Herbert Huncke is the pivotal figure in the development of beat literature. Huncke’s use of the carny term “beat” in his stories of riding the rails in the thirties inspired Jack Kerouac to chronicle his own tales of rootless wandering in On the Road. He turned William Burroughs onto heroin, and appears as a character in Burroughs’ Junky, the first step in an immersion in addict culture that would eventually produce Naked Lunch. And the image of Huncke’s shoes filled with blood tramping
This January 9, 2009 will be the 94th anniversary of Huncke’s birth, and the extended family of his friends and fellow travelers are coming together to remind us of Herbert’s importance as a writer. Among those scheduled to read are:
Tatum O’Neal, Oscar winning actress
Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth founder
Abel Ferrara, Indie movie auteur
Jack Walls, writer & visual artist
Stewart Meyer, Lotus Crew novelist
Edgar Oliver, downtown theatre stalwart
Anne Hanavan, video artist
Jeremiah Newton, writer & gay activist
David Lawton, poet & actor
Dimitri Mobengo Mugianis, poet, drug user activist, ibogaine therapist & N’ganga
With video contributions from:
Laki Vazakas, Huncke and Louis
Francois Bernadi, Original Beats
David Schmiddlap
And a Special Musical Appearance by Patti Smith
The event takes place at the hot new downtown club, The Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery (at
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