MUSICIANS - EURO-AMERICAN TROUBADOURS, MESSIAHS, SINGERS & SONGWRITERS

PATHWAY OF THE POET AS DUALISTIC MESSIAH:
Storyline: The shy megalomaniac submits himself to virtual lifelong public scrutiny, after many a go-round of deliberate obscurity to see how the pressures of feeding into a bottomless appetite for celebrity would affect his sharp shaman’s tongue.
Bob Dylan (Robert Allan Zimmerman) (1941) - American songwriter and poet. Outer: Of Russian and Lithuanian Jewish descent, with both sets of grandparents emigrating to America. Father worked for Standard Oil, but contracted polio, and the family moved to Hibbing, Minnesota, living with his sire’s mother, where the former owned an appliance store. Also has one younger brother. Both parents were musical, and he taught himself to play piano, guitar and harmonica while leading several high school bands, beginning with the Golden Chords, although never learned to read music. Briefly went to the Univ. of Minnesota, but spent most of his time in the folk-music circle of Minneapolis before heading for NYC as a teenager to seek his fortune as a folksinger. Found himself easily accepted into the Greenwich Village folk scene, and just as quickly reinvented himself, changing his last name to Dylan in honor of poet Dylan Thomas (Shannon Hoon) and reimagining his past as an orphan, hobo and carnival freak. 5’7 1/2”, slim. Strongly influenced by Woody Guthrie, whom he visited in a hospital while he was dying of Huntington’s disease. His haunting melodies and complex lyrics made up for his thin voice, and he achieved extraordinary success very quickly in the early 1960s, as the troubadour of his generation, with a mix of protest songs and ballads that were covered by many artists. Had a brief affair with folksinger Joan Baez, while maintaining an enigmatic public persona. His switch to electric music from acoustic at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 alienated many earlier fans, but opened him up to a larger audience. A heavy smoker and alcohol-imbiber, as well as amphetamine user, he initially had problems of self-worth, despite huge mass acceptance. Also found himself pursued and stalked relentlessly, to add to his general discomfort with himself. After expressing a desire to stop touring, he was injured in a motorcycle accident in his mid-20s, and ceased recording for 2 years. Returned with 2 albums done in a country vein and a more mellifluous singing style which he claimed was due to giving up smoking, although he did not tour again for another 8 years. Married a model, Sara Lowndes, in his mid-20s, divorced after 12 years, 3 sons and a daughter, as well as a stepchild from the union. His progeny Jakob Dylan went on to become a noted musician, while Jesse Dylan became a producer and director. His wife inspired 2 of his albums, on meeting her, "Blonde on Blonde," and divorcing her, "Blood on the Tracks." Fashioned a couple of pretentious over-indulgent films, while also making his mainstream debut in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, playing a character named Alias. Also published a book of poetry. Had a brief flirtation with Christianity in his 40s, thanks to the influence of a variety of black back-up singers, who would serve as his later life inamoratas, before reclaiming his Jewish heritage. Also a primitive artist, a venue of expression he has continued to explore. Maintains a Malibu residence as his primary home, with a variety of others, totaling a dozen. Had a 17 year common-law relationship with Ruth Tyrangiel, and wound up paying her alimony after their break-up in 1991. In his mid-50s, he released his most critically acclaimed album in 20 years, "Time out of Mind," and began touring again in small venues, then had a near-death bout with histoplasmosis, a lung infection. Spent the next two decades on the road around the globe, in what was called “the Never-Ending Tour,” while living a largely gypsy existence, in a giant customized bus, with his band traveling separately. Secretly wed in 1986 to Carolyn Dennis, a former back-up singer, one daughter, Desi, also a singer, from the union, which ended in divorce in 1992. Rumors have also abounded that he has more daughters, by more back-up singers. Inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. Bemoaned the crippling effects of fame on his larger development, although unconsciously sought it just to see its effects on him. Appeared in a Victoria’s Secret lingerie commercial in an odd counter/coda to a deliberately countercultural life, then published his well-received memoirs, “Chronicle: Volume One,” in 2004, although remained largely unrevealed through its informal illuminations. His later works would all be heavily blues-tinged, with his voice a deliberate instrument of aging, and his lyrics the product of a person who has found no answers, but remains a lonely and absurdist quester after a sense of the divine. In 2006, he decided to give himself a more public face by becoming a satellite radio DJ, with a playlist and musical commentary, and was rewarded later that year with his first #1 album in 30 years, “Modern Times,” only to be accused of lifting lyrics from an obscure 19th century American poet, Henry Timrod (John Crowe Ransom), although he was readily forgiven for the deception. Inner: Deliberately enigmatic, deeply intelligent with the ability to be beloved by large audience, despite his own lack of ease in being a public idol. Distrusts acclaim and success, quiet and unassuming, with an obsession about security and privacy. Sly wit alternating with melancholic introspection, a dual figure still trying to integrate his inner and outer sense of love and acclaim. It-ain’t-me-babe lifetime dedicated to seeing how he would function under microscopic inspection, while struggling through his own ongoing feelings of lack of self-worth in his dualistic battle with his genius for self-expression and his ineptitude for self-love. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) - German philosopher. Outer: His family had been connected to the Lutheran church for 3 generations. Father was a Lutheran minister, mother was the daughter of a pastor. Oldest of 3, including a sister, Elisabeth (Sara Dylan). His sire died when he was 4, and may have been a victim of syphilis. The family moved afterwards, and he became a child prodigy, and was given a scholarship to a fashionable school, although early religious doubts precluded a clerical career. Suffered from nightmares, stomach pains and headaches his entire life. Went to the Univ. of Bonn, studying philology, but was not attuned to academic discipline, and probably contracted syphilis while there. His brilliance and originality, however, were very self-evident. Deeply influenced by the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer (Martin Heidigger) and the music of Richard Wagner (Werner Herzog), whom he later championed and befriended. Also a talented piano player in his own right. In his mid-20s, he was made professor of classical philology at the Univ. of Basel. Suffered a severe horseback riding accident, which may have fed into his later instability. Posited the duality of Greek civilization through the Apollo/Dionysian myths of lunacy and clarity in his first major work. Felt that civilization’s main purpose was the creation of individual genius, leading to his later theories of the superman, which were ultimately distorted by the Nazis. Showed himself to be a severe critic of contemporary Germany via his essays, hoping to see its bourgeois complacency buried in torrents of blood and replaced with godlike heros. His friendship with Wagner and his wife Cosima (Joan Baez) became strained, then broken, through his realization of the former’s inherent decadence and sentimental return to Christianity. Became an anti-idealist, replacing the ideal of the hero, with that of the free spirit. His health deteriorated and he gave up his teaching post in 1879, to live on a pension and became a disconnected wander, seeking his own company more and more. Fell in love with writer Lou Andreas-Salome, in his late 30s, although she rejected him, before becoming the lover of poet Rainer Rilke (Jakob Dylan). Her rejection ended any sense of sociality on his part, and he also realized he would never create anything of note in Germany. Became a nonperson, traveling and threadbare, his works rejected, and his academic colleagues indifferent to his ideas. Had an ecstatic vision of the eternally recurring cycles of his/story, as an affirmation of suffering life. In his late 30s, he wrote Thus Spake Zarathustra, creating the ancient Persian prophet, and a former life of his, as his imaginary companion. Pronounced, ‘God is dead,’ as a prelude to a new enlightened humanity freed of past superstitions, as he explored ‘the will to power,’ which he felt drove humanity, although never quite completed the project. Continued writing, until his final breakdown in his mid-40s in the tertiary stage of syphilis, when he witnessed a man beating a horse, and fell victim of his own megalomania, he eventually diappeared completely inside his own ferocious mind, after becoming more and more identified with Dionysus. Spent time in 2 asylums, then was tended to by his mother and his sister until his vacant death 11 years later. During that time, his sister liked to dress him in a toga and position him in front of a window, as if he were about to address the masses with his brilliance, before going on to distort his works and ideas as a rabid anti-Semite, although as soon as he collapsed, his oeuvre became accepted, as was his position as one of the most original thinkers of the 19th century. Inner: Fiercely intelligent, with a unique grasp of ancient and modern society and all its dualities. Introverted, asocial, and yet kind and awkward, with a great unsatisfied hunger for love. Solitary, yet needy, spiritual, yet anti-religious, a host of contradictions, in keeping with his ongoing status as the voice of reasoned dualism. Felt himself an actor in the guise of a great man. Wandering minstrel lifetime of enforced obscurity, allowing his brilliance to shine forth through the purity of his intellectual ideas and ideals, only to pay karmic recompense for his ongoing dualistic struggle with his own grandiose and depressive view of himself. Friedrich Holderlin (1770-1843) - German poet. Outer: From a long line of clergy and lay officials of the Protestant church. Father was manager of church properties and died 2 years after his only son’s birth. Probably the same quick-exiting sire in the 3 most recent go-rounds in this series. Also had a sister. His mother remarried the mayor of a nearby town. Had a sweet childhood imbued with the natural world, along with a warm, deeply pious family. Strongly attached to his stepfather, who died when he was 9. Brought up by his mother and grandmother. At 14, he entered the Protestant seminary to become a cleric, although he found its rigidity and discipline difficult, and he preferred his own fantasies of ideal Greek civilization. Engaged at 17, although felt himself too moody for marriage and broke it off 3 years later. At 18, he entered the Univ. of Tubingen, where he fostered the friendship of several future philosophers. Gained his degree, but did not want to be a country preacher, feeling himself far more the poet. His early works were far too abstract, although eventually he developed his own lyrical style. Began working as a private tutor, but the task proved depleting, despite his conscientiousness. Moved to Jena through the beneficence of his first employer, and became involved in the intellectual life of his times. Felt himself unable to compete in the rarified intellectual air, and began evincing a dislike for human contact. In his mid-20s, he took a tutoring job with a wealthy Frankfurt banker and fell in love with the latter’s wife, Susette (Sara Dylan). She inspired his poesy, and he was able to complete his one and only novel, Hyperion, with Susette as an idealized heroine. Dismissed 2 years later by his employer, because of his unhealthy infatuation with his wife. Moved again, living off earlier earnings, and tried to write a blank verse tragedy on the death of Empedocles, an earlier life of his. Completed most of his more memorable poems during a 3 year period around the turn of the 19th century. Moved from early Greece as subject matter to a personal view of Jesus. Tried to gain other tutoring work, but began suffering mental unbalance, including his first major bout with schizophrenia in his early 30s. Recovered to become a librarian, but deteriorated again, was taken to a clinic, released, and lived the last half of his life in the home of a carpenter, in an unconscious nod to his Jesus obsession. Became more and more depressive as he got older, taking on a sickly demeanor. Occasionally wrote simple verse during periods of lucidity. Most of his time was spent emptily wandering around his university town, where his pitiable figure was mocked by students. Inner: Morbid, melancholy, diffident, and dreamy. Martyr to his own sanity. Tried to reconcile his own sense of Christianity with the humanism of ancient Greece. Payback lifetime of playing the public fool in order to balance out his ongoing sense of grandiosity and religious fervor. Simon Dach (1605-1659) - Prussian poet. Outer: Father was a court interpreter in Lithuania. Grew up poor, although received a good education before entering the University of Konigsburg, where he studied theology and philosophy. Forced to leave, however, because of a pestilence and the equal plague of the Thirty Years’ War. In 1626, he returned to his homeland, settling in Konigsburg, which had become a refuge from the devastating conflict, for the rest of his largely uneventful life. After getting his degree, he worked as a tutor, then was made a teacher and assistant rector of the cathedral school where he was first educated. Suffered from ill health, as well as poverty, which hindered him. Unlucky in love as well, having been rejected by the daughter of a pastor, although he produced a lasting folk song dedicated to her. Found financial support from a friend, Robert Roberthin, which allowed him to spend more time writing and less time teaching. In 1639, once again through Roberthin, he was appointed to the Chair of Poetry at the Albertina Univ. in Konigsburg, where he penned poems for various university commemorations, including funeral services for colleagues. Wrote them in both Greek and Latin, and also celebrated the school’s centennial with