Liberation Lit discussion

I have always wondered why the music scene of the sixties and seventies never seemed to permeate literature to any great degree. Any thoughts?

Must check that one out. I knew this would unearth some treasures I was unaware of!

Thank you for inviting me to join this group. I shall follow the discussion with interest and hopefully have something to contribute.

Hi, Group, look forward to seeing what's up.

I've seen some woodstock poems--nothing as good as Joni Mitchell's Woodstock song.

It just seems that perhaps because there was so much celebratory music at the time that novelists do not see a need to tell those stories. But a song can never equal the complexity of layering that a novel is capable of, the subtlety and depth. But I love the music too!

The odd thing, maybe it's an odd thing, is that I never felt a need to read a novel about the 60s, woodstock, the Chicago 7, the yippies, hitchhiking to california, etc. I was too busy hitchhiking to california, etc. I didn't feel that way about the lit that came before it. I was crazy about Kerouac (did a book on him in grad school) and the beats and read all of that. So that even in the 60s and early 70s I was looking back to that older stuff. As were most of my friends. What finally woke me to something new was the crazy fiction of the 60s/70s--postmodern stuff by Pynchon, John Barth, Robert Coover. None of whom wrote about the 60s per se--although for me they did capture a crazy urgency.

John, well I hope you like mine. http://brianheffron.net/brianheffron.... I too was hitchhiking around and now I think that story needs to be told. And speaking of hitchhiking here is the Preface: https://sites.google.com/site/emoshun...

Hey, Brian, thanks. I'll take a look. I play around with the idea of writing a memoir of the 60s and in fact I've got journals and journals of material but looking over it I keep wanting to reprimand my old self for not keeping better notes--more details!

Yes, I kept a pretty detailed journal during the 70's and that helped a lot. But I was also at Emerson College at the time, in their BFA writing program with Russel Banks as my writer in Residence...and he made us all start a novel...Colorado Mandala is mine. I finally finished it. :)

I like the preface--the memories it evoked, the sense you and I have about the kindness of those who picked us up. And the innocence of some of them. I remember getting a ride and then spending hours trying to convince the young mother of 2 (driving from San Francisco to Chicago with her babies in the car) not to pick up hitch hikers especially those standing on a dark road in the middle of the desert.

EXACTLY! It was a different time. People were softer to each other. The streets were dirty but the people were clean. Literally, every stranger was a friend you had not met yet.

Thank you, John BTW!

Dianne wrote: "There is. Goodbye Emily is a wonderful book with Woodstock at the forefront. It's by Michael Murphy and well worth the read. And thanks for having me in the group!"

Diane ~ it was a wonderful road trip and I cried often reading this treasure

John wrote: "I've seen some woodstock poems--nothing as good as Joni Mitchell's Woodstock song."

You are so right John... Joni said it all for Woodstock

Brian wrote: "EXACTLY! It was a different time. People were softer to each other. The streets were dirty but the people were clean. Literally, every stranger was a friend you had not met yet."
Yess Brian a different era but never forgotten we need some Woodstock to remind it was how it was...

Brian wrote: "I have always wondered why the music scene of the sixties and seventies never seemed to permeate literature to any great degree. Any thoughts?"

Brian wrote: "I have always wondered why the music scene of the sixties and seventies never seemed to permeate literature to any great degree. Any thoughts?"

Brian there are some glorious mentions of Woodstock in a lot of books that I've read, they are out there...

And a big thank you for including me...

Thanks, Cynthia! And so welcome! I guess I missed a bunch of good books with music festivals within them! BTW, Any book anyone thinks worthy of mentioning in regard to this era, from then or now, please let me know the title and I will add to our "Bookshelf".

Although Woodstock's main impact was in the US it reverberated around the world - even impacting on our tiny New Zealand culture. I was a teenager at the time and Joni Mitchell's anthem was everywhere.
In terms of the music of the 60"s & 70"s not permeating our literature - this is true. But the music liberated a generating from the constructs of the previous generation(and my mother's generation likewise through rock n roll). So although the music is not recorded sufficiently in literature the essence of it lives on.

Brian wrote: "I have always wondered why the music scene of the sixties and seventies never seemed to permeate literature to any great degree. Any thoughts?"

