Ancient Acid Flashes Back: Poems

by Adrian C. Louis

Ancient Acid Flashes Back  is the true story of one who was there—--and remembers--—through the cloying marijuana haze, around the jagged edges of L.A. cross tops and crystal cranks, on wild windowpane trips, in the sweetness and sweat of tangled young bodies, in the stench of stale vomit and fresh garbage, in the raucous laughter of desperation and fear. In this remarkable collection of poems, Adrian Louis, a member of the Paiute tribe, beams us back to the Haight during the Summer of Love and beyond on an inimitable tour of the wild side of youth, freedom, and possibility.

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Adrian C. Louis is a Lovelock Paiute author from Nevada now living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He has taught at Oglala Lakota College. His novel Skins (1995) discusses reservation life and issues such as poverty, alcoholism, and social problems and was the basis for the 2002 film, Skins. He has also published books of poetry and a collection of short stories, Wild Indians and Other Creatures (1996). His work is noted for its realism.

Reviews

[Johnny Cordova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adrian C Louis at the peak of his powers. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve enjoyed a book of poetry as much as I enjoyed Ancient Acid Flashes Back.

[Doug Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deja vu all over again - half-breed in Haight '68: kind of sad, stony, horny pilgrimage; some good poems, mostly pretty bad, but one renewed my connection with Bob Kaufman, great Black Gypsy Jazz Mad Poet

[hh · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked a great many parts of this collection, but in places the weight of the author remembering gets in the way of the content (poetically and narratively) in ways that didn't draw me further in.