a play in 1644. Sang the praises of Prussia’s various Electors, and wrote occasional poems as well. Got a land grant via Roberthin, which enabled him to marry the daughter of a court official in 1641. His lasting influence would be the hymns he created in concert with a group of poets and musicians who met to both give readings and create new hymns. The group published 8 books of poems and songs, and he was by far the most prolific, authoring a body of work that would be sung throughout the German states. In 1648, his friend Roberthin died, which re-channeled his focus from secular to religious poetry. Repeatedly elected dean of the faculty in the department of philosophy, he served as rector of the university in 1656 and 1657. Granted a small estate by the Great Elector shortly before his death for his lifetime body of work. Inner: Shy, retiring, highly spiritual, and blessed with a strong support group for his talents. A talented musician as well as writer. Praise-singing lifetime of battling a weak body with a high sense of spirit, before dipping down in successive existences into the lingering madness of his self-importance and megalomania, in order to try to purge himself of it. Mani (216-274?) - Persian theologian. Outer: Born to Persian parents. In his youth, he had a vision of an angel double of himself. Wandered as an ascetic, had the vision again and proclaimed himself in his mid-20s as a prophet of a new religion. Expelled by the Zoroastrians as a heretic, and traveled to northwest India. Returned to Persia on the coronation of a more tolerant king, and began preaching the basis for Manichaeanism, which synthesized various elements of the belief systems then prevalent in the area. Used the writings of Marcion, one of his earlier lives, as part of his basis. Rejected the Old Testament, as well as parts of the New, seeing himself as a continuation of Buddha and Zarathustra, among others. Always noted himself as an apostle of Jesus. Able to preach and travel widely under the benign king, but his successor allowed his priests to persecute both him and his followers. Martyred by having the skin stripped from his body, although his synthesis of the metaphysical and spiritual would have an effect in the area for the next millennium. Inner: Symbolic peeling was a rebirth on his part away from his early messianic urges, into a more secular mode of thought in succeeding go-rounds. Messianic lifetime of playing with the duality of light and darkness, this time from a far more martyr-prone standpoint. Marcion (?-c160AZ) - Roman theologian. Outer: Son of a bishop who ultimately excommunicated him for immorality. Became a teacher, traveling in Asia Minor, then went to Rome around 140, to preach, offering the first widely-held heresy against conventional Christianity. Excommunicated in 144, he created his own Church, and stimulated the spread of unorthodox communities. Saw two different Gods in the Old Testament’s Creator and Christianity’s merciful Lord, with the former inferior to the latter, and Jesus as the epitome of the God of Love. Created his own New Testament, based largely on letters and writings of Luke (Sigmund Freud), while attempting to exclude the Old Testament from his system. His ideas later influenced Manichaeism, which absorbed his teachings. Forced the early Church to create a formal canon in reaction to him. Inner: Believer in faith rather than knowledge, with the same dualistic view of the universe, this time appropriated by competing Old Desert Gods. Gnostic lifetime of serving in a messianic capacity of drawing a deep line in the sand between Judaism and Christianity, so as to firmly underscore the emotional differences between the two. Empedocles (c493BZ-c433BZ) - Greek philosopher, poet and physiologist. Outer: Became a leader of the democratic faction of his Sicilian city. Offered the crown but refused it, and then was forced into exile along with his followers. A respected and influential philosopher, he posited the four elements as the basis of the palpable universe, and innately understood the physical principles of motion. Also a healer and versifier, as well as a charismatic leader. Thought himself a God, and as legend has it, threw himself into the volcanic crater atop Mt. Etna to prove to his followers he was divine, although achieved quite the opposite effect in his decidedly mortal ending. Nothing remains of his poetry save for a few hundred lines. Believer in reincarnation, as well as the transformation of all energy, rather than its destruction. Inner: Saw the world as dualistic, playing off the tensions between love and strife. Messianic lifetime of continuing to play with dualistic themes, while acting out his ongoing sense of self-consuming megalomania. Zarathustra (c628-c551BZ) - Persian theologian. Outer: Figure of legend, rising to semi-divine status well after his death. Probably born into a family of camel handlers, which is how his name is translated. Studied to become a priest, and at the age of 30, experienced a mystical vision from the Lord of Light (Ahura Mazda), and saw the world in dualistic terms, a constant battle between darkness and light, Ormuzd and Ahriman, from which the Light would ultimately emerge victorious. His preaching was not popular in his own backwater, and he was forced to flee east, where he converted a king, the father of the future Persian emperor Darius, and lived at his court. Eventually disappeared into his own mind, although details of his life are mixed with both legend and myth. Not fully accepted until well after his death, although, the religion that arose, Zoroastrianism, continues into modern times. Inner: Mr. Duality of the ancient world, replete with his own volcanic mind consuming him, an ongoing motif of his. Thus Sprach lifetime of acting as ancient prophet, while establishing the dualistic themes of self-glory and self-abnegation, which he would continue to act out in both secular and spiritual fashion down through the centuries that would follow.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS SAD-EYED LADDIE OF THE LOWLANDS:
Storyline: The melancholic troubador bears the onus of either legendary or totally unsupportive fathers, forcing him to take longer than most to find his true voice, but once found, is able to resound down through the ages with it, as a unique visionary with a highly visual sense of language.
Jakob Dylan (1969) - American singer and songwriter. Outer: Son of singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. Mother, Sarah Lowndes Dylan, was an ex-model, who served as his father’s early muse. Youngest of 4, whose birth inspired the song, “Forever Young.” Had a protected upbringing, and was instructed to stay anonymous in public. Suffered through his progenitors’ very public break-up when he was 8, then spent half his time with each parent, afterwards. Attended a private high school, where he was a poor student, although traveled quite a bit, joining his father on tours while being continually exposed to music at home. Identified with his parental Judaism. Briefly an art student after high school at the Parsons School of Design. Overwhelmed by his father’s influence, he began playing music in his teens, although never felt the same sense of rebellion that drove his sire. Although his father was dead-set against his career initially, he persevered, organizing a group called The Wallflowers. Married his long-time friend, Paige Denny in 1992, 3 sons from the union. His first record came out the same year and sold poorly, but, after shifting some bandmates, he eventually won 2 Grammys for the multimillion-selling “Bringing Down the Horse,” in 1996, evincing a similar gruff voice to his sire’s. Toured steadily afterwards, and has been able to create a unique career on his own, despite the overshadowing effect of having a living legend for a father, whom he refuses to discuss in any detail publicly. Writes his own material, and although his subsequent efforts have not sold as well as his one blockbuster, he remains a troubadour of his times. Inner: Shy, intense, brooding, as well as wry, self-deprecating and good-humored. Far more into self-expression than fame, having experienced the latter through his father. Unprodigal son lifetime of linking up with his longtime mentor to relive his life in a completely different way. Rainer Maria Rilke (Rene Karl Wilhelm Johann Joseph Maria Rilke) (1875-1926) - German poet. Outer: Father was a railroad official whose military career had been frustrated and cut off by illness. Mother was the daughter of a self-important bank official, and encouraged his creativity. Had a difficult relationship with his sire, while his mother treated him as if he were her daughter, calling him Sophia, and dressing him in girl’s clothes until he was 5 to compensate for the earlier loss of a baby sister. His parents separated when he was 9, and the following year, he was sent to a military academy, where he was extremely unhappy under the rigid discipline and eventually invalided out. Later had similar difficulties in business school. Studied philosophy, literature and art his/story at Prague through the help of his uncle and then at Munich, before traveling with Lou Andreas-Salome, a previous obsession of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (Bob Dylan), to Russia, where he felt a strong spiritual kinship with the Slavic race. His early poetry was sentimental and contrived, and he took a while to find his true voice. Preferred an unstable, traveling life with literary people, while continually searching out ‘great men’ as a source of inspiration. In 1898, he traveled to Italy and North Africa, before returning to Paris, then visited Russia, where he met writer Leo Tolstoy, who had a strong effect on his work. Married sculptor Clara Westhoff in 1901, one daughter from the union, although the marriage ended the following year, despite never officially divorcing. Continued his pattern afterwards of withdrawing from romantic relationships whenever they became too close. Began getting recognition for his poetry shortly afterwards, and in 1905, he visited Paris, where he adopted the sculptural techniques of August Rodin (Robert Rauschenberg), whose secretary he became, and who showed him how to approach poetry through a craftsman’s perspective. After being abruptly dismissed from his employ, he wrote a study of him, while shifting to a less mystical and more reality-oriented mode in his subsequent oeuvre. Lived as a guest of a German princess near Trieste, and afterwards, produced a life of the Virgin Mary. WW I forced him to go back to Germany, while war service in the Austrian army, as well as chronic ill health, frustrated his creativity. After the war, he settled in Switzerland. Able to integrate his own sensibilities into his work by breaking down the barriers of subjective and objective views with a view of the thing itself. Wrote in long poetic cycles, with a striking sense of visual imagery, and a musical flow to his language. His verse often sounded medieval, because of his mystical and spiritual outlook. Suffered from leukemia, causing him to spend much of of his later life in a sanitarium. Died from blood poisoning received from the prick of a rose thorn, in a metaphoric internal alchemizing of beauty into toxicity. His reputation has soared after his death, as one of Germany’s most beloved poets. Inner: Melancholic, introspective, and extremely sensitive. Viewed himself as a true troubadour, and a singer of all creation. Had the ability to express the abstract in a highly tangible manner. Obsessed with death, and anti-modern, with a particularly disdain for modern cities. Disenchanted lifetime of exploring his own troubled nature through his poetic works, affirming his deep inner unhappiness with a life dedicated to artistically celebrating dolor. Heinrich Von Kleist (Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm Klaeist) (1777-1811) - German poet and playwright. Outer: First-born son of a retired major, he had extremely unhappy childhood in a military household. One of 5 children. His family had produced 18 generals, and his father died when he was 11. Enlisted in the army when he was 15, and eventually resigned his subsequent commission after 7 miserable years, much to his family and superior’s surprise. Studied law in an attempt to attain both knowledge and virtue, but felt logic and reason were not his proper pathways, and eventually chose to explore his emotions through writing. Proposed to a major general’s daughter, but took off right before the wedding, either sexually dysfunctional or perhaps suffering from a venereal disease. Maintained the illusion of impending marriage afterwards, although his fiancee eventually married another. No real evidence of his ever having slept with anyone. His life as a poet began when he rejected the tenets of rationalism. Traveled to Switzerland in 1801 in pursuit of a bucolic life, then went to France, where he wrote poetry and dramas. Was expelled from France, after trying to volunteer for the French army in hopes of dying on the battlefield. Tried to become a civil servant with the Prussian Ministry of Finance but resigned, then was imprisoned in 1807 by occupying French troops on the trumped up charge of being a spy. Suffered a nervous breakdown and several mysterious illnesses. Wrote both novels and for the stage, continued his travels, but his greater ambitions for fame and fortune were continually curtailed. After a stint as an editor of a literary journal that folded and the brief editorship of Germany’s first daily newspaper, he found himself completely impoverished, and dependent on loans from an otherwise unsupportive sister. Stopped writing and made a suicide pact with Henrietta Vogel, a terminally ill woman, preparing meticulously for it with numerous farewell messages. Shot her in the heart by a riverbank, and then shot himself in the mouth. Inner: Enigmatic with a profound penchant for unhappiness. Suffered a speech defect, and was extremely self-defeating and self-destructive. Angry, depressed, felt unfit for earthlife. Angst-ridden lifetime of an inability to get past the unhappiness of his childhood, as well as holding an overwhelming romantic draw towards death, as the only way he could understand his own life.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS OFT SHORT-LIVED TROUBADOUR:
Storyline: The droll lyricist finally brings himself into full maturity after many a go-round of battling deficient bodies that couldn’t sustain his ongoing gift for celebratory song.
