Events at the Shop
Michael McClure - Beast Language
Tuesday 3 August 2004
One of the original Beats (he read, aged 22, with Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder at the 1955 Six Gallery reading in San Francisco, where Ginsberg first read Howl), Michael McClure was back in London for the first time in thirty years and gave an exclusive reading at the bookshop. Still a leading member of America’s counter cultural avant garde, McClure read from the entire spectrum of his work.
Introduction
Listen now (4:27)
Michael Hrbeniak introduces Michael McClure with a brief biographical sketch and a thematic overview of his work.
The Beginning
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McClure opens with the first poems he performed at the Six Gallery reading – ‘The Mystery of the Hunt’ and ‘For the Death of 100 Whales’.
“If You Can Remember the Sixties, You Probably Weren’t There”
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McClure reads selections from Ghost Tantras and his play The Beard, followed by several poems he wrote when he “became concerned we weren’t going to remember the sixties”.
Zen Practice
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McClure reads from Rebel Lions and from ‘Touching the Edge’, a series of 99 poems described as “a home video of the experience of learning to sit.”
Haiku Edge
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McClure reads a selection of haikus from ‘Haiku Edge’, taken from Rain Mirror, followed by ‘Spanish Roses’.
Recent Work
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- ‘Maybe Mama Lion’, for Ray Manzarek
- A selection from ‘Mysteriosos’, named after a composition by Thelonius Monk
- ‘Plumstones I’
- ‘Song’
Audience Questions
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McClure discusses his place in the Romantic tradition, his literary heroes, his acting career, the philosophical implications of genetic science, and his work with musicians, concluding with a track from his album with Terry Riley I Like Your Eyes Liberty.
Recorded and edited by Adrian Leibowitz and Brett Wilson
Common Custom:documentary & archive
Michael McClure is an American poet, playwright, songwriter and novelist. He was a key member of the Beat Generation, and continues to write and perform his poetry today. He has collaborated extensively with musicians such as Terry Riley and Ray Manzarek.
Further Reading
If you enjoyed this event, you may also be interested in:
Robert Chandler - Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk