See also his epic “treatise/poem”, World on Fire (2002)
and the innumerable recordings in the Naropa University digital archives – see here
(notably, here and here, and here and here – and here (an interesting take on Baudelaire) – and here and here (with Allen) – here (with Dick Gallup), here (with Kathy Acker) and here (reading with Larry Fagin and Anne Waldman)
“Anne Waldman and I were together from 1969 to 1976, During those years we certainly saw a lot of people” (MB)
Shocking news reached us last month of the untimely death of poet, novelist, shamanistic explorer, global activist, sometime Naropa teacher, and second-generation “New York School” poet, Michael Brownstein.
On Wednesday September 18, he was fatally injured in a car accident, on his way back from the auto-repair shop in Kingston, in upstate New York, a short drive from his home base in Chichester. It seems he went off the road on an incline at a sharp turn in the road, hitting the guardrail and plunging over into a ditch or ravine. Several witnesses called 911 and help was pretty immediate and when police and medics arrived on the scene, he was still conscious but sadly they were unable to save him.
We mourn his loss and send out our deepest sympathies to family and friends.
Michael moved to New York City in 1965 and quickly became part of the community that gathered around The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church, which was established the following year. In 1967, his first book of poems (now ominously titled), Behind The Wheel, was published by Ted Berrigan‘s C Press (issue #14 of C Magazine) with cover art work by Alex Katz. His second book, which followed two years later, (with a similarly prescient title) Highway To The Sky, was published by Columbia University Press (with a cover by Joe Brainard) and won that year’s prestigious Frank O’Hara Poetry Award. 3 American Tantrums (with cover design by Donna Dennis) appeared from Angel Hair in 1970, followed by Brainstorms, the following year, his first book of short stories, and the next year, a new book of poems, 30 Pictures. Other poetry books include Strange Days Ahead (1975) for Kenward Elmslie‘s Z Press, When Nobody’s Looking (1981) for Anne Waldman ‘s Rocky Ledge Cottage Press (with cover by George Schneeman), and Oracle Night: A Love Poem (1982), published by Douglas Messerli’s Sun and Moon.
His novels include Country Cousins (1974), The Touch (1987), and Self-Reliance (1994).
Mention also might be made of his editing and introduction to The Dice Cup – Selected Prose-Poems of Max Jacob, published by Bill Zavatsky‘s Sun imprint in 1979
Here’s a gathering of writings from The Paris Review
Here’s Michael (from 2005) on Meditation
and Michael in 2019 – “No Geography” (The Chemical Brothers sampling from “Geography“)
Thank you for this moving biography of gentle, soft-spoken activist Michael Brownstein. I was doubly saddened because he died in an auto accident far from much traveled roads. Be well and, as always, thanks.
Dear friends of Michael. Very sad news indeed. We were a couple for a few years in the mid 2000s. Michael’s love of Shamanism opened up many doorways for me.
His last book was exceptional. He was a very good friend, I hope he is at peace now.
If anyone here is planning a memorial please contact me. I live in Ireland now so would need a bit of notice.
Love Nadiya Peters Nottingham