Randy Newman (1944) - American songwriter. Outer: Son of a musician turned physician. Lived all over the South his first few years, while his father was stationed at various posts during WW II. Had several operations for crossed eyes as a child. Grew up in a comfortable middle-class Jewish home in Los Angeles and intended to follow the career of 3 uncles who were all composers of movie scores. At 17, he became a staff writer for a California publishing company. Attended UCLA, but dropped out a semester short of getting a music degree. Signed with a record label, and had many of his songs performed by other singers. Became a popular campus act, while touring with friend Harry Nilsson, who did a whole album of his songs. His darkly comic material was often misunderstood, particularly with his sense of conciseness and irony. Married Roswitha Schmale, who was German-born, in 1967, 3 sons from the union. Continued producing albums under a variety of musical influences, ranging from New Orleans style to semi-classical, punctuated by his biting wit. Began writing for films in the 1970s, and established himself on a par with his revered uncles, with his sense of orchestration and American musical idioms. Divorced in 1985, and five years later married a second time, to Gretchen Preece, son and daughter from the union. Wrote his first musical comedy in his early 50s, based on the Faust legend, showing the depth of his skills, although it was not well-received. Followed it up with “The Education of Randy Newman,” as he continued to mature and stretch his talents, having been given the extended time to do so, after numerous abbreviated go-rounds in this series. After 16 tries, he finally won an Academy Award in 2002 for the music to Monster’s Ball. Inner: Mordant wit, with a particular sensitivity to life’s ironies. Full breath lifetime of finally breaking through his propensity for relatively early deaths to give full maturity to both his lyrical and musical talent. Stephen Vincent Benet (1893-1943) - American poet and novelist. Outer: From a military family with literary talent and a long martial tradition. Father was an army ordnance officer. Brother William (Paul Thomas Anderson) became an editor and poet, sister also became a writer. Raised on a series of army post, and contracted scarlet fever at the age of 3 which weakened his eyesight and ruled out a military career. Educated at home initially, then spent one year at a military academy, which he hated. First published poems at 15, then was indifferent student at Yale, but chairman of the Yale literary magazine. WW I interrupted his education. Memorized the official eye chart, passed the army physical in order to enlist, but his deception was soon discovered, and he became a cryptographer for military intelligence. After the service, he graduated Yale, then submitted poems instead of a thesis for his M.A. graduate degree. Published a novel and short stories, went to France, and studied at the Sorbonne on a Yale fellowship. Met his wife Rosemary Carr, in Paris, and the happy union produced 2 daughters and a son. Returned to the U.S. and continued his prolific output, and then went back to France with his family on a Guggenheim fellowship in his late 20s. Produced the epic poem, “John Brown’s Body,” for which he is best remembered, and established his reputation as a leading American poet. The stock Market crash in 1929, however, wiped out his financial successes. Went to Hollywood but disliked it, and returned to grinding out stories. Suffered a nervous breakdown in 1939 from overwork, complicated by severe arthritis. During WW II, he wrote propaganda against the totalitarian Axis. Died of a heart seizure, halting his ambitions as a his/storical poet of America. Inner: Honest, straightforward, but literally and figuratively shortsighted, as well as rigid. Lyrical lifetime of poetically probing his love of his/story, while continuing to deal with life-foreshortening physical limitations. Sidney Lanier (1842-1881) - American poet and musician. Outer: From a distinguished Southern family, brought up by devoutly religious parents. Father was a lawyer. Although he showed musical precocity, he was expected to join his sire’s firm. Graduated from Oglethorpe College, fought for the South in the Civil War, and was captured and imprisoned, where he contracted tuberculosis. Returned to civilian life by walking through the Carolinas, and after continuing to be ill, told his father he would rather devote his life to poetry and music. Worked at odd jobs, where the climate helped his health. In 1867, he married Mary Day. Wrote, worked in his father’s law office, taught at Johns Hopkins Univ., and ultimately became first flutist in a Baltimore orchestra, where he moved his family. His lectures led to “Science of English Verse,” published in 1880, which would be his seminal work. Struggled financially because of TB, wrote verse and potboilers and gave private concerts. Eventually died from TB at 39, with the wry commentary, “Most of my life has been spent in not dying.” Inner: Witty, well-liked, hard-working, with a sense of imminent cessation throughout his adult life. Cup of coffee lifetime of bringing all his gifts to bear, while fighting against the time limits of a failing physical body. Joseph Rodman Drake (1795-1820) - American poet. Outer: Father died when his son was a boy, mother remarried and went to New Orleans, leaving him with relatives. Only son and one of 4 children. A poet from childhood on, he graduated from medical school, and while a student became friends with Fitz-Greene Halleck (Wallace Stevens), collaborating on satiric verse with him, which proved very popular. In 1816 he began to practice medicine and in the same year married Sarah Eckford, the daughter and heiress of a wealthy shipbuilder, and took an extended honeymoon. One daughter from the union, whom he named Halleck after his close associate. His friends feared his wealthy marriage would change him, but it didn’t, and he opened a pharmacy in NYC. Tubercular most of his life, he eventually died from that disease in his mid-20s. Wished his poems destroyed, but they were published posthumously. Curious parallel with poet John Keats (Jeff Buckley) in the same span of years, choice of profession and cause of death, although the latter was far the superior wordmeister. Inner: Engaging personality, handsome, tubercular and lovable. Warm and modest. Penciled in lifetime of trying to self-heal his frail constitution, while adding to the humorous collective oeuvre of America. Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) - American musician, writer and political figure. Outer: From a distinguished family, grew up in a cultured atmosphere. Both parents were English-born, father was a judge. After the latter died when he was young, his mother sacrificed to give him the best education possible. Educated at the Univ. of Penna., he began composing while still a student, contributing to college entertainments. Later wrote songs, an oratorio, and pieces for the pianoforte, while proving himself a skilled harpsichord performer. Short, with animated features. Studied law, and after a brief business career, became a successful lawyer. Lived for two years in England in the mid-1760s, then married Ann Borden, the daughter of the founder of Bordentown, N.J, 3 daughters and 2 sons from the union. Represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence, held several minor posts and ended his career as a judge. A strong supporter of the Constitution, he wrote several articles that helped its passage in Pennsylvania. An accomplished artist as well as musician, he also wrote political satires. Designed various seals, and may have helped with the design of the American flag. Son Joseph became an eminent lawyer and jurist, and also displayed musical skills. Maintained correspondence with many of the heavyweights of the Revolutionary period. Died of apoplexy, in the last longterm life he would lead in this series until the 20th century. Inner: Renaissance man, adept at both politics and the arts. Considered the first secular American composer. Kind, benevolent, Full breath lifetime of developing all his artistic gifts, while playing a peripheral but important role in the founding of the United States, before abbreviating his existences over the next two centuries.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS ETERNAL PUNK:
Storyline: The fire-thieving phoenix finally begins to integrate her inner and outer life through a far more cohesive view of herself as a woman, rather than the tortured male she had earlier been in a long series of foreshortened go-rounds where her sensibilities soared at the cost of her very heart and soul.
