Official Beatnik Shindig Program

Sponsors
We would like to thank the following:
Dennis McNally, Ron Turner, Lisa Brinker, Pat Monk, Byron Spooner, Sarah
Rosedale, Jaime Wong, Tony Gemignani, Dennis Hearne, Joe Carouba, Jim
Moore, Mel Knox, Susan Felippo, Dr. Philip Hicks, Kip Steinberg, Magnus
Toren, Peter Hale, Bill Morgan, Howard McFarland, Huey Lewis, Dave
Moore, Matthew Rorick, Brian Hassett, Hannah Sandberg, Maggie Malloy,
Ruthie Thier, Anna Simms, Larry Gerald, Tate Swindell, Charlie Getter, Levi
Asher, Michael Ornstein, Janet Clyde, Ben Horne, Nikki Carlson, Larry
Roussard, Doug McKay and to Jack & Lorraine Cimino, with much love.
Finally, with gratitude, respect and a very special Beat Generation salute
to David Amram, ruth weiss, Al Hinkle, David Meltzer and Gerd Stern...for
leading the way for the rest of us.
The Friends of The Beat Museum thanks The Allen Ginsberg Trust for the use of their photos.
W
e are delighted to welcome you to the Beatnik Shindig for our first
annual Beat Generation Conference. We’re bringing together
authors, experts, academics, friends, scholars, activists, musicians,
poets, and biographers to present, educate and inspire creativity and
the love of the Beat Generation.
Whether you are a novice or are attending as an old friend to the
Beat Generation we hope you will enjoy your weekend learning and
discovering new ideas or returning to those you already know and
cherish. Here long time friends can reconnect and internet friends
who have never met face to face can share time together. You can join
our community to listen to presentations, discuss poetry, watch movies,
move to the sound of jazz music and gaze at the classic Hudson cars.
Pages 3-23 of this program provide an overview of the weekend’s
sessions. On pages 16 and 17, listings of our sessions are laid out by
date and time. And on pages 25-31 there are short biographies of our
presenters. More info is available at BeatnikShindig.com.
There are over 36 sessions to choose from inside and out. Some are
free and others are ticketed. Please take your pick and line up for a
fun ride of learning and enjoyment. Sing, dance, read, write, watch and
celebrate at the Beatnik Shindig!
Jerry & Estelle Cimino
The Beat Museum
San Francisco, CA
1
Live music, libations, camaraderie.
VIPs will enjoy a unique pre-event with special guests, poetry and a
gift bag full of goodies.
7:00pm
Beatnik Shindig Pre-Party
Pizza provided by Tony’s Pizza Napoletana
Wine by Uvaggio
The Beat Museum, 540 Broadway, North Beach
7:00-10:00
Friday JUNE 26th
3
Free Action in the Fleet Room All Day:
Cash Bar • Vendors • Live Jazz • Poetry
Poetry Noon-7pm, Featuring:
AttaBoy • Daniel Yaryan • Jazz Poet Charles Curtis Blackwell
Kim Shuck • Chokwadi • Joan Gelfand • Richard Loranger
Zack Rogow • Jack & Adelle Foley • Mahnaz and the Jazz Band
The Nick Rossi Quartet
Shows at 4 and 6
Jumpstarting Beatnik Shindig Commencement
An Introduction to the Weekend’s Activities
Welcome to The Beatnik Shindig! This session will provide an
orientation for the weekend, introduce all our various speakers along
with all our fun activities and will get us all started like Neal Cassady
hotwiring a jalopy on Market Street!
Arrive early for coffee & donuts!
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
NEED A SNACK? A GLASS OF WINE?
SWING BY THE FLEET ROOM!
In Building D, across from the Mexican Museum
BAR • POETRY • SNACKS
VENDORS • BOOKS & MORE
9:30-10:15 - $5
9:30am
Jerry Cimino
10:00am - 4:00pm
Hudson Car Show
A number of late 1940s early 1950s Hudson Commodores, Hornets &
Wasps will be on display by the Nor-Cal Hudson Club. These cars are
terrific because they are all very similar to Neal Cassady’s ‘49 Hudson
Commodore and they are all still driven by their owners around the
San Francisco Bay Area. Because of its “step-down” design and low
center of gravity, the Hudson was the race car of choice for many
professional drivers of that era—one of the main reasons it appealed
to Neal, the “fastest man alive.”
10:30am
Firehouse
Will Durst
Free, No Ticket Required
The Comedy of Will Durst: A Beatnik
Walks in to a Bar...
Comedy
Legendary Comic Will Durst shares the secrets to success in this
intimate workshop.
Room C220, Bldg. C
Jonah Raskin
10:30-11:30 - $20
The San Francisco Beats 1955: Sex, Drugs,
Art & Poetry
Presentation
In an original presentation with images and texts, Jonah Raskin
exhumes the lost bohemian world of San Francisco and shows how
it morphed into the Beat Generation through Robert LaVigne’s art,
Natalie Jackson’s naked body, Neal Cassady’s frenetic energy, Allen
Ginsberg’s poetry, Jack Kerouac’s storytelling, and Peter Orlovsky’s
innocence.
