The Beat Museum’s “Beatnik Shindig” to be held in North Beach and at Fort Mason Center is the largest Beat Generation Conference to be held in twenty years. The last big Beat event was organized by Allen Ginsberg himself in 1995 at NYU in New York City.
The event will run the weekend of June 26, 27 & 28, 2015. The Beatnik Shindig will commence with a Friday evening welcome party in North Beach and sessions will run all day Saturday and all day Sunday at Fort Mason. It will be educational, fun, inspiring and historic. Most events are ticketed and some are free of charge.
Inspiration
The event has been designed to appeal to a broad audience: novices, experts, scholars and casual observers alike. It will be a great opportunity for Beat fans to gather, network and interact. There is a huge interest in The Beat Generation today, especially with younger people, likely because the themes of The Beats are timeless – travel, exploration, a search for self, sexual identity and a spiritual quest.
The Beats blazed the trail on: racial equality, gender equality, gay & lesbian rights, environmentalism and saving the planet. They were focused on all of these issues decades before they became mainstream.
And The Beats influenced everyone – starting with Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Because they were the first group of non-conformists to come of age with electronic media (radio & television) their message went around the world.
Featured Speakers
David Meltzer – original Beat
ruth weiss – original Beat (note ruth always spells both her first & last names lower case)
The children of Neal & Carolyn Cassady (Cathy, Jami & John Allen Cassady)
Al Hinkle – friend of Cassady, Kerouac & Ginsberg and featured as Big Ed Dunkel in “On The Road”
David Amram – internationally acclaimed musician & composer and featured in the 1959 cult film Pull My Daisy with Kerouac & Ginsberg
Dr. Philip Hicks – the psychiatrist who in 1955 told Allen Ginsberg it was OK to be gay and quit his job & write poetry – this led to the writing of Howl
Gerd Stern – the man blamed for 50 years as the person who “lost” the famous Neal Cassady “Joan Anderson Letter” that has recently resurfaced and is expected to eventually be sold for millions of dollars.
Also Including
Beat Biographers & Historians
Professors & Teachers
Writers, Musicians, Film Makers
Dozens of Poets
Music, Movies, Symposia, Panel Discussions, Beat Celebrities and more –
Free Events at the Friends of the SFPL’s Reader’s Bookstore
Poetry Writing Workshop
Young Scholars Discussing The Beats
How to Self-Publish in 2015
The Politics of Poetry
Developing Your Authentic Reading Voice
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