Patti Smith (1946) - American poet and musician. Outer: Mother was a waitress, laundress and singer, father was a former tap dancer turned factory worker. One younger brother. Both parents encouraged her imaginative development. The family moved east from Chicago, ending up in New Jersey, where she grew up. Tomboyish, she wore an eyepatch for an optic problem, and was subject to illness. 5’8”, and rail-thin. Her father’s violent reaction to the rock group, the Rolling Stones, cemented her interest in r’n’r as a primary means of expression. At 19, she gave out-of-wedlock birth to a daughter, who was subsequently adopted. Worked briefly in a factory. Won a scholarship to Glassboro St. Teacher’s College in NJ, but dropped out to make a pilgrimage to Paris. Felt a very strong connection to Arthur Rimbaud, an earlier life of hers. Returned to Greenwich Village as both a painter-turned-poet and punk rocker, finding tremendous release in performance. Lived with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, under whose tutelage she drew, in order to capture her demons. His emerging homophile desires eventually ended their intimacy, but not before each had made the other a burgeoning artist. Also creatively and sexually connected with bad-boy poet Jim Carroll and playwright Sam Shepard, as well as musician Todd Rundgren. Turned from painting to writing, spewing forth for rock magazines, and then turning her love of wordplay to poetry. Always idolized outlaw-artists, and turned herself into one as well. Initially put her poems to an electric guitar backup, and eventually integrated her words and music. Released her first punk-rock record during the mid-1970s, and proved an extremely influential creative force, serving as an icon for both female and male performers who followed her. Never a full-rounded singer, and technically quite limited as a musician, but always a unique stage presence. Fell from the stage in Florida in 1977, was hospitalized, wrote her 46h book of poetry and then had her biggest commercial hit, “Because the Night.” Ended her public career shortly afterwards and moved to Michigan with her musician/husband, Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, a guitarist for the MC5, and had 2 children from union, Jesse and Jackson, who would both eventually tour with her. Concentrated on their domestic scene, until the death of her husband from heart failure in 1994. Her brother’s subsequent demise inspired her to return to public life as a performer once again, bringing all her fire and passion back with her as a genuine rock’n’roll phoenix, while enjoying encomia for her come-back efforts, particularly “Gung Ho,” released in 2000. Has an ongoing relationship with her guitarist, longtime colleague and fellow poet, Lenny Kaye. As a career coda, she was inducted into the Rock’nRoll Hall of Fame in 2007. Published her early life memoirs, “Just KIds,” in 2010. Inner: Self-involvedly self-expressive, idealistic and deceptively strong, despite her fragile appearance. Lifelong rebel, good-hearted charismatic visionary. Obsessive, voraciously self-educated, fan-as-performer. Claimed to have masturbated to her own photographs as a youth. Thief of fire lifetime of changing genders to more fully experience her emotionality and spirituality through the added poetic venue of music and direct public performance. Raymond Radiguet (1903-1923) - French novelist. Outer: Father eked out a living as a cartoonist. One of 7 children. Little is known of his early childhood. Extremely precocious, at 14, he was writing fully formed verse. Came to Paris at 15 and wandered, never maintaining a permanent address. Sported extremely long hair and carried a cane too big for him, while plugging into 18th century neo-classicism. Dissipated himself through alcoholism and drugs, with the subconscious forethought that this would be an extremely short go-round. Joined the post-war Dadaist and Cubist circles, despite being uninterested in the isms of his own time, while poet and artist Jean Cocteau (Bryan Singer) became his mentor, although he later distanced himself from him by becoming heterosexual. Left the City of Light in 1920 and wrote two penetrating novels, one inspired by his own precocious adolescence, The Devil in the Flesh, and the other a tale of manners. Returned to Paris and caught typhoid fever there, expiring at the tender age of 20. Wrote of life laid bare by love. Inner: Skeptical, inscrutable, extremely lucid and rather cold. Handsome, short, grave, imperturbable. Myopic, bitter and cynical far beyond his brief years. Sip of absinthe lifetime of briefly exploring himself through the written word, before deciding to try to integrate his complex interior once again through a female perspective. Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) - French poet. Outer: Mother was the daughter of a prosperous farmer, father was an infantry captain, who abandoned the family when his son was 6. The former was a contentious figure, who imposed strict discipline on her 5 surviving children. Although he was her favorite, she was incapable of anything but criticism. Small and quiet as a child. Proved to be a brilliant student at the College de Chareville school, where he was introduced to the romantics, which excited his literary mind, and inspired a torrent of verse from his pen, in imitation of the popular mode of the time. Won all but 2 of the prizes his school had to offer. Left afterwards for Paris, but because he had no money or ticket, was thrown in jail. His mentor, George Izambard, rescued him, and offered him 3 weeks at his household. Returned to his outraged mother, before eventually running away again, living on the streets of Paris for several weeks. His early haughtiness gave way to a violent temperament, cadging drinks from anyone interested in listening to his poetic contumelies. Began to formulate a visionary poetry, claiming, “the poet is the thief of fire,” and must disorder his or her senses through experience in order to be so. Wrote a letter to Paul Verlaine (Mickey Avalon), and came to briefly live with him and his family. The duo were constant companions for a little over a year, in an orgy of absinthe, hashish, sadomasochism and sodomy, despite Verlaine’s vacillation between his family and his fascinating lover. Verlaine eventually went to Belgium, announced he was going to kill himself, and after the thief of fire arrived, the older poet shot at him several times, hitting him in the wrist. The police had to be called in the aftermath, and in the subsequent trial, Verlaine was sentenced to 2 years, while the thief returned home to his mother, where he finished his masterwork, A Season in Hell, all the while self-destructing with drink and guilt. With the poor reception of A Season, he burned many of his manuscripts and, in essence, gave up poetry at the age of 19, to become someone completely different. Traveled extensively in Europe over the next 7 years, returning home only when he ran out of money, while pondering what to do with his life, and coming to see his poems as dregs and no further use to him. Signed up as a mercenary with the Dutch colonial army, but deserted after 13 days in 1876. Became a cashier in a Hamburg circus, then drifted to Alexandria and Cyprus, where he was foreman of a construction gang. In 1880, he set off for northeastern Africa, convinced he was destined to make his fortune as an explorer. Worked for a coffee exporter in Harar and Aden, lived with a native woman, and made a journey into uncharted country. Engaged in gun-running in the interior, and may have also been involved in slave-trading. Settled in Harar, in Abyssinia, where he operated a successful trading post.. Despite having many visitors, he experienced profound loneliness, as limned in his letters home, to his only outside world contact, his mother. Rediscovered when he was thought to be dead through the publication of his Illuminations by Verlaine in 1883, but, by that time, he was suffering from an inflammation of the right knee, whose distorted size impelled him to make one last journey home. Underwent an excruciating ordeal, and had his leg amputated in Marseilles. Also suffered from a tertiary stage of syphilis, he eventually became paralyzed, and eaten away by cancer. Died, making a death-bed conversion to the Church, after a pagan lifetime. Exerted extraordinary influence on both symbolist poetry, and later on the poetry of rock’n’roll. Inner: Passionate linguist, bisexual, carrying both the uninhibited heart of the pagan, and his mother’s sense of tradition and moral control. Harar-filled lifetime of acting out of his eternally adolescent duality, creating a unique Pan figure in the world of language and art. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) - American writer. Outer: Of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Father had been destined for the law, but took to the stage instead, mother was an English-born childless widow, Elizabeth Poe (Frances Farmer) who was also an actress, as her parents had been. Middle of 3 children. His alcoholic father either died or deserted the family shortly after his birth and his mother died of consumption soon after, but not before giving birth to a daughter, whose legitimacy was questioned, and whose development became arrested. Adopted by his godfather, a prosperous Scottish-born Virginia merchant, but the loss of his mother weighed heavily on him the rest of his life. Received a good education, and grew up in comfortable circumstances, after the extreme poverty of his beginnings. Had piercing eyes and long lashes, and was of medium height with a perpetually haggard look. Spoiled by his foster-mother, he went with his family on a trip to London and Scotland, and spent 5 years there, returning to America in 1820. Turned into a lordly youngster, somewhat aloof, but notably brilliant, although increasingly alienated from his guardian. Began writing verse in his early teens. Went to the Univ. of Virginia for one semester but withdrew after excessive drinking and gambling, despite showing his academic aptitude. Returned home, quarreled violently with his adopted father and ran away to Boston, arriving almost penniless. Published his first book of poetry, but received little response, changed his name briefly to E.A. Perry, and joined the army, from which he was eventually dismissed 2 1/2 years later for disobeying an order. Appointed to West Point after a reconciliation with his stepfather and the death of his beloved stepmother, but was dismissed for rule infractions and disowned by his former. Still a heavy drinker, he ultimately took refuge with an aunt in Baltimore in 1831, where he lived for 4 years in seclusion and extreme poverty. Began receiving recognition for his short stories, then twice married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm, when he was 27, with his aunt acting as mother to both of them. Kept her awake each night til near dawn, while he created some of his finest metaphysical works. Showed himself to be a talented editor, but lost his position at the Southern Literary Messenger, for drinking, and went to live in Philadelphia in 1839, where he established a reputation as an incisive critic. Also considered the progenitor of the modern detective story. Had a curious habit of extracting revenge on many who helped him, showing a propensity for ultimately turning all situations to his disadvantage. His wife suffered from tuberculosis, which distressed him greatly. Added opium addiction to his drinking, and moved with his aunt and wife to a cottage in New York, where he suffered abject poverty. Finally began making a little money from editing a successful magazine, Graham’s, while his works started attracting more attention. Lost his position, however, through drinking, and began freelancing. Moved to NYC, and became destitute again, although enjoyed his biggest triumph with the poem, “The Raven,” which created a furor, and enabled him to begin socializing again. Despite his growing fame, he remained impecunious, and slipped back into his usual mode of poverty and despair. After his wife finally died in 1847, he completely fell apart, totally dissipating himself, while being nursed by his mother-in-law. Somehow became engaged again to a widow, but on his way north to the wedding by steamer, he debauched himself in Baltimore, and four days later, he was found in a low tavern dying of alcohol poisoning, from which he soon perished in a hospital, uttering as his final words, “Lord help my poor soul.” Inner: America’s greatest romantic artist. Obsessive, mournful, hungry for recognition. Passionate, intense, uncontrolled, unable to countenance the deaths of the various women in his life. Experienced wild swings from abstinence to binges, and completely unable to control drinking once he started. Unconscious search for both misery and tragedy to spur his curious genius. Ravin’ romantic lifetime of thoroughly giving in to his wounds, while producing some of the most interesting literature in the American canon as an ineffective means of self-healing. Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (1670-1741) - French dramatist and poet. Outer: Son of a poor cobbler. Showed himself to be an excellent student who evinced an early talent for satiric verse, and became a popular figure in libertine literary circles. Became secretary to a marechal, went to London, then returned to Paris. After trying to produce several of his plays, he became involved in a dispute amid insults with his critics and detractors. Used classical forms, but based his works on personalities of the day. Convicted of defamation for satiric verse that he probably did not write, and was forced to flee the country in 1707. Exiled from France, he went to Switzerland, where he was forced to write banal verse for various rich patrons. Tried to sneak back into France in disguise, but wound up spending the last 3 decades of his life wandering about Europe, only to die in extreme impoverished circumstances. Bridge figure between classicism and rationalism. Inner: Witty, clever, but unable to bear criticism. Far better poet than playwright. Thin-skinned lifetime of suffering mightily for an inability to accept criticism, or to realize where his literary strengths truly lay.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS COMPLEAT ALIEN:
Storyline: The lubricious luciferian spends his various seasons in his own hells, before finally finding a time and a message that integrates his oddball sensibilities and profound alienation with a supportive audience willing to give him his dark-eyed due.
