Below is my list of 2010 Kerouac-olutions and the current status (which is unlikely to change). I'll post my 2011 Kerouac-olutions on January 1, 2011.
1. Read Atlas Shrugged - DONE
2. Read The Subterraneans -- UNDONE
3. Lose 20 pounds - DONE IN REVERSE
4. Read Dr. Sax - UNDONE
5. Read Vanity of Duluoz - UNDONE
6. Read Maggie Cassidy - UNDONE
7. Use the Versaclimber or hike an equivalency 3 times per week - UNDONE
8. Attend Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! 2010 with Crystal - UNDONE
9. Get tenure at UMF - DONE
10. Have my second book well under way - UNDONE
11. Build a woodshed and a deck (or cause them to be built)- DONE
12. Visit Arkansas - DONE
13. Write 100 poems - UNDONE (WROTE 26)
14. Wrap up mom's fiscal affairs - DONE
15. Upgrade to a better camper situation - UNDONE
16. Win the songwriting competition at Podunk - UNDONE
17. Win the band competition at Podunk - UNDONE
18. Meet Helen Weaver in person - UNDONE
19. Collaborate on a piece of music with David Amram - UNDONE
20. Figure out how to use my Blackberry as a modem for my laptop - DONE
21. Clean out and organize my office - UNDONE
22. Wash my car at least once during the year - DONE
23. Buy Crystal flowers at least once a month - DONE
24. Drive cross country along Jack's route - UNDONE
25. See Jason - DONE
26. Get my stock portfolio back to at least even - UNDONE
27. Go rock climbing with Keith at least once - UNDONE
28. Try acupuncture for my right hand dystonia problem - UNDONE
29. Consciously appreciate the Hell out of every day the temperature is
above 70 degrees and it doesn't rain - DONE
30. Make it to 55 years young with no major health events - DONE (IF WRIST SURGERY DOESN'T COUNT)
There, now don't you feel better about your accomplishments in 2010?
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Insightful essay
I think you'll enjoy this essay by Jessica Dix: What's Heaven? What's Earth? All in the mind.
I think she captures Jack's message quite nicely.
I think she captures Jack's message quite nicely.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Ginsberg on Ginsberg
Just noticed this NPR story on Ginsberg so I thought I'd pass it along. Click here.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
A man who knew Jack Kerouac
Click here to read about a group of men who routinely gather at Noel's Restaurant & Bakery in Kittery, ME. One of the group, Albert Farrah, is a Lowell native who says he knew Jack. I may have to grab breakfast in Kittery some morning!
That would make four people I've met who knew Jack. The other three: David Amram (in person), Helen Weaver (via e-mail), and Phil from Lowell (click here for that story).
That would make four people I've met who knew Jack. The other three: David Amram (in person), Helen Weaver (via e-mail), and Phil from Lowell (click here for that story).
Friday, November 26, 2010
Review: Peter Conners' White Hand Society
A couple of weeks ago I received a review copy of Peter Conners' White Hand Society: The Psychedelic Partnership of Timothy Leary & Allen Ginsberg, recently published (2010) by City Lights Books in San Francisco. I just finished reading it cover-to-cover, and it was an enjoyable read.
Conners' prose is clear and engaging. Chapter 1, "Blakean Vision in Harlem," starts thus:
That concise paragraph puts forth quite a lot of detail, and, combined with the chapter title, helps the reader predict exactly where the author is headed: a look into Ginsberg's vision he believes he received directly from William Blake and which launched Ginsberg on the spiritual/poetic path we beat generation aficionados know so well. Ginsberg vowed that day to honor his vision throughout his entire life, and his eventual experimentation with hallucinogens likely assisted him in meeting that pledge.
Chapter 2, "A New Game," introduces us to 35-year-old Timothy Leary, living in Spain with his two children and trying to "put two marriages and an increasingly uncomfortable social and professional life behind him" (p. 22). Already fighting clinical depression, Leary experienced a day of intense physical symptoms - burning scalp, swollen face, water blisters on his face, etc. - which led to a psychological transformation he described as his "entire identity melting away" (p. 24). Two years later he took his first dose of hallucinogens, picking up where his first brush with transformative experience left him.
