DARIANA HAYWARD: Big Sur in San Francisco was a
culmination of your love for the arts and Jack Kerouac and
your belief with us that if you want something bad enough
you can make it happen. thank you all for that. We got started
a little late by almost two hours but it is hard when the
generator won't kick in all the way and although we tried
to reach the rental guy it took us awhile and George Rosenfeld
the sound guy finally made it work.
New Monsoon. Thank you guys SO MUCH for coming so far
and doing such a wonderful job. You are all wonderful performers
and we got many compliments on how wonderful you sound live.
We owe you so much more than thank you can say. Uncle Franks
Workshop: you guys were great. thank you for being able
to play for us. Many people were disappointed that you did
not also have a cd available. We really enjoyed you and
are sorry you got started later than you should have. Next
time I will bring another generator!! Frank Lauria..THANK
YOU for everything. You are always there when I needed something
in a hurry. Even though it took me three tries to get the
name of your band right, we finally did it! James Stauffer:
THANK YOU for always being there when I needed you to listen
or try to help me work something out. thank you for bringing
SA Griffin to us. Although he had to get back to LA we really
enjoyed meeting and getting together with him.
Chris Oller. Chris got on a bus and rode over 40 hours
to get here from Denton Texas. He sort of got the Kerouac
Experience, riding the bus and having Big Sur be the end
of the road. Jessica Loos!! Your performance was not to
be missed. I think we will be rewinding the tape on your
performance for years to come. You were wonderful...you
truly rock. The Cassady family...you came early, worked
hard, and stayed late. Always gracious to your fans and
your contemporaries and always willing to jump in and help
wherever we needed you. I feel like I am a member of your
family.
Gerry Nicosia; THANK YOU for coming to spend the day with
us, right in the middle of your book signing tour. Thank
you for all the help and information you have given me,
and for your willingness to jump in with both feet and help.
To the Ciminos, thank you for bringing 1-800-kerouac all
the way from Monterey and selling your wares and meeting
the fans. Thank you for selling the books of authors who
came to read. Your effort is much appreciated by all of
us. The KPFA family. Jack and Adelle Foley.. thank you for
reading and doing such a wonderful job and for your input
on the whole thing for the last year. Susan Stone and Jennifer
Stone...thank you for coming and for all of the free airtime
you gave to this project.
Kim McMillon, thank you for bringing the talent from your
various one woman shows to the forefront in your reading.
I was happy to finally get to meet you after so many emails.
I am looking for ward to working with you soon. Opal Adisa,
a lady with more pedigrees than almost anyone I know; I
thought your reading was moving and so filled with warmth
and interpretation to your words and their meaning. I was
pleased that you accepted our invitation to read. Philip
Cousineau, thank you for bringing little "Jack" and staying
even though as you told me, it was a "writing day" and you
should have been writing. It is so neat to see how all of
you interact together to bring something like this to life.
Your reading was touching and wonderful. And I thank you.
Barry Gifford who came by to read his chapter on the way
to the airport for his Austrian trip. THANK YOU. I suppose
I whined but your reading of chapter five was certainly
worth it. Thank you for coming by and reading for us, even
if you only did so to shut me up!! (smile) Dan Richman,
I enjoyed meeting you and listening to you read. Now I know
why they love you on the East Coast. Thank you for coming
to be here. Floyd Salas. What can I say about you. you do
so many generous things that nobody ever catches you doing,
but I saw what you did. Just so you know that you were observed
doing a marvelous deed. And the words you said to me before
you read will hang in my heart forever. You touch a person
deeply.
Shelly Campbell, Ianthe Brautigan, and Michele Anna Jordan,
thank you for coming to the party and staying until the
end. The very end. There is a bond when people turn into
Popsicles. You guys are great. Thank you to those of you
who jumped in to read an extra chapter when I needed you
to. Don Define who just jumped in before I even asked (
I suppose the look of despair gave me away) and read two
chapters. You guys who just jump in are amazing, and I suppose
that is why artists are different from regular people. Murray
Korngold who tried to stay until late yet had to be someplace
else, your efforts are appreciated and next time I will
get you into the head of the line. God love you Murray,
you are a peach.
Katz Forman and Jean Mullis: Katz who let me drive him
crazy and let me rope him into two chapters. Always ready
to jump in and go for it. And Jean, always ready with a
name of another reader or someone who could help, and your
gloves were more appreciated that you know. Karen and I
would be still standing there without them, frozen to the
spot. Naveed Ashraf who came from Fairfield and stayed.
See I told you it would be fine. Thank you for spending
your Sunday with us. Treacy Corrigan. what a trouper. Stayed
until late, and when you read it could have been 80 degrees
and balmy. Instead of 40 and cold. You are truly an actress
to the core.
Kevin Reilly, THANK YOU for all your publicity and word
of mouth, and energy that you have put into this thing.
