For cover collectors and other curious folks, here is the “original sc/roll“ edition of OtR in 日本語Japanese.
{As displayed under my “postbox postcard haiku“ painting at Rural Caprine (goat) Farm & Market in Okayama & watched over by Jerry Garcia.}
A rapid-fire introduction to the “Beat Generation” focused on the story of “6 Poets at Gallery 6” reading Oct, 1955 SF CA when Allen Ginsberg, Phillip Whalen, Gary Snyder, Micheal McClure, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti et al were all in the room for a reading hosted by Kenneth Rexroth that would go into legend and launch a poetry renaissance in San Francisco and the world.
Includes extended erstwhile members of the movement and “what happened” after that night as the poets and their friends scattered their influence globally (with, not surprisingly, a little bit of extra emphasis on Japan, Zen, India/Nepal) plus Merry Pranksters, Furthur bus, Grateful Dead and even the Simpsons. Whoa!
Lots of the usual ephemera, show & tell, couple of vinyl records, loads of books, various digressions and asides, hats & homework.
Continue reading “Meet the Beats“ ~ From 6 Poets San Fran 1955 to *everywhere*
“On The Road” – Learn about Jack Kerouac’s classic novel in Kobe, Japan from July 3 to August 8. This book is the fountainhead of so much what we now call counter culture – breaking out of the illusions of postwar malaise and sparking so much of what we know to be true today about personal expression, practical freedom, and mind expansion.
This exhibit will feature rare and unique editions of Kerouac and contemporaries books, typewriters and a faithful reproduction of the original sc/roll of On the Road as well as a speaker series.
More information at BB Plaza Museum of Art’s event listing.
Also: a fantastic guide about On the Road for Japanese readers made by Prof Theado and his classes outlining and explaining much of the unique vocabulary, slang, colloquialisms and cultural references – plus a rundown of Jazz musicians – from the book specifically for Japanese audiences.
Sure hoping all comes together safely and we can celebrate this story together after last year’s event being thwarted by public health concerns.
++ Hattip to Matt Theado and regards to Jim Canary.
Note: credit for the Japanese readers’ guide are:
Designed and Edited by
Akane Kawaguchi and Sana Adachi (神戸市外国語大学 M.Theadoゼミ所属)
Cooperated by
Students in American Culture Seminar class
at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies(神戸市外国語大学Theadoゼミ)
The usual, ergo:
dossiers of art, poetry and ephemera
scrapbooks of same(ish)
piles to Post offices.
Also tea.
PS I enjoy this sort of activity on many levels for sure, i.e.: find playing with scissors and glue and pens very pleasant and, like the thought of spreading a little bit of goodness to various places around the world and, going to the post office gives me a little manageable errand.
I have a hard time getting “out and about” and really have to minimize screen time so this allows me to communicate and create and keep my brain active.
In these dossiers, i included prints of my paintings, bits of poetry, various insta snapshots, and letters on expired aerograms etc.
Enjoy the goodness / (of course) my address is available and you can sign up for Postal Club. I hope you hang on your fridge or put in a shoebox.
Books are my pals, even since a kid – and sometimes books (by circumstance or convenience) are stashed at mysterious locales around the world.
Sometimes, i snap pics of the cache for future reference, sometimes they go to little /free libraries, sometimes into my “Liberated Literature” program.
Regardless, sometimes, the bookcases and/or contents are captured for memory of spending time with friends in a still-life of sorts. As such, this dossier of evidence.
In this round-up is an assortment of books gathered here and there / sometimes used, sometimes new and sometimes re-collecting from someone’s house where the tome has fermented awaiting my pickup.
Some have recently re-arrived (i assume) to me in present day (April 2020) and are waiting to be unloaded from a box and placed lovingly on a shelf.
This little book appeared in prep for (now cancelled) Jack Kerouac preso and is driving directions for the roadtrip chronicled in OtR using Ggle Maps driving directions – a fun remix idea!
Letters from the “Dr” which are more prescient now than ever.
Picked up a Beat Museum looking forward to actually digging in.
50th anniversary documentary from the noted (and recently sold) Vancouver arts and culture weekly.
This one sent to Sooby in NJ (acquired in Sri Lanka).
Such a solid in-depth primer for Middle East history (though wasn’t meant to be that per se)
Like everything, not shockingly, the Jack Kerouac “on the road” sc/roll exhibition in Kobe (what would’ve been the sc/roll’s first time in Asia), and my related storymaking workshop “We are the stories we create“ are cancelled.
Good news is: I have a handy inky “cancelled” stamp to make the poster an accurate souvenir.
Best regards to Professor Matt Theado and his colleagues at the University and museum for all the work that went into this project and also hat tip to the keeper of the artifact, the wonderfully named, Mr. Jim Canary, who would’ve been subject to a two week quarantine amongst other challenges of going forward with this event.
Not a lot of fun but we could’ve delivered him rice balls a few times a day and left them at the door :).
Hopefully, there will be an availability in the future for Mr. Canary and the scroll to make the trip. I had big ideas for my workshop, but not really things that are shareable by video as meant to be hands-on.
The time will come, the time will come.
Patience and time are our allies. I’ll keep sharing the goods from Jack Kerouac and contemporaries in the meanwhile.
