Monthly Archives: May 2021

Sun Ra and his Arkestra – In the Orbit of Ra

Posted on May 30, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“It’s a hundred years since Sun Ra — née Herman Poole ‘Sonny’ Blount — arrived on our planet (although Sun Ra never really admitted to being of this Earth). And to celebrate his centenary, the Art Yard and Strut labels … Continue reading →

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The Politics of the French New Wave

Posted on May 29, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

Paris Riots 68 “The world in the 1960s was a world on fire with change and revolution. It does seems strange, then, that when discussing the French New Wave the point of politics often receives only the lightest brushstrokes. Many … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie, Paris | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Yarrowstalks

Posted on May 28, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“Yarrowstalks was an underground newspaper (and later a magazine), primarily based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that published 12 issues from 1967 to 1975. It is notable for being the first publication to publish the comix of underground cartoonist Robert Crumb. Unlike … Continue reading →

Posted in Counterculture, LSD, Marijuana, Newspaper, Timothy Leary | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Poetry Project’s Half-Century of Dissent

Posted on May 27, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“February 10, 1971, on a Wednesday night in the East Village, a full moon glowed in the wintry sky over St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery. Inside, a group of New York’s most cutting-edge scene-makers gathered at the Poetry Project to hear … Continue reading →

Posted in Allen Ginsberg, Burroughs, Counterculture, Poetry, Street theater | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Nixon’s Vietnam Treachery

Posted on May 26, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

United States President Richard M. Nixon with President Thieu in Saigon on his first visit to South Vietnam, August 1969. “Richard M. Nixon always denied it: to David Frost, to historians and to Lyndon B. Johnson, who had the strongest … Continue reading →

Posted in 1968 DNC, CIA, Henry Kissinger, Lyn. Johnson, Nixon, Saigon, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kotok-McCarthy – A Chess Playing Program for the IBM 7090 Computer

Posted on May 25, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

John McCarthy “Kotok-McCarthy also known as A Chess Playing Program for the IBM 7090 Computer was the first computer program to play chess convincingly. It is also remembered because it played in and lost the first chess match between two … Continue reading →

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Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing – Ed. Larry Neal and Amiri Baraka (1968)

Posted on May 24, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing was originally published in 1968. This important work is kept in print by the efforts of Black Classic Press. The defining work of the Black Arts Movement, Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American … Continue reading →

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What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye (1971)

Posted on May 23, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“What’s Going On is the eleventh studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on May 21, 1971, by the Motown Records subsidiary label Tamla. Recorded between 1970 and 1971 in sessions at Hitsville … Continue reading →

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Absurdism

Posted on May 23, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

Sisyphus, the symbol of the absurdity of existence, painting by Franz Stuck (1920) “In philosophy, ‘the Absurd’ refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life, and the human inability to find these … Continue reading →

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Blowin’ in the Wind: A Folk-Music Revolt – Jack Newfield (Jan. 14, 1965)

Posted on May 21, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“On the frontier of every art form guerilla bands of prophets and crackpots are nourishing the orthodoxies and fashions of tomorrow. A decade ago the frontier outlaws were men like Miles Davis, Paul Goodman, and Norman Mailer. Bereft of followers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Power, Bob Dylan, Burroughs, Civil Rights Mov., CORE, Jazz, Music, Phil Ochs, Poverty, SNCC, The Fugs, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spectacle (critical theory)

Posted on May 20, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“The spectacle is a central notion in the Situationist theory, developed by Guy Debord in his 1967 book The Society of the Spectacle. In the general sense, the spectacle refers to ‘the autocratic reign of the market economy which had … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Paris | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Stewart Brand

Posted on May 19, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“Stewart Brand (born December 14, 1938) is an American writer, best known as editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He founded a number of organizations, including The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation. He is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Computing, Environmental, Grateful Dead, Haight-Ashbury, Hippie, Ken Kesey, LSD, Marijuana, Merry Pranksters, No Nukes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Aspen – The multimedia magazine in a box (1965 to 1971)

Posted on May 18, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“This is a web version of Aspen, a multimedia magazine of the arts published by Phyllis Johnson from 1965 to 1971. Each issue came in a customized box filled with booklets, phonograph recordings, posters, postcards — one issue even included … Continue reading →

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Eric Burdon & War – Love Is All Around (1970)

Posted on May 17, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“An odd collection of live tracks and what sound like cuts from the two Eric Burdon and War albums released at the turn of the ’70s, 1976’s LOVE IS ALL AROUND was probably a contractual obligation album. That said, it’s … Continue reading →

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Malcolm X vs. Bayard Rustin: Black on Black (1962)

Posted on May 16, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

Bayard Rustin, left, and Malcolm X, center, talk at their Howard University debate in Washington on Oct. 30, 1961. Seated to the right is Michael Winston, the debate moderator. “I left Community Church some months ago with mixed feelings. The … Continue reading →

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Debunking ’60s Myths and Catchphrases