Firehouse
6
Saturday JUNE 27th
10:30-11:30 - $10
Herbert Huncke and the Art of Friendship
Presentation
Beat scholar Hilary Holladay (author of Herbert Huncke: The Times
Square Hustler Who Inspired Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation)
discusses friendship as portrayed in Herbert Huncke’s stories and
memoir, Guilty of Everything.
Museo Italo Americano, Bldg. C
Joe Donohoe
10:30am
Hilary Holladay
10:30-11:30 - $10
Self Publishing in 2015
Are you thinking of Self Publishing but you don’t know where to turn?
Creator and editor of counterculture magazine Specious Species,
now in its 7th issue, provides valuable insight on topics from printing
options to gathering quality content.
Readers Bookstore, Bldg. C
Neal Cassady - The Denver Years
Movie Screening - West Coast Premiere
and Q&A with Filmmaker
11:45am
Heather Dalton
Joshua Hassell
& Hina Chowdhry
10:30-11:30 - Free (limited seating)
Neal Cassady was a charismatic, larger than life character. His charm,
manic energy, sexual swagger, and free flowing verbosity made him
the authentic ‘hero’ of The Beat Generation. The film features interviews with prominent and historical figures including Carolyn Cassady,
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, David Amram, John Allen Cassady, Jami
Cassady Ratto, Cathy Cassady Sylvia, Jerry Cimino, Tom Noel, Ed
White and Al Hinkle. Director Heather Dalton along with Producers
Joshua Hassel and Hina Chowdhry will be in attendance.
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
11:45-1:45 - $20
Saturday JUNE 27th
7
12:00pm
Todd Swindell
with Tate Swindell
Jack Micheline & Harold Norse: The New
York to San Francisco Connection
Presentation
Brothers Tate & Todd Swindell will be speaking on the lives and work
of Jack Micheline and Harold Norse. Both poets were born in New
York City whose inhabitants and history informed their first poems.
They later called San Francisco home where they participated in
the Bay Area’s vibrant poetry scene, influencing another generation
of poets. They’ll be presenting exclusive, first time movie footage
and little known audio clips. There will also be a display of very rare
publications and ephemera.
Museo Italo Americano, Bldg. C
Domenic Priore
12:00-1:15 - $10
Cafe L.A.: The Beat Generation in Los
Angeles
Presentation
The author of Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles’
Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier and Beatsville presents his slide
show featuring more than 500 images of coffeehouses and Jazz
joints from Santa Barbara to Laguna, and inland from Pasadena to
Sunset Strip (1951 to 1966).
Firehouse
Alejandro
Murguía
12:00-1:15 - $15
The Voice of the Mission
Poetry Reading / Visual Presentation
San Francisco Poet Laureate Alejandro Murguía, “The Voice of the
Mission” reads his poetry, followed by a short presentation of a documentary on Murguía’s life, currently in production.
Mexican Museum, Bldg. D
8
Saturday JUNE 27th
12:00pm – Free
“I Did Not Lose the Joan Anderson Letter”
with Brian Hassett
Discussion, Storytelling & Conversation
2:00pm
Gerd Stern
For over 50 years Poet Gerd Stern was blamed for the loss of the
famed “Joan Anderson Letter” written by Neal Cassady to Jack
Kerouac. Hear his story and insights now that the letter has been
found. With Brian Hassett.
Mexican Museum, Bldg. D
2:00-3:15 - $10
a North Beach institution
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ik
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t
a
e
B
f
o
s
d
n
Thousa
Can’t be Wrong!
Since 1948
255 Columbus, San Francisco
vesuvio.com
Proud supporter of Beatnik Shindig!
Saturday JUNE 27th
9
2:00pm
Chris Felver
Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder
Movie Screening and Q&A with Filmmaker
As film maker Chris Felver’s tribute to Lawrence Ferlinghetti points
out, while Ferlinghetti was not present at the creation of the Beat
Generation (he was the publisher of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”) he was
one of its midwives. Moreover, Mr. Ferlinghetti’s 1957 acquittal of
obscenity charges stemming from the poem’s language is credited
with igniting the free-speech movement and the counterculture
that followed. Filmed at various locations and times in the Poet’s life,
Felver had unfettered access leading to many interesting and Intimate
moments captured on film.
Firehouse
Dr. Philip Hicks
with Kip Steinberg
2:00-3:15 - $10
A Session with Allen Ginsberg’s
Psychiatrist - Dr. Philip Hicks
Discussion, Storytelling & Conversation
In 1955, at a time when The American Psychiatry Association categorized homosexuality as a mental disorder, a young psychiatrist named
Dr. Phillip Hicks told Allen Ginsberg it was okay to live an authentic life.
As Ginsberg himself said, “Dr. Hicks gave me permission, so to speak,
to be myself.”
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
2:00-3:15 - $15
Neeli Cherkovski Poetry Writing Workshop
Teaching Session
”Are you trying to sound like Allen Ginsberg but coming off like ScoobyDoo? Learn how you can ‘Howl’ like a Beat Poet with your own authentic voice!” Beginners welcome.
