Saturday, December 15, 2018

One of the highlights of the recent 50th anniversary gala celebration of Beyond Baroque was a brief reading by Exene Cervenka and John Doe of their poetry, as well as a performance of three of their songs as a finale for the entire event. I was sitting close enough to be able to share four photographs of these very special moments.

Once again, these two artists significantly contributed to the enduring success of Beyond Baroque. In point of fact, there would never have been a 50th anniversary celebration if the band X had not stepped up and done a fundraiser for Beyond Baroque in the mid-1980s. The institution would have folded then, and now be only a distant memory. Exene and John seem very modest about their contribution, but I will not by shy about saying it: they have my deepest admiration.

For those not familiar with anthologies of Los Angeles poets, by the way, I would mention that I included both Exene Cervenka and John Doe in “POETRY LOVES POETRY”: An Anthology of Los Angeles Poets (Santa Monica: Momentum Press, 1985). This anthology also included poems by Wanda Coleman, Kate Braverman, Laurel Ann Bogen, James Krusoe, Paul Vangelisti, Martha (Lifson) Ronk, Charles Bukowski, John Thomas, Dennis Phillips, Michael Lally, Ron Koertge, Aleida Rodriguez, Suzanne Lummis, Doren Robbins, Dennis Cooper, David Trinidad, Ed Smith, Michelle T. Clinton, Bob Flanagan, Jack Skelley, Holly Prado, Harry Northup, Peter Levitt, Leland Hickman, Bob Peters, Peter Schjeldahl, Max Benavidez, Peter Schneider, Austin Straus, Murray Mednick, Dave Alvin, and many others.

(c) copyright Bill Mohr 2018