Harry Smith – May 29 – Harry Smith’s birthday. Last year’s Centennial was certainly the year of Harry (the groundbreaking Whitney show, the publication of John Szwed’s biography, not to mention Raymond Foye‘s informative presentation of Harry’s Naropa lectures) – but then every year, any year, is Harry year.
We draw your attention (if you’re not familiar with it already) to the invaluable resources provided by Rani Singh, Harry’s executor, and the Harry Smith Archives.
Notably, for instance, there’s this – Harry Smith’s Radio Interview on WBAI with Barbara Dane and Irwin Silver – the audio can be heard here – and there’s a transcript – here
(“Harry Smith’s Conscious Outrageousness” – The Lost 1965 Sing Out! Radio Interview) – with an introduction by Michael J Kramer
and Michael J Kramer here too – “When Folk Music Met The Computer” – (on Harry and Alan Lomax) –
Harry’s birthday today, but next month celebrations in his birthplace, Portland, Oregon:
Save the date!
& here’s an absolute treasure, just recently uploaded
Raymond Foye writes: “Harry Smith Interview with Dawn Michelle Baude, Naropa Institute, Boulder,Colorado circa 1988 – Special thanks to Dawn Michelle Baude for allowing me to make this public, and to Steven Taylor for making this video in the first place and giving me access to it. Following the interview one can see footage of Harry’s first day at Naropa, July 4th, 1988. This interview appears in the Harry Smith Interviews book Think of the Self Speaking. However if you check the interview against the that text you will find a few discrepancies, and some omissions.”
marvels! –
& so much more Harry to look out for in the future.