The Alan Sondheim Mail Archive

July 14, 2010


�
funeral for tuli kupferberg �12-3 pm at st marks� church saturday july 17
�
then burial at greenwood cememtery in brooklyn
�
then a gathering afterward possibly at st marks again this nor clear yet
�
Greenwood Cemetry is on 5th Ave and 25th Street Brookyn,
(kind of Bay Ridge - Bensonhurst but I'm not sure,
interdenominational - Henry Ward Beecher, Basquiat
and�Leonard Bernstein all rest there.
�
please resend to wryting as well if ya can
�

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:48:18
From: steve dalachinsky <skyplums@juno.com>
To: sondheim@PANIX.COM
Subject: Fw: Re: tuli


> steve dalachinsky wrote:
>> "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"
>>
>> Tuli Kupferberg, Poet, Songwriter, Anarchist, Jew - Dies at 86
>>
>>   Born Norman or in Hebrew, Naphtali on Sept 28, 1923 (one day and
> 22
>> years before me), poet, singer-songwriter, revolutionary,
> publisher,
>> street vendor, historian, mentor, sage, wise man and wise guy,
>> forward-thinking artist, activist, intellectual,pacifist, teacher,
>> dreamer with a desire to contribute his ideas for the construction
> of a
>> better world, boho and dear friend Tuli Kupferberg,who, though
> never
>> really considering himself  Beat was anthologized as early as 1959
> in
>> Fred Mcdarrah's The Beat Scene, died on Monday at N.Y. Downtown
> Hospital
>> in Manhattan at the age of 86 after a prolonged battle with Life
> and all
>> its joys and griefs and after suffering two dibilitating strokes.
> In the
>> 1964  at age 40 he went on to become, in own his words, ?the
> world?s
>> oldest rock star? after co-founding the Fugs with poet Ed
> Sanders, and
>> then-member Ken Weaver. They were in my opinion the first
>> poetry/folk-rock band and a definite precursor of punk, bawdy and
>> politically outspoken. Their first lp was produced by the equally
>> legendary Harry Smith on Broadside and later re-issued on ESP
> along with
>> their other lps. His first solo record, No Deposit, No Return was
> also
>> issued by ESP. At the height of their career during the
> psychedelic era
>> the group was signed by the then co-owned Frank Sinatra label
> Reprise who
>> also signed Hendrix among others. When very he young worked as a
> medical
>> librarian.
>>
>>
>>  Tuli lived 2 blocks from my apt. We first officially met while
> both of
>> us were hawking our wares on the street though I had known him
> through
>> the music having first seen the Fugs play way back in the '60s in
> various
>> venues such as a loft space on Great Jones street, the Provincetown
>> Theatre, The Astor Place Theater, and once even at a free concert
> in
>> Thompkins Square Park, where, standing behind me to my amazement
> was none
>> other than Charles Mingus. When Tuli and I first conversed some
> time in
>> the mid-70's he was hawking these pamphlets which were I think,
> like
>> $1.29 for one and 99 cents for two, the catch being the more you
> bought
>> the cheaper the became. Though I could be wrong , memory being
> what it is
>>
>>> Hey Tuli help me out here. He was fluent in yiddish. Had a
> passion for
>>>
>> Yiddish theater which he shared with fellow poet and street vendor
> Harry
>> Nudel and though he loved being a Yid was an avid supporter of
> Palestine.
>> Tuli always told me he hated poetry and the scene in general.  He
> was
>> never hierarchical and didn't choose his friends on their status
> in the
>> art world but on his ability to share with them his knowledge,
> sharp wit
>> and love. There were the many times we sat together in the park
> sharing a
>> pint of Haagen Daz or a Good Humor bar. He loved ice cream.
> Particularly
>> chocolate.
>>
>>
>> Tuli's great songs included Morning, Morning, Kill For Peace and
> Nothing.
>> On their last cd he wrote the poignantly beautiful " Where is My
>> Wandering Jew Tonight" never forgetting his roots. Another song in
> that
>> vein and of mocking protest was "Backward Jewish Soldiers"  a
> para-song
>> based on "Onward Christrian Soldiers."  Tuli became something of
>> celebrity when he was mentioned in  Allen Ginsberg?s ?Howl? as
> being the
>> one who ?jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge" then walking away
> "unknown and
>> forgotten.? It was actually the Manhattan Bidge but the Brooklyn
> Bridge
>> seemed more romantic. Actually he didn't walk away but was to
> Gouveneur
>> Hospital with a minor spinal fracture.
>>
>> He was published in and published such zines as Birth and Yeah and
> was
>> the first to publish the African - American Beat poet Ted Joans as
> well
>> as over 50 of his own books.
>> He loved to take standard tunes which were called para-songs and
> write
>> his own lyrics to them doing this more and more in his later years
> and
>> while bedridden wrote a series of short pieces he called
> "perverbs"
>> punning on well-known aphorisms and posting them on YouTube. He
> had a
>> long running cable show called Revolting News which in its latter
> stages
>> was filmed and edited by his long time partner Thelma Blitz.
>>
>> Tuli has spent the past 20 or so years selling his cartoons on the
> street
>> ( me spending many of them with him or directly across the street
> selling
>> lps and books) and inspiring many of us to not give up despite the
>> adversities of government, war and $$$$. He embraced his Beatnik
>> lifestyle as a friend once told me I should. He never shrank from
> his
>> commitment to protest injustice. Never gave into the "MAN". Never
> took
>> the straight and narrow path.  Always fought corporate interests
> and a
>> greedy, demonic capitalistic value system.
>>
>>
>>
>> Long time drummer for the Fugs Coby Batty told me this story on
> the phone
>> the day Tuli passed that one day while walking in Brooklyn Tuli
> turned
>> and said that he wanted his epitaph to read "What the hell was
> that?" -
>> and as he mentioned in one of his perverbs  - "Life is funny, you
> can
>> die." How Jewish can ya get??
>>
>> His is survived by his wife, Sylvia Topp, three children, grand
> kids.
>>
>> On Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:54:16 +0000 Joel Lewis <penwaves@GMAIL.COM>
>> writes:
>>
>>> I knew Pekar before he gained fame as a comic book writer. I
> worked
>>> in a
>>> jazz collectors shop in North Bergen, NJ & he was a legend among
> a
>>> group of
>>> Cleveland jazzbeaus. He would call us up on saturday (our only
> real
>>> sales
>>> day0 & want to speak to my boss, soul jazz producer Bob Porter,
>>> about Gene
>>> Ammons.
>>>
>>> Harvey did a fantastic strip called "Local Poet" which is sadly
> not
>>> in
>>> the "best of" volume that came out when the movie was released.
> It
>>>
>>> perfectly captured a local scene (with even a nod to da levy!) &
> to
>>> the
>>> reality of being a working poet. This was characteristic of the
> best
>>> of his
>>> work -- being able to get inside the nuances of everyday lived
> life
>>> --
>>> another example was "Standing Behind Old Jewish Ladies in the
>>> Supermarket
>>> Line". he was also an acute observer of racial and ethnic
> differnces
>>> in a
>>> working class community. The best of this stuff is found in the
>>> early
>>> issues, before Harvey starts appearing on the old Letterman Late,
>
>>> late show
>>> & becomes a bit of a cult object.
>>>
>>> Hopefully, someone will collect pekar's jazz writings, mostly
>>> reviews and,
>>> in later years, liner notes. They were honest and informed.
> Unlike a
>>> lot of
>>> older fans, he keep up with jazz currents. I interviewed him for
> an
>>> article
>>> at the time of his "Our Cancer Year". He was telling me about his
>
>>> interest
>>> in John Zorn & the then-rising "downtown scene" & added "I'm
> always
>>>
>>> interested in what's going on NOW."
>>>
>>> Joel Lewis
>>>
>>> ==================================
>>> The Poetics List is moderated & does not accept all posts. Check
>>> guidelines & sub/unsub info:
>>> http://epc.buffalo.edu/poetics/welcome.html
>>>

