This great piece is just one more example of why I have no qualms whatsoever of paying for such content by Wells. What great, readable journalism. Off now to buy the book in question.
Readers in Ottawa might be pleased to know I gave Books on Beechwood and Perfect Books on Elgin a heads-up that I'd be writing, so you might have better luck finding Romano's book there than elsewhere.
Some of my happiest moments at U of T were reading the Village Voice, which was available every week at the U of T book store...I basically read every word, particularly the music and film reviews....and lest we forget those Fred McDarrah photos, who must have had the best job on the planet....one came to know all the bylines, as if you knew them personally.....thanks for this lovely piece, which brought back so many memories....how lucky we were to have lived in a time before the internet...And wonderful of you, Paul, to donate to the book....Well done!
Thanks for this. As a med student and later post-doc in NYC the Voice shaped me too, especially the music listings and coverage. My only letter, around 1981, is embarrassingly bad, favourably comparing Salle Wilfrid Pelletier at PDA to Carnegie Hall. In my defence, we had the worst seats possible for a Thelonious Monk tribute concert there shortly after he died and well, the acoustics WERE terrible. But the Voice and its ilk helped me get THROUGH Med School, and I was sad to see it wither and fade. Thanks for the memories and Practice, Practice, Practice that trumpet.
Thank you for this delightful origin story, Paul. Reminded me fondly of irreverent days at the (now online only) Gateway student paper at the University of Alberta, and a couple of formative years with the wistfully idealistic Canadian University Press. I wish for my kids that they might find these kinds of outlets and communities and spaces (rather than digital vapor) to challenge each other, orthodoxies, and themselves.
Thanks for this great piece, Paul. Takes me back to the sixties with its anti-war protests, hippies and counter-culture excitement. Back then, it was a challenge to find a copy of The Village Voice anywhere in southwestern Ontario even though 'Rolling Stone' could be found in some avant-garde bookshops and record stores. Fortunately, on a hitch-hiking trip to Toronto to check out the action on Yorkville St. circa 1967, a friend and I found a copy of the Voice left on a bench outside a small cafe featuring a musician named Neil Young. The music was pretty good but that curled-up copy of the Voice I read front-to-back several times, trying to soak up all the juice of the zeitgeist. I subsequently found I could ask the book store at the U of Windsor to order in current editions as they came out and those were passed among several friends, introducing us to the likes of Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg, Evgeny Yevtushenko and other brilliant lights of contemporary genius. Sad to see it go but I suppose everything has an expiry date.
With regard to your mention of Abby Hoffman, I had the pleasure of meeting him in the late eighties. Hoffman was the keynote speaker (!! I know, go figure!!) at a local conservation fundraiser/dinner regarding Great Lakes clean-up efforts, he being a newly-minted environmental activist against stirring-up toxic sediments through commercial dredging operations. After the dinner and since Hoffman travelled without an entourage (or even a companion) we asked him if he'd like to go for some beers or go back to his hotel. So we went for beer at a university campus pub where we talked of many things. Interestingly, that night not long before his untimely death, he wasn't interested in re-hashing the Chicago Seven stuff or his various incarcerations or any of the other crazy stuff that had been the life of Abby Hoffman. He mostly wanted to talk about his work with Garrison Keillor's 'Prairie Home Companion" radio show. Perhaps there was some thread that connected the early Voice journalism covering the activist antics of Mr. Hoffman to the down-home and earthy 'Companion' for which he was an eager and willing contributor?
In my youth I would daydream about what it would be like to experience living through a cultural and/or political revolution. Now in my senior years I realize I am doing just that. You Paul tapped into the change and exchange of ideas presented in The Voice as they developed over our recent past. You also appear to have developed an appreciation for the writing style of the various contributors to The Voice. Your intuitiveness has enabled you to sense what was happening and correspondingly reflect through the written word, which in turn you shared with your readers. A bit of a domino effect, as we now appreciate your reflection on The Voice's impact over the years. Thanks.
This great piece is just one more example of why I have no qualms whatsoever of paying for such content by Wells. What great, readable journalism. Off now to buy the book in question.
Readers in Ottawa might be pleased to know I gave Books on Beechwood and Perfect Books on Elgin a heads-up that I'd be writing, so you might have better luck finding Romano's book there than elsewhere.
“Readers should note that today’s post contains more salty language than usual.” Is there a better way to get someone to read the full article?