I think two things: first, the most relevant 60s-70s music took the form of word-of-mouth journalism, which was in competition with the mainstream media -and often opposed to it. There was very little attempt during those years to step back and take a grander view of the 60s by either musicians or journalists during the next 15-20 years.

Second, the sixties imploded socially and politically, leaving most of the progressive proponents of that time with little to talk about, except...failure. And the conservative elements wanted to either gloat over progressive failure or to espouse time-worn conservative ideas again.

But...

there have been a couple of good nonfiction books on that era (whether you consider them literature or not, both are broad-scope journalism of the finest type). One is THE SIXTIES - YEARS OF HOPE, DAYS OF RAGE, by Todd Gitlin and 1968 - THE YEAR THE DREAM DIED, by Jules Witcover.

Gitlin's book was published in 1987, Witcover's in 1997. So even with the era's most insightful observers, it took until almost 1990 for perspective to gel.

Bob, I will add those two titles to the bookshelf.

As you insightfully point out, it is interesting that the (often gonzo) journalism of the time seemed to take the place of novels to express the era to a certain extent. I mean all of Tom Robbins and Hunter Thompson's works are a bit over the top, whether fiction or non-fiction. This fits in with your thesis that it was a journalistic moment and not a novelist's one. But perhaps the moment to reflect back on this explosive era has NOW arrived for fiction? This is my thesis.

Lynette: You are so right. The music of the liberation era circled the globe and united an entire generation in song. From the Beatles to the Eagles, the youth of the period all sang the same anthems.

Brian wrote: "Bob, I will add those two titles to the bookshelf.

As you insightfully point out, it is interesting that the (often gonzo) journalism of the time seemed to take the place of novels to express the..."

I think you're right, Brian. The time was so radical that the social and political blessing for much of what was proposed at that time is only now coming due. Says a lot about the lag time, particularly of political acceptance of issues, doesn't it?

Yes, exactly, Bob. Now that enough time has elapsed, and tolerance of differing views is now a majority position in America (see recent poles), perhaps it is finally time for our artists to re-examine the liberation period that started the removal of all this oppression in the first place? To go back and reevaluate the validity of the "hippie" movement that brought on this trend towards tolerance; Could Liberation Lit bring on a hippie Renaissance? It seems the kids of today are already very curious about this time.

Hi folks! Thanks for inviting me Mr. B. i thought i might put my 2 cents worth... I think that the Hippie/baby boom generation was so busy Living outside themselves in the social milieu of Woodstock, & the excitement of the moment (drugs, sex, music, angst over draft, war, etc) that there weren't many who actually took the time to reflect. I think that this is the time, when baby boomers are nearly gone,that many of them will reflect on those times & hopefully some great works will be found in the next (& last) 20 years before we all start to kick off.
Mind you: i haven't read the others' comments, this is merely my inclination...

Brian wrote: "Yes, exactly, Bob. Now that enough time has elapsed, and tolerance of differing views is now a majority position in America (see recent poles), perhaps it is finally time for our artists to re-exam..."

I just read both links (above) about your book, and one theme seems to me to rise above the others, even in some comments here on Goodreads - roads. I works for a number of years as a highway engineer, and I did much more than put them on paper and look out the window at them - I drove them. Planned trips, and on impulse. It was a way, as Jim Morrison said, a way to unravel.
From the time of ON THE ROAD to your book, roads are both a physical conveyance and a metaphor for American wanderlust - always looking, seeking, hoping something better lies over the horizon.

What you propose in a literary revaluation of that time is intriguing, but I think it has to follow the road metaphor; it has to look to the thrill of the moment, but it also has to look to the horizon, to a dream always in the process of being fulfilled.
I've written a novel I haven't yet been able to see published about a group of sixties people lost in today's realities, a rather dystopian look at the "old hippies" remaining out there. But the ideas of that time, particularly the alternative communities - you're right, they still reach out to youth dissatisfied with the persistence of 'forties and 'fifties culture in these United States.
Boy, I could talk about this all day.....

Welcome Lydia Elle! We are in accord...I think that there is a genuine need across the American reading public for a re-evaluation of the 60's and 70's in literature: what I am calling Liberation Lit.