You are truly an energetic person with the soul of Dylan
Thomas. Your reading was everything you put into your own
one man show. Thank you so much. Robert Sward who came all
the way from Santa Cruz. I appreciate the effort it took
for you to come all the way and read late into the evening.
It was wonderful to hear you and meet you and hang out with
you, even though you aren't a podiatrist. (smile) Shelley
Campbell and Susan Parker, thank you for reading and sticking
it out in the cold. Your dedication to this was amazing.
Neeli! Thank you for reading, and visiting with us. I
really appreciate your patience with my nagging. And for
pointing out everyone in my photograph. You are living history,
wise and full of patience. I know you laugh but you know
what I am talking about. Thank you. Sabrina Gogol, thank
you for coming so far and bringing those wonderful decorations
you made for the event. And you read on top of everything
else you did that day. They were artistic and beautiful
and I shall miss you when you are in Oregon, but the College
is lucky to have you in their art department. Remember what
I taught you about questioning authority.
Leonard Bregar...THANK YOU for your years of wisdom and
the effort you made to put your all into your reading. Your
dedication and talent is wonderful. Thank you for letting
me get to know you. Gavin Newsom, thank you for taking out
time from your supervisorial duties to come across and join
in the day. I really liked meeting you..and remember you
promised to promote more events on your television stints.very
big smile. Ed Moose..thanks for running back and forth and
for starting the day for us. You are appreciated. (and thank
you for the liquid libation - just when I needed it most!)
the party is at Moose's right?
Kush, the untiring historian of the poetry world. Thank
you for staying all day and recording the events. And for
reading. Your reading was not to be missed. You always jump
in when you are needed. Your devotion to this work is something
to inspire the weakest of heart. When I was freezing you
were not moving, and I think you would have stayed to record
the events in the dead of night in a hailstorm. Thank you
Kush. Thanks Marsha Garland for all of the readers you sent
our way and your help for making this day happen. We could
not have done it without you.
Lastly, Michael and Amy McClure. If you had to go before
you heard the wonderful and heart stopping reading of "the
sea" by Michael while Amy patiently held the light for him,
well you will just have to see the tape. It was something
that you had to hear first hand as he heard from Jack himself
in order to hear it the way it was meant to be read. It
never meant so much as when I heard it from you, and all
of us who stayed huddled in the cold will never forget it.
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you lastly George Wallace, for being the visionary
that you are. You make things happen, and you let us all
join in the party.
Thank you everybody for being who you are. Artists are
so different from the everyday people. Made of different
"stuff." I hold deep admiration in my heart for each and
every one of you for the reasons I have mentioned.
JAMES STAUFFER: just a quick report on the big
sur even here on the west coast, washington square park,
yesterday. a beautiful day in the park to catch up with
old friends, meet lots of new ones and saturate oneself
with kerouac. plus music from new monsoon and frank lauria's
band, beat books and memorabilia courtesy of jerry and estelle
cimino and on and on. the cassady representation in san
francisco was by jamie and cathy, neal and carolyn's daughters.
son john and carolyn were at the northport new york event.
children of the beats were also represented by ianthe brautigan.
there were many great readings of the individual chapters.
the stand out however would have to have been jack michelines
protegee jessica loos. the even started late due to generator
problems and ran late and as the fog rolled in and the wind
kicked up the crowd understandably shrank. however, those
who stayed til the end will never forget michael mcclure's
reading of kerouac's translation of the sounds of the ocean
which closes the book. for probably 30 to 40 shivering beatniks
who remained, while his wife ann held a flashlight so he
could see the text and with the towers of st. peter and
st. paul's behind him mcclure read the poem which he had
heard Jack read there on the beach at bixby canyon bridge
while, as mcclure said, the ocean read a new poem behind
him. a wonderful, sensitive and evocative reading, it will
stand in my mind alongside hearing ginsberg read howl when
he and the orlovsky brothers stopped through uc riverside
in the early 60's. mcclure, reading strictly for love nd
no other compensation, waited patiently for his moment and
rewarded those who could stay til nearly 9:30 with a poetic
moment they will never forget. as ianthe brautigan said
to me, why to the really special moments have to come when
we are dead tired and frozen :-)
CHRIS OLLER: as one of the readers and "shivering
beatniks" (being from texas, it never occurred to me to
pack warm clothing in the middle of summer...the cold weather
in san francisco july blew my mind) who stuck it out to
hear michael mcclure read "sea" in washington square park,
i can say it was truly a rare treat...and adding to the
beauty of it all, while michael read in the dark by flashlight,
were the howling cold bay winds that blew into the park
after the sun went down...closing my eyes and listening
to michael read, gave me a sense that i was there on the
beach hearing the sounds of the sea. one noteworthy element
that was missing from jame stauffer's report about the reading,
was the periodic booming voice from behind the stage between
readers and lulls in music, throughout the day, yelling
"HEY JACK....JACK KEROUAC!"...giving me the sense that somewhere
out there in the park was jack kerouac's spirit, lounging
in the san francisco sun, sipping on a bottle of sweet wine,
digging the reading....