Hi - resending this with Steve's revisions - it's worth it and it's sad - 
Alan


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:14:35
From: steve dalachinsky <skyplums@juno.com>
To: skyplums@juno.com, sondheim@PANIX.COM, blitzknitz@mindspring.com
Subject: Re: seems done to me at end i will add stanzas from wandering jew since
      it's for a jewish rag What the Hell was that?

 
                    WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"
                                                           "could
             life turn out to be a dirty trick?" - T.K.
              

Tuli Kupferberg, Poet, Songwriter, Anarchist, Agnostic Jew -
Dies at 86

 

  Born Norman or in Hebrew, Naphtali on Sept 28, 1923 (one day
and 22 years before me), poet, singer-songwriter, revolutionary,
publisher, street vendor, historian, mentor, sage, wise man and
wise guy, forward-thinking artist, activist, intellectual,
pacifist,anarchist, teacher, dreamer with a desire to
contribute his ideas for the construction of a better world,
boho and dear friend Tuli Kupferberg has gone on to wherever one
goes on Monday at N.Y. Downtown Hospital in Manhattan at the age
of 86 after a prolonged battle with Life and all its joys and
griefs, after suffering two debilitating strokes. Though never
really considering himself  Beat he was anthologized as early as
1959 in Fred Mcdarrah's The Beat Scene.

   In the 1964  at age 40 he went on to become, in own his
words, ?the world?s oldest rock star? after co-founding the Fugs with
poet Ed  Sanders, and then-member Ken Weaver. They were, in my
opinion the first poetry/folk-rock band and a definite precursor
of punk, bawdy and politically outspoken. Their first lp was
produced by the equally legendary Harry Smith on Broadside
and later re-issued on ESP along with their other lps. His first
solo record, No Deposit, No Return was also issued by ESP. At
the height of their career during the psychedelic era the group
was signed by the then co-owned Frank Sinatra label Reprise who
also signed Hendrix among others.

 When very  young he worked as a medical librarian.