Mickey Avalon (Yeshe Perl) (1975) - American singer and songwriter. Outer: Grandparents were both Auschwitz survivors. Father had that concentration camp’s motto, “Arbeit Mach Frei” or ‘Work Makes You Free,’ tattooed on his forearm. Obsessed with rhythm and blues music, with a darkside poetic sensibility, his sire and his mother married, traveled, and eventually resettled in Los Angeles, where he became a chiropractor. Younger sister from union. His father developed a heroin habit which took over his life, and his parents divorced, while the former started hanging out with some very dark characters, while running insurance scams. His mother sold baggies of pot to support the family. Grew up in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, and was fascinated by hip-hop from an early age, writing beats with his friends. Joined his mother’s modest business at 14, and 2 years later had his own apartment, but fell into his father’s habit, eventually turning to Orthodox Judaism, replete with beard, in order to try to ground himself, while taking care of his father, who was barely physically functional from all the drugs he had taken. Lean and sad-eyed. Able to get him into treatment, but ironically the latter was hit by a drunk driver, after proving to himself he could stay clean. Tried to start a family to curb his continued addiction, married and moved to Portland, and had a daughter. Got ever deeper into addiction, separated, became a hand/job street hustler, limiting himself to selling his palm so as not to threaten his heterosexuality, while sinking into the sorrow of the streets of the city. Had “Thank You’ tattooed in large letters in his pelvic area, as well as “Sorry” on the palm of a hand, and “Please” writ inside his lower lip, in addition to more conventional body art. Began performing in his early 20s, at the behest of DJ and actor, Simon Rex, using his life as beat material, and began building up a loyal following, replete with active groupies. Discovered his beloved sister dead on heroin, as a final family downer, but, through it all, he was able to fashion a celebratory act around his own extended seasons in Hell, with a highly willing audience more than eager to support him. Inner: Extremely vulnerable, candid, intelligent and guileless. Lower depths lifetime of acting it out in the beginning, rather than later on as in past lives in this series to help him better integrate his profound sense of disconnection, with his equal gifts for creation. Delmore Schwartz (1913-1966) - American poet. Outer: Elder son of Rumanian-Jewish immigrants. Father made a fortune in real estate, although homelife was bitter, with parents constantly arguing. Was able to read at 3, and found great escape in books. His progenitors finally divorced when he was a young teenager. Always wanted to be a poet, felt his name embodied the clash of cultures he represented, with commonality in his surname, and pretense in his first. His father died at the beginning of the Great Depression, and his fortune soon dwindled away to nothing. A compulsive journal keeper, with great ambitions for literary eminence. Educated at Wisconsin, NYU and Harvard. Became a lecturer afterwards at a number of schools, including Harvard, teaching composition there for 7 years. Blonde and blue-eyed and good-looking, with noble features, although both his face and frame gradually coarsened with drink and drugs. In 1937, he married Gertrude Buckman, a fellow literature student at NYC, then passed out at the reception, while her parents wept bitter tears throughout their wedding ceremony, later divorced. Earned fame in 1938 from his first work of poetry, In Dreams Begin Responsibilities. Also published criticism and short stories, and in 1943, he became an editor of the Partisan Review, holding that post until 1955. His 2nd marriage in 1949 was to novelist Elizabeth Pollet, but he constantly accused her of infidelity, and the marriage disintegrated into divorce in 1957. Attacked critic Hilton Kramer, accusing him of having an affair with his wife, after having hallucinated their illicit congress, and was strait-jacketed to Bellevue for his delusion. No children from either union, but he fathered a child with a dancer. During the 1950s, he held visiting lectureships at various universities, as well as several editorial posts. All the while, he took to liquor and benzedrine and barbiturates in most obsessive fashion, steadily spiraling downward, although he was able to maintain his public teaching stance, despite an increasing sense of paranoid persecution. His work was sprinkled with irony and a sense of disintegration of modern life, of which he was a prime example. Translated Arthur Rimbaud’s (Patti Smith) Saison en enfer, which was savaged by critics, causing him permanent humiliation, despite his earlier life’s intimate knowledge of the poet. His last several years were unproductive. In and out of Bellevue Hospital, he had turned off all his friends by the end of his life. Wound up a pathetic figure on a park bench, one of NYC’s many shadow casualties. Died of heart attack in an elevator in a seedy New York hotel, while his body was unclaimed until an obituary appeared in paper. Wrote of the individual in conflict with time and his times. Inner: Wit and raconteur, coined the phrase, “Even paranoids have real enemies.” Unstable, but with great sensitivity and an abiding interest in language. Saw the spiritual as a foundation for life. Poet of alienation. Profoundly alienated lifetime of riding a mind that was incapable of sustaining its own brilliance without degradation and disintegration. Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) - French poet. Outer: Father was a French officer in an engineering regiment. Both parents were conservative and piously Catholic, enjoyed a comfortable upbringing. His family was transferred numerous times, until his sire resigned and moved to Paris. As an only son, he was highly demanding, refusing to go to sleep without his mother standing by, and clinging to both parents. Initially a diligent student, he became slovenly and ill-kempt, just barely graduating. Entered law school, but preferred the other kind of bar, and eventually became a municipal clerk. After his father died, his mother continued to treat him like child. Showed a brutal personality when drunk, otherwise was far more the aesthete when sober, writing poetry and hanging out with friends of similar sensibility. Gradually found his own musical voice, and became a recognized writer, while his family wanted him to marry to stabilize his unsteady character. Became engaged to a 16 year old, Matilde Maute, whom he married in his mid-20s, and separated from in his late 20s. Served in the military, lost his government job, moved in with his in-laws, and began drinking again. Met Arthur Rimbaud (Patti Smith) and had a passionate affair with him. Abused his wife, drank to extreme excess, and his wife left him, later divorced in 1885. Tempestuously traveled with Rimbaud, causing ever more family turmoil, until, after several separations and reconciliations, he shot Rimbaud following a 2 day drunk in 1873, although not fatally. Sentenced to 2 years in prison, he converted to a fervent Catholicism there. After his release, he became a teacher in England and at a private school in France, but lost his posts through drinking. Failed at farming, spent a month in prison for attacking his mother, then sank into a life of poverty, male and female affairs and gross inebriation, with periods of hospitalization from recuperation and bouts of repentance. Often depended on public shelter for his night’s sleep. Died from pneumonia. Best remembered for Romance sans paroles and Les Poets maudits, which made him a leader of the younger Symbolists. Inner: Sensitive, dependent, deeply and sensuously spiritual. Monumentally self-destructive, an eternal adolescent at heart. Subtle, delicate, musical writer. Season in hell lifetime of following his instinct for degradation, while defining his spirituality by acting the continual falling angel. Johann Christian Gunther (1695-1723) - German poet. Outer: Father was a country doctor, who introduced him to world literature as a child, then resented his desire to become a poet. The subsequent search for his sire’s love and approval became the major theme of his life. Sent by his father to Wittenberg in 1715 to study medicine, but showed no interest in it, and self-destructed instead, causing an irreparable break with his family. Deprived of financial support, he became a vagabond, dependent on admirers for support. In 1718, he won recognition with a celebratory poem on the peace of Passorowitz, but he continued to live in a state of poverty, drunkenness and debauchery. Failed in his desire to become a German court poet, when he presented himself to his potential patron, Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, the king of Poland, in a hopeless drunken state. Collapsed and died soon after giving up the woman he loved. His poetry was very autobiographical and self-revealing in contrast to the conventions of the time. Unashamedly sensual in his verse, writing both drinking songs and religious poetry, and combining cynicism and vulgarity with the purity of his poetic sensibilities. His complete works were published a year after his death. Inner: Debauched and dissipated, with a longing for death. Extremely talented poet, but without the character to give full life to his gift. Flickering candle lifetime of self-destructing in search for love and approval. Giambattista Marino (1569-1625) - Italian poet. Outer: Father was a well-to-do lawyer, who wished his son to follow in his path. Took legal training, but refused to practice. Because of his dissolute and rebellious habits, he was driven from home. Wandered for 2 years and acquired influential patrons, becoming a public poet, reciting his verses in salons and academies. In 1596, he became secretary to a Neapolitan prince, but was arrested on charges of immoral conduct, and only released through the intercession of the prince. Again imprisoned in 1600 for falsifying documents, when influential friends helped him escape to Rome. His poetry had also been denounced by the Inquisition as libidinous. Made a powerful ally of a cardinal who was nephew of the pope, traveled with him to Turin and stayed there. Quarreled with a rival poet, and found imprisonment once again, where he composed prose pieces. His fame spread, and he was released through it, but his disputatious nature again rose, and in 1615, he left for Paris. Probably received a royal pension there, and was supported by Italian friends. Eventually returned to Rome under the patronage of the cardinal, but the censorship against his work remained. Left and retired to Naples in 1624, his place of birth, where he died of an infection following an operation. Viewed during his life as Italy’s supreme sensuous poet. Inner: Pleasure-loving, restless, rebellious, libidinous. Dualistic lifetime of exploring both pleasure and pain, with plenty of meditative time in prisons of his own making to try to sort the two out.

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PATHWAY OF THE IRRESPONSIBLE HARD-TRAVELING TROUBADOUR:
Storyline: The popular populist rises from humble origins to become an ongoing national poet in whatever milieu he finds himself, although prefers the freedom of the road to the constrictions of personal responsibility, and winds up a victim of his own frail constitution.
Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) - American songwriter. Outer: From Oklahoma farming stock. Mother was a cattleman’s daughter and rural schoolteacher who her taught son old songs, and suffered from Huntington’s chorea, a degenerative nerve disease that she passed down to him and which also eventually claimed her own mind. Father was a singer, banjo player and sometime prizefighter, who encouraged his children to stand up for themselves, and ran a cattle and real estate business. A firm anti-socialist, he suffered financial reverses in the 1920s. Their son’s early homes burned down 3 times, one of which claimed the life of his older sister, who had set it after an argument with their mother. His sire was badly burned in a fire that his mother had set. An uncle taught him the guitar and fiddle and he began composing and singing folk songs. Mother was put in an asylum when he was 13, and died there 5 years later. Left at 15 to travel the rails, and left home for good at 17. Worked as a newsboy, sign painter, spittoon washer and other such jobs, and also sang in the streets. Small and scrawny. Became a familiar figure in migrant camps of the 1930s, with his guitar and a slew of songs. which were written and compiled from his farming heritage. Left his first wife Mary Jennings, with a 2nd child on the way, to roam in 1937, and began his public career in California, performing daily on radio, and enjoying popularity for his Will Rogers-type humor. Moved to NYC at the start of WW II, where he became involved with the folk-singing group, the Weavers. Actively pro-labor and union, he rarely ceased traveling, despite marriage and family, whom he often left behind when stirred to hit the road. Had 7 children all told, including singer Arlo Guthrie (Will Rogers), by dancer Marjorie Greenblatt Mazia, whom he wed in 1940 and divorced in 1953. Lost one daughter in a fire in 1947, while 5 children survived him. His final union was to Anneke Van Kirk in 1953, which lasted 3 years and produced one more daughter, who died in her late teens. Briefly embraced communism, but was rejected for membership because he refused to renounce his religion. Began recording in 1940, and is most noted for the anthem, “This Land is Your Land,” which was originally written as “God Blessed America,” a parody on Irving Berlin’s syrupy anthem, although has since become an alternative anthem itself. Served in the merchant marine for 2 years during WW II, and published his autobiography, Bound For Glory, in 1943. By 1952, he was diagnosed an alcoholic and confined to a mental institution, before it was discovered he had Huntington’s chorea. Spent the last decade of his life in a hospital, gradually succumbing to the disease. Also a political cartoonist, as well as a folk artist. Folkie icon, whose influence bridged over to the next generation, thanks in part by his adoption by Bob Dylan. Given a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Inner: Gregarious, highly sympathetic to working people, and loveably irresponsible, far preferring the road to domesticity. Compulsive self-mythologizer, as well as seducer. Also petulant, angry and difficult. Machinegun-like writer, limning thousands of pages during his life, for which he received advances, although other than his autobiography, was never able to cohere them into books. Moveable feast lifetime of irresponsibility to family, although great loyalty to movements and moving about, while leaving a stirring legacy of populist words’n’music. Robert Burns (1759-1796) - Scottish poet and songwriter. Outer: Eldest of 4 sons and 3 daughters of a bankrupt tenant farmer, who valued learning and passed his sense of idealism down to him. Although his mother could not write, she had a keen knowledge of ballads and song, while a widowed cousin who lived with them filled his wee head with folklore fantasy. His father’s ill luck and hard work would subsequently turn him into a bitter satirist of existing institutions of Scotland. His family moved from farm to largely infertile farm, while he was behind the plow from the age of 6. Had some formal education, in a series of schools, but was largely self-taught through reading and oral traditions, as well as a hired teacher. Wrote his first song at 14, “Handsome Nell,” in celebration of a local beauty. By 15, he was the working mainstay of his father’s farm, while reading everything in sight, and dancing, drinking and diddling in his spare time. Suffered periodically from rheumatic fever, but never lost his joy for life. Joined the Freemasons in 1781, then labored as a flax-dresser, although the shop soon burned down. Worked his father’s spread and on the former’s death in 1784, from sheer exhaustion, he and his brother became tenant farmers, although the enterprise failed. Spread his seed generously, while the father of one of his recipients, Jean Armour, wanted revenge for despoiling his daughter. Later married her in 1786, without the blessing of the church. Had his marriage repudiated by his father-in-law, and in turn repudiated his wife, but not before she bore him twins, not once, but twice, with the second set, a pair of girls, serially dying in 1788, the same year he had another illegitimate son. Ultimately had 15 children, with 9 construed, more or less, legal, thanks to his setting up official house with his repudiated wife in 1788, despite continuing his extramarital dalliances. Despite his continuous infidelities, he took responsibility for all his extended brood. Wrote for friends, employing Scottish dialect, and after deciding to emigrate to Jamaica, when farming proved unsuccessful, he published a volume of poetry in 1786 that proved extremely popular. Eventually looked on as the national poet of Scotland, and the greatest songwriter the British Isles ever produced. Accepted a job as plantation bookkeeper in the West Indies, then fell in love with a domestic servant, whom he immortalized as Highland Mary and had planned to marry, but sudden fame sent him off to Edinburgh as the Plowman’s Poet, where he was entertained by high society and abandoned his plan to emigrate. Highland Mary died soon afterwards, possibly of typhus or with child from him. Strong humanitarian, champion of the poor, and an outspoken scold against hypocrisy, giving him a universality that made him a poet of the ages. Used traditional melodies for all his songs. Lost a daughter in 1787, then was lionized in Edinburgh, but found fame unsettling, and returned to farming after further adventuring and traveling around Scotland, as well as producing one legitimate son and one illegitimate daughter virtually simultaneously in 1791. Spent the rest of his short life collecting and editing traditional Scottish songs, and adding to his own oeuvre. Obtained a post in the excise service, was an enthusiast for the French Revolution, but his hard life wore him down physically, and he died at home of heart disease and consumption, with the threat of debtor’s prison hanging over him. Soon after, his final son was born to his impoverished widow, although only lived 33 months. Simple versifier, with an equal facility in both Scots and English, celebrating, satirizing and describing as a ‘ploughman poet,’ one of the few in any culture to transcend his meager upbringing. Accepted posthumously as Scotland’s national bard, with a host of international clubs subsequently springing up to celebrate him. Inner: Highly creative traditionalist, and humanitarian deist. Restless, intelligent, but unintegrated into larger multi-class society. Populist lifetime of turning his travails into uplifting songs, and serving as the unofficial songbird of Scotland. William Dunbar (c1460-c1520) - Scottish poet. Outer: Life ill-recorded. Probably of noble Scottish birth. More than likely educated at St. Andrews Univ. he became an itinerant novice within the Franciscan order. Ultimately renounced his calling, and attached himself to the court of of James IV (Kathleen Kennedy), for whom he undertook diplomatic missions, traveling to England and France under the king’s auspices. Around 1500, he was granted a generous pension from the crown, and was highly active around the court, writing in a number of different poetic genres, while complaining about not receiving a long sought-after benefice. Wrote earthy satires and venerating verse, showing extreme versatility with the songs of his pen. Disappears from the records after 1513, at which point he may have gotten his benefice. Inner: Highly creative traditionalist. Frank, eclectic, very much like Robert Burns in the wide range of his subjects, and his earthiness and honesty. Pre-road lifetime of spiritual connection to the crown, while being given ample leeway to express himself in a variety of versifying ways.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS ROMANTIC HERO:
Storyline: The silver-tongued devil operates on the dictum of handsome is as handsome does, and leaves a long legacy of martial, manly and love-struck lyrics in his radiant wake.
Kris Kristofferson (1936) - American songwriter. Outer: Father was an Air Force general, who wished his son to follow suit. Moved around a lot as child, before finally settling in northern California. 6’3”, lean. A star athlete in high school, and Golden Gloves boxer, he went to Pomona College, from which he ultimately received an honorary doctorate, then attended Merton College, Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship to study literature. Initially wanted to be a novelist, before ultimately deciding to become a songwriter, while in England. Briefly changed his name to Kris Carson. Married Fran Beir in 1960, divorced 9 years later, daughter and son from the union, including Tracy Kristofferson, an actress/producer. Joined the army, and became a helicopter pilot, rising to the rank of captain, while forming a band in West Germany. In 1965, when he was about to accept a job teaching English at West Point, he resigned his commission and opted for song-writing instead, taking a job as a night janitor in the Columbia studios in Nashville. Wrote for other artists, while his own eponymous debut album failed to garner interest. Also worked as a commercial helicopter pilot, and landed one in singer Johnny Cash’s backyard, to give him some tapes, after the latter had initially ignored his efforts. Cash recorded one of his songs, “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” which was voted Song of the Year in 1970 by the Country Music Association. Cut his second album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I, and became a star in 1971, expanding his career into motion pictures, beginning with a bit part the same year, in The Last Movie. In 1973, he married singer Rita Coolidge, with whom he performed and recorded, daughter from union. Passed out at the controls, and lost his pilot job, while nose-diving into Jack Daniels, which effectively ruined his marriage as well, duo were divorced in 1980. Married Lisa Meyers, an attorney, while in his late 40s, 5 children from his third and final union. Had a 2 decade drinking problem, which he finally contained. His later albums would prove less and less commercially viable, although his songs, rendered in the voices of others, would continue to be hits, as would his singing collaborations. Despite some health problems from earlier excesses, he is continuously performing, with an active acting career, and a sense of having triumphed over his own self-shattering demons. Made over 50 films, won 3 Grammys and an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Inner: Handsome, charming, gifted, an archetypal scruffy hero. Silver-tongued devil lifetime of bringing his poet’s sensibilities to popular culture as a living embodiment of the romantic and self-destructive warrior/artist. Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) - English poet and soldier. Outer: Son of a headmaster at Rugby, who taught the classics. Attended Rugby as well, where he was a star athlete and scholar, winning the school poetry prize twice. Remarkably handsome, with great charm and vitality. Highly social at King’s College, Cambridge, he became president of the Fabian society, and was friendly with the group who would later become known as the Bloomsbury crowd. A voracious reader, he also enjoyed acting in college, and was an all-around campus hero. His father died suddenly in 1910, and for a brief time, he became a deputy housemaster at Rugby, before receiving an allowance from his mother. Studied in Germany, traveled in Italy, and loved to roam the English countryside round Cambridge, which he celebrated in verse, while leading a group who called themselves Neo-pagans, in their worship of nature and life au natural, although they prudishly drew the line at pre-marital congress. Began publishing in 1911, and wrote about friendship, love and laughter, showing both a sardonic and lyrical bent. Secretly and unsatisfactorily engaged himself to a teenager, while also having an affair with the actress Cathleen Nesbitt, only to suffer a nervous breakdown. Afterwards, he traveled to Germany with a lover, Ka Cox, and a stillborn child resulted from the liaison. Got a fellowship at King’s College as a result of his thesis, and continued his traveling in North America and the south seas, becoming involved with a Tahitian woman, during a three month stay on that exotic isle. Joined the Royal Navy as a commissioned officer at the outbreak of WW I, but saw no action, and instead died aboard ship from sunstroke and blood poisoning after a harrowing retreat. Much mourned as a golden god of the playingfields and versifier, although only his light verse eventually outlasted him. Inner: Well socialized, well-loved, easy-going, delightful companion. Truncated lifetime of playing the archetypal romantic hero who lives fast, exits young and leaves a good-looking corpse behind. Richard Lovelace (1618-1657) - English poet and soldier. Outer: Eldest son of a military official, probably born in Holland. Educated at Gloucester Hall, Oxford, where he was a member of the best social circles, and began writing drama early. A model courtier very much beloved by the queen, he sided with the Royalists during the English Civil War. Took part in several inglorious military expeditions into Scotland in 1639 and 1640. Retired, and became a justice of the peace in Kent. Imprisoned for presenting a Royalist petition to Parliament in 1642. After his release, 2 months later, he spent some time in Holland, then in 1646, fought for the French army, and was once again imprisoned as a Royalist as a precautionary move on his return to England, after being made a Freeman of the Painters’ Company. Released, and sold off most of his estates in the cause of the king. Supposedly died in unhappy poverty, although records do not support this. Best remembered for lines, “I could not love thee, dear, so much/Loved I not honor more,” and “Stone walls do not a prison make.” Inner: Ideal cavalier poet. Handsome, charming, poetic. Martial lifetime of derring-do in service of the crown, only to suffer for his unbending loyalties and chivalry, as a true hero should, according to his continual play with this motif.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS PERENNIAL POLITICAL PROTESTER:
Storyline: The musical martyr searches for public love under the guise of politically correct protestation, before strangling in his own frustration over his lack of full and unquestioned acceptance as an entertainer sans agenda.