Readers Bookstore, Bldg. C 2:00-3:00 - Free, No Ticket Required
10
Saturday JUNE 27th
with Levi Asher
Remembering Neal & Allen & Jack
Discussion, Conversation, Storytelling and Q&A
4:00pm
The Cassadys
To the world at large they were The Beat Generation. To the children
of Neal & Carolyn Cassady they were Uncle Jack, Uncle Allen and
Mom & Dad. Cathy, Jami and John Cassady will be joined in discussion
by family friends Al Hinkle (Big Ed Dunkel from On The Road) and
Brian Hassett who lived with Carolyn for three months at her home in
England in 2013. Moderated by Levi Asher, publisher of Literary Kicks.
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
Hilary Holladay
w/ Alexandra Parker,
Peter Mulcahy, Jr.
& Logan Hill
4:00-5:15 - $15
Young Scholars Discuss the Beats
Panel w/ students
Beat Movement scholar Hilary Holladay presents three of her former students from James Madison University in a wide-ranging Beat
Generation panel. Alexandra Parker examines the life and recently
published writings of poet Elise Cowen; Peter Mulcahy, Jr. discusses
the prose, themes, and motivations of Herbert Huncke; and Logan
Hill focuses on Jack Kerouac’s Duluoz Legend and Essentials of
Spontaneous Prose.
Readers Bookstore, Bldg. C
V. Vale
& Marian
Wallace
4:00-5:00 - Free (limited seating)
William S. Burroughs: “We Intend to
Destroy All Dogmatic Verbal Systems”
Presentation
No exploration of counterculture would be complete without the
work of William S. Burroughs. Publisher of seminal punk zine Search
and Destroy and RE/Search, and a friend of Burroughs himself, Vale
and Marian are authorities on his life and seminal influence.
Room C220, Bldg. C
4:00-5:15 – $10
Saturday JUNE 27th
11
6:30pm
Ryan Cassata
Following in Allen Ginsberg’s Footsteps
to Authenticity
Personal storytelling & songs
Ryan shares his personal story with songs of journey & discovery. A
journey of coming to terms with his true identity, coming out with it,
and making incredible positive change for the betterment of himself
and society. Ryan will explain what it means to be transgender for
him and generally what it means to be different, regardless of one’s
identity. This is Ryan’s story “Going West” from lesbian to transgender
man, from afraid youth to brave young adult while using the story of
the Beats as his guide. It’s about having an idea that there’s a better
way of living to fit one’s true self and following that idea West. Ryan will
be performing original songs that reinforce the topic of his discussion.
With confidence he could navigate in a world that oppresses trans*
people, he not only made a change for himself, he followed his dreams
and visions.
9:00pm
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
David Amram
6:30-8:00 - $20
Collaborating with Kerouac
Live musical performance with storytelling
Since Kerouac and Amram’s 1st public jazz/poetry readings ever
presented in NYC in 1957, the spirit of their 12 years of collaboration
and friendship has continued up to the present time. Amram will share
stories and music from the era of the 50s, and his work with today’s
new generation of artists from around the world who share the same
open-ended spirit of collaboration that Kerouac and Amram did.
Other speakers from earlier in the day will read highlights of Jack’s
work with Amram’s music. Amram will also perform classics of Jazz,
Latin, Native American, and global music.
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
12
Saturday JUNE 27th
9:00-11:00 - $25
Free Action in the Fleet Room All Day:
Cash Bar • Vendors • Live Poetry
Poetry Noon-4pm, Featuring:
William Taylor Jr. • Cassandra Dallett • Kirk Lumpkin
Ed Coletti • Dan Barth • The Peruvian Poetess, Camincha
The One & Only Diamond Dave Whitaker
Open Mic in the Firehouse, Noon-4 (sign up at 11am)
9:00am
Kay Taylor
Wake Up Beatnik Style!
Exercise
After having drinks in North Beach into the wee hours of the morning, maybe you need to start your day out right! Whoa...Beatnik Yoga.
Beginners welcome! Taught by Kay Taylor from InnerStellar Pilates &
Yoga.
Room C220, Bldg. C
with David Amram
This is The Beat Generation
with Jerry Cimino & David Amram
Storytelling, Poetry & Jazz
10:00am
Jerry Cimino
9:00-10:00 - Free, No Ticket Required
The Story of The Beat Generation, how they met, lived, loved and
wrote along with who they influenced and how they changed the world.
Photos, stories, readings and jazz.
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
10:00-11:30 - $15
Sunday JUNE 28th
13
10:00am
Dennis McNally
Wally Hedrick: From The Six Gallery to
Jerry Garcia
Presentation
Wally Hedrick was part of Robert Duncan’s circle, part of the group
that opened King Ubu and later The Six Gallery. He had the idea for
the reading that became “6 Poets at The 6,” and later taught Jerry
Garcia at SFAI. He was also married to Beat artist Jay DeFeo (The
Rose).
12:00pm
Room C205, Bldg. C
Jack Hirschman
10:00-11:30 - $10
The Politics of Poetry
Presentation
Poetry is an art form that affects every day life. Poetry can inspire,
poetry can soothe and poetry can make a political statement. Great
poetry can do all three!
