The Beat Generation

Richard Metzger, who’s guestblogging at BoingBoing again, presented me today with a great opportuniy: “Ah Pook is Here”, now finally presented in full-color graphic novelish style after the associated costs of printing production sacked the deal about 30 years ago.

When “Ah Pook is Here” was published in 1979, it was in a form greatly diminished from the authors’ original intent. Originally conceived as a graphic novel in the pictographic format of the surviving Mayan codices, the project –eight years in the making– consisted of over 100 illustrations by Malcolm McNeill, 30 in full color and about 50 pages of text. 

The illustrations from “Ah Pook is Here” have been rediscovered after 38 years and are traveling the world, displayed in various art galleries. On April 4, the exhibit opens at the Track 16 Gallery in Los Angeles. I can’t wait to see this! One of the paintings is 25 feet long! Hopefully the attention the work has received lately will see “Ah Pook is Here” published as Burroughs and McNeill envisioned it.

“Ah Pook is Here”: Unseen William S Burroughs Graphic Novel Art Show [BoingBoing]

(actual photo of a Dream Machine by Andrej_Filev.)

Atlantans: join me Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. at Eyedrum for William Burroughs and Brion Gysin in the Beat Hotel. This show will be presented by Andy Ditzler under the guise of Frequent Small Meals.

“Minutes to Go,” a one-night exhibition and screening, celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Naked Lunch by exploring the surprisingly wide range of artistic experiments undertaken by Burroughs and Gysin during their Paris stay. Rare booksand other items from the Danowski Collection at Emory University’s Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Library will be on view. Also featured are the short films The Cut-Ups and Towers Open Fire, two collaborations between Burroughs, Gysin, and filmmaker Antony Balch which encapsulate on film the cut-up technique and its powerful, hallucinatory effects.

Film Love: William Burroughs and Brion Gysin in the Beat Hotel [Frequent Small Meals]

The Edge!!, a meetup group of female writers, speakers and poets, conducts a workshop to prepare people for open mic spoken word events in NYC.

A WOMENS’ BEAT POETRY WRITING & PERFORMANCE GROUP..bring your mind, your pens, the journey of who you are, the adventure of letting boundaries drop in a safe, exciting space. Boundaries prevent us from searching and opening up the Pandora’s Box of surprises and intense feelings where poetry of the passionate kind dwells.

There is no competition, no criticism, no judgment.

There is only one of YOU in the entire planet!!! and this workshop is for women writers who are searching, writing and need a space to write and perform.

We will write and perform the poetry we write….and then take it to the OPEN MIKES!!! LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!

Sat. Dec. 20. 1 p.m. Where Eagles Dare, 347 W. 36th St. 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001. 

[Meetup]

Bob Kaufman, the beat poet and surrealist, is being honored this Saturday. Presented by The African American Center of the San Francisco Public Library in association with Justin Desmangles, the program features spoken poetry and music by Roscoe Mitchell, Kamau Daahood, David Meltzer and devorah major.

Does the Secret Mind Whisper?
A Celebration of Bob Kaufman.

Saturday, December 13, 2008, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m
Main Library, Lower Level, Koret Auditorium

All programs at the Library are free. Supported by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. 100 Larkin St. at Grove St. Civic Center, San Francisco. 415-557-4277. www.sfpl.org.

[Empty Mirror Books]

The mainstream artifact of the Beat Generation—the typewritten continuous paper scroll of Jack Kerouac’s seminal On the Road—will very soon be jumping the Atlantic for a stay at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham from Dec. 3 through Jan. 28.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the publication of the novel in the United Kingdom, Jack Kerouac: Back ‘On the Road’ opens on Wednesday 3 December and continues until 28 January 2009. It is curated by Professor Richard Ellis, of the University’s Department of American and Canadian Studies, in collaboration with its Research and Cultural Collections.

The exhibition, which is supported financially by the University of Birmingham, its US Alumni Fund and by Waterstones, is accompanied by catalogue, a two-day academic conference, and other public events including gallery talks, poetry readings and workshops. For further details of the conference and events, visit the Universrity of Birmingam and Barber.

Kerouac’s Iconic Scroll On The Road To Barber Exhibition