Are y’all ready for Insomniacathon? July 26-28 at the Chapel of St. Philip Neri in Louisville, KY. I’m looking forward to taking the trip, hope to see you there! I’ll have magazine updates for y’all within the next few days. It has the official Insomniacathon schedule inside, and cover art by Chris Dean. The cover art was inspired by the origin story behind Ron Whitehead’s “The Storm Generation Manifesto.” When he took a trip to produce Iceland’s first Beat Generation Festival with Ólafur Gunnarsson. I dedicated this issue to Ron as well since this will be his last Insomniacathon. Love You, Brother.
THE CRITIC AND OTHER STORIES by Ólafur Gunnarsson was also released by Cajun Mutt Press on June 17th!! You can grab a copy by following this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D6N593M8
Below are the featured writers for July. Send 1-3 poems with a bio and author photo to cajunmuttpress@gmail.com to be considered for a spot. Magazine submissions are closed for now. I’ll reopen them soon.
We’ve entered March, it’s starting to warm up outside, and Night Owl Narrative No.3 is officially available! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVF469HX (Links to 1 & 2 will be in the comments.)
Issue No. 3 Contributors:
Ben Holland, John Burroughs, Blu K. Boss, Scott Laudati, Jay Passer, A.L. Locke, Michael Duckwall, Ron Whitehead, Jim Murdoch, Wayne F. Burke, Ryan Quinn Flanagan, Joe Szalinski, Efe Tusder, Randy Barnes, Roy Duffield, Dan Flore III, LB Sedlacek, William Teets, William David Pollard, Robert Ragan, Dan Denton, Heath Brougher, Dee Allen, Lynn White, Wendy Cartwright, Sanjeev Sethi, Daniel S. Irwin, Austin Burrows, Wolfgang Carstens, Merritt Waldon, Jonathan S Baker, Rob Azevedo
Details about issue 4 coming soon! All I need to do is button up a few things, and it’ll be ready for April. Michael Duckwall’s artwork will be on the cover!!
7.2 SkullQuake by Michael Duckwall is also available!! Brother Duck offers up pieces of his soul in artistic and poetic form in this beautiful little chapbook! You can get in touch with him for a signed copy or follow this link to find it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVG31R8S
I’m also about to start working on the rest of the book manuscript submissions! I wanted to get a few copies of the magazine under my belt first. You’ll be hearing from me soon if you’ve sent one. Hold Fast.
Below is the list of this month’s featured writers. Send 1-3 poems to cajunmuttpress@gmail.com to be considered for a spot. Send work for Night Owl Narrative to the same email. I’m taking art, short stories, flash fiction, poetry, photography, columns, articles, interviews, etc for the magazine. Anything Goes. Please include a bio and author photo with ALL submissions!
“I have long admired Ron Whitehead. He is crazy as nine loons, and his poetry is a dazzling mix of folk wisdom and pure mathematics.”
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”
“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
—Hunter S. Thompson
Rest easy, old friend. Happy Birthday, I’ll see you in the aether. Born July 18, 1937, Louisville, KY Died February 20, 2005, Woody Creek, CO
Written by James Dennis Casey IV (JDCIV) On A Mission From God With Eternal Gratitude to Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate, Ron Whitehead Gonzofest Documentary Photography by Michael Duckwall where noted
Thursday, July 13th (Crackshack Blues & The Trip from Hell)
The first day of the trip didn’t go so well. We got there, and the place I booked the room was a hellhole. The photos online looked decent enough for a $69-a-night Motel 6, yet I was deceived. But we weren’t going anywhere. The room was paid for, and I had a barrage of weaponry. Fuck Around And Find Out. THEN . . . I realize that I forgot MY books. I had everything I wanted to bring except that one box. I almost wanted to turn around and go home. I felt the clown makeup being slowly smeared on my face. After that, I called Frogg Corpse, and he made us feel comfortable. Raissa and I hung out with him at his house for a while. Talked about his artwork. Showed me his 1961 Architectural Tapestry of The Hilton at Park Avenue Building. As viewed from Hyde Park in London. Plus, a Michael Alig original (which was beautiful but creepy given his history, but I dig weird shit) titled “Pixelated Hipster.” They were both pretty amazing. We smoked a couple joints, talked about brother Ron’s huge cock—which Rai & I didn’t get to see (inside joke), laughed a lot, and felt better. Got some grub and went back to the crackshack for the night to prepare for the day ahead. Thank you for making us feel at home, brother.
___
—
Nothing like being so excited to have copies of my first book in four years to bring with me, only to forget them at the goddamn house. I was planning on giving them away because I had other Cajun Mutt Press books for the display, and it was the version of the cover I didn’t like with the green text on the back cover. I have 23 of those cocksuckers laughing at me right now on the table behind me in CMP headquarters. Mocking me with their crooked Amazon smile. Other than the copies of Bad Weed Never Dies being left at home and the shithole motel, it all worked out for the better.
