This afternoon I went to see my doctor for the first time since I was discharged from the hospital a week ago. He asked me why I didn’t show up for my two previous appointments. I didn’t know I had any. I knew that before I left the hospital we had a meeting where… Continue Reading »
Although I thought when I finished “The True Story of My Convalescence” that I finally understood what was going on, the whole story turned on its head within days. When Michael’s reading spoke about the need to appease my father’s karma, I naturally assumed it was my dad. Over two days I spent a lot… Continue Reading »
In Defense of Allen Ginsberg, American Poet I was in Cairo in the weeks before the first Gulf War. In the cafes five hundred miles from “the front,” the impending war was the only thing everyone was talking about. I spent most of my time with the locals who spoke English, and learned many things… Continue Reading »
This is a workbook I created for the women drummers traveling to Greece and Cyrpus with Layne Redmond to perform rituals at sites sacred to Aphrodite and Dionysos. I’ve taken out most references to the 91 illustrations in the original workbook. A Trip to Greece and Cyprus: Exploration of Sacredness, Oracles, and the Power of Drumming with Layne… Continue Reading »
On Publishing There was recently a panel discussion held on Publishing and the Poet at Naropa University. This is what I would have said if I was invited. Publishing is a constant goal of any writer. For an unpublished author, the desire is often a substitute for something else—a desire to be “good enough”… Continue Reading »
The following is a transcription of an impromptu talk given on the 50th anniversary of the publication of “Howl” at Naropa Institute. I’m an example of the apprenticeship program that Allen [Ginsberg] ran while he was here. It was a course that you could sign up for, you got credit for it, and met alone with Allen… Continue Reading »
A History of Richard Thompson CD1: A History of Fairport Convention: I don’t know the name of this song, but it’s obviously one of Ashley Hutchings’ “borrowings” from classic folk songs, in this case the Byrds’ “Renaissance Fayre.” I’m also not sure what year it’s from—I’m now thinking 1997, since it was recorded at Fairport’s… Continue Reading »
CD1: A History of the Band, Volume I Further on Up the Road/Nineteen Years Old: These are the first recordings of the basic line-up of what become later become the Band (Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, and Rick Danko), recorded during some leftover time in the studio while still members of Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks…. Continue Reading »
Sometimes You’re Lucky, Sometimes You’re Not Nouvelle Chanson An Anthology of European Pop 1997-2009 The Liner Notes to a 6CD Set Collected by Randy Roark La Nouvelle Chanson Nouvelle Chanson (or Nouvelle Scene Francaise) describes a pop music movement beginning in France in the late Nineties, characterized by a return to the stylings and language… Continue Reading »
Notes for a Walking Tour of Provence with Jonathan Gill on the 100th Anniversary of Ezra’s Walking Tour of Provence, Summer 1912 “Pound admits to hesitating between two opposite models of travel writing—on the one hand, the ‘voyage of sentiment’ (in which the depaysement of foreign parts serves as a stimulus to ‘strange and exquisite emotions’),… Continue Reading »