Allen Cohen's newspaper is a great time capsule of that era in SF, highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the Grateful Dead's cultural roots. Cohen describes his vision in the 1st link, a great read.

if you are interested what went down in SF during the 60's and want to read some interesting insights from those who were there, Allens words and The Oracle are a priceless gold mine. At the very least, pretty darn amusing.

www.rockument.com/Haight/Webora.html

www.regentpress.net/oracle/index.html

good stuff

We have a nice hardcover edition containing many issues at the library where I work. I used to read it all the time when I first started working here. Some of the articles are really out there, but the art is fantastic.

Cool to hear you have that available to you in the east. The art was amazing, like the old Fillmore-Avalon posters and you're right, the writing was far out. That issue with the rap session between Ginsberg, Leary, Snyder and the 4th guy I can't remember was gold.

Cohen's writings capture that era almost better than anyone, I hadn't read his stuff in awhile.

Some of Rick Griffin's finest artwork, as I remember.

sjfgreenman wrote:


The other guy was the esteemed zen master, Alan Watts,
Can be read here:
www.terebess.hu/english/watts6.html

Or listen here:

Thanks!! I figured the mystery man was either Watts or Ram Dass but wasn't sure.
Awesome conversation, these guys ooze wisdom.


"This is Alan Watts speaking, and I'm this evening, on my ferry boat, the host to a fascinating party sponsored by the San Francisco Oracle, which is our new underground paper, far-outer than any far-out that has yet been seen. And we have here, members of the staff of the Oracle. We have Allen Ginsberg, poet, and rabbinic saddhu. We have Timothy Leary, about whom nothing needs to be said. (laughs) And Gary Snyder, also poet, Zen monk, and old friend of many years.

Ginsberg: This swami wants you to introduce him in Berkeley. He's going to have a Kirtan to sanctify the peace movement. So what I said is, he ought to invite Jerry Rubin and Mario Savio, and his cohorts. And he said: "Great, great, great!"

So I said, "Why don't you invite the Hell's Angels, too?" He said: "Great, great, great! When are we gonna get hold of them?

So I think that's one next feature...

Watts: You know, what is being said here, isn't it: To sanctify the peace movement is to take the violence out of it. Ginsberg: Well, to point attention to its root nature, which is desire for peace, which is equivalent to the goals of all the wisdom schools and all the Saddhanas.


A PACIFIST ON THE RAMPAGE

Watts: Yes, but it isn't so until sanctified. That is to say, I have found in practice that nothing is more violent than peace movements. You know, when you get a pacifist on the rampage, nobody can be more emotionally bound and intolerant and full of hatred.

And I think this is the thing that many of us understand in common, that we are trying to take moral violence out of all those efforts that are being made to bring human beings into a harmonious relationship. Ginsberg: Now, how much of that did the peace movement people in Berkeley realize? Watts: I don't think they realize it at all. I think they're still working on the basis of moral violence, just as Gandhi was. Ginsberg: Yeah...I went last night and turned on with Mario Savio. Two nights ago...After I finished and I was talking with him, and he doesn't turn on very much...This was maybe the third or fourth time.

But he was describing his efforts in terms of the motive power for large mass movements. He felt on of the things that move large crowds was righteousness, moral outrage, and ANGER...Righteous anger. "