Readers Bookstore, Bldg. C
Nicole Henares
12:00-1:00 - Free (limited seating)
‘Quest’ Archetypes in ‘On the Road’
Presentation
Though Jack Kerouac’s novel does not have a linear arc to its narrative, Nicole will describe how it linearly follows all of the archetypes in
Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth (The Hero’s Journey).
Room C230, Bldg. C
14
Sunday JUNE 28th
12:00-1:15 - $10
Notes:
TH IS PAGE IN TE N TIO NA L LY L E F T BL A N K
15
Saturday
June
27 th
9:30am
South Side
Theater
Museo
Italo
Mexican
Museum
Readers
Bookstore
Bldg. D
3rd Floor
Bldg. C
1st Floor
Bldg. D
1st Floor
Bldg. C
1st Floor
Hilary
Holladay:
Herbert
Huncke
Self
Publishing
w/ Joe
Donohoe
Jonah
Raskin
Will Durst
Neal
Cassady:
Denver
Years
(Film)
Todd
Swindell:
Micheline &
Norse
Noon
2:00pm
Bldg. C
2nd Floor
Shindig
Jumpstart
w/ Jerry
Cimino
10:30am
11:45am
Firehouse
Room
C220
Dr. Philip
Hicks
on Allen
Ginsberg
4:00pm
Cassady
Family
6:30pm
Ryan
Cassata
9:00pm
David
Amram
Alejandro
Murguía
Gerd
Stern
Domenic
Priore
Neeli
Chris
Cherkovski
Felver:
Poetry
Ferlinghetti
Workshop
(Film)
Hilary
Holladay
w/ Young
Scholars
V. Vale &
Marian
Wallace:
William S.
Burroughs
Sunday
June
28th
South Side
Theater
Readers
Bookstore
Bldg. D
3rd Floor
Bldg. C
1st Floor
Firehouse
Room C205 Room C220 Room C230
Bldg. C
2nd Floor
Jerry
Cimino
& David
Amram
Dennis
McNally
Jack
Noon
2:00pm
David
Amram
Marc
Olmsted:
Mind
Breaths
Hirschman
Politics
of Poetry
Mary
Kerr: The Agneta Falk:
Delivery is
Open Mic
Beach
Everything
(film)
4:00pm
David
Meltzer
6:30pm
Neal
Cassady:
Denver
Years (film)
Brenda
Gerd Stern:
Knight:
Madhouse
Women of
to Summer
the Beat
of Love
Gen.
Eric
Drooker:
Animating
‘Howl’
NEED A SNACK? A GLASS OF WINE?
SWING BY THE FLEET ROOM!
In Building D, across from the Mexican Museum
9:00pm
Bldg. C
2nd Floor
Beatnik
Yoga
w/ Kay
Taylor
9:00am
10:00am
Bldg. C
2nd Floor
ruth
weiss:
Can’t Stop
the Beat
BAR • POETRY • SNACKS
VENDORS • BOOKS & MORE
Nicole
Henares:
Quest
Archetypes
in OTR
V. Vale
Brian
Hassett:
Boulder ‘82
Notes:
18
THIS PAGE INTEN TION A LLY LE FT B LA N K
Mind Breaths: Learning Buddhism
from Allen Ginsberg
Presentation
12:00pm
Marc Olmsted
”He taught me to meditate, now I’m an old veteran of the thousand day
retreat—” Allen Ginsberg imagined Marc Olmsted saying this at his
funeral in one of Allen’s final poems, “Death & Fame.” Marc Olmsted’s
25-year relationship with Ginsberg is chronicled in his new memoir
Don’t Hesitate: Knowing Allen Ginsberg 1972-1997 – Letters and
Recollections. Join Marc as he discusses the personal impact of the
poet, Ginsberg’s Tibetan gurus, and Allen’s unpublished letters.
Room C205, Bldg. C
David Amram
12:00-1:15 - $10
Spontaneous Commotion: Inside the
chaotic making of ‘Pull My Daisy’
Movie and Live Performance
David Amram hosts a screening and shares stories of the three
weeks of crazy carousing and merry-making that became the classic
Beat silent film “Pull My Daisy” filmed and directed by Robert Frank
and Alfred Leslie. Kerouac spontaneously narrated and Amram
composed the score as well as the title song with lyrics by Kerouac,
Neal Cassady and Allen Ginsberg. The cast included Allen Ginsberg,
Gregory Corso, Peter Orlovsky, artists Larry Rivers and Alice Neal,
French actress Delphine Seyrig and Amram himself playing Mezz
McGillicuddy, the deranged french hornist.Amram will also perform a
scat version of the song “Pull My Daisy” and Q & A attendees.
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
12:00-1:30 - $15
Open Mic
Join local poets for an open mic. All are welcome.
Sign-up begins at 11am. Hosted by Charlie Getter
Firehouse
12:00-4:00 - Free
Sunday JUNE 28th
19
2:00pm
V. Vale
The CounterCultural Continuum: From
Beat to Punk and Beyond.