This re-evaluation is desperately needed first by the baby boomers who are seeking a final closure for a still open wound in our society loosely called the "generation gap,"and also by many of our young readers who are utterly curious and intrigued to find out just exactly happened back then?!? What was all the fuss about?

Repression of civil rights, the rise of woman's rights and gay rights, and the first protests of the American war/death culture were all born during this period, and only now have come to fruition, (or closer anyway)...so there is a thirst to find out where all these movements began and how...

Bob wrote: "Brian wrote: "Yes, exactly, Bob. Now that enough time has elapsed, and tolerance of differing views is now a majority position in America (see recent poles), perhaps it is finally time for our arti..."

Bob:

I totally agree with your point of an American "Road" standing in as the symbol of America's forward progress towards its ideals during this era. In fact, the maxim for my new novel, Colorado Mandala actually addresses your point head-on and directly. It is: "finding in motion what was once in place".

This is because I believe that one of the effects of the Liberation Lit period was the fragmenting of the family and that this was facilitated by the ability of the children to actually pick up and leave home at a much earlier age than ever before. They could simply get on the highway and hitchhike away. This freed millions of kids of that time to go and visit places they never would have dreamed of going to in previous generations. From Colorado to San Francisco new places filled up with wandering kids searching for a new way of living that did not involve so much materialism and that would relink with nature and not purely the pursuit of profit. Kerouac's "On The Road" was their guide and the horizon their destination...

Brian wrote: "Bob wrote: "Brian wrote: "Yes, exactly, Bob. Now that enough time has elapsed, and tolerance of differing views is now a majority position in America (see recent poles), perhaps it is finally time ..."

As I read your post here and think back to that time, I remember it really being a world-wide phenomenon. People could travel on Eurail all over the continent, and cheap, plentiful air accommodations allowed kids to crawl all over the world, even the odd places: Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Arabia, Madagascar, etc.

Note: put my memories into a book similar to Colorado Mandala, and I'll join the LibLit movement. Keep me posted, Brian.

Bob wrote: "Brian wrote: "Bob wrote: "Brian wrote: "Yes, exactly, Bob. Now that enough time has elapsed, and tolerance of differing views is now a majority position in America (see recent poles), perhaps it is..."

I sure will, Bob. And wish me luck. If you have a moment, a youth magazine in the south decided to publish my Preface to Colorado Mandala and it is here if you might want to take a look...I think it sums up what we mean pretty well: https://sites.google.com/site/emoshun...

I did read that yesterday; it does sum things up really well. Think I'll post it on my blog along with some verbiage of what you're about with LibLit.

More than happy to help you get the word out.

Thanks! I think this change can be directly related to the Liberation era time period and the ideals it gave birth to. The new communication technologies are an example of the tools that this generation created to make this happen. And the rise of the feminine is also another example of things changing towards tolerance.

You're right again Brian. The next technology, as it appeared in the Arab Spring, helped do an end run around mainstream media and politics in fomenting (the beginning of) those changes there.

Just posted on my blog about your idea:
http://bobmust.wordpress.com/2013/04/...

Thank you, Bob. That is a sweet post and sums up my idea very succinctly! Perhaps we've started something here:)

Yeah, great idea, Brian. Stir the 'Sixties embers and maybe there'll be fire.

Bob, I don't want to repeat myself, but when I was doing research for events at bookstores for Colorado Mandala I always asked if they carried any other contemporary books written about this era. NONE. Drop City was about the only thing people could come up with and that was written ages ago.

There is a absolute desert of literature about the 60'sand 70's. Now is the time for the authors who lived through that period to tell their stories:

How did we get here culturally? Commercial TV has created too many false myths about people back then in vertical striped black and white jeans and paisley shirts! Readers want to know what the actual period of the Social Liberation of the 60's and 70's was trully like...not some "Dragnet" caricature of "hippies" talking funny and saying "Man" every third word.:)))

Please take a look at Bob's post to see what we are trying to establish with the notion of Liberation Lit: http://bobmust.wordpress.com/2013/04/...

Yeah. Gotta get past the BS...hope our memory is as good as the time deserves.

Bob wrote: "Yeah. Gotta get past the BS...hope our memory is as good as the time deserves."

Bob, In the hope that my memory of that time did serve me well, and in a blatant (if somewhat egotistical) attempt to influence your literary taste, I now provide you with a link to the first half chapter of Colorado Mandala: http://www.brianheffron.net/brianheff...

