MEDIA ADVISORY For Immediate Release : March 14, 2013 Press information: Jessica Wolf 310.825.7789 [email protected] Image Library : www.cap.ucla/press-images
CAP UCLA Presents Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Kaddish,’ Live Staging Created by Hal Willner April 17 at Royce Hall
In collaboration with UCLA Library, a series of related events and exhibits further celebrate Beat culture in L.A.
Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA (CAP UCLA) presents the west coast debut and second-ever performance of Allen Ginsberg's Kaddish: A Hal Willner Project , which combines live original music, spoken word and visual art in Royce Hall Wednesday April 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets ($20-$50) are now available via cap.ucla.edu, Ticketmaster or at the UCLA Central Ticket Office (310. 825.2101).
In honor of Ginsberg’s influence as a Beat poet, and in honor of Los Angeles as a thriving artistic hub during the Beat era, CAP UCLA has collaborated with the UCLA Library to devise the multi-week, multi-event program titled “I’m a Stranger Here Myself,” which includes a variety of exhibits and events that delve into Los Angeles’ rich history of the Beat movement tied to the presentation of Kaddish .
Kaddish is legendary music producer Hal Willner’s live staging of the Allen Ginsberg poem of the same name. The piece is directed by Chloe Webb and features Willner and Webb performing the poem accompanied by a live score written and conducted by Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, along with a visual design that features projected paintings by “Gonzo” artist Ralph Steadman incorporated into a film by Chloe Webb.
An epic lament to Ginsberg’s loss of his mother and a reflection on his own estrangement from Judaism, Kaddish is a cornerstone of the Beat Generation and has been the inspiration to many artists past and present. This musical and visual journey into Kaddish showcases the unique conceptual energy of Hal Willner, whose off-kilter genius for creating multi-artist concept albums and live shows over the last 30 years has made him among the most original voices in music of his generation.
“I’m a Stranger Here Myself” features readings, lectures, talks, screenings and exhibits that showcase the rich cultural resources of the University. This immersive program explores the unique history and influence of Beat culture in Los Angeles and adds context and commemoration around the presentation of Ginsberg’s Kaddish .
Two free public multimedia exhibits will run on campus from April 11- June 14. “I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Poets in Post-WWII L.A.” will be housed in the UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections and will include historical photographs, manuscripts, recordings and correspondence that place the Beats within the complex and contentious literary context of Los Angeles during the McCarthy era.
The “Beats 101” exhibit will be installed in UCLA’s Powell Library Rotunda. It features books, journals, photos and audio—including a 1980s recording of Allen Ginsberg reading at Royce Hall—that provide an introduction into the Beats and the impact of Beat culture on L.A.
The “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” program also features several free Beat poetry-related events on campus—including a lecture and reception with poet and professor William Mohr, a viewing of Beat- related television footage from the UCLA Film and Television Archive and a panel discussion with leading L.A. poets about the ongoing influence of the post-war poetry scene in L.A.
There will be two ticketed events at Beyond Baroque in Venice, CA, co-sponsored by the UCLA Library, including a performance devoted to the work of Ginsberg, featuring photos, films, spoken word and live music as well as an evening of readings from local poets.
Details, dates and locations are included below and can be found at cap.ucla.edu/stranger.
In honor of April as national poetry month, CAP UCLA also celebrates the culmination of this year’s poetry-exploration initiative, “Who is the Poet in Your Life?”which solicited original poems from audience-goers based on a series of prompts. A selection of poems submitted this year will be published in the mini book Poems for All format and distributed to the Kaddish audience at Royce Hall.
Before the performance, CAP UCLA will host a book-making workshop and presentation from Poems for All creator Richard Hansen.
For more information, images or to request interviews with the artists involved in Allen Ginsberg’s Kaddish , please contact Jessica Wolf at [email protected] or 310.825.7789
For more information on the UCLA Library, please contact: Dawn Setzer at [email protected] or 310.825.0746.
For more information on CAP UCLA: www.cap.ucla.edu/about
“I’m a Stranger Here Myself” Full Schedule
Saturday, April 6 at 8 p.m. “Claiming Ginsberg -- An Evening of Allen Ginsberg and Friends” Beyond Baroque 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291 General admission $15 in advance through Event Brite (http://www.eventbrite.com) and $20 at the door; $10 for students and seniors; $8 for Beyond Baroque members
This evening features a mixed bag of photo essay, film, story, and poetry by and about Allen Ginsberg by poets and performers and a special musical guest. Presented by Eve Brandstein's Poetry in Motion. Organized by Beyond Baroque and co-sponsored by the UCLA Library
Thursday, April 11 at 4 p.m . “Becoming Beat and Post-Beat in L.A.: Strange Facts and Fictions About the Los Angeles Poetry Renaissance” Bonnie Cashin Lecture at the UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Main Conference Room Limited free seating; RSVP by April 4 to 310.206.8526 or [email protected] While the Beat movement in Los Angeles had vital, if underappreciated, outlets such as Venice West, even more noteworthy is how the aftermath of that initial cultural upheaval eventually generated a startling and unexpected renaissance of Southern California poets in the 1970s and ‘80s that continues to the present. Poet and professor William Mohr will address the erasure of L.A. literary history; the voices, institutions, and connections that characterized its literary milieu; the city as one of the most active sites for literary magazine production in the country; and the diverse poetic endeavors in Southern California that still linger as alternative models to both the Beats and academics. A reception and exhibit viewing will follow his talk.