Presentation
Inspired by Bruce Conner’s assertion, “All undergrounds are the
same,” RE/Search and Search & Destroy founder V. Vale presents his
iconoclastic, overarching observations RE: cultural/historical similarities and dissimilarities between Beat, Hippie and Punk movements,
with a vision for the future.
Room C230, Bldg. C
Mary Kerr
2:00-3:15 - $10
The Beach (North Beach in the 1950s)
Movie Screening and Q&A with Film Maker
San Francisco’s North Beach in the 50’s—A mix of jazz, poetry and
art—The Beach recreates the atmosphere that prevailed through
first-hand accounts from the actual players along with photographs
and artwork from that vibrant time. Film maker Mary Kerr will be on
hand to discuss.
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
Agneta Falk
2:00-3:30 - $10
Delivery is Everything: Developing Your
Authentic Reading Voice
Presentation
We’ve all seen poets or writers whose work we admire, and yet
when we hear them read we realize their work would be much more
effective if it could be delivered in an authentic and effective way.
Here’s your opportunity to learn about keeping an audience engaged
with a powerful delivery that is true to who you are.
Readers Bookstore, Bldg. C
20
Sunday JUNE 28th
2:00-3:00 - Free (limited seating)
From The Madhouse to The Summer of
Love: A Talk With Gerd Stern
Discussion, Storytelling and Conversation
with Levi Asher
2:00pm
Gerd Stern
In the late 1940s, Poet Gerd Stern met both Allen Ginsberg & Carl
Solomon at the Presbyterian Hospital’s Psychiatric Institute on West
168th Street in NYC. Stern gives us a peek into the early years of The
Beat Generation including his first meetings with various Beat figures
as well as the mischievous side of both Ginsberg & Solomon when they
turned him in to hospital authorities for sneaking pot into the hospital.
Room C205, Bldg. C
Brenda Knight
2:00-3:15 - $10
Women of The Beat Generation
Presentation
It’s no secret the women got short shrift in the story of The Beat
Generation. As the poet Gregory Corso noted, “There were women,
they were there, I knew them, their families put them in institutions,
they were given electric shock. In the 50s, if you were male you could
be a rebel, but if you were female your families had you locked up.
There were cases, I knew them. Someday someone will write about
them.” ~ With the help of many of the original women of The Beat
generation, Brenda Knight has done just that.
Room C220, Bldg. C
The Woodstock of the Beats - The Boulder
‘82 SuperSummit
Presentation
4:00pm
Brian Hassett
2:00-3:15 - $15
At a time when not even On the Road was in bookstores, more Beats
and their extended family gathered in Boulder than were ever assembled in one place before or since. Here’s what happened—including
cameos by The Grateful Dead, Ken Kesey, Abbie Hoffman and many
others. Presented by Brian Hassett, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide
to Jack Kerouac.
Room C230, Bldg. C
4:00-5:15 - $10
Sunday JUNE 28th
21
4:00pm
Eric Drooker
The Art of Animating Howl: A Slide Lecture
Presentation
Visual artist, Eric Drooker was a friend and collaborator with Beat
poet Allen Ginsberg, and designed the animation for the film, Howl
(2010). Drooker has painted dozens of covers for The New Yorker,
and won the American Book Award for his graphic novel, Flood! His
most recent book, Howl: A Graphic Novel contains numerous images
that were cut from the final film. Through a memorable series of
slides, Drooker will explore the arc of his career—from early years
as a New York City street artist, to the evolution of his graphic
novels into animated films. The urgent role of artist as activist—and
the tremendous power of street art in the digital age—are revealed
through hundreds of images, punctuated by Eric’s sly and humorous
commentary. The artist plays various musical instruments during the
presentation.
Room C205, Bldg. C
David Meltzer
4:00-5:30 - $15
The Poetry of David Meltzer
Poetry & Storytelling
David Meltzer brings the unique insight, wit and humor of his poetry to
the stage as he reads from his works and discusses his life.
6:30pm
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
Heather Dalton
Joshua Hassell
& Hina Chowdhry
4:00-5:30 - $15
Neal Cassady - The Denver Years
Movie Screening - West Coast Premiere
and Q&A with Filmmaker
Neal Cassady was a charismatic, larger than life character. His charm,
manic energy, sexual swagger, and free flowing verbosity made him the
authentic ‘hero’ of The Beat Generation. The film features interviews
with prominent and historical figures including Carolyn Cassady,
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, David Amram, John Allen Cassady, Jami
Cassady Ratto, Cathy Cassady Sylvia, Jerry Cimino, Tom Noel, Ed
White and Al Hinkle. Director Heather Dalton along with Producers
Joshua Hassel and Hina Chowdhry will be in attendance.
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
22
Sunday JUNE 28th
6:30-8:30 - $20
Can’t Stop the Beat!
with Doug O’Connor (acoustic
Live Performance Poetry & Jazz
bass), Rent Romus (saxophones),
9:00pm
ruth weiss
& Hal Davis (percussion)
Born in Berlin, jazz poet ruth weiss arrived in San Francisco in 1952
and was instrumental to the establishment of the North Beach scene.