I do this hoping that perhaps your own creative core might be intrigued and stimulated enough to reach back down into your own memory of those distant daze for a tale of that time that might still be rattling around your own brain, or heart, still exact and luscious in its every detail? :)

Hi folks, Brian:

Just stopped in before i go to the gym. I reviewed a book that was the second in a trilogy. The writer, John Shields, does not directly speak of woodstock or the hippie movement, but he is definitely one of them by association.

What I mean by that is that his narrative is about the consciousness of someone moving through that time. In that way, it is truly literature associated with the 60s.

I think I have the review on my Goodreads page, but if I don't I'll post it here in a bit.

Perfect.One of the ambitions of this string is to compile a reading list of books that do address that era, so that is great, and thank you.

I do not want this to be all about my work! So, do any of you other authors feel you may have a story in you from this period? I know John indicated above that he might like to try a kind of journal of the period, whom he met and where he went. My friend Ben Sharpton has written a wonderful book called "7 Sanctuaries" which is about a small Florida town in the grips of all that social change. What was your life like then?

Could "The Help" be considered Liberation Lit?

Hi Brian. I did attend Woodstock and it was a n experience that will stay with me always but I have never had the desire to put that experience into print but who knows what the future will bring.
I did just connect on Linkedin with Michael Murphy who wrote "Return to Woodstock" and two other novels relating to that period. A sort of Woodstock trilogy. I thought that you would like to know about them especially since these days book distribution especially by bookstores (which are becoming fewer every day) is rather hit and miss.
Imagine if everyone who had attended were to write a book - what a flood of literature that would be!

What is curious to me is how everyone's story is similar, which deduces to me that this "outside" story is more of a media coverage, NOT some of the real stories, but only the symptoms of or reactions to the 60s. The parties, the hitchhiking, drugs, music at woodstock, Kerouac's experiences, and so forth are NOT the stories real literature is made of, I think. Those events were merely curtains on the windows, if you will.

There are stories of some whose experiences were those of latent consciousness, a battle of two opposing belief systems in America, and the changing of the guard from the atomic family to "devil may care" variegated Americans finding either new hope, or loss of foundational tenets they used to cling to, and whose lives did not reflect at all the faux pas of the more noticeable media coverages of the hippies, who were mostly either rich college kids or educated rebels relinquishing their family values. I'd like to read how the 60s opened a can of psychological, emotional, and religious worms in even ONE TRUE LIFE.

That's my contribution today, & i'm sticking to it! Lol!

Well, Lydia, that's throwing down the gauntlet. I like the "battle between two belief systems." That synopsizes my story, for sure.

Haha! I KNEW IT! And from what I've already read of your contributions Bob, I KNOW you've got a good story in you, ONE TRUE LIFE!

I have also, and I've been working on it since the mid 1970s, still apprehensive about how people will take it. Brian is so right about the Baby Boomers, and closure & this generation's curiosity of why it was such a big deal. You realize there will be a whole other generation who'll want to do their dissertations on the 60s... Let's give them what they need!

Lydia - Why do I feel like a cockroach caught on the kitchen wall when the lights came on??!?

You've really got to write faster than that - okay let's have a bet. I'm finishing up a novel now. So let's say...I'll start on my 60s novel by July, and you have to have yours finished before I finish mine. Last one finished has to buy a book from the other.

Whaddya say?

How about this? Let's just buy each other's books, then review them, (and that way we'll make a stir!!) I can be a real good back scratcher! LOL!

How was that, was that fast enough? LOL!

I wanted to add something here, for Brian, and anyone else who may like to analyze my review on a friend's book I reviewed on Amazon, and my blog, (I'll give you my blog of course) which is on my website (hehehe):

www.lydianolan.com

What is good about my friend John Shield's book is that it resonates with me even after years (he wrote it in 2008, I read it and reviewed it on my original IBC site in 2010, but just put it up on Amazon because I couldn't find it!!)

I have yet to find someone who has a story similar to mine (maybe that's a good thing, but not sure, may just be a boring life, lol)

Remember, Bob, I'm buying yours, you buy mine! ;)

OK, Lydia, that's a deal I can live with.