The ABZ of WESSEN: An Alphabetical Autobiography by Peter Eric Wessen

by Peter Eric Wessen, Natalie Urbano (Editor), Steven Urbano (Editor)

With this rich autobiography, one the of the last of the Silent Generation is silent no longer. PETER ERIC WESSEN was a portraitist, icon breaker of the arts, poet, novelist, bookseller, educator, printer, encyclopedist, critic, raconteur, bibliographer, publisher (he invented the concept of the free shopper tabloid), bartender and taxi driver. The trajectory of the life of Peter Eric Wessen AKA Pedro de la Montaña, touched many of the major events and players of his generation. Attended high school in Florida with mass-murderer Charles Whitman (the Texas Tower Sniper). Rubbed shoulders with superstar Burt Reynolds in Hollywood while trying to develop a vehicle for Wessen’s self-created “Gator” cartoon character. Made sandwiches for a US Supreme Court Justice. Attended Catholic masses with the Kennedys. Locked horns with American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell The ABZ of Wessen covers topics such as his views on spirituality, Catholic pacifism, the Beatniks, poetry, modern art, jazz, the Kennedys, marriage, his obscurity and monastic-like poverty, whiskey, and travels in Europe and the Americas. A novelist, poet and one-time candidate (along with Tennessee Williams) for poet laureate of Florida, Despite being a self-described cynic, Pete was kind, and one of a kind. As Jack Kerouac once said to Peter Eric Wessen, “Thanks, man!” We thank him too, for leaving this engaging memoir, a book of his times and for our times. Beat, but not beaten. Pedro de la Montaña speaks for his generation, the Beats, in one final testament. He has left us his life, lived deeply, broadly, and beautifully, from A to Z. -STEVE URBANO, Second Editor ADVANCE READERS • “An unsung modern artist paints his final self-portrait in words.” • “Unflinchingly truthful, deeply insightful, written with the charm of a natural story-teller.” • “It’s like spending a pleasant evening talking to a friend about his life.” • “Genial, and a remarkable work that’s close to the classic memorialists of previous generations.” • “A triumph!”

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 7, 2021