Famed SF Chronicle columnist Herb Caen called her “The Goddess
of The Beat Generation.” Join ruth for an evening of high energy and
innovative Poetry & Jazz.
South Side Theater, Bldg. D
9:00-11:00 - $25
“But let the mind beware, that though the flesh be bugged,
the circumstances of existence are pretty glorious.”
jack kerouac, the dharma bums
Sunday JUNE 28th
23
"Rare Creatures from
appellations
unknown and
varieties uncommon,
these wines are our
brave advance party,
our pride and joy—
our Forlorn Hope."
RARE CREATURES
Vinted and Bottled by Winemaker Matthew Rorick
24
          . 
Special thanks to all the authors, experts, academics, friends,
scholars, activists, musicians, poets, and biographers whose
contributions made all this possible:
David Amram Few people have left their mark on the world of music
as David Amram has. A very short list of his collaborators includes Dizzy
Gillespie, Jack Kerouac, Charles Mingus, Langston Hughes, Thelonious
Monk, Johnny Depp, Hunter S. Thompson, Arthur Miller, Odetta, Bob
Dylan, Willie Nelson, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Arlo Guthrie, and
Pete Seeger. He was appointed composer-in-residence at the New
York Philharmonic by Leonard Bernstein, among many accolades, owing
to a long and storied career writing and playing music. His books include
Vibrations, Offbeat: Collaborating with Kerouac, and Upbeat: Nine Lives of
a Musical Cat. He continues to tour the country.
davidamram.com
Levi AsherFounder of Literary Kicks, the oldest literary website on
the internet, pioneer of the online literary scene, and one of the earliest
proto-bloggers. Asher has built and collaborated on websites for Bob
Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Pearl Jam, and is the author of Beats in
Time: A Literary Generation’s Legacy. litkicks.com
Ryan Cassata
Singer/songwriter, multi-talented instrumentalist,
transgender activist and motivational speaker, Cassata has recorded
nine albums, toured the country both as a musician and advocate for
the LGBT community. The courage and authenticity of Allen Ginsberg
are among his biggest influences.
ryancassata.com
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Neeli Cherkovski is a poet, memoirist, and author of the biographies
Elegy for Bob Kaufman, Ferlinghetti, A Biography, and Hank: The Life of
Charles Bukowski. He edited the L.A. zine Laugh Literary and Man the
Humping Guns with Bukowski, produced the first San Francisco Poetry
Festival, and was awarded the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary
Award in 2005.
Eric Drookeris
a painter and graphic novelist. His paintings have
appeared on dozens of covers of The New Yorker, and hang in numerous
collections, while his graphics and street posters are a familiar sight
in the global street art movement. He collaborated with Ginsberg on
Illuminated Poems, and designed the animated sequences for the 2010
film, Howl.
Drooker.com
Will DurstAccording
to The New York Times, Will Durst is “quite
possibly the best political satirist working in the country today.” Reigning
as C-SPAN’s favorite comic, Durst is a 5-time Emmy nominee and
recipient of 7 consecutive nominations for the American Comedy
Awards Stand Up of the Year, among other milestones in his one man
crusade to make people laugh out loud on purpose, against their will.
WillDurst.com
Agneta Falkis a poet, translator, artist, and calligrapher. Born in
Stockholm, educated in Britain, Falk moved to San Francisco in 1998. Her
poetry is translated into many languages, and she exhibits her art internationally. Her latest book, Heart Muscle was published in 2009 by Multimedia
Edizioni, Italy. She’s a member of the Revolutionary Poets Brigade.
The Cassady FamilyCathy,
Jami and John Allen Cassady are
the children of Neal and Carolyn Cassady, and appear as characters
in various books, including Kerouac’s On the Road and Big Sur, and
Carolyn’s Off the Road. These days they carry forward their parents’
legacy, participating in Beat Generation events around the country.
nealcassadyestate.com
Christopher Felver Christopher Felver is a photographer and
filmmaker, and author of many books documenting the Beat Generation.
His photography and films, including The Coney Island of Lawrence
Ferlinghetti (1996), have been exhibited internationally. ChrisFelver.com
Herbert GoldHerbert Gold became involved with the Beat
Generation writers while studying philosophy at Columbia University,
and began a lifelong frienship with Allen Ginsberg. Gold finished his first
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novel, Birth of a Hero, in Paris, taught at Cornell, and later traveled to
Haiti, and hitchhiked all over the U.S., settling in San Francisco. He’s
written over twenty published books, plus numerous articles, essays,
poems, and interviews.
Brian Hassettis the author of the new Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack
Kerouac, about the historic ’82 super-summit in Boulder. He also helped
put together The Rolling Stone Book of The Beats, and wrote two of
its keynote essays. He’s also produced numerous Kerouac-related
performances. Hassett became close friends with Carolyn Cassady,
Edie Kerouac, Henri Cru, Walter Salles and many other Beat notables.
