – “Rolling Thunder Revue – A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese”, the Bob Dylan documentary announced earlier this year, now has an official release-date – June 12 – Variety has all the details – here
& check out the Gary Snyder interview in this weekend’s New York Times (Gary, it’s worth pointing out, will be turning 89 next month).