Starting from those parallel consciousness-raising experiences, Conners then weaves his way through the history of hallucinogenic drugs (especially LSD and psilocybin), their creators/makers (e.g., Albert Hofmann, Owsley Stanley), their proponents (e.g., Ken Kesey), and the evolving but sometimes strained relationship between Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg. Along the way are stories involving Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, William S. Burroughs, and other beat generation characters. We get to see the text of relevant letters written by Leary and Ginsberg, including a gem by Leary to musician Thelonius Monk in 1961 asking him to participate in his psychedelic mushroom research. We also get the background story of Leary's exciting escape from prison, aided by none other than the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers.
Throughout the book, Conners provides extensive details, but never to the expense of comprehension or reading enjoyment. One particularly important detail is the inclusion of the actual transcript from "The Houseboat Summit," an exchange between facilitator Alan Watts (on his boat the S.S. Vallejo), Leary, Ginsberg, and beat poet Gary Snyder (Japhy Ryder in The Dharma Bums). It's a prescient interchange of ideas about Leary's notion of "dropping out," with some of the best insights coming from Snyder's ecologically-focused perspective. (You can read it on-line here.)
This is an important addition to the literature on the beat generation, documenting the collaboration between two remarkable visionaries who took America on the ride of her life. If you're a beat generation fan, a hippie, a child of the 60s, or a fan of biographies, you'll be turned on by White Hand Society.
Click here to buy the book directly from City Lights.
Conners' prose is clear and engaging. Chapter 1, "Blakean Vision in Harlem," starts thus:
July 1948. Allen Ginsberg lay in bed reading William Blake. He was 23 years old, heartbroken and lonely (p. 11).
That concise paragraph puts forth quite a lot of detail, and, combined with the chapter title, helps the reader predict exactly where the author is headed: a look into Ginsberg's vision he believes he received directly from William Blake and which launched Ginsberg on the spiritual/poetic path we beat generation aficionados know so well. Ginsberg vowed that day to honor his vision throughout his entire life, and his eventual experimentation with hallucinogens likely assisted him in meeting that pledge.
Chapter 2, "A New Game," introduces us to 35-year-old Timothy Leary, living in Spain with his two children and trying to "put two marriages and an increasingly uncomfortable social and professional life behind him" (p. 22). Already fighting clinical depression, Leary experienced a day of intense physical symptoms - burning scalp, swollen face, water blisters on his face, etc. - which led to a psychological transformation he described as his "entire identity melting away" (p. 24). Two years later he took his first dose of hallucinogens, picking up where his first brush with transformative experience left him.
Starting from those parallel consciousness-raising experiences, Conners then weaves his way through the history of hallucinogenic drugs (especially LSD and psilocybin), their creators/makers (e.g., Albert Hofmann, Owsley Stanley), their proponents (e.g., Ken Kesey), and the evolving but sometimes strained relationship between Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg. Along the way are stories involving Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, William S. Burroughs, and other beat generation characters. We get to see the text of relevant letters written by Leary and Ginsberg, including a gem by Leary to musician Thelonius Monk in 1961 asking him to participate in his psychedelic mushroom research. We also get the background story of Leary's exciting escape from prison, aided by none other than the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers.
Throughout the book, Conners provides extensive details, but never to the expense of comprehension or reading enjoyment. One particularly important detail is the inclusion of the actual transcript from "The Houseboat Summit," an exchange between facilitator Alan Watts (on his boat the S.S. Vallejo), Leary, Ginsberg, and beat poet Gary Snyder (Japhy Ryder in The Dharma Bums). It's a prescient interchange of ideas about Leary's notion of "dropping out," with some of the best insights coming from Snyder's ecologically-focused perspective. (You can read it on-line here.)
This is an important addition to the literature on the beat generation, documenting the collaboration between two remarkable visionaries who took America on the ride of her life. If you're a beat generation fan, a hippie, a child of the 60s, or a fan of biographies, you'll be turned on by White Hand Society.
Click here to buy the book directly from City Lights.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
"Kerouaction" is officially a word
You already know that I invented the word Kerouaction. It's the subtitle of my book, The Beat Handbook: 100 Days of Kerouactions. Now it's an official word according to Urban Dictionary!
Far out, huh?
To celebrate this achievement, feel free to click here and order some copies of The Beat Handbook as Christmas presents! Or birthday presents! Or any-old-reason presents!
Far out, huh?
To celebrate this achievement, feel free to click here and order some copies of The Beat Handbook as Christmas presents! Or birthday presents! Or any-old-reason presents!
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