Archive for 10/9/2010 - 1 Heshvan, 5771

The below information copied verbatim from posting to Yahoogroups list by the organizer of the event.

“DAY OF THE DEAD BEATS” CELEBRATES TENTH YEAR

St. Louis, MO. - On Thursday, November 2, at 8 PM, local literature lovers will crowd into Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Ave., Maplewood, MO 63143) to celebrate the poetry of the Beat Generation in the tenth annual “Day of the Dead Beats” festival. The event is free and open to those interested in the poetry, writing and spirit of The Beat Generation. Doors will open at 7 p.m.

Since the death of Allen Ginsberg in1997, the local “Day of the Dead Beats” evening has carried the torch for the radical and transcendental literary subculture pioneered by the Beat poets. By far the largest yearly Beat celebration in the region, “Day of the Dead Beats” invites local writers, actors, musicians and personalities to give live readings of the works of authors such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, Kenneth Rexroth, Peter Orlovsky, Bob Kaufmann, Gregory Corso and Herbert Huncke and even some of the still-living writers of the Beat Generation, such as Gary Snyder and Lawrence Ferlenghetti.

The event, started by Paul Thiel and others in 1997 following the deaths of Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, has continued every year since. Its title is a play on words incorporating the Mexican holiday, “Day of the Dead” (”Día de los Muertos”) and is a sort of remembrance of those who are gone but not forgotten.

This year’s lineup is as follows:

• Ann Haubrich (host of KDHX’s “Literature for the Halibut”) reading Jack Kerouac
• Stefene Russell (poet, actress, and 52nd City editor) reading Philip Lamantia
• Poet Ken Brown reading from the Yage’ Letters and other William S. Burroughs
• Performance artist Brett Williams reading Brion Gysin
• Kevin McCameron (St. Louis Poetry SLAM! master) reading Gregory Corso
• Brian Jackson (Former roommate of Greg Corso and friend of many Beat poets) telling shocking stories and reading Allen Ginsberg
• Bob Wilcox (theater and film critic and co-host of dhTV’s “Two on the Aisle”) reading Allen Ginsberg
• K. Curtis Lyle (St. Louis Warrior Poet) reading Bob Kaufmann
• “Bar Room” Bob Putnam (Way Out Club co-owner and KDHX personality) reading Herbert Huncke
• Aaron Belz (Observable Readings organizer) reading Kenneth Rexroth
• Paul Acker (poet and SLU professor) reading Lawrence Ferlinghetti
• Brett Underwood (organizer of Day of the Dead Beats, bartender and host of KDHX’s “The No Show”) ending the night with Charles Bukowski

Notes- For more information about “Day of the Dead Beats”, there’s a Yahoo! discussion group “Day of the Dead Beats” is part of the Observable Readings regular season calendar. Observable Readings are supported by grants from MAC and RAC as well as by funding from numerous private benefactors. Although there is no admission charge for this event, donations will be accepted at the door. All donations are tax-deductible. This will be “Day of the Dead Beats’” first year in a smoke-free environment.