Picture of
Herschel Silverman:
http://www.2young2retire.com/hershel.html
Beat
Poet Herschel Silverman, Cosmic Spelunker Theater
At Out
of the Blue Sept. 20
The Out of
the Blue Gallery continues its effort to merge poetry and performance in a new
location on Sept. 20, with an appearance by Herschel Silverman and the Cosmic
Spelunker Theater.
Silverman,
a longtime Beat/jazz poet and New Jersey confectionary purveyor, began a
decades-long correspondence with Allen Ginsberg in 1957, who described him as
“the candy store emperor of Bayonne who dreams of telling the
truth” in the poem "Television Was a Baby Crawling Toward That Death
Chamber."
"His
sincerity and the pleasure his life's taken in the poetry world,”
Ginsberg wrote in “Homage to Hersch,” “encourage us all to
realize that poetry does serve humankind well in giving pleasure and
empowerment to people of sensitive spirit, domestic folk." Silverman
received a New Jersey State Council on the Arts grant to compile a book of the
correspondence of the two writers.
Though
family obligations hindered his joining up with the nomadic Beats, Silverman
published 20 collections of poetry, some of which are housed at the Memorial
Library at the University of Wisconsin and the Library of the University of
Chicago. In addition, hundreds of his poems appear in literary journals
including Long Shot, Alpha Beat, the Journal of New Jersey Poets’ 20th
Anniversary Issue and the Kerouac Connection. He also edited the Beehive
Magazine of Contemporary Poetry; his latest book, “Lift Off,” was
published by Waterow Books and Long Shot Productions. The inspiration for
Jonathan London’s book “The Candystore Man,” his work has
been translated into German and Japanese.
Silverman
has devoted himself to poetry since retiring. “My original hobby,”
he said, "has now become a full time activity with enough breaks to enjoy
and give support to my children and grandchildren."
Preceding
Silverman will be performance troupe Cosmic Spelunker Theater, who will
premiere their latest show, “Cosmic Spelunker’s Give and
Take.” It is certain to be a bountiful feast of sensory impression.
“Cosmic
Spelunker Theater would be innovative to any artistic venue,” said Out of
the Blue manager Deborah Priestly, who hosts her own Saturday evening poetry series
at the gallery. “Their show is clever and entertaining. For example, at
one of their two past performances in this venue, they flung paper airplanes at
all angles of the room, which in turn, tempted all of the audience to toss them
right back.”
Spelunker
and local poet and performance artist Ian Thal, who shares the stage with
longstanding Boston mime presence William J. (“Billy”) Barnum and
performance artist/mime James Van Looy, noted, “We consider Out of the
Blue to be our home venue and are looking forward to being part of their first
month in the new space.”
Thal, who
reviews poetry for Ibbetson Street Press and Boston’s Jewish Advocate,
has published his work in such magazines as Poesy, Ibbetson Street Press, and
Crooked River Press, and will be in the forthcoming P&Q Press book Subway
Anthology.
Barnum, who
studied mime with Etienne Decroux and Samuel Avital, has shared the stage with
George C. Scott, Dustin Hoffman, Spaulding Gray, and Paul Benedict, and has
danced with the Boston Ballet. He won the Anne Bradstreet award for Lifetime
Achievement in poetry at the 2000 Cambridge Poetry Awards.
Van Looy,
who performed and taught with the Mirage Mime Company through much of the
1980s, has lead poetry workshops in homeless shelters and readings in prisons.
Currently, he leads the Labyrinth Workshop which emphasizes mime, meditation,
and writing.
“Through
reading Hersch’s work and attending his last area appearance,” said
Thal, “all three of us in the Cosmic Spelunker Theater have become fans;
we’re quite excited to perform with him.”
The Out of
the Blue Art Gallery moved to 106 Prospect St. on Sept. 1, taking over the
space formerly occupied by the Weston Gallery. It is accessible to the Central
Square T-stop. There will be a $5 suggested donation for this show.
For
information, contact Out of the Blue Art Gallery by calling 617-354-5287,
emailing OOTB@att.net or visiting http://outoftheblueartgallery.com. For
information on Cosmic Spelunker Theater, please call 617-524-2111 or email
thal@gis.net.