Remembering
the rain
San Francisco (artwork by Tom Killian) |
SAN FRANCISCO … It’s been a delight to be back in the City of my
birth, hanging out with my street poet friend, Kush.
I’m with a film crew from the Czech
Republic, thanks to the
interest and generosity of Pam and John Lifton-Zoline. We are beginning to film
a documentary with a very express purpose. We want to find a home for Kush’s incredible archive of videotaped poetry
performances in the Bay Area over the last 40 years, plus a more than generous
helping of rare books and literary artifacts. It’s an incredible collection. Weighty
tomes and ephemeral broadsides, most signed by the authors – Gary Snyder, Allen
Ginsburg, Michael McClure, Phil Whalen, Kenneth Rexroth, Diana DiPrima. And one-of-a-kind
tapes of poetry readings, including the voices of long dead masters – Lew
Welch, Bob Kaufman, Jack Kerouac, Lenore Kandel. It’s more extensive than any
university archive. And precariously located in a second-floor flat in a seedy
part of town, stacked floor to ceiling, the paint peeling from the
fire-scorched walls … If any record of America’s literary past deserves
preservation, this collection does.
Kush in the Cloud House on Franklin St. |
But Kush
has refused to sell out his treasure for fortune or fame. He has a vision of a
living museum of exhibits and installations that will make these seminal works
come to life. And so far he hasn’t been able to connect with any group willing
to make that happen … So, a few of the friends of Cloud House – as he calls his
visionary endeavor – have been working to see if we can help that happen before
disaster strikes and the collection is lost. The urgency is all the stronger
hearing of what happened to psychedelic guru Terence McKenna’s books and papers
– all lost in a fire in Santa Cruz just last year … So, I flew out to meet Austrian
Alexander “Sascha” Stipsits and Bosian Ćazim Dervišević – intrepid filmmakers
-- to see if we could coax a moving story out of Kush and his invaluable collection.
Working with visionaries is no easy task. But it’s been a lovely wild ride.
Participating in a “cultural occupy” demonstration in front of MOMA – San Francisco’s Museum
of Modern Art. Hanging
out and doing film interviews in Vesuvio’s legendary bar in North Beach.
Spending hours talking and looking through the apartment-turned-warehouse where
Kush lives with him 90+-year-old mother and a collection that takes up all but
a small path between bed, bathroom and kitchen …
Filming a "Cultural Occupy" demo at the Yerba Buena Center downtown |
There’s no room for visitors
at Kush’s place and our budget is tight, so the filmmakers found a cheap hotel nearby
and I’ve been couch-surfing. Which has really been a blessing. I’ve been able
to connect with many old friends from different periods of my life – seminary
buddies, old lovers, poetry colleagues and newer mushroom festival friends. And
free of the automobile, I’ve been using public transit, which in San Francisco is
marvelous. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) whisks one back and forth across the
Bay and down to the Peninsula. MUNI (the
City’s Municipal Railway) gets one conveniently from one neighborhood to
another. And being a senior, I ride the Muni for a mere 75 cents (wonderful to
finally take advantage of being an oldster). Plus, for a City, the downtown is
very compact and walking from Chinatown to North Beach
to Polk Gulch has been enjoyable and fascinating (just the energy and sights
are invigorating) …
Filming Kush on Corona Heights |
Only one thing has marred the experience. The rain. Just
our luck, it seems Pacific storms have been hitting the coast non-stop after a
long dry spell, and it’s rained almost every day we’ve been here … As wonderful
as the City is, as intriguing the culture and connections, the weather reminds
me why I moved to Colorado and why it’s unlikely I would ever move back to the
coast … I hope we can find Kush’s archive a home. I’m glad to be part of this
endeavor, but I have to admit – I can’t wait to get back to the sunshine of
Lone Cone and the Wilson
Range.
Sunshine on the San Juans |
SAN JUAN COUNTY … Following in our footsteps of limiting development in the fragile
high country, Commissioner Pete McKay was able to convince his two conservative
colleagues into adopting new land use regulations that limit cabin sizes to 750
square feet above 11,000 feet, with the possibility of an additional 250 sq.
ft., if they can meet viewshed, materials, height and siting criteria. The new
rule addresses the 3000 patented mining claims in the alpine area of their county
that could be developed, although only about 1,100 are actually buildable, due
to geology, avalanches and other hazards … However, a more ambitious limitation
that would have downsized house sizes below 11,000 feet to 2000 square feet
maximum snagged multiple objections, in spite of a unanimous endorsement by the
county planning commission. Both Commissioners Ernie Kuhlman and Terry Rhoades
weren’t comfortable with that regulation, and so it didn’t pass … But San Juan
County’s new cabin size limitations in the high county, like our own San Miguel
County regs, are a great start for preventing the other side of our alpine
region from being heavily developed with outsize trophy homes.
Velocity Basin in San Juan County (Photo by Pete McKay) |
POSTCARD POEMS … Here’s a delightful retro practice for those of you old enough to remember
the correspond-dance of snail mail (as it’s now diminutively known in the Cyber
Era). This week’s Talking Gourd is from a poet friend who sends me postcards
with little poems on them. And, tag – it’s my turn to reply in kind.
THE TALKING GOURD
Dear Wild
If only I, too, could get out into that
awesome wilderness more. Winter is
stealing my breath & making me small.
I need to heave off this backpack of
great sadness – it’s too big for snow.
But then, that too melts with little kiss
promises, & golden sun bits, & patches
of green light in my thick fur – it’s still
the time of cold waiting
-Galaxy
Earth Dancer
Crestone
Ophir's season of cold waiting (Kandee DeGraw photo) |
wow, Kush is amazing, and the archive sounds incredible!
ReplyDeleteyep, kush is amazing and the archive invaluable...
ReplyDelete