Some of my happiest moments at U of T were reading the Village Voice, which was available every week at the U of T book store...I basically read every word, particularly the music and film reviews....and lest we forget those Fred McDarrah photos, who must have had the best job on the planet....one came to know all the bylines, as if you knew them personally.....thanks for this lovely piece, which brought back so many memories....how lucky we were to have lived in a time before the internet...And wonderful of you, Paul, to donate to the book....Well done!
Thanks for this. As a med student and later post-doc in NYC the Voice shaped me too, especially the music listings and coverage. My only letter, around 1981, is embarrassingly bad, favourably comparing Salle Wilfrid Pelletier at PDA to Carnegie Hall. In my defence, we had the worst seats possible for a Thelonious Monk tribute concert there shortly after he died and well, the acoustics WERE terrible. But the Voice and its ilk helped me get THROUGH Med School, and I was sad to see it wither and fade. Thanks for the memories and Practice, Practice, Practice that trumpet.
Wonderful. Thank you.
Thank you for this delightful origin story, Paul. Reminded me fondly of irreverent days at the (now online only) Gateway student paper at the University of Alberta, and a couple of formative years with the wistfully idealistic Canadian University Press. I wish for my kids that they might find these kinds of outlets and communities and spaces (rather than digital vapor) to challenge each other, orthodoxies, and themselves.
Thanks for this great piece, Paul. Takes me back to the sixties with its anti-war protests, hippies and counter-culture excitement. Back then, it was a challenge to find a copy of The Village Voice anywhere in southwestern Ontario even though 'Rolling Stone' could be found in some avant-garde bookshops and record stores. Fortunately, on a hitch-hiking trip to Toronto to check out the action on Yorkville St. circa 1967, a friend and I found a copy of the Voice left on a bench outside a small cafe featuring a musician named Neil Young. The music was pretty good but that curled-up copy of the Voice I read front-to-back several times, trying to soak up all the juice of the zeitgeist. I subsequently found I could ask the book store at the U of Windsor to order in current editions as they came out and those were passed among several friends, introducing us to the likes of Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg, Evgeny Yevtushenko and other brilliant lights of contemporary genius. Sad to see it go but I suppose everything has an expiry date.
With regard to your mention of Abby Hoffman, I had the pleasure of meeting him in the late eighties. Hoffman was the keynote speaker (!! I know, go figure!!) at a local conservation fundraiser/dinner regarding Great Lakes clean-up efforts, he being a newly-minted environmental activist against stirring-up toxic sediments through commercial dredging operations. After the dinner and since Hoffman travelled without an entourage (or even a companion) we asked him if he'd like to go for some beers or go back to his hotel. So we went for beer at a university campus pub where we talked of many things. Interestingly, that night not long before his untimely death, he wasn't interested in re-hashing the Chicago Seven stuff or his various incarcerations or any of the other crazy stuff that had been the life of Abby Hoffman. He mostly wanted to talk about his work with Garrison Keillor's 'Prairie Home Companion" radio show. Perhaps there was some thread that connected the early Voice journalism covering the activist antics of Mr. Hoffman to the down-home and earthy 'Companion' for which he was an eager and willing contributor?
In my youth I would daydream about what it would be like to experience living through a cultural and/or political revolution. Now in my senior years I realize I am doing just that. You Paul tapped into the change and exchange of ideas presented in The Voice as they developed over our recent past. You also appear to have developed an appreciation for the writing style of the various contributors to The Voice. Your intuitiveness has enabled you to sense what was happening and correspondingly reflect through the written word, which in turn you shared with your readers. A bit of a domino effect, as we now appreciate your reflection on The Voice's impact over the years. Thanks.
Are we ever going to hear that some product was pulled from the market, a public servant fired, a policy halted, because of a substack post?
If yes, relax: journalism is changing formats but not effects. If not, we really do have a problem.
Now for someone to do the same for Paul Krassner's "The Realist."
Thanks, Man.
This was such a terrifically entertaining piece to read. As a fellow auto didact I salute you!
You really are a talented writer Paul.
Growing up in downtown Vancouver in the 60's with the Georgia Straight...influence is a small word that means so much....nowdays to quote you, Paul,
" ...anyone can publish anything by shunting a few electrons back and forth, and on most days, that’s how it reads".
One of many things I can't adequately explain to my adult kids is what a magazine like the Straight used to mean in the Before Times.
So much I could say, in response to this, as it stirred up so many memories of my own.
But I will confine myself to profuse thanks.
PW this one has emo all over it and it’s FAB
Thank u