The legendary sc/roll of “On the Road“ which sparked so many people hitchhiking, train hopping, disappearing on ships — opening their mind, exploring new cultures and traditions and sparking so much counter-culture… from beats, pranksters, hippies, punks, to diy independent everything and freethinking anyone, yes that one / ‘Tis lionized in many songs, remixes, movies, chapbooks, fanzines – the thumbprints are everywhere.
And now you can add to the legend by showing up as this (valuable in every sense) artifact is coming to Asia for the first time ever. Specifically, Kobe Japan from April 25 – May 31 at BB Plaza Museum of Art.
Plus, your old pal (me!) is helping kick things off with a special hands-on, hand-made, do-it-ourselves, story-making workshop on April 29. All ages welcome, just bring a curious mind and be ready to use some scissors and glue and instant camera and typewriters and have some laughs and learning. Continue reading Hit the road with Kerouac – from New York to Kobe (or something like that)
Kerouac “On the Road” storymaking workshop
Workshop: “We Are the Stories We Create”
April 29 (Wed.) 14:00 to 16:00
Venue: BB Plaza Museum of Art, Kobe, Japan
Capacity: 20 people / Free participation (* Exhibition ticket required) / Advance reservation system / First come first served /
Presented in English and Japanese
Blurb:
Handmade workshop! Participants create their stories using typewriters, paper, scissors and glue, and explore various ways to share them. Create one booklet together. We work with original materials such as mimeographs and hand-made books shown by instructor Dave.
4月29日（水） 14:00-16:00 会場：BBプラザ美術館
定員：20名 ／ 参加無料（＊展覧会観覧券の提示要）／ 事前予約制 ／ 先着順 ／ 日英対応
講師：デイブ・オルソン（デザイナー）
手作りワークショップ！参加者はタイプライターと紙、ハサミやのりを使ってそれぞれ物語を作り、それをシェアする様々な方法を探ります。一緒に１つの冊子を作成します。講師デイブがお見せするガリ版刷り、手綴り本などの実物を参考に工作します。
+++
会場：BBプラザ美術館
神戸市灘区岩屋中町4-2-7 BBプラザ2F TEL 078-802-9286
シンポジウム「ジャック・ケルアックの『オン・ザ・ロード』の旅：神戸から世界へ」
5月24 日（日）13:00-17:00 （開場 12:30）
会 場：シマブンホール（BBプラザ4F）
定 員：200名 聴講無料（＊展覧会観覧券の提示要）・事前予約制 ・先着順 ・通訳付
講演者：
青山南（作家、翻訳家）
柴田元幸（神戸市外国語大学客員教授、東京大学名誉教授、『MONKEY』責任編集者、翻訳家）
ヒラリー・ハラデイ（ビート研究者、前マサチューセッツ大学ローウェル校アメリカン・スタディーズ・ケルアック・センター所長、What’s Your Road, Man?: Critical Essays on Jack Kerouac’s On the Road 編集者）
マシュー・セアドー（神戸市外国語大学教授、著作 Understanding Jack Kerouac, The Beats: A Literary Reference）
司 会：難波江仁美（神戸市外国語大学教授）
More: https://www.facebook.com/Kerouac-Comes-to-Japan-1412997018836396/
Jack Kerouac is well-noted for typing/writing his epic novels of personal discovery against a backdrop of a rapidly changing America on long sc/rolls of paper – to maintain momentum rather than pausing to change sheets among other reasons.
There are around 8 of these sc/rolls in existence and all were sold off by the estate managers (rather than archived in museums/libraries) the location of most is unknown… however the most *famous* of the rolls “On the Road” sold for some millions and is now coming for exhibition display to Kobe, Japan at BB Plaza Museum.
Of course, Kerouac is a massive influence on my life of hitchhiking, train/ship riding, poetry writing, and finding beauty in the downtrodden and digging into life with vigour and authenticity.
Along with the majestic original tome of a genre-defining and culture-changing book comes a series of events curated by Prof Matt Theado and colleagues at Kobe University [see Kerouac Comes to Japan FB to follow along] including documentary film screening, symposium and more.
Among the line-up is your pal (me) doing a 2 hour hands-on analog workshop about making stories in various formats. I’ll be bringing the old-timey suitcases filled with surprises from the archive and supplies for making new artifacts in real-time.
If you are in Japan, consider coming along – seriously, we’ll have a good time. Not in Japan? Maybe i’ll capture some goodness for ya but if you can spread the word and/or send some vibes, ’tis well-appreciated.
Read on for details of my gig and then more about the event in general… Also, spending time with the roll i suspect will feel like see King Tutankhamun’s death mask (Seattle 1978).
Note: See evidence of presentation style from previous gigs
DaveO Workshop / in Japanese and English(ish)
Workshop: “We Are the Stories We Create”
Lecturer: Dave Olson (designer)
April 29 (Wed.) 14:00 to 16:00
Venue: BB Plaza Museum of Art (web | FB)
Capacity: 20 people / Free participation (* Exhibition ticket required) / Advance reservation system / First come first served / Presented in English and Japanese
Handmade workshop! Participants create their stories using typewriters, paper, scissors and glue, and explore various ways to share them. Create one booklet together. We work with original materials such as mimeographs and hand-made books shown by instructor Dave. Continue reading “On The Road” to Kobe for Kerouac – scroll exhibit and story workshop
