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John Lennon’s image will appear on a commemorative coin issued in England thanks to a popular vote conducted by the Royal Mint. He joins other notable persons who have received this “honour,” including Shakespeare, Churchill, Darwin, and Florence Nightingale. If England can manage this kind of tribute for John Lennon,…
Read More »Legendary San Francisco poet and founder of City Lights Bookstore and publishing company Lawrence Ferlinghetti is a baseball fan, too. The card-carrying Beat writer and publisher of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” and several books by Jack Kerouac, including “Book of Dreams” and “Pomes All Sizes,” has a most fitting poem for this…
Read More »Thanks to Globe reporters Courtney Hollands and Nicole Cammorata for suggestions for last-minute Halloween costumes in today’s Boston Globe Calendar. Unfortunately, the photo was not included online. You have to see the hard copy of the paper for the full effect—the yoga mat is worn like a serape and marked…
Read More »Today’s NYTimes includes this article about the Harlem-based Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the NY Public Library acquiring a massive archive of papers from author and performer Maya Angelou. The story prompted me to recall Maya Angelou’s visit to Lowell in 1989 as a guest of Middlesex Community College. Following is…
Read More »Here’s the latest news about music and film producer Jim Sampas, a Lowell native and brother of our brilliant rh.com photographer-in-residence Tony Sampas.–PM (web photo courtesy of metrowestdailynews.com) Jim’s latest project is “Subterranean Homesick Blues: A Tribute to Bob Dylan’s ‘Bringing It All Back Home’,” which came out a few days ago on…
Read More »The Beat Museum in San Francisco posted a tribute to Jack Kerouac on his anniversary death day that includes great photos at Kerouac’s grave in Edson Cemetery just after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004. Here is the link. Also, today at 6 pm, the Lowell Celebrates Kerouac!…
Read More »The whole inside back page of the NYTimes Book Review today has an essay by Lee Siegel comparing the Tea Party with the Beats (Kerouac, Ginsberg, and the other Beat Generation writers of the 1950s and ’60s). The essay is a cultural stretch in many ways, but makes for surprising…
Read More »Tomorrow would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday if his life had not been taken away in December 1980. Recently, there’s been some talk in our community about Lowell and Liverpool, Kerouac and The Beatles, with similarities being pointed out. Lennon’s life and artistic legacy continue to generate interest and…
Read More »Today’s SUN includes an eloquently written article by Rita Savard about Jack Kerouac’s roots in Centralville, specifically St. Louis de France parish. She accompanied a group of people on a Sunday morning walking tour that was guided by the orginator of the tours of Kerouac literary sites, Roger Brunelle. He led four tours at this year’s Kerouac…
Read More »Here’s Paul Marion reading his poem, “Dylan Sings to Kerouac”, at Kerouac Park during this past weekend’s Jack Kerouac Literary Festival in Lowell, Massachusetts. (Video posted on YouTube by “spannedy”) [youtube]uuSfWNu9gMY[/youtube]
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