Today in Labor History October 3, 1957: The California State Superior Court ruled that the book Howl and Other Poems, by Allen Ginsberg, was not obscene. The poem was based, in part, on a horrifying peyote hallucination he had of the glitzy Sir Frances Drake hotel, in San Francisco, morphing into a child-eating demon. The poem’s references to drug use and to homosexuality are what provoked the obscenity trial. City Lights bookstore own and publisher of Howl, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and bookstore manager, Shig Murao, were arrested on obscenity charges for selling the book.

#LaborHistory #workingclass #poetry #AllenGinsberg #LawrenceFerlinghetti #CityLights #obscenity #censorship #FreeSpeech #LGBTQ #homophobia #drugs #books @bookstadon

more from/about the 1978 nova convention

https://youtu.be/ThRFmwUsJc0?si=offGLQtiHh9N43Y2

William S. Burroughs delivering his keynote address on December 1st, the first night at New York City’s Entermedia Theatre, during the sold-out, three-day Nova Convention, held on November 30, December 1, and 2, 1978.

Excerpt from NOVA ’78 Directed by Aaron Brookner and Rodrigo Areias.
Produced by Pinball London and Bando a Parte.

Premiere Locarno 78 – August 2025 –

Archive Copyright Pinball London Ltd. All rights reserved.

*

https://youtu.be/Ed9dj4BC-Dc?si=HQq_5rbvo3L6_jUG

In this the legendary 1978 Nova Convention, we hear interviews with organizer/poet John Giorno, followed by the uncut Nova Convention panel discussion unheard for decades. Moderator Les Levine masterfully guides panelists William S. Burroughs, Robert Anton Wilson, Timothy Leary and Brion Gysin. Listen to them re-imagining science fiction and foreseeing a culture yet to come.

The Nova Convention was a three-day event, taking place in New York City on November 30, December 1 and December 2, 1978. Intended as a homage to William S. Burroughs, the “convention” included seminars, music performances, readings and more. Attending were an odd mixture of academics, publishers, writers, artists, punk rockers and counterculture disciples. The event had a small hitch. The organizers had announced Keith Richards’ attendance, which made the event a sellout. Richards’ last minute cancellation, however, gave the event an antagonistic oscillation between performer and audience.

The series was originally produced by Giorno Poetry Systems for WBAI radio. The 2013 restoration comes from John Giorno’s private tapes. The effort is to restore, as completely as possible, the entire three-day event for for broadcast by the Clocktower Gallery radio station: https://clocktower.org/show/nova-convention-1978-the-third-mind

#1978 #AaronBrookner #AaronBruckner #AllenGinsberg #BandoàParte #BrionGysin #cinema #Cineuropa #doc #documentary #EntermediaTheatre #film #FrankZappa #JamesGrauerholz #JimJarmusch #JohnCage #JohnGiorno #LaurieAnderson #Locarno #MarkoStojiljković #NakedLunch #NewYork #Nova78 #OutOfCompetition #PattiSmith #PauloFurtado #performer #PhilipGlass #PinballLondon #PinballLondonLtd #poet #RodrigoAreias #SylvèreLotringer #TheLegendaryTigerman #TheNovaConvention #TimothyLeary #TomDiCillo #TomásBaltazar #UncleHoward #WilliamBurroughs

“nova ’78”, a documentary on william burroughs, at the locarno film festival

https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/482127

Aaron Brookner and Rodrigo Areias take us back in time to a convention where leading intellectuals and artists gathered to celebrate William S Burroughs

#1978 #AaronBrookner #AaronBruckner #AllenGinsberg #BandoàParte #BrionGysin #cinema #Cineuropa #doc #documentary #film #FrankZappa #JamesGrauerholz #JimJarmusch #JohnCage #JohnGiorno #LaurieAnderson #Locarno #MarkoStojiljković #NakedLunch #NewYork #Nova78 #OutOfCompetition #PattiSmith #PauloFurtado #performer #PhilipGlass #PinballLondon #poet #RodrigoAreias #SylvèreLotringer #TheLegendaryTigerman #TheNovaConvention #TimothyLeary #TomDiCillo #TomásBaltazar #UncleHoward #WilliamBurroughs

“nova ’78”, a documentary on william burroughs, at the locarno film festival

https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/482127

Aaron Brookner and Rodrigo Areias take us back in time to a convention where leading intellectuals and artists gathered to celebrate William S Burroughs

#1978 #AaronBrookner #AaronBruckner #AllenGinsberg #BandoàParte #BrionGysin #cinema #Cineuropa #doc #documentary #film #FrankZappa #JamesGrauerholz #JimJarmusch #JohnCage #JohnGiorno #LaurieAnderson #Locarno #MarkoStojiljković #NakedLunch #NewYork #Nova78 #OutOfCompetition #PattiSmith #PauloFurtado #performer #PhilipGlass #PinballLondon #poet #RodrigoAreias #SylvèreLotringer #TheLegendaryTigerman #TheNovaConvention #TimothyLeary #TomDiCillo #TomásBaltazar #UncleHoward #WilliamBurroughs

“nova ’78”, a documentary on william burroughs, at the locarno film festival

https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/482127

Aaron Brookner and Rodrigo Areias take us back in time to a convention where leading intellectuals and artists gathered to celebrate William S Burroughs

#1978 #AaronBrookner #AaronBruckner #AllenGinsberg #BandoàParte #BrionGysin #cinema #Cineuropa #doc #documentary #film #FrankZappa #JamesGrauerholz #JimJarmusch #JohnCage #JohnGiorno #LaurieAnderson #Locarno #MarkoStojiljković #NakedLunch #NewYork #Nova78 #OutOfCompetition #PattiSmith #PauloFurtado #performer #PhilipGlass #PinballLondon #poet #RodrigoAreias #SylvèreLotringer #TheLegendaryTigerman #TheNovaConvention #TimothyLeary #TomDiCillo #TomásBaltazar #UncleHoward #WilliamBurroughs

#JoeStrummer

#AllenGinsberg

#TheClash

#GhettoDefendant

#CombatRock

#1982

#BeatGeneration

#PunkRock

#SpokenWord

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dBh8H2c2JE

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #CerysMatthews

Allen Ginsberg:
🎵 The Lion For Real

#AllenGinsberg

https://allenginsberg.bandcamp.com/album/the-lion-for-real-re-born

https://open.spotify.com/track/0icnE4KZpHsXiU2e0j4NuX