“What Are YOU Smiling At, You Bastard!?” The box of Bad Weed Never Dies, still sitting where I left it.
Friday, July 14th (For Educational Purposes Only)
Deep within my soul, I knew that I needed this trip. Severely. I feel like a changed man sitting here writing this. I met so many beautiful people. Friday & Saturday were different types of days, with different types of people. Every single one was a multi-faceted gem. In every way sense and form. I also had to give a good friend some hard truths to make him realize that he was one of those gems, but he was majorly blowing it on Friday. He was an entirely different person Saturday after I gave him a good love slap. In the best of ways. Love you, brother. Hope you dig the Will Mayo books. Cherish Them. It was an honor to work with him for so many years before his passing. We had become good friends. I miss that naked, cat-loving weirdo.
“The calm before the storm.” Merritt Waldon (Friday’s Storm is your new nickname, brother) Standing in front of the Obey Giant at High Horse Bar author of Oracles From a Strange Fire co-authored with Ron Whitehead photo by JDCIV
Friday was all about native son Hunter S. Thompson, and the infamous Kentucky poet and Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate, Ron Whitehead. Both of whom I consider dear friends and mentors, and I’m forever grateful to at least meet one of my three biggest inspirations in my lifetime. I was also able to have Brother Ron sign my copy of Outlaw Poet: The Legend of Ron Whitehead!! A beautiful and insightful documentary about his life’s work. Scholars and experts from all around came to tell stories of our beloved Anti-Heroes. It was also interesting to hear about Hunter’s interactions with the Hells Angels MC and The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic.” I also met the notable John Whiting, who restored Hunter S Thompson’s Courage Vincent. Talk about a drop-dead gorgeous bike! Chrome everything. Even the tank. He inspired a poem that I’m currently working on titled “Fuck You, Jay Leno!” (coming soon) Even explained to him where my love for Hunter began, and my deeply personal connection with the 1998 film adaptation of the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. How my parents and I popped in the VHS when it came out. Put some shrooms on a pizza, and had an insane time together. I Miss You, Mom, and Love You Pop.
Mom & Pop, Mardi Gras, circa the early 2000s
While I didn’t make as many personal connections on Friday as I did on Saturday, it was still one hell of a ride. I was honored to witness it in all its glory.
Gonzo Photography by Michael Duckwall (Friday)
Timothy Jack Denevi (Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson’s Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism), Margaret Ann Harrell (The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic), Peter Richardson (Savage Journey), John F. Brick (Annotated Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas), William McKeen (Outlaw Journalist), Ron Whitehead (co-founder of & Chief of Poetics for GonzoFest, Lifetime US National Beat Poet Laureate)
Timothy Jack Denevi is a professor in the MFA program at George Mason University and the past nonfiction editor of Literary Hub. His work has appeared in the Atlantic, Time, the Paris Review, and New York Magazine, to name a few. And he has been interviewed prolifically, across the spectrum of major news outlets, including the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, following the release of his highly successful Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson’s Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism. Denevi grew up in Los Gatos, California, and lives near Washington DC. He is a MacDowell Colony fellow and a fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
Margaret Ann Harrell spent thirty adventurous years abroad in Morocco and Europe, returning to the United States in 2001. She is a three-time MacDowell Colony fellow and has authored eighteen books, including The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic in collaboration with Ron Whitehead (Norfolk Press) and Space Encounters III—Inserting Consciousness into Collisions: A True Fantasy Adventure by the Earth through the Quantum Entangled World. Also, the Keep This Quiet! memoir series and Particle Pinata Poems. She is an editor and an advanced light body meditation teacher as well as a cloud photographer exhibited now and then in Romania, Italy, Bruges (Belgium), and New York City and a mentor to those wanting to go deeper into themselves and their potential.
Dr. John F. Brick teaches English, first-year rhetoric, and creative writing at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His scholarship includes a comprehensive annotated variorum of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which traces the development of Thompson’s 1971 classic across extant texts and archival documents and provides comprehensive historical, cultural, and literary context. The result not only recaptures something of the first blush of Vegas’ satire and profundity but offers unprecedented granularity in examining Thompson’s creative process at the height of his powers. Dr. Brick’s most recent work examines intersections of sports writing and nationalism. In his spare time, he enjoys distance running and cycling, and playing for the Milwaukee Hurling Club.