BrianHassett.com
Nicole Henares is a writer, publisher, and high school English teacher. She is currently working on her first novel, Six Cans A Minute, about
Cannery Row in the days of her grandparents, and Spanish immigration
to the region during the twentieth century. She also co-edits Lustre
Magazine and Dangerous Hair Press.
Dr. Philip Hicks In 1955, Dr. Philip Hicks was a young psychiatrist,
and in session with a young Allen Ginsberg, Dr. Hicks asked “What would
you really like to do?” It was then Ginsberg realized that it was okay for
him to quit his job and become a poet, and that it was okay to live as a gay
man. That conversation changed Ginsberg’s life, and this will be the very
first time Dr. Hicks has spoken publicly about it.
A. Logan Hillgrew up just north of Harrisonburg, Virginia​,​in an old
house by a small town off the highway. He’s a student of Hilary Holladay.
Al Hinkle perhaps
best known as “‘Big Ed’ Dunkel,” the pseudonymous character in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road based on him. In real life,
Hinkle was close friends with Kerouac, Neal Cassady and his family, and
his reminiscences of their lives and times together are truly exceptional.
Some are recounted in his self-published memoir, Last Man Standing. As
the title implies, he is the last living male participant in the events of On
the Road. alhinkle.com
Jack Hirschmanis
a poet, translator, painter, and an ardent
committed advocate for social justice. He is the founder of the
Revolutionary Poets Brigade, writes for the People’s Tribune and Left
Curve, helped establish the SF International Poetry Festival, and is the
author of over 50 books of poetry, essays, and translations. In 2006, he
was appointed Poet Laureate of San Francisco.
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Hilary Holladayfounded the Kerouac Center for American
Studies and the Kerouac Conference on Beat Literature at the
University of Massachusetts in Lowell and has taught Beat literature
for nearly two decades. She is the author of seven books, both scholarly and creative, including Herbert Huncke: The Times Square Hustler
Who Inspired Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation (Schaffner Press).
HilaryHolladay.com
Mary Kerr is a filmmaker and producer of several films on the Beat
Generation including The Beach, a documentary about the art scene
during the 50s in San Francisco’s North Beach, and Venice West and the
LA Scene. Her most recent film is San Francisco’s Wild History Groove.
beatera.org
Brenda Knight is
a scholar of medieval literature and modern
poetry, and a lifelong advocate for women in arts and letters. She is
the former editor of Etc. magazine, author of Sheroes, Wild Women and
Books, and editor of Women of the Beat Generation: The Writers, Artists
and Muses at the Heart of a Revolution, among many other credits.
fb.com/brendaknight
Dennis McNallyholds
a Ph.D. in American history from the
University of Massachusetts. He was selected as the Grateful Dead’s
official historian in 1980, and is the author of A Long Strange Trip: The
Inside History of the Grateful Dead, Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, The
Beats, and America, and the recently-published On Highway 61: Music,
Race, and the Evolution of Cultural Freedom.
DennisMcNally.com
David Meltzer
was one of the key poets of the Beat Generation, in
association with Jack Spicer and Robert Duncan. Meltzer has written
many volumes of poetry, including The Clown (Semina, 1960) and No
Eyes: Lester Young (Black Sparrow); fiction including The Agency Trilogy
(Brandon House, 1968), and edited such works as San Francisco Beat:
Talking with the Poets (City Lights, 2001). When I Was a Poet (City Lights
Pocket Poets Series #60) was published in 2011.
Meltzerville.com
Peter Mulcahy
is a fiction writer and musician and currently resides
in Harrisonburg, Va​​. He is passionate about 20th​-​century American
literature and hopes to move to Nashville to pursue a career in the
music industry.
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Marc OlmstedAllen
Ginsberg said “Marc Olmsted inherited
Burroughs’ scientific nerve and Kerouac’s movie-minded line nailed down
with gold eyebeam in San Francisco.” Olmsted’s work has appeared
in numerous collections and anthologies, and his books include Milky
Desire (Subterranean Press, 1991) and Résumé (Inevitable Press, 1998),
and his latest, Don’t Hesitate: Knowing Allen Ginsberg (Beatdom Books,
2014).
MarcOlmsted.com
Alexandra Parker received James Madison University’s Award for
Excellence in Interdisciplinary Research and Study in 2014. She has
published several short stories and poems in Gardy Loo​magazine. Since
2013, she has studied the life and work of Beat poet Elise Cowen.
Domenic Prioreis the author of Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock ‘n’
Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood, Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson’s Lost
Masterpiece, Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film and Fashion from
the Bohemian Surf Boom (with Brian Chidester), Beatsville (with Martin
McIntosh) and the brand-new Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise & Fall of Los
Angeles’ Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier (with Christopher Merritt). He
was also the primary writer of the AMC documentary series Hollywood
Rocks the Movies, hosted by Ringo Starr and David Bowie.
Jonah Raskinis the author of American Scream, the first critical
and historical study of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl,” and most recently, Wild
Ones, about Natalie Jackson and the Beat Generation. His 1967 Ph.D.
dissertation, The Mythology of Imperialism, drew the attention of such
scholars as Edward Said. In the late 1960s, Raskin became involved
with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and his wife, Eleanor,
went underground. He’s no longer a starry-eyed revolutionary, but he’s
deeply involved in the environmental movement and carries on, as best
he can, the legacy of Henry David Thoreau.