April 11 – June 14 (Open Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.) “I’m A Stranger Here Myself” Poets in Post-WWII L.A. Free Exhibit at UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections Los Angeles was the third hub of the Beat movement, after San Francisco and New York. The Beat poets had important cultural associations and spent significant time in L.A. over several decades, but the vital literary environment L.A. generated after World War II is often overlooked. Using historical documents including photographs, manuscripts, recordings, and correspondence, this exhibit places the Beats within the complex and contentious literary context of L.A. during the McCarthy era. Its title is taken from “At the Station,” a poem by Los Angeles poet Don Gordon (1902-89), who made his name as a passionate and outspoken presence called before the U.S. House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee.
April 11 – June 14 (Open Mon.-Thurs. 7:30 a.m.-11 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 1-10 p.m.) Beat 101 Free Exhibit at the UCLA Powell Library Rotunda This exhibit will feature books, journals, photos, and audio providing an introduction to the Beats and the impact of Beat culture on L.A., including Ginsberg’s reading at Royce Hall in the 1980s.
Saturday, April 13 at 8 p.m. “Live Nude Poetry”: Los Angeles Poets Celebrate National Poetry Month Beyond Baroque 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291 $10 general admission, $6 students and seniors, free to Beyond Baroque members Hosted by Carlye Archibeque, this evening will feature L.A. poets reading their own work and work by departed local luminaries. Participants will include Will Alexander, Beyond Baroque poet-in-residence; Kamau Daaood, co-founder of the World Stage in Leimert Park; Eloise Klein Healy, L.A.’s first poet laureate and Beyond Baroque alumna; Suzanne Lummis, Los Angeles Poetry Festival founder; Harry Northrup, Beyond Baroque alumnus; and Holly Prado, Cahuenga Press co-founder. Organized by Beyond Baroque and co-sponsored by the UCLA Library.
Monday, April 15 at 1 p.m. Like, Dig: Beats in the UCLA Film and Television Archive UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Presentation Room Free, but limited seating; seating on a first-come basis Television Archivist Dan Einstein and Mark Quigley of the Archive Research and Study Center, both with the UCLA Film and Television Archive, will present a curated selection of vintage local and network television footage featuring beatniks, beat poets, and their hangouts in L.A., including the famous Ash Grove. Extensive archival clips of the real and the imagined Beat scene will be screened in glorious back and white from long-forgotten local documentary broadcasts and kitschy prime time programming of the 1950s and ‘60s, featuring Jack Kerouac, John Cassavetes, Lou Gottlieb, Vito Paulekas, and many others. No squares allowed. Organized by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and co-sponsored by the UCLA Library.
Tuesday, April 16 at 4 p.m. “A Chaos of Creativities:” L.A. Poets Talk About History UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Presentation Room Free, but space is limited; RSVP by April 12 310.206.8526 or [email protected] James Boyer May, editor of the Los Angeles-based magazine Trace, used the phrase “a chaos of creativities” in 1958 to describe an L.A. poetry scene characterized by “intense individualities.” Leading L.A. poets will discuss what it was like to associate with the important figures of the post-World War II literary scene and how that historical period has influenced their lives and work. Panelists will include Wanda Coleman, Richard Modiano, William Mohr, Estelle Gershgoren Novak, Julia Stein, and Paul Vangelisti, and the panel will be moderated by Susan D. Anderson, curator of Collecting Los Angeles, and Jane Collings, series coordinator in the Center for Oral History Research, both at the UCLA Library. A reception will follow.
Saturday, April 27; 8 p.m. “The Holy Barbarians:” The Beat Scene in Los Angeles, 1950-2013 Beyond Baroque 681 Venice Blvd., Venice, CA 90291 $10 general admission, $6 students and seniors, free to Beyond Baroque members Hosted by S. A. Griffin, Beat and post-Beat L.A. poets Pegerty Long, Steve Abee, Doug Knott, Bob Branaman, Frankie Rios, and Ellyn Maybe will read their own works as well as poems by seminal Venice Beats including Philomene Long, Stuart Perkoff, John Thomas, Alexander Trocchi, Tony Scibella, and post-Beat Scott Wannberg. Organized by Beyond Baroque and co-sponsored by the UCLA Library
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