Peter Richardson teaches Humanities and American Studies at San Francisco State University. His publications include critically acclaimed books about Hunter S. Thompson, the Grateful Dead, Ramparts magazine, and Carey McWilliams, who edited Thompson at The Nation magazine. He is currently writing a book about Rolling Stone magazine for the University of California Press. His newest release is Savage Journey: Hunter S. Thompson and The Weird Road to Gonzo.
William McKeen is a professor and the former Chair of the Department of Journalism at Boston University; he is the author or editor of thirteen successful books, including Outlaw Journalist, Mile Marker Zero, and Everybody Had an Ocean. McKeen teaches journalism history, literary journalism, and rock n’ roll and American culture and previously taught at Western Kentucky University, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Florida, where he chaired the department of journalism. Before beginning his teaching career, he was a reporter, then associate editor of The American Spectator and the Saturday Evening Post. Mile Marker Zero is “a tall but telescopic-sight-true tale of Hunter Thompson, Jimmy Buffett, Tom McGuane, and a large cavorting cast running around with sand in their shoes at ‘ground zero for lust and greed and most of the other deadly sins,’ [in] Key West,” wrote Tom Wolfe. McKeen spent his early years in England, Germany, Nebraska, and Texas.
Ron Whitehead, co-founder of & Chief of Poetics for GonzoFest, is a Lifetime US National Beat Poet Laureate. His life is newly documented in the film Outlaw Poet: The Legend of Ron Whitehead (2022). “Ron Whitehead is Bodhisattva in Kentucky,” said Lawrence Ferlinghetti. “I have long admired Ron Whitehead. He is crazy as nine loons, and his poetry is a dazzling mix of folk wisdom and pure mathematics,” said Hunter S. Thompson. An award-winning poet and performer, author of 30 books and 40 albums, his words have been translated into twenty languages.
Saturday, July 15th (Happy Birthday JDC.III)
While the first night was more scholarly in nature, Saturday was a whole different creature. It was time to cut loose a little. The atmosphere was more relaxed. Loved hearing friends both old and new recite their work. I started letting my emotions get the better of me and fucked up a bit when I read, then blamed it on the edibles. Got a good laugh. Thanks to my beautiful muse for that advice. I did eat two 50mg gummies. So I was feeling good, I needed to calm my nerves anyway. Would’ve loved to stay longer both nights, but this was a huge trip for us. We’re home now and exhausted, but it was all worth it.
SETLIST: “Potatoes in a Tube Sock,” “Pour Me,” “In Time with the Beat,” “Dump Poetry” (Watch when I go back on stage. I accidentally swiped Ron’s papers, but it was smooth.) I started letting my emotions get the better of me and fucked up a bit, then blamed it on the edibles, got a good laugh.
Gonzofest made me remember Why I Started Cajun Mutt Press. Where I came from and who I am. I do all this for y’all. Out of pure love. Ron was right, this is important work. But it was also said about Ron himself, what are you willing to give up in pursuit of your dream? Well, in my opinion, this IS the Strange American Dream. In Gonzo Journalism form. We’re living it. Ron is living it. Hunter lived it more than anybody. I only wish I could tell HST that the American Dream was found, and in his honor. We Found The Grain Of Sand. The Holy Grail. I’ll just have to tell him somewhere in the aether. Over the proverbial edge of it all.
Poetry & Music Line Up (The Savage Creatures)
12-7 p.m. — Poets, singers, and musicians. In order of appearance: Brent & Brennan Embry (Rosine), Raymond Smith (Bowling Green), Michael Duckwall (Indiana), Mick Parsons (Louisville), Hilton Airall (Louisville), J.b. Wilson (Washington, D.C.), Jean Kizer (Indiana), Dusty Jaggers (Louisville), Ben Holland (Louisville), James Dennis Casey IV (Illinois), Ian Uriel Girdley (Indiana), Merritt Waldon (Indiana), Joseph Fulkerson (Owensboro), Jonathan Baker (Indiana), Johnny Evans (Louisville), Tom Murphy (Texas), Frogg Corpse (Indiana), Kent Fielding (Alaska), Snow Matthews (Indiana), Lindsay Gargotto (Louisville), Mark Berriman (Indiana), Joan Hawkins (Indiana), Joe Kidd & Sheila Burke (Michigan), Dean McClain (Shelbyville), Tony Brewer (Indiana), Elizabeth Nelson (Louisville), Ron Whitehead & Aviv Naamani (Louisville), Tommy Twilite (Massachusetts), Tommy Bays (Indiana)
7 p.m. – 2 a.m. — Bands and poets. In order of appearance: Blind Feline, John Burroughs (Ohio), Frank Messina (New Jersey) & The Storm Generation Band with special guests, ZU ZU YA YA, Mike Hood & Solar Flannel, Night Parade
Progression of BWND book cover (“The Battle of Amazon”)
