events 2007

Ed Sanders has been called a bridge between the Beat and Hippie generations

"1968" A Talk with Music and Images By Ed Sanders

When: November 29, 2007 
Where: American Center

In this illustrated talk, Ed Sanders will trace key elements of the era, focusing on 1968 and the Prague Spring, and celebrating an entire decade of zeal for change. The talk will present social and revolutionary upheavals such as the 1968 uprisings in Paris, Prague and Chicago, the impact of rock 'n' roll and literature on the Prague Spring, the implications of the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy on world history, the ever increasing troubles in Vietnam for the U.S.A. He will outline how in different nations a generation grew up believing that huge change was imminent— that the United States, Europe, Prague, and indeed the whole world— East and West— would become more free and sharing— that poverty would be banished and racism and class strife would ebb very quickly, certainly by the close of the century. It’s a 1968 whose dreams still live onward, and in a number of important ways still remain unfulfilled.

Ed Sanders is an American poet, investigative journalist, musician and social activist. His book on the Charles Manson group, The Family, is under option to be made into a film. Another book under film option is Tales of Beatnik Glory. As a poet, he has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He was the founder of the satiric rock group, The Fugs. He is at work completing a nine-volume America, a History in Verse. Among his books of poetry are 1968, a History in Verse; Hymn to the Rebel Cafe; Chekhov (a biography in verse), and The Poetry and Life of Allen Ginsberg. His poetry CD, "Poems for New Orleans," featuring music by some of New Orleans' finest musicians, has come out this year from Paris Records. Sanders was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1939, and for over thirty years has lived in Woodstock, NY with his wife, the painter and writer Miriam Sanders.

He will be performing with the Plastic People of the Universe on December 3 at the Theatre Minor at 8 pm (more on www.pwf.cz).

When: November 29, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Where: American Center, Tržiště 13, Prague 1,  1^st floor (approx. 50 m below U.S. Embassy)

Please confirm your attendance at tel. 257 022 019 or cuchnovakx@state.gov

The presentation and discussion will be in English.