Phil Ochs (1940-1976) - American singer and songwriter. Outer: Mother was Scottish, father was a doctor of Russian/Polish descent, who met her while studying overseas, thanks to quotas on Jewish students. 2nd of 3 children, brother Michael became a noted r’n’r photo archivist. Naturally shy and withdrawn, which was compounded by his father’s absence in the army during his early childhood. Moved from Texas to Queens with his family, and followed family tradition by attending military school in Virginia, while pursuing the clarinet. Studied journalism at Ohio State, and began writing songs while serving 15 days in jail on a vagrancy charge. Formed the Singing Socialists with a friend, later the duo transformed into the Sundowners. Became a solo act, moving from Cleveland to New York, where he was part of the folk protest circle of performers there. Active in causes and the protest movements during the 1960s, while he was banned on both radio and TV. His direct lyrics about social imbalances soon made him into a well-known figure. Recorded and gave concerts, and then moved to Los Angeles, where he added rock‘n’roll to his repertoire, and, to the shock of his booing fans, appeared on stage in a gold lame suit a la Elvis Presley, protesting that had always been his fantasy. In 1973, he was mysteriously assaulted while traveling in Africa, and nearly strangled, so that his vocal chords suffered permanent damage. Lived in Africa and London during the early 1970s, occasionally performing, despite the loss of his voice. Made his last public appearance in NYC and 6 months later hanged himself in his sister’s house. Carried all sorts of symbols with the throat or communication area and the strangulation of his true voice, which was actually one seeking public love rather than protesting injustice. Inner: Highly self-involved, with a strong martyr complex. Calculated lifetime of taking full advantage of the popularity of articulated protest, and then seeking more conventional mass approval, only to self-strangulate when it wasn’t forthcoming. Joe Hill (Joel Haagland) (1879-1915) - Swedish/American labor figure. Outer: Father was a Swedish railroad conductor. One of 9 children, his sire died when he was 8. Grew up in an orthodox Lutheran home where singing and playing instrumental music were encouraged. Emigrated to the U.S. in 1902, with a brother and worked in a Bowery saloon for a while in NYC. Then went out to Chicago, and finally to California, where he became a maritime worker. Later joined the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) or the Wobblies. Took part in the Mexican revolution in 1911 with an international brigade and then began writing a host of labor songs. In a celebrated case, he was tried for the murder of a prominent Salt Lake City grocer and his son, and was found guilty. Before execution by a firing squad, he announced to a friend, “I die like a true rebel. Don’t waste time mourning - organize.” About 30,000 people attended his funeral in Chicago and the following May day, his ashes were sent to locals in every state, save for Utah, and to several foreign countries, and were scattered simultaneously. Became a subsequent figure of both song and legend, a martyr for labor organizing. Later immortalized in folk song. Inner: Introverted, with a strong sense of martyrdom, and growing radical sensibilities from a go-round on society’s periphery. Legendary lifetime of political passion, and the subsequent immortality of martyrdom. Henry Clay Work (1832-1884) - American songwriter. Outer: Grew up in a political family, father was an ardent abolitionist, who was active in the Underground Railroad that helped slaves escape to free territory. One of 5 children, with three sisters and a brother. His sire was imprisoned for 4 years when he was 9, and he was left to be raised by friends, even after his father’s release. Learned the printing trade, and in his early 20s, went to Chicago, and eventually hooked up with a music publishing firm, Root and Cady, who began bringing out his songs. Later parted with them when he criticized a prominent composer for improving on old hymns. Married Sarah Parker in his mid-30s, two sons and two daughters from the union, with one of each predeceasing him. During the Civil War, he followed his father’s earlier anti-abolition stance and wrote pro-Northern songs, including a celebration of William Sherman’s (Nguyen Giap) devastating march through Georgia. The year after the Civil War, his wife suffered a mental breakdown, which severely limited his output and he returned to the printing trade. Fell in love with an 18 year old, but she married someone else. The latter part of his life was depressing and frustrating, but also inspired his two best songs, “Grandfather’s Clock,” and “The Silver Horn.” His wife died in an insane asylum and he followed suit a year later with a heart attack. Inner: Deeply religious, highly sensitive to social injustice, with his wife acting out his innate sense of imbalance. Socially aware lifetime of externalizing his own lack of internal integration through his mate, while using loss, sorrow and social spirituality as inspiration for his muse.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS SELF-DESTRUCTOR:
Storyline: The bloated body-denier continually manages to turn success into an excuse for excessive over-indulgence to become either a joke or a dead-end to his confreres, despite a lyrical gift for esthetic harmonies, which he has finally learned to transliterate into his physical existence.
David Crosby (David Van Cortland) (1941) - American musician and songwriter. Outer: Father was an Oscar-winning cinematographer, mother was a music-lover. One older brother. The family would sing together, and he was able to harmonize at 6, while developing a high melodic tenor. His sire’s constant travel put a strain on the family, and his parents eventually divorced when he was a teen. Went to prep school, where he didn’t fit in, and though an insatiable reader, he was a poor student. Ultimately found his true metier singing in a school play. Adopted a famous crooner’s name and began performing as a teenager as a folk-singer on the West Coast coffeehouse circuit, with his brother. Finished high school by correspondence course, then dropped out of Santa Barbara Community College. Founded the Jet Set, which later became the Byrds in 1964. Played rhythm guitar, sang intricate harmonies and wrote many of the songs for the group. Its technocratic leader, Roger McGuinn, caused tensions galore within the quintet, including occasional onstage fisticuffs. Began his self-destructive hedonistic pursuit of sexual partners and drugs galore, showing little restraint in his pleasure-seeking. Left after the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, in which he announced on stage that the Kennedy assassination was the work of a group of conspirators. Afterwards, he produced Joni Mitchell’s first album, recorded a solo album and founded Crosby, Stills & Nash, later adding Neil Young to the mix, all of whom had been disaffected with their previous groups. Beginning in 1968, the group proved overwhelmingly popular with their high harmonies, folk rock lyrics and intricate musicianship, although their harmonizing did not carry over into their personal interrelationships. Loved the trappings of success, bought a home north of San Francisco, although the woman he was living with, Christine Hinton, died in a car accident shortly afterwards. Totally derailed afterwards, he drowned his sorrow in drink aboard his schooner, the ‘Mayan,’ imbibing his way around the world, while also using coke and heroin. Had a daughter with a friend of Hinton’s. Disbanded to pursue separate efforts, then regrouped with CSN&Y to tour and record again, maintaining their popularity. Developed a hole in his nose from his cocaine habit, and began freebasing. Met his future wife, Jan Dance in 1976, and together the duo went through a decade of further addiction. Grew more paranoid, carrying guns, while overdosing repeatedly, and putting all of his money into drugs. Graham Nash served as his caretaker, but he continually resisted rehab. Finally arrested and convicted on a drug and weapon’s charge in Texas, in his mid-40s, and sentenced to 5 years in the Texas State Penitentiary. Served a symbolic nine months, while playing with the prison band only to emerge grossly overweight and contrite, to become something of a rock’n’roll joke, although successfully conquered his addiction, as did his future wife. Later made a triumphant return to the stage, a changed man. Married in 1987, son from union, but was increasingly exhausted from touring, finally getting a liver transplant when doctors told him he only had a week to live. Discovered he had a 32 year old son, who would later tour with him with his band CPR. Donated the sperm for singer Melissa Etheridge’s 2 children, while enjoying himself as a clean and sober family man, having finally conquered his demons, only to be arrested on marijuana and gun possession charges at a Times Square hotel in 2004. Inner: Enormously self-destructive despite being an extoller of nature and love in his lyrics. Political, pleasure-loving, and finally able to love both himself and those around him. Body-denying lifetime of being forced to take a long hard look at himself under extremely confining quarters, after creating a successful public, if not private, life for himself, and coming through to write a happy ending for himself. Richard Hovey (1864-1900) - American poet. Outer: From a multigenerational family of pioneers in various countries. Mother was also a well-known educator and translator of French literature for the U.S. Bureau of Education, who oversaw her son’s early instruction. Father was president of Normal Univ. One of two brothers. His sire served as a major-general in the Civil War, during which time his mother nursed wounded soldiers and sheltered runaway slaves. After the fray, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where he grew up. At 16, he wrote and published his first book of poems. Studied English literature at Dartmouth, where he was class poet and editor of the college magazine. An enthusiastic drinker with his fraternity, he also affected bohemian dress, with a taste for outlandish outfits that would last his lifetime, topped off by a dark, flowing beard. Graduated Phi Beta Kappa and wrote many songs still sung there. Strongly identified with his alma mater, which gave him the stimulation to pursue literature as a career. Unable to win a teaching position because of his dandified look, he studied art for a year in Washington, then was a student for an annum at the General Theological Seminary, where he pursued Anglo-Catholicism, while serving as a lay assistant. Abandoned the clergy and went to Boston, where he became a newspaper reporter. Met Bliss Carman (Neil Young), and collaborated with him on their best known work, Songs of Vagabondia, after walking through Massachusetts with him. Became an actor for several years to give him experience as a playwright. Planned a series of 9 plays around Launcelot and Guinevere, but only completed four of them, because of his abbreviated life. Visited England and France in his late 20s, and came under the influence of the Symbolist poets, whom he translated. Met Henrietta Russell, who was married but separated from her second husband, and matched him in eccentricities. 14 years his senior, she was noted as the chief American practitioner of “eurhthymics,” or harmonious bodily movements. Went to France with her, when she was pregnant with their son. For appearance sake, they placed the child with a French foster mother, and did not retrieve him until 3 1/2 years later, when they were officially married in 1894. Wandered with his bride both in Europe and America, and on their return he became a lecturer on Eng. Literature at Columbia, and a professor in the same subject at sister college Barnard. Wrote jingoistic verse during the Spanish-American War, then died unexpectedly of a blood clot in his heart, following minor surgery. Inner: A wanderer his entire life, he never had a fixed home, nor did he ever settle on an occupation, preferring to be a dilettante in all he pursued. Enjoyed drunken camaraderie, and both high literary life and low tavern life. Deeply spiritual and a proto-feminist, supporting women’s issues, as a result of a deep, abiding respect for his strong-willed mother. Highly sensitive, with a deeply aesthetic nature, and a great love of both classical and modern literature. Body-denying lifetime of coming in through an academic environment, and still finding a way to self-destruct, despite the cerebral nature of his existence, and the overt health habits of his mate. Alfred de Vigny (1797-1863) - French poet and playwright. Outer: From an aristocratic family, who had long served as soldiers to the crown and lost much in the French Revolution. Mother was a dominating figure, who took charge of her son’s education, while his father, a comte, who was 60 at his birth, was a secondary figure in the household. Unhappy at school, at seventeen, he was admitted to an aristocratic corps of the Gendarmes Rouges, and then served for seven years as an officer with the Royal Guard, following the restoration of Bourbon monarchy. Began writing poetry, and was first published anonymously in his early 20s. Followed it up with a collection of verse and an his/storical novel, which gave him a name in Romantic circles, and made him a strongly influential figure. His first love affair was broken up by his mother. In 1825, he married an Englishwoman, Lydia Bunbury, and several years later, tiring of army life as repetitious and monotonous, he retired from military service, and settled in Paris. His wealthy and eccentric father-in-law could never remember his name or anything about him, save his being a poet, and denied him a dowry, much to his acute disappointment. Frequented Parisian salons, but despite his identification with romantic tenets, he would remain an outsider his entire life, a somewhat aloof figure who led from the head, rather than the heart, as his fellow romantics did. His marriage would also prove unhappy, since his wife never really learned French, and quickly dwindled down into invalidism and ill health, proving to be far more of a burden than anything else. No children from the union. Served as a translator for Shakespearean works, while becoming more and more of a political liberal, in spite of his family’s longtime loyalty to the royal house. Had his first play produced in 1831, an his/storical drama, and took on a well-known actress, Marie Dorval, as a mistress, in compensation for his weak state of wedlock. She would later star in his best known work, “Chatterton,” based on the short life of the English literary hoaxer, Thomas Chatterton (Shannon Hoon). Despite his successes, his homelife was profoundly unhappy, and his relationship with his lover was fraught with jealousy, while his reputation was soon surpassed by the talented horde who were also now writing under the banner of romanticism. The death of his mother in 1838 signaled a break with Marie Dorval, as he inherited a property near Angouleme, Le Main Giraud, and retreated there, to what would be described as an “ivory tower.” While initially finding his surroundings inspiring, for some of his best poetry, he eventually stopped publishing altogether and retreated wholly into himself. After a half-dozen turndowns, he was finally elected to the French Academy in 1845. Had several more affairs, including one with writer Louise Colet (Anais Nin). His one stab at elective office in 1848, when he ran for the Chamber of Deputies, resulted in defeat. Continued his writing in a journal, while pondering both the greater and lesser issues of his time. Grew grapes for cognac, and lived as a country squire in his last years, before dying a few months after his wife, from stomach cancer, which he bore with grim forbearance. Best remembered for his poetry. Inner: Stoical, intellectual and pessimistic, viewing life in terms of tragedy rather than comedy. Felt the artist was responsible to his age, and saw human suffering in silence as a high spiritual pathway. Ivory tower lifetime of looking at existence from the head, since his heart could never find true satisfaction, before returning and deliberately loosening himself with excess stimulants, in order to come down from his town in order to get at his deeper, and far more vulnerable emotional core.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS DIONYSIAN DINER UPON HIMSELF:
Storyline: The libidinous lizard king overdoes everything in his uninhibited attempt at crashing through his own doors of perception, only to be summarily evicted from life for his excesses and inabilities to find any sense of peace within the restrictive form of a human body.