I ran into some trouble with the cover of Bad Weed Never Dies while trying to prepare for Gonzofest. If KDP would’ve approved the original version, which is the proof copy, everything would’ve been fine. It looked great! They fought me about the green drop shadow. I tried telling them that it was going to pop the text out. They said it wouldn’t look right in print. I’ve been doing this for long enough to know what’s going to look good, and what isn’t. So I made a compromise and put the text in green, and they approved it. Didn’t really like the way it looked, I knew it would be hard to read without the dropshadow but I needed copies for Gonzofest. And it was either order some or not have any at this point. Got them in the mail just in time, and they looked sub-par. Just like I knew they would. So I changed it—AGAIN! and ordered one from Amazon because I knew I wouldn’t have time to order more author copies. Some battles you win, some battles you lose. We’ll call it a tie this time, Amazon. It still doesn’t look exactly how I want it, but I’m not changing it again. None of it mattered anyway. My dumb ass went and left the box at home after all that bullshit. I let The Fear get to me, and I panicked. I was lucky enough to have that ONE copy of the new version with me. Only because I stuffed it in my backpack to read from. So everything turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
V.1
V.2
V.3
In closing (religious experience)
The whole time I was there, it was akin to being at Church—but in a good way. One that everyone belonged to. For extremely personal reasons that we all lay down on the front lines. At War With Life. Fighting the Good Fight. The Church of Gonzo. I’ve had so much undealt with trauma my entire life. I needed a place to transcend. Sweating the demons out of every pore. A place for my voice to be heard. We all need a place like that. It pains me to say this was the 10th & “final” Gonzofest. Hopefully, someone will pick up the torch. This has also inspired me to try and put something together. A tattoo and poetry extravaganza. I have a plan. (more about that later)
“This addictive little book is aptly titled. Mark Berriman’s words open portals into realms where ghostly barbarian voices sing in an indomitable language of the heart. This is poetic expression at its finest. Courageous. Authentic. Vulnerable. Raw. And more fun than a crackhead wedding. Respek!” —Jonathan Shaw (Author of Narcisa – Our Lady of Ashes, and Scab Vendor – Confessions of a Tattoo Artist)
Holding the Door for Barbarians That Turned Ugly Fast Photo by Heather Himli (Mark Berriman’s Twin Flame)
Acknowledgment (Finding My Tribe)
There is an extensive list of people I’d like to personally thank and mention as well. To Ruth Lenora Johnson, I love you, Grandma Sam. You helped put this trip in motion. I miss you, rest in peace. Maris & Søren, thank you for helping us with funds and figuring out the ride situation. We Love Y’all. Brother Frogg!! I fucking love you, man. Thanks for giving my beautiful muse and I a place to Burn Down and unwind. The trip started rough with forgetting my books and realizing the motel I booked was a shithole. After we left your place we felt a lot better. Your girl Jordan is a magnificent catch as well. Rai likes her a lot. Ma Jestical Amorosa & Elizabeth Nelson, you are two of the sweetest and most powerful souls Rai and I have ever met. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the hospitality, and for being so accommodating. Sister Jes, thank you for hooking us up with a lamp! I saved that copy of Adventures of Brain Man specifically for you. Sorry if there was any confusion about the books. Sister Elizabeth, I got chills when your beautiful child screamed in the name of the spirits. AHO!! To my new friend Michael Duckwall, thank you for doing a fantastic job documenting this historic event and for letting me use your photography. I’m so glad we met. You and Rachel were two of the coolest people we met there. Glad your son is feeling better after surgery. I ordered a copy of The Ramblings of a Recovering Poet. I didn’t feel so bad about not having copies of mine when you told me what happened with your books. To Scott Laudatti, that was some top-shelf reading advice. Thank you. (Happy Birthday, Pop!) Tohm Bakelas, you are an unbelievably cool dude as well. I enjoyed your talk, and you killed your set! Hope we can all hang out again sometime. Thanks for the copy of To Kingdom Come. Great Stuff. Scott, tell Rucci what I said, and no hard feelings. Snow Matthews, you are captivating. I loved your reading. Looking forward to working with you in the future. Mick Parsons, Jonathan Baker, John Burroughs, Tommy Twilite, Dean McClain, Tony Brewer, Chad Horn, and Dean McClain, it was an honor to meet you all. Your sets were some of my favorites. Wish we could’ve talked more. Brother Burroughs, hearing you read taught me a lot. Tom Murphy! Sorry that I was having a hard time remembering your name. I’ve got Bad Brains, brother. Can’t wait to dig into When I Wear Bob Kaufman’s Eyes! Huge thanks for the copy. To the doorman, brother Ralph. You were right about the heat, and huge thanks for buying a couple of books. I truly appreciate everyone else that grabbed copies as well! Hope y’all enjoy the reads. Blind Feline, y’all fucking JAM!! Brother Oliver, wish we had more time to talk. I enjoyed our interview from 2021. Brent Embrey, Brennan Embry, and Tommy Bays, y’all rocked the house as well. Honored to meet y’all. Hi Helens, sorry I didn’t make the show Friday: Ryan, I’ve been checking