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Hong Kong for “A Poet’s Progress,” Newtopia Magazine #29
Xi tells me that in Mao’s time being rich and even dreams of getting rich were considered social crimes in China. But when his successor, Deng Xiaoping, assumed power in 1978, his first speech announced that helping every Chinese citizen become rich was going to be the driving force for the future of China. This… Continue Reading »
My Two Favorite Buddhist Stories for “A Poet’s Progress,” Newtopia Magazine #28
Sitting next to Xi on the plane out of Lhasa, I ask her if she knows the story of Buddha and the snake. I tell her it’s my second-favorite Buddhist story. I first heard it from Lama Surya Das, a Dzogchen Buddhist. Xi frowns. Once again I’ve proven that I know more about Buddhism than… Continue Reading »
Catching Up with Lisa Wimberger, for Many Voices
My primary area of interest over the last couple of years has been the relationship between meditation practices and measurable brain change. I have recorded programs on positive neuroplasticity with authors such as Daniel Siegel, Rick Hanson, Richard Mendius, and Andrew Newberg, and late last year I recorded two products with someone I believe will… Continue Reading »
A Memorial for Layne Redmond (1952-2013): Travels to Greece & Cyprus 2005 & 2009
Foreword On October 30th , 2013, I posted on my company’s website the following memorial for Layne Redmond, who had died two days before. 34-02 Layne Redmond, Promo Photo, Remo Drums, circa 2006Layne Redmond, Remo Drums Promo Photo, circa 2006 Layne Redmond: 1952-2013 As a producer and editor for Sounds True, I am friendly with… Continue Reading »
Layne Redmond, 1952-2013, for Many Voices
As a producer and editor for Sounds True, I am friendly with most of “my” authors. I have become friends with a few of them. But there’s only one who was more than a friend, and that was Layne Redmond. But I’m not alone in that. Within 24 hours, Layne had almost 1000 people “like”… Continue Reading »
Interviewed by Michael Limnios, Athens, Greece: Life Lessons from Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Philip Whalen, January 2013
Editor’s note: This piece was adapted from an original interview of our wandering poet-in-residence Randy Roark conducted by Michael Limnios of Athens, Greece, for his Mixalis series of interviews with the Beats and students of the Beats, January 18, 2013; embellished and illustrated for Newtopia’s 2nd anniversary issue. PRELUDE In 2003, I met performance artist… Continue Reading »
How I Came to Work for Sounds True, for Many Voices
Last weekend I celebrated my fifteenth anniversary at Sounds True in the middle of our second annual Wake-Up Festival at the Rocky Mountain YMCA. The next morning I was sitting in the dining room with a couple from Nebraska who were attending the festival. They asked me how I came to work for Sounds True…. Continue Reading »
The Chinese Buddhist and the American Skeptic from “A Poet’s Progress,” Newtopia Magazine #27
Day Two: Beijing, Part II We are staying on an average concrete and stone street in Beijing, which means a torn-apart two-lane alleyway choked with tides of humanity flowing back and forth day and night, tangles of black electrical wiring hanging perilously low above their heads. The old and young ply their trades under floodlights… Continue Reading »
My Five Rules as a Producer, for Many Voices
Tonight at our company’s annual summer party, I got a chance to have my first conversation with one of our new employees. We began by asking each other what we did for the company. Once I understood what he was up to, he wanted to know more about how we produced our programs. He’d heard… Continue Reading »
Tianamen Square, Chinese Marriage Customs from “A Poet’s Progress,” Newtopia Magazine #26
Beijing, Day Two Mao is still revered in China as a god or demi-god. The life-dream of many Chinese is to visit the mausoleum in Tiananmen Square where Mao is encased in crystal, his body covered by the Chinese flag. For those in the most remote and poorest areas of China, this trip to Beijing… Continue Reading »