Gerd Stern
Gerd Stern is a poet and multimedia artist. He has a
number of published books of poetry and his Oral History was published
by ROHO, University of California at Berkeley in 2002. Stern was a
founder of the communal arts collaborative USCO during the 1960s.
USCO’s and Stern’s works have been shown in galleries and museums
throughout the United States and globally. He was recently vindicated
regarding the found “Joan Anderson letter” which his friend Allen
Ginsberg had accused him of destroying over fifty years ago.
intermediafoundation.org
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Tate Swindellis
a counterculture historian and the founder and
primary producer of Unrequited Records, which has released audio
recordings from several Beat-era writers and poets, including Herbert
Huncke: Guilty of Everything, Harold Norse Of Course, Jack Micheline in
Amsterdam; and recordings from influential musician David Dondero.
Tate and his brother, Todd Swindell, were close friends and caretakers
of Harold Norse in his later years.
UnrequitedRecords.com
Todd Swindell is an artist, activist and archivist. A close friend of
poet Harold Norse, Swindell was responsible for preparing Norse’s
archives for the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. Other projects in
development include a film about Norse, and publication of I Am Going
to Fly Through Glass: Selected Poems of Harold Norse. During the 1990s,
Swindell was a member of the direct-action AIDS protest group ACT
UP San Francisco.
actuparchive.stevehuggins.com
Kay Tayloroffers a warm and grounded yoga class, with decades of
experience as a well loved and respected intuitive healer, teacher and
guide. She is passionate about working with all ages, body types and
challenges, from absolute beginners to advanced practitioners. KayTaylor.com
Ron Turner is the founder of Last Gasp, publisher of a vast array
of underground comix including Zap, Slow Death Funnies, and many
others, created by such seminal artists as R Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, and
Spain Rodriguez (to name just a few) in defiance of the Comics Code
Authority. Last Gasp cemented San Francisco’s reputation as the
center of the underground comix movement, and continues to distribute
counterculture books from their headquarters in the Mission District.
LastGasp.com
V. Vale is the founder of RE/Search Publications, publisher of many
books documenting modern primitives and other subcultures, cult
music and films, pranks, punk rock, William S. Burroughs, J.G. Ballard,
and many other authors, and a wide variety of underground subjects.
In 1977, while working at City Lights Bookstore, Vale began publishing
Search and Destroy, which quickly became a seminal zine documenting
the San Francisco punk rock movement. Vale continues to document
emerging subcultures, and hosts the public-access television talk show
Counterculture Hour on channel 29 in San Francisco. researchpubs.com
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Marian Wallace Marian Wallace is a writer, producer, and co-publisher of RE/Search Publications with V. Vale. She produces the monthly
television program “The Counter Culture Hour.”
ruth weiss ruth weiss was born to a Jewish family in Berlin, and her
family fled the rise of Nazism to Vienna, and then New York City, and
later traveled to San Francisco. There she met Kerouac, Cassady,
and a host of others. She held regular poetry and jazz sessions at The
Cellar, and was the first to perform poems onstage with a jazz band
(though she says, “The boys took the credit.”) Herb Caen dubbed her
the “Goddess of the Beat Generation.” In 1959 she published Gallery of
Women, and in 1960, finished “The Brink,” which Paul Beattie adapted for
the screen, and they filmed in 1961. weiss’ self-described masterpiece
is Desert Journal. She lives in California, and travels frequently between
San Francisco and Vienna, Austria.
More information on Beatnik Shindig participants available at:
beatnikshindig.com/contributors
Beatnik Shindig is a three day literary event dedicated to the spirit of the Beat
Generation. The Beatnik Shindig is funded by the Friends of the Beat Museum,
a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our IRS ID #74-3198671. Our website is
FFCE.org. To donate or become a partner, please us at BeatnikShindig@gmail.
com or call us at 1-800-537-6822.
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ORGANIZERS & COLLEAGUES
Founding Directors
Estelle Cimino & Jerry Cimino
Organizing Producers
Otto & Baby Doe von Stroheim
Website, Graphic Design, and Planning
Brandon Loberg
Poetry Organizer and Director
Bob Booker
Beat Museum Staff
Ezekiel Tyrus
Niko van Dyke
Will Randick (intern)
Stage Manager/Coordinator
David Egan
A tremendous thanks to our volunteers:
The Devil-Ettes • Ada Lavender • Anne Stone • Burnie Gipson • Dee
Russell-Lefrak • Denise Ventimiglia • Doug Abeel • Gena Figueroa •
Grace Sargent • Holly Howard • Jeff Kroll • Jone Stebbins • Jovino
Bunny • Karen Finlay • Laurel Calsoni • Maria Victoria Rojas • Michael
Lyons • Mike Wurm • Owen Pietrokowsky • Patti Terando • Peter
Pasquale • Chad Rusch • Roxanne Ratterman • Luke James • Sam Bell
...and many other volunteers!
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5 REASONS TO BE A FRIEND
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