out your music, I dig it. Very cathartic indeed. Brother Merritt, thank you for behaving the second night. Sorry, not sorry for the tough love. It came from my heart. Leland Locke, looking forward to reading You Can’t Blame Good Sex on A Puppy: Notes from the Night Desk, Volume 3! Sorry that we didn’t get the chance to talk more. Thanks to Grant Goodwin for the killer Gonzofest 2023 poster numbered 13. Frank Messina! You brought a big vibe, my friend! Loved the shoes. I wanted to stay and see your set with The Storm Generation Band & Zu Zu YA YA, but I had to go take care of my beautiful muse. She took care of me earlier that day. Had to return the love. Apologies if I forgot any names or offended anyone in any way or didn’t mention you here. If I did or didn’t, it was unintentional. I have scrambled eggs for brains after my accident. Art and poetry help me keep it focused. I did my best to remember what I could, and Raissa helped me with the rest. I Love Y’all. This was definitely a learning experience. I enjoyed taking away a small piece of knowledge from each of you. About myself and the world around me. I feel like I’m Shining.
But Most Of All, Last But Not Least . . . the biggest credit goes to Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate, Ron Whitehead. THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! Not only from Raissa and I but on behalf of everyone else in attendance for spearheading such an outstanding event for so long. That is a cross no mortal man can bear, but you, sir, are a Living Legend. No mere mortal. I love you, brother. We All Do. I regret not making it to this event every year of its existence. Yet I’m profoundly happy that I made the “last” one. Hunter S. Thompson was most definitely a flawed man, but he was human at his core. And he left an impression on literature as well as the entire world that can never be erased. He was one of, if not THE greatest writers in the known universe. May the spirit of Gonzo Journalism and the Good Doctor live on forever. Be it in art, poetry, music, flying down the highway on a motorcycle, or anywhere else a rare free soul is found. Can I get a Hallelujah!!!
The Cajun Mutt Press table (Poetry & Artwork)
JDCIV, Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Cajun Mutt Press
Finally Home (Exhausted & Transcendent)
James Dennis Casey IV is a poet, artist, and founder/editor-in-chief of Cajun Mutt Press. His work has been published in print and online by several small press venues and literary magazines.
The 2016 La Voce dei Poeti, La Catena della Pace international poetry contest gave his entry “Warriors of the Rainbow” a critic’s choice award, and his poem “That’ll do Pig” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by New Pop Lit in 2019.
James was born in Colorado, grew up in Louisiana/Mississippi, and currently resides in Illinois with his muse and their three cats.
PS. Raissa would like to thank everyone for the compliments about her bone earrings, and let y’all know they were made by Jess at Quaint Cadaver!!
PPS. Ben HST Holland! Or, is it Bob? I’m joking. Thank you so much for the hand-typed “Robin Williams Was Right” poem. You’ll be hearing from me soon. I have some things to send you. I’m also looking forward to reading your manuscript!
Searching for Jack Kerouac, on the Occasion of Jack’s 100th Birthday
visited San Francisco flew to Chicago on to Oakland California rental Mustang GT fast weaving thru heavy traffic over Bay Bridge
wandered North Beach San Francisco suitcase weighed down with heavy words
On the Road
where is Jack Kerouac
in Canada Lowell New York City North Carolina Denver San Francisco Mexico City St. Petersburg bones white light white heat bones Jack Kerouac’s bones in Lowell, Massachusetts where the road begins and ends
and I’m searching for Jack Kerouac out west as west as west can be west and still be in the olding USA there’s the Pacific Ocean out past the Golden Gate Asian immigrants on boats pleading waiting to get in open spirit the dream of freedom of joy
“It’s okay to be happy” His Holiness The Dalai Lama looks deep into my eyes my soul and says “It’s okay to be happy” what release I felt years and years layer upon layer of mountainous guilt fell away fell away “It’s okay to be happy” especially out far out west on the left coast
Jack Kerouac The Dalai Lama Thomas Merton Lawrence Ferlinghetti Jan Kerouac
determined to start a new life out west far out west San Francisco Oakland Berkeley Mill Valley Sausalito non-stop performances visits travels
Berkeley Berkeley Berkeley 1968 still 1969 in Berkeley pow wow with Einstein of the sacred herb peace pipe opens magic realms then cross campus to Moe’s bookstore where I’m told that Chris Felver will be signing his new BEAT book Chris Felver the best photographer on the planet I wrote his phone number down in the flying Mustang GT crossing Bay Bridge synchronicity good signs abound
BEAT BEAT BEAT
“the most beautiful book ever produced and published on The Beat Generation”
“In 2001, Ron Whitehead and I made a pilgrimage to Thomas Merton’s grave to meet Father Patrick Hart. He had with him two poems that Jack Kerouac had contributed to Merton’s journal, Monks Pond, summer 1968…”
