Doctor Sax and the Great World Snake

March 10, 2018Simon Pettet

Doctor Sax and The Great World Snake – In honor of Jack Kerouac’s 96th birthday (coming up on Monday) – we present Jim Sampas‘ version of his uncle’s original screenplay, featuring the voices of Robert Creeley, Jim Carroll, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and a host of talented others.

The double-disc CD of a reading of this initially-lost text (with a newly-commissioned score by John Medeski, and an accompanying book with illustrations by Richard Sala) was released back in 2003

Here‘s the announcement in Rolling Stone

Here‘s a transcript of  NPR’s Bob Edwards, talking to Jim Sampas

A … Read More

David Amram’s Birthday

November 11, 2017Simon Pettet

[David Amram performing “Waltz After the Fall” via jackshalom]

David Amram celebrates his 87th birthday today

Recipient of the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from Kansas City’s Folk Alliance International.

Written and narrated by Scott Alarik, here‘s the video made specially for that occasion

and here‘s Nick Foster of Boulder, Colorado’s eTown interviewing David (from a couple of years back)

Here’s another interview  (from March of last year)

Here’s David from back in 2011, performing and talking about Kerouac

Offbeat -Collaborating With Kerouac, his memoir, was first published in 2002

His earlier memoir, Vibrations  The … Read More

Herbert Huncke – American Hipster

August 10, 2013Peter Hale

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. Here‘s their pre-view/over-view.… Read More