 

 Tuli lived 2 blocks from my apt. We first officially met while
both of us were hawking our wares on the street though I had
known him through the music scene having first seen the Fugs
play way back in the '60s in various venues such as a loft space
on Great Jones street, the Provincetown Theatre, The Astor Place
Theater, and once at a free concert in Tompkins Square Park,
where, standing behind me to my amazement was none other than
Charles Mingus. When Tuli and I first conversed some time in the
mid-70's he was hawking these pamphlets which were I think, like
$1.29 for one and 99 cents for two, the catch being the more you
bought the cheaper they became. Though I could be wrong , memory
being what it is ( Hey Tuli help me out here.) Yiddish was his
mother tongue and he had an interest in Yiddish theater which he
shared with fellow poet and street vendor Harry Nudel and though
he loved being a Yid was an avid supporter of Palestine.  Tuli
always told me he hated poetry and the scene in general thogh je
tolerated me and a few others. He was never hierarchical
and didn't choose his friends on their status in the art world
but on his ability to share with them his knowledge, sharp wit
and love. There were the many times we sat together in the park
sharing a pint of Haagen Daz or a Good Humor bar. He loved ice
cream. Particularly chocolate.


 

Tuli's great songs included Morning, Morning, Kill For Peace and
Nothing. On their last CD he wrote the poignantly beautiful "
Where is My Wandering Jew Tonight" never forgetting his roots.
Another song in that vein was chameleon which included the lines
" In winter i'm a buddhist / In summer I'm a nuddist/ In
Jeruselem...Talmudist." He also wrote a mocking protest tilted
"Backward Jewish Soldiers"  a para-song based on "Onward
Christian Soldiers."  

Tuli became something of celebrity when he was mentioned in 
Allen Ginsberg?s ?Howl? as being the one who ?jumped off the Brooklyn
Bridge" then walking away "unknown and forgotten.? It was actually
the Manhattan Bridge but the Brooklyn Bridge seemed more
romantic and he didn't walk away but was brought to Gouveneur
Hospital with a spinal fracture.

He  created and published in such zines as Birth and Yeah and
was the first to publish the African - American Beat poet Ted
Joans as well as over 50 of his own books.

He loved to take familiar tunes and write his own lyrics to
them, calling them the afore-mentioned para-songs . He  did this
more and more in later years. While bedridden he wrote a series
of short pieces he called "perverbs" twisting well-known
aphorisms and posting them on YouTube. He's had a long running
MNN public access TV show called Revolting News which currently
is filmed and edited by his partner Thelma Blitz  . She  also 
videorecords and produces his YouTube and DailyMotion channels,
?tulifuli? and posts Tuli on Vimeo in her own channel ?Thelma Blitz.?

 

Tuli?s cartoon prints were sold on the streets of Soho for many
years at the vending stand of his partner Thelma Blitz ,  where
Tuli would occasionally hang out to shoot the breeze with other
locals such as me. I was directly across the street selling lps
and books. He inspired many of us to not give up despite the
adversities of government, war and $$$$. He embraced his
"Bohemian" lifestyle, as a friend once told me I should. He
never shrank from his commitment to protest injustice. Never
gave into the "MAN". Never took the straight and narrow path. 
Always fought against war, corporate interests and a greedy,
demonic capitalistic value system.

Long time drummer for the Fugs Coby Batty told me this story on
the phone the day Tuli passed that one day while walking in
Brooklyn Tuli turned and said that he wanted his epitaph to read
"What the hell was that?" - and as he mentioned in one of his
perverbs  - "Life is funny, you can die."  How Jewish can ya
get?? 


His is survived by his wife, Sylvia Topp, three children, and
one grand child.
from: Where Is My Wandering Jew
 
Did Hitler survive in the heart of the beast?
Is happiness there when we seek it least?
Does the Baal Shem dance at the President's feast?
O where is my wandering Jew?
 
Is loneliness cast at the center of life?
Is peace our reward at the end of this strife?
Is our time's music the Gun and the Fife?
O where is my wandering Jew tonight?
                 Where is my wandering Jew?
 
And O where is my wandering God tonight?
Where are my children, where is my wife?
Where is the song I once called my life...
Where is my wandering Jew, tonight?
         O where is our wondering life, tonight...
          Where is our wonderful life?
 

  


 

 



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watching the paring away of the body
a thing which accompanies me at the very last
beyond that the world rushing in
everyone witnessing everything i am not a witness
so now and now, there are no turnabouts
i am a witness of entropy
  last night i dreamt i was in 1971 teaching
  again at rhode island school of design and chris
  in a dark hippie apartment candles and cloths
  and chris and don and beth and chris and tina and
  karen and don and everyone and we were talking an
  exciting future everyone was unbelievable and
  genius and creative and the light was in shadow
  and then school ends everyone disperses
  some are even dead and i wake and can't teach
  no more and
i am entropic to an evident degree
call this orderly sequence "witness of entropy"
cut the title from the sequence
i won't remember

Video documentation of Netfilmmakers event and talks in Copenhagen last 
year -

Gazira Babeli, Lance Shields, myself - check it out -

http://www.netfilmmakers.dk/netblog/?p=1333

Thanks to everyone at Netfilmmakers for this!

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