and on the next page Jack Kerouac Thomas Merton the poems the journals the grave Brother Pat and me at Merton’s grave where I also stood with Lawrence Ferlinghetti 1993
and I’m searching for Jack Kerouac Moe’s bookstore Berkeley and yes in walks Chris Felver and a Felver entourage including nubile neo-Beats three young women walking their own Beat road a joyous reunion at Moe’s bookstore in Berkeley, California
determined to start a new life new beginning days and nights visiting Felver bridges cross bays endless miles of blue water turquoise sky islands boats birds fish prisons San Quentin Alcatraz trust fund yuppies homeless the middle class is dead Reagan Bush Clinton Bush Jr killed the middle class
democracy is dying even on the left coast
if we fail to reach our democratic potential freedom and equality for all if we fail and we’re failing miserably failing democracy will move west continually west
go west young woman young man
the time of the grandmothers the time of the nurturing healing feminine energy has come patriarchy has sewn destruction we must all female and male become healers peace love and understanding are not dirty weak words peace love and understanding are essential to our survival
rather than viruses let us be healer gardeners dwelling harmoniously with Mother Earth and I’m searching for Jack Kerouac “the one who’ll shake the ones unshaken the fearless one the one without bullshit” and the Sunday morning church bells chime cross the distance I cast off the anxiety of authority of influence and make myself new breathing in salty sea breezes my lungs and heart are healed
writing the heart
I have escaped my mental sanctum where for too long I contemplated longing loss grief my complicated navel I have finally pulled my head outta my ass I am born again my new church is my body in which my soul dwells now
wherever I am I am in church
my soul my spirit my heart sing songs of praise I give thanks for each and every moment event person being I give thanks for the pain suffering joy happiness all and everything have brought me to this moment this fleeting moment
and before this line is written it will be gone gone gone into the past even right now lasts less than a moment
life flies by
no sense holding on to what is gone last breath will arrive soon enough
I am free
searching for Jack Kerouac Jan’s lost father their bones white bones buried coast to coast ghost to ghost I see them now holding hands far seeing staring at me from the other side Jack and Jan Kerouac staring at me writing this poem I hear Jack say
“The World really does not matter, but God has made it so, and so it matters in God, and He Hath Aims for it, which we cannot know without the understanding of obedience. There is nothing to do but give praise. This is my ethic of ‘art’…”
and searching for Jack Kerouac I realize that I don’t know anything nobody knows anything but I embrace this beautiful terrible mystery this mysterium tremendum called life and I declare that henceforth and forevermore I will do nothing but surrender my will to God and sing songs of praise of thanks of joy of happiness even if I die in a gutter with a bullet in my head I’ll die singing songs of praise
and I’m searching for Jack Kerouac Moe’s bookstore Berkeley Bird and Beckett Books San Francisco Cafe Trieste Mill Valley Oakland Public Library Cafe Greco North Beach San Francisco non-stop performances visits travels I bid farewell to ye oh holy far out left coast
and searching for Jack Kerouac on the plane I read
“…the only people that interest me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing…but burn, burn, burn like roman candles”
and on the plane by the window peering through the clouds I see Jack’s smiling face and he whispers from the distance
“One night in America when the sun had gone down beginning at four of the winter afternoon in New York by shedding a beautiful burnished gold in the air that made dirty old buildings look like the walls of the temple of the world…then outflying its own shades as it raced three thousand 200 miles over raw bulging land to the West Coast before sloping down the Pacific, leaving the great rearguard shroud of night to creep upon our earth, to darken rivers, to cup the peaks and fold the final shore in…”
I’m searching yes after all these years still searching for myself folding the final shore in still searching for the ever elusive Jack that’s right I said Jack Jack Kerouac I”m searching for Jack Kerouac
“Ron Whitehead is a real visionary. Ron Whitehead, out there in Kentucky, is sowing the dragon’s teeth of a new heroics. Ron Whitehead is Bodhisattva in Kentucky.” —Lawrence Ferlinghetti
“I have long admired Ron Whitehead. He is crazy as nine loons, and his poetry is a dazzling mix of folk wisdom and pure mathematics.” —Hunter S. Thompson
“Ron Whitehead is one of the most exciting poets in America. Poet and literary activist, he is one of the great poets of his generation.” —Douglas Brinkley
“Ron Whitehead is a prophet. He is one of the world’s greatest poet prophets. What an inspiring honor to hear him read here at Granada Nicaragua’s International Poetry Festival!” —Yevgeny Yevtushenko