Posted on May 15, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

Crossing street at Masonic and Haight, 1967. “… The system not only referred to capitalism or to economics. The system represented the constellation of forces that dominated and controlled all aspects of social life from sexual mores to the oppression … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Power, Books, Chicano/Puerto Rican, Civil Rights Mov., Cuban Revolution, Draft board, Feminist, Haight-Ashbury, Hippie, LSD, Marijuana, Street theater, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carnal Knowledge – Mike Nichols, Screenplay: Jules Feiffer (1971)

Posted on May 14, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“Carnal Knowledge is about sex. No, actually, that’s not entirely right. Carnal Knowledge is really about sex without relationships, and sex without eroticism—these are the subjects of Jules Feiffer’s screenplay, and all that the four main characters, portrayed by Jack … Continue reading →

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Postmodern literature

Posted on May 13, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“Postmodern literature is a form of literature that is characterized by the use of metafiction, unreliable narration, self-reflexivity, intertextuality, and which often thematizes both historical and political issues. This style of experimental literature emerged strongly in the United States in … Continue reading →

Posted in Allen Ginsberg, Books, Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Mexico, Poetry, Richard Brautigan, Street theater | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Introduction to the poetry and poetics of 1960

Posted on May 12, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

Jacket2: On Brion Gysin, ‘Minutes to Go’ “Two months before 1960 commenced, Stanley Kunitz in Harper’s Magazine redefined the word ‘experimental’ to mean the inevitable resistance to any prevailing style for the sake of ‘keep[ing] it supple.’ Yet at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Poetry | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Frank Zappa

Posted on May 11, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American singer-songwriter, innovative rock guitarist, modernist composer, multi-instrumentalist, satirist, film-maker, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity, and satire of American culture. … Continue reading →

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Fat City – Leonard Gardner (1969)

Posted on May 10, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“Fat City is a novel by Leonard Gardner published in 1969. It is his only novel. Its prestige has grown since its publication, due to critical acclaim from Joan Didion and Walker Percy, among others. The book is widely considered … Continue reading →

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Robert Whitman

Posted on May 9, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

Two Holes of Water—3 part of 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, a series of innovative dance, music, and theatre performances initiated by the original E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and Technology) program. “Robert Whitman (born 1935 in New York City) is an … Continue reading →

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Satanic Majesties Revisioned

Posted on May 8, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“2000 Man” By Tony Sclafani (February 2008): “It was 40 years ago today… Um, well. OK, let’s hold the fanfare. Unlike the 40th anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, there were no memorials or tributes pouring … Continue reading →

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Reflections on 1960, the Year of Africa

Posted on May 7, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

Senegal. “Tante Angélique,” 1961. “A little more than a year ago, the archival storytelling group came across a photo of a woman carrying on her back a baby holding a tiny Nigerian flag. The year was 1960. It was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Rights Mov., MLKJr., Race Riots, United Nations | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Fillmore: The Beats in the Western Addition

Posted on May 6, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“If all art aspires to the condition of music, then in the postwar coteries that would sometimes be called beat, that music was jazz, and its salient qualities were spontaneity, improvisation, collaboration, subversion, low and outlaw status, hipness/coolness, and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Allen Ginsberg, Bill Graham, Black Power, Grateful Dead, Haight-Ashbury, Happenings, Jack Kerouac, Jazz, Music, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Muhammad Ali Explains Why He Refused to Fight in Vietnam: “My Conscience Won’t Let Me Go Shoot My Brother… for Big Powerful America” (1970)

Posted on May 5, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“In April of 1967, Muhammad Ali arrived at the U.S. Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station in Houston, Texas. ‘Standing beside twenty-five other nerve-racked young men called to the draft,’ writes David Remnick at The New Yorker, Ali ‘refused to … Continue reading →

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How Cuba Remembers Its Revolutionary Past and Present

Posted on May 4, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

Castro’s cabin at the rebel headquarters had a simple bed, a fridge, a study and a secret trapdoor, in case he came under attack.  “It’s not hard to see why Fidel Castro’s guerrilla headquarters during the Cuban revolutionary war was … Continue reading →

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Dangerous Visions – Harlan Ellison (1967 – Editor)

Posted on May 4, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“Dangerous Visions is a science fiction short story anthology edited by American writer Harlan Ellison and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. It was published in 1967. A path-breaking collection, Dangerous Visions helped define the New Wave science fiction movement, … Continue reading →

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Something Else Press

Posted on May 2, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

Wolf Vostell, dé-coll/age happenings (1966). Translated by Laura P. Miller. Wooden box with sliding plexiglass panel as cover. Contents include book plus 15 folded posters, silk-screen print, one package of Bromo-Seltzer mounted on mirrored Mylar, and one piece of matzoh. … Continue reading →

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Eula Biss on How Motherhood Radicalized Adrienne Rich

Posted on May 1, 2021 by 1960s: Days of Rage

“‘… He had heard about ‘essential workers’ in the news, I realized, and he was telling me that, from his point of view, I was an essential worker. I would remember this term, life worker, months later when I saw … Continue reading →

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