Hey Digesters!
Greetings from Big Sur!
Some news items from down the coast: After some pretty harrowingly heavy winds—check out the scene at Nepenthe to the right!—the Library is thankfully intact.
Iguana John, however, may be coming down with a cold. (He had two oranges and it sleeping it off.) Mike is trying to resuscitate his old iPod. Jack (Kerouac) remains pleasant; Alice (in Wonderland) remains aloof and isn't returning calls.
Magnus, meanwhile, is heading to Chicago on March 9 to talk about his exploits sailing around the world! Tell your Windy City friends!
Lastly, unlike previous Digests (Digsti?), this one will employ highlighted numerical footnotes rather than asterisks (1) whenever we want to make an enlightening and/or smarmy (2) comment.
But enough of our yammering. Here's your February Digest!
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Emil White's response to Henry... You may recall that I had a mental block against bringing out this Guide. Then, hoping for a “shot in the arm”, I asked you to write something for it. Came your “Big Sur in retrospect” which “finished” me completely. It made me sink into a deep, inhibiting lethargy from which l thought I’d never emerge. I sensed some thing wrong in your reproaches, but decided to forget about the whole thing and went on a reading spree lasting several months. Thus I came across an article by the Russian Poet Yevtushenko in which he wrote: “A writer has two problems to face. The first one is being unknown. The second is success. That’s not a very original thought, but it’s true.” Immediately I was reminded of your own statement to this effect. In fact you had devoted more than one chapter to these problems. And then it dawned upon me where the “retrospection went astray”. Namely you forgot that the visitors you were talking about, the ones you couldn’t abide, were not the average tourists, but your so-called “fans”. (continued here!)
PS.
The next Digest will be looking for the answer to this perennial question:
What and Where is Big Sur? (another episode of the Circle of Enchantment!)
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|  | Helen Morgenrath, Eve Miller Ross and June Farber at the Big Sur Potluck Review: Anno 1964.
A Note from Helen Morgenrath's daughter Celia Sanborn :
Yes, the Aztec high priestess', I remember it so well, I was 11 at the time and we lived at Rocky Creek. Big Surs raving beauties. Mom was 38 !! (I think Evie and June were similar in age) I don't know how they kept straight faces!!!! Most of the skits were hilarious even the ones like this which appeared to be so solemn! | |
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"Nexus" #12 is out!Volume 12 of "Nexus," the International Henry Miller Journal is out, and it is spectacular. (3)This installment contains contains 8 individual contributions including a selection of letters (1965 – 1972), written by June [Miller] Corbett to Henry Miller (with Introduction and Notes by Eric D. Lehman), an essay on the publications of Aller Retour New York (by Wayne E. Arnold), the writings of Henry Miller and Djuna Barnes (by John Clegg), and more...including Katy Masuga's piece on the...ahem...Henry MIller Memorial Library! (worth reading!)
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A Chat with Maria PopovaEvery now and then, we check in with Maria Popova, author, blogger, and Miller champion. (4)Her new book is “Figuring," which explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries She recently sat down the New York Times to talk about, children's books, what's currently on her nightstand, and more!! Read the whole thing!
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Thank you, Big Sur Food & Wine!Above are some photos of the award ceremony at the Big Sur Roadhouse featuring other local recipients—of which there were many (click here!)
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Happy Birthday, Lawrence Ferlinghetti!On Sunday, March 24th, 2019, City Lights Booksellers & Publishers will celebrate the life and legacy of founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti who turns 100 that day.
The public is invited to an open house birthday party at City Lights Bookstore from 1-5 pm. Throughout the month of March, it’ll be commemorating Ferlinghetti’s milestone with events at City Lights and partner institutions. Go here for the complete schedule of events!
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A very memorable visit...There's a man standing by the gate, the West Coast Championship Poetry Slam is in full swing, a note, (see left/above) gets delivered to Magnus who at the time is sweating it out on the judge's table adding scores!
What? Lawrence is here! Perfect! Many poets and poetry fans will be happy to see him! Magnus quickly goes up to the gate to find Lawrence with his pockets turned inside out saying he has no money for the cover charge!
Oh! Please, no worries be our guest!!!
The Slam stopped in its tracks and Lawrence graciously gave us all a wonderful short speech! (-:
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Neil Young played the Library!
Neil Young's performance at the Library on June 22, 2007 is a lot like the Bee Gees' last public performance as a trio— February 23, 2002 at the Love and Hope Ball in Miami Beach—in that it was a profoundly memorable event, but there's surprisingly little photographic evidence (5) that it actually occurred.
Until now. Check out this weird photo of Neil at the Library from the bowels of the Internet! Also, for all your archivists out there: Neil did not perform solo; rather he sat in with his then-wife Peggi Young on the song "Love is Like Water."(6)
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Rest in peace, Peter Tork...Peter Tork, the late multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, vocalist, and original member of ground-breaking ’60s band the Monkees, passed away on February 21st. The most talented musician in the Monkees — proficient on bass, piano, organ, guitar, and even French horn — his chops were all over the group’s best two albums — Headquarters and its follow-up, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (7) Click here for a great piece on Tork's career by Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield.
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Hey thanks for reading! See you next month
Love, Magnus, Mike, Iguana John, Jack (Kerouac), and Alice (in Wonderland) (8)
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1 - Asteri? 4 - Maria also visited the Library a few years back. Mike rang her up!
7 - The latter being one of the Top 20 records from the 60s. 8 - Why, just today, a visitor properly guessed that Jack was named after Jack Kerouac; unfortunately, he guessed that Alice was named after Alice B. Toklas, (9) which, while incorrect, definitely adheres to the vibe. 10 - The highly underrated Harpers Bizarre hail just up the road in Santa Cruz.
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