“Ron Whitehead, His Holiness The Dalai Lama thanks you and offers his blessing and permission for you to create a poster of his message to you which you have written in the form of a poem. I would like to express my personal appreciation to you. Your poem of His Holiness’s message is extremely powerful and moving. I am confident that it will inspire many.” —Tenzin Geyche Tethong, Secretary to His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Poet, writer, editor, publisher, professor, scholar, activist Ron Whitehead is the author of 24 books and 34 albums. In 1994 he wrote the poem “Never Give Up” with His Holiness The Dalai Lama. In 1996 he produced the Official Hunter S. Thompson Tribute featuring Hunter, his mother Virginia, his son Juan, Johnny Depp, Warren Zevon, Douglas Brinkley, David Amram, Roxanne Pulitzer, and many more. Ron has produced thousands of events and festivals in Europe and the USA. He has presented thousands of readings, talks, and performances around the world. He has edited and published hundreds of titles. The recipient of many awards, his work has been translated into 20 languages. In 2018 Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer presented Ron with a Lifetime Achievement for Work in The Arts Award. In 2019 Ron was named Kentucky’s Beat Poet Laureate and was also the first U.S. citizen to be named UNESCO’s Tartu City of Literature Writer-in-Residence.. He is co-founder and Chief of Poetics for Gonzofest Louisville. Outlaw Poet: The Legend of Ron Whitehead documentary will be released by Storm Generation Films/Dark Star TV in 2022.
Jan Kerouac at Jack’s grave.
Searching for Jack Kerouac: You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley
Searching for Jack Kerouac: You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley On the Occasion of Jack’s 100th Birthday
Ron Whitehead vocals, Lacy Jean violin & vocals, Katrina Harper vocals. Recorded, mixed, & mastered by Bill Hardesty at Logan Street Music Studio. Produced by Ron Whitehead, Bill Hardesty, Matt Thomasson. Photography & Film production by Yunier Ramirez. “You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley,” Appalachian folk song, African American spiritual, lonesome lost brokedown blues.
“You got to walk, that lonesome valley Well, you got to walk, it for yourself Ain’t nobody else, can walk it for you You got to walk, that valley for yourself
My mother had to walk, that lonesome valley Well, she had to walk, it for herself There’s nobody else, can walk it for you Yes, she had to walk, a’that valley for herself
Oh yes, you got to walk, that lonesome valley Well, you got to walk, it for yourself There’s nobody else, can walk it for you You got to walk…”
visited San Francisco flew to Chicago on to Oakland California rental Mustang GT fast weaving thru heavy traffic over Bay Bridge
wandered North Beach San Francisco weighed down with heavy words
On the Road
where is Jack Kerouac
in Canada Lowell New York City North Carolina Denver San Francisco Mexico City St. Petersburg bones white light white heat bones Jack Kerouac’s bones in Lowell, Massachusetts where the road begins and ends
and I’m searching for Jack Kerouac out west as west as west can be west and still be in the olding USA there’s the Pacific Ocean out past the Golden Gate Asian immigrants on boats pleading waiting to get in open spirit the dream of freedom of joy
“It’s okay to be happy” His Holiness The Dalai Lama looks deep into my eyes my soul and says “It’s okay to be happy” what release I felt years and years layer upon layer of mountainous guilt for failure after failure for not being enough for anyone fell away fell away “It’s okay to be happy” especially out far out west on the left coast
Jack Kerouac The Dalai Lama Thomas Merton Lawrence Ferlinghetti Jan Kerouac
determined to start a new life out west far out west San Francisco Oakland Berkeley Mill Valley Sausalito non-stop performances visits travels
Berkeley Berkeley Berkeley 1968 still 1969 in Berkeley pow wow with Einstein of the sacred herb peace pipe opens magic realms then cross campus to Moe’s bookstore where I’m told that Chris Felver will be signing his new BEAT book Chris Felver the best photographer on the planet I wrote his phone number down in the flying Mustang GT crossing Bay Bridge synchronicity good signs abound
BEAT BEAT BEAT
“the most beautiful book ever produced and published on The Beat Generation”
“In 2001, Ron Whitehead and I made a pilgrimage to Thomas Merton’s grave to meet Father Patrick Hart. He had with him two poems that Jack Kerouac had contributed to Merton’s journal, Monks Pond, summer 1968…”
and on the next page Jack Kerouac Thomas Merton the poems the journals the grave Brother Pat and me at Merton’s grave where I also stood with Lawrence Ferlinghetti 1993
and I’m searching for Jack Kerouac Moe’s bookstore Berkeley and yes in walks Chris Felver and a Felver entourage including nubile neo-Beats three young women walking their own Beat road a joyous reunion at Moe’s bookstore in Berkeley, California
