“Poetry has always shared a foundational root with music and dance across almost every world culture, whether you look at African-American traditions, European history, or the Muscogee Nation. Jazz, specifically, is a distinctly American art form, but it is also deeply intertwined with Muscogee heritage. My people were there at its inception. Jazz was born in our homelands, and our traditional music is woven directly into its origin…

“Music has the power to change the world. We’ve seen that throughout the civil rights movement in the United States, anti-war movements and anti-fascism movements. We see protest bands like the Russian band Pussy Riot banned by their own governments and put in prison because they’re found to be threatening to those in power.”

Debra Devi: The Language of the…

“I once wrote that McLaughlin’s music sticks out like a jagged rock. To me, there is nobody like him and never will be. I can’t explain the draw of his music to me outside of using a metaphor like Star Trek’s Tractor Beam. I am drawn to his music. I believe it is the same for others. When it comes to McLaughlin’s music, you either get it or you don’t. There is no middle! For me, and I assume for those that remain spellbound, there is a…

"Es importante preservar el blues, por su papel histórico que juega como generador de muchos de los ritmos y subgéneros actuales que se han derivado a partir de él, en la música popular occidental. Es mucho más que solo un género musical y se ha convertido en una cultura a lo largo y ancho del mundo."

José Luis García Fernández:

Blues a la…

“Busking happened back in the early days of blues and rock, and it’s still here – and always brings the authenticity and primitivism of the past into the present day. That’s one of the reasons I’m drawn to it.”

Cary Baker: Down On The Corner…

“Books have been my passion since I started reading as a boy. When I was seventeen, I read On the Road, and that book changed everything. In those pages, I found my spiritual and intellectual comrades in Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Corso, and their circle. After that, I read most of their books, and, except for Kerouac, I got to know the other “Daddies,” as Gregory Corso often called the Beats, to varying degrees."…

"Where would we be without it? Literature helps us to understand the world, to see and feel and empathise with other cultural values, other points of view. It stimulates our thinking and, on a very basic level, entertains us."

Leon Horton: Under the Counterculture

Leon Horton is a countercultural writer, interviewer, and editor. A regular…

"Some people are lighthouses that guide you for a long time, but others are just helpful buoys along the way. Let each light guide you to the harbor of your own destiny."

Brian Hassett: Further of Brainland's Nest

Canadian writer, poet, essayist, critic, columnist, reviewer, and songwriter Brian Hassett is the author of the new Hitchhiker’s…

"Sublime Art never stops influencing me positively, perhaps because it was continually derided by persons around me during my youth.  Art and music are essential for every civilised society."

Francis Kuipers:

The Art of Life, The Life of Art

ALIENS IN THE NECROPOLIS (2024) is a…

"Rock music is a musical style that has a revolutionary quality and it will always be a weapon against politics and social injustice."

Dinos Dimatatis: It's Only Rock 'n' Roll! 

Dinos Dimatatis is a lawyer, a journalist, a writer, a researcher of the Greek rock music and a great music collector. He has written five…

"Open mindedness, hard work and dedication to your craft, gratitude, humility and confidence. It’s all about the hang, and being in the present moment. Taking time to talk with the people you meet. Whether you’re at home practicing, traveling at all hours of the night or on the stage."

Scottie Miller: Words, Notes, and Music

Carnival…

"The Beats loved jazz, Kerouac wanted to be a jazz writer, but they also appreciated classical music and other forms of music. Notice the shout-out to Ray Charles at the beginning of Ginsberg’s “Kaddish.” What really helped keep the Beats alive was their influence on rock music: Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Janis Joplin, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, The Clash, Nirvana. Rock lyricists are the true heirs of the Beat…

"When I first saw Marcel Marceau perform and then met him personally, I was deeply touched by his humanity. His “art of silence” speaks across all languages, all ethnicities, more eloquently than words. He has profound understanding of human nature and the human condition, surprising and delighting us while implanting powerful insight into who we are and how we relate to each other and the world around us. He’s a storyteller in the most fundamental way that…

"Keep dreaming the big dreams, but don't forget to take out the garbage."

George Wallace: A Rebel With A Cause

George Wallace is writer in residence at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, author of two dozen chapbooks of poems, editor of Poetrybay and associate editor of Great Weather For Media. A New York City poet, he travels throughout…

"You’ve got to understand a culture quickly to get what you want or need. The earth is in a terrible fix. Water to drink is a Huge issue. There are saints and assholes everywhere."

Andy Clausen:

The Blues Stories of the Beat President

Andy Clausen was born Andre Laloux in a Belgian bomb…

"In terms of racial issues, the Beats were especially fond of blues and jazz—Ginsberg’s last hours were spent listening the blues, when he was in a coma—their writings addressed issues important to the Black and Latino people. The Beats were extremely important to socio-political movements such as sexual and gay liberation, the ecology, and others."

Michael Schumacher: Rebellion…

"I learned to be open to the chance, it made me want to “follow my inner moonlight”, express my feelings without being afraid and live my life to the fullest. Of course, “On the Road” brought in the forefront the technique of Bob prosody… More importantly, it taught me the meaning of friendship and it instructed me to try to listen to the music of the words, always underlying though seemingly latent, just like the music of the…

"I’ve learned that all perspectives are definitely not equal, that culture is the quality of life. Love and respect are most important, the sin of pride is the most dangerous, common courtesy is a given. To love and be loved is all. I’ve never personally had anything to complain about besides social conditions. I’ve learned it’s too easy to be weak and decisiveness is key. Class struggle and solidarity show the way to a better world. I’ve learned that…

"Because the Beats addressed many issues already in the 50s that we still have to deal with and are still red hot. Simple as that. And since mainstream writing is still as conservative as ever and still lacks courage, it’s still inspiring and refreshing to read Beat poetry and all their successors throughout the decades."

Dr. Thomas Antonic: The Beats Go On..…

"When I was a teenager the blues helped me to understand the history of racial injustice in the Unites States. We don’t need it for that any more - with camera phones and Youtube, anyone who wants to can witness that injustice for themselves. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t seem to be interested."

Alan Harper: Chicago Blues Crossroads

In the…