Hi Ann & Henry,
I've been trying to read Ann's incredible book, but I'm finding I can't focus on reading it chronologically. I just keep jumping around, finding so many points in common, so many parallel experiences & observations, that reading it 'straight' has become a real challenge : )
Ann has done in her memoir what I was also attempting to do with my EEL PIE ISLAND DHARMA. In addition to telling our personal narratives, we are also presenting a bird's eye historical documentation of the 1960s, a seminal time in human evolution (I believe), a real renaissance period in human consciousness. And, WE WERE THERE and WE DO REMEMBER! Amazing.
So many parallel experiences - I had a close friend who was a devotee of Maharaj Ji (the chubby boy guru). I was at the first Glastonbury Fayre when MJ made an appearance (I was too stoned on a heavy dose of acid to greet him). Of course the always present communal sex 'n' drugs 'n rock 'n'roll in both books. The communes, the craziness, the ripoffs, the sweet souls (many now lost) & the hipsters who almost became saints.
There is a real historical trilogy now of PurdyFesters' memoirs of the 1960s. Jim Christy's REAL GONE tells of his experiences from the early 60s on. I always think of Jim as the last living hipster, & his memoir details the war resister American experience & then the new Canadian expat one.
My EPID would follow next in this trilogy, documenting 1969 to 1972, from when I resisted the Vietnam War & went to the UK to live in the Eel Pie Island Commune, until my return to Canada in September 1972.
Ann's memoir neatly dovetails, with her adventures starting in the winter of 1972. Great seques with the three memoirs. I've mentioned this to Terry Barker, who immediately suggested a joint reading in TO : )
I've been struggling with how to present a coherent review of Ann's book on my blog, but why bother attempting the impossible. Just holding the book starts giving me flashbacks, & my thoughts drift a little too far back to that mythical time to attempt anything remotely linear.
peace, poetry power & 1960s good vibes!
Chris ... & Chase Wrffffffffffffffffffffff!
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I've probably jumped around reading at least a third of the book by now, & so far I haven't noticed one typo. The entire book is incredibly well written and edited, and the many b&w pictures transport the reader back to those heady times in the early 1970s. A great book on so many levels: personal narrative, historical document & just a good old fashioned great read.
Memoirs of a Hippie Girl in India
250 pages
ISBN 978-0-9920383-0-4
BeCoy Publishing
153 Spadina Road
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5R 2T9
www.annbecoy.com
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On 2013-08-27, at 4:37 PM, Henry Martinuk wrote:
Hi, after a sit down ovation at this year's PurdyFest Another Dam Reading, Ann Bekooy has a new video for her song "Hippie Girl" under the nom de plume 'Ann BeCoy'. Ann will be reading from her new book 'Memoirs Of A Hippie Girl In India' around Toronto and the book will be available at head shops and other brick and mortar stores, possibly at the few surviving bookstores. The book will also be available through sweat shop Amazon online (sorry!).
best, Henry
please check out "Hippie Girl" on the youtubes:
http://youtu.be/FpYMQRENDgI
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Memoirs of a Hippie Girl in India: Ann BeCoy":
ahhhh... the myths we've built re: the American War in Viet Nam....
we were bombing Han Noi in 1945 !
and "got serious under JFK about 'saving the world "
(we're still, in 2013 yet so-doing).
my best friend went over to VN in about 1961 or '62 as an "observer" ... about 50 guys who were set-up in a shack near the fighting
WITHOUT ANY WEAPON
whenever they were fired upon, Sandy crawled under his U.S.-issued mattress to protect himself.....
he called his mother at home in the states and said "get me out of here !"
what she did was to request emergency leave for him saying that Sandy's father was dyeing of cancer and
they sent him back for a brief leave...
when Sandy got back in 1962 he disappeared into an hippie commune
and was never heard from again
here is a bit about VN 1961- on:
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1961.html
Posted by Anonymous to Riffs & Ripples from ZenRiver Gardens at 30 August 2013 07:25
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