determined to start a new life new beginning days and nights visiting Felver bridges cross bays endless miles of blue water turquoise sky islands boats birds fish prisons San Quentin Alcatraz trust fund yuppies homeless
the middle class is dead Reagan Bush Clinton Bush Jr killed the middle class
democracy is dying even on the left coast
if we fail to reach our democratic potential freedom and equality for all if we fail and we’re failing miserably failing democracy will move west continually west
go west young woman young man
the time of the grandmothers the time of the nurturing healing feminine energy has come patriarchy has sewn destruction long enough we must all female and male become healers peace love and understanding are not dirty weak words peace love and understanding are essential to our survival
rather than viruses let us be healer gardeners dwelling harmoniously with Mother Earth
and I’m searching for Jack Kerouac “the one who’ll shake the ones unshaken the fearless one the one without bullshit” and the Sunday morning church bells chime cross the distance I cast off the anxiety of authority of influence and make myself new breathing in salty sea breezes my lungs and heart are healed
writing the heart
I have escaped my mental sanctum where for too long I contemplated longing loss grief my complicated navel I have finally pulled my head outta my ass I am born again my new church is my body in which my soul dwells now
wherever I am I am in church
my soul my spirit my heart sing songs of praise I give thanks for each and every moment event person being I give thanks for the pain suffering joy happiness all and everything have brought me to this moment this fleeting moment
and before this line is written it will be gone gone gone into the past even right now lasts less than a moment
life flies by
no sense holding on to what is gone last breath will arrive soon enough
I am free
searching for Jack Kerouac Jan’s lost father their bones white bones buried coast to coast ghost to ghost I see them now holding hands far seeing staring at me from the other side Jack and Jan Kerouac staring at me writing this poem I hear Jack say
“The World really does not matter, but God has made it so, and so it matters in God, and He Hath Aims for it, which we cannot know without the understanding of obedience. There is nothing to do but give praise. This is my ethic of ‘art’…”
and searching for Jack Kerouac I realize that I don’t know anything nobody knows anything but I embrace this beautiful terrible mystery this mysterium tremendum called life and I declare that henceforth and forevermore I will do nothing but surrender my will to God and sing songs of praise of thanks of joy of happiness even if I die in a gutter with a bullet in my head I’ll die singing songs of praise
and I’m searching for Jack Kerouac Moe’s bookstore Berkeley Bird and Beckett Books City Lights Cafe Trieste Cafe Greco North Beach San Francisco Sausalito Mill Valley Oakland non-stop performances visits travels I bid farewell to ye oh holy far out left coast
and searching for Jack Kerouac on the plane I read
“…the only people that interest me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing…but burn, burn, burn like roman candles”
and on the plane by the window peering through the clouds I see Jack’s smiling face and he whispers from the distance
“One night in America when the sun had gone down beginning at four of the winter afternoon in New York by shedding a beautiful burnished gold in the air that made dirty old buildings look like the walls of the temple of the world…then outflying its own shades as it raced three thousand 200 miles over raw bulging land to the West Coast before sloping down the Pacific, leaving the great rearguard shroud of night to creep upon our earth, to darken rivers, to cup the peaks and fold the final shore in…”
I’m searching yes after all these years still searching for myself folding the final shore in still searching for the ever elusive Jack that’s right I said Jack Jack Kerouac I”m searching for Jack Kerouac
“Oh, Jesus had to walk that lonesome valley He had to walk, it for His’self There’s nobody else, could walk it for Him He had to walk, that valley for His’self
Oh yes, you got to walk, that lonesome valley Well, you got to walk, it for yourself There’s nobody else, can walk it for you You got to walk, that valley for yourself”
Good morning/afternoon/night! Whatever time it may be in your corner of the world, I wanted to let everyone know The Adventures of Brain Man by Ron Whitehead is now available! I’ll post today’s Featured Writer for y’all in a little while as well, putting it together now.
Ron Whitehead takes you on a journey across lands and through mindscapes in The Adventures of Brain Man. Searching for his “Other” brother, The Brain Man, who left home at seventeen for Oxford on an academic scholarship never to be seen again. Only heard about in news reports, magazine articles, and the occasional poem in various publications. After finding a mysterious and scathing letter about a book Brain had written in a secret part of the attic, Ron sets off to find his brother for answers. Ultimately finding himself in the end.
Cover Art: “Allfather” by Ryan Case Ink, acrylic paint on watercolor paper.