Jim Morrison (James Douglas Morrison) (1943-1971) - American singer and songwriter. Outer: From a family that a long military tradition. Son of a career naval pilot, who became an admiral. Oldest of 3, with a younger sister and brother. His mother was also employed by the Navy. Moved numerous times during his childhood, and resented his parents, who were strict, using yelling and berating as a means of control. Felt possessed by an Amerindian spirit after viewing an automobile accident in New Mexico at 4. Began drinking and doing drugs as an adolescent, and went to junior college in Florida, then transferred to Florida State for a year, before entering the UCLA Theater Arts Dept. in 1964 to study filmmaking. Graduated the following year, while crashing wherever he could, in a desire for absolute unfettered freedom. Went on to break off all contact with his family while continuing to consume vast quantities of alcohol and drugs, as a means of both opening himself up, and shutting himself down. A big fan of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (Bob Dylan), and into symbolic death and rebirth, he began exploring music as his most accessible form of expression and formed a band with fellow students, choosing the name, The Doors, from poet William Blake’s, “There are things that are known and things that are unknown; in between the doors,” as well as writer Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception. 5’11”, uncommonly handsome. The group initially had difficulties, before he developed an uninhibited Dionysian stage presence. Started performing in the LA area, with himself as lyricist and lead singer, and by 1967, after signing with Elektra records, the Doors were a national phenomenon, with “Light My Fire,” an eventual number one hit. Refused to alter its drug-referent lyrics on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” America’s sacrosanct Sunday night variety program, blithely and summarily ending their TV career. Continued to do lots of experimentation with altered states with fellow group members, and met and hooked up with Pamela Courson, an equally volatile mate, with a similar predilection for mashing her mind into oblivious oblivion. Thought of himself as “Mr. Mojo Risin’” an anagram of his own name. Continually unfaithful to his spouse, yet saw her as an inspiration to him, as they constantly broke up and tearfully came together again. Also performed a wicca marriage ceremony with a journalist who introduced him to drinking blood and other pagan pastimes. Had several hit albums, and while his band-mates eventually rejected drugs, he totally embraced them, ultimately settling on alcohol as his consistent high, and often both performing and recording in a considerably inebriated state, which caused him to balloon considerably, after which he grew a beard. A self-styled Lizard King, who could do anything, save for shooting up, since he had a fear of needles, and preferred snorting as an acceptable form of ingestion. Arrested for public obscenity in New Haven, then pushed his own envelope in Miami by exposing himself on stage during a concert in 1969. Convicted only of lewd and lascivious behavior, but the incident affected the group strongly, since it forced cancellation of many of their concerts. Recorded their last album, L.A. Woman in 1970, while he became interested in film again, forming his own production company. Deteriorated further on drugs and alcohol and eventually moved to Paris in early 1971. Less than 6 months later, he was found dead by Pamela Courson in his bathtub of an apparent heart attack at 27, with some 20 paternity suits pending, although none were ever levied against his estate. Buried in Paris, and Courson joined him in death from a heroin overdose 3 years later, after insisting that was how he had died as well. His grave became so festooned with flowers, condoms, beer cans and graffiti, that cemetery officials decided to dig him up in 2001 when his grave lease expired and set him to permanent rest elsewhere. In 2007, some 36 years after his demise, a French-born former NY Times journalist claimed the singer had died of a heroin overdose on the toilet of a nightclub he was managing at the time, and then was carried by two drug dealers and dumped in his bathtub to make it look like he had expired there. Portrayed in very convincing fashion on the screen in 1991 by actor Val Kilmer in Oliver Stone’s sensationalized biopic, The Doors. Inner: Striking sensualist with a deep-seated sense of anger and alienation. Self-styled shaman trying to light the world on fire. Sensitive, poetic and intelligent, but with no sense of moderation, and an ineluctable draw towards self-immolation. Libidinous lifetime of trying to play Dionysus to a world that loves to eat its pop gods alive. Alfred Jarry (1873-1907) - French poet and playwright. Outer: Mother was an eccentric whose own brother was unbalanced, while she spent time periodically in mental institutions. His father was a carpenter whose own father had been a mason. His family was from a long line of laborers and farmers. Considered his father a nonentity, but expressed admiration for his mother, despite her madness. His progenitor became a commercial traveler, while his mother moved with her son and his older sister to her own sire’s house, so he could continue his schooling. Showed himself to be a brilliant student, equally adept in the sciences and the humanities, with a facility for effortlessly absorbing information. Wrote a satire with some friends on his physics teacher, which they presented in a marionette theater they called ‘Theatre des Phynances,’ and their creation would prove to be the incipient form of the ‘Ubu’ plays, from which he would receive his enduring fame. Moved to Paris at the age of 18 to prepare for further schooling and fell in with the literary circles there as a frequenter of cafes and night clubs. Short and sturdy with powerful legs from cycling, effecting long dark hair which fell to his shoulders. Had warm black eyes, wore a cape, women’s shoes, and carried pistols, while painting ties on his shirt and living in bizarre dwellings with funereal drapings, live owls and phallic sculptures. Both his parents died when he was 21, and with his inheritance he founded a periodical, which lasted 5 issues. At the same time he also published his first book, Les Minutes de Sable Memorial. Although called up for military service the following year, he was soon discharged for medical reasons. Published two issues of a luxurious art review afterwards, then, at 23, he published the work that would make him famous, Ubu Roi, a prose drama which satirized human stupidity. Its premiere at the end of 1896 was greeted with screaming, whistling and fist-shaking by the insulted and outraged audience, and the resultant hubbub over the next several weeks in the newspapers, insured his notoriety. Continued writing in a variety of forms - essays, novels, journalism, art and literary criticism and two more plays in the Ubu series over the next couple of years, although the reaction to the first one precluded any producer risking staging the latter two, until decades after his death. Probably a homophile, he showed a strong antipathy towards women in his works, and tried to recreate himself according to his artistic vision. A heavy drinker, as well as a user of drugs and stimulants. Tried to transcend human experience through extremes, but he eventually succumbed to malnutrition in his mid-20s, and had to be taken to a hospital in a paralyzed condition, where he died of tubercular meningitis. Inner: Sharp-minded. nonconforming nose-thumbing sensualist who preferred being high to eating. Arch critic of the grotesque in human behavior. Performance art lifetime of self-destructing in the name of art, while playing the role of Dionysian holy fool. Georges-Maurice de Guerin (1810-1839) - French poet. Outer: Born in an ancestral castle of a noble family in financial straits. His mother died when he was 6, and his father, an austerely religious man, mourned her forever afterwards. Reared in very strict Roman Catholic circumstances by a possessive sister, and had no other friends his age. His sire’s constant gloom and his enforced solitude, made him a very grave young man. Used to accompany his local curé in his rounds with the parish’s sick and dying, to further underline his sorrow-filled view of life. Went to school in Toulouse, then studied in Paris at the College of Stanislas for a clerical career, but was ill-suited for scholastics. Pallid and thin with black hair. Despite his chosen vocation, he had a conflicted character, overlaying his morbidity with an artistic temperament, thirsting for new experiences and at-odds with any rules and restrictions laid upon him. Found solace in literature, as well as the literary-inclined friends of his sister. Had an unrequited love for a cousin, which was discouraged because of his ill health. Went to Brittany to live in a radical religious community led by a charismatic rebel priest, and kept a journal on the stimulating atmosphere. The priest was condemned by the pope, the community dissolved, and he returned to Paris, where he wrote pantheistic poetry on the wonders of nature. Spent four years as a tutor at his alma mater, which he considered sheer drudgery. Fell ill in his late 20s, and returned to his native city, where he recovered enough to marry a rich Batavian Creole, while passionately and madly in love with another woman. Died soon after of tuberculosis, without ever having published anything. Following his death, his works were published posthumously, as well as his correspondence with his sister, who had a more traditional romantic mysticism. A cult rose around him towards the middle of the century. Most noted for The Centaur Inner: Mystical, spiritual, absolute pagan and pantheistic. Dissipated, melancholic, romantic, defeatist. Attenuated lifetime of searching for God through nature, and succumbing to the favorite pose of romanticism, early death.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS CANADIAN SINGER OF SAD SONGS:
Storyline: The Grand Old Man of rock’n’roll remains a scolding but lyrical voice of consciousness over the decades, taking on the role of generous godfather to the generations of musicians that have followed, while rarely losing his own sense of unambiguous moral determination.
Neil Young (Neil Percival Young) (1945) - Canadian/American singer and songwriter. Outer: Father was a well-known Canadian sports journalist. After his parents divorced, he moved with his mother to Winnipeg. His sire later wrote a book, “Neil and Me,” on their relationship, which was always very solid. Had polio and was subject to epileptic seizures as a youth. Played in high school rock bands, then moved to Toronto to work in folk clubs, where he became friends with singer Joni Mitchell. After the failure of a band, he drove to Los Angeles in his Pontiac hearse, and formed Buffalo Springfield in 1966, a popular folk/rock group, whose members, nevertheless, despised one another. Occasionally would suffer epileptic seizures while playing with them. After the band split up 2 years later, he acquired Joni Mitchell’s manager, and formed a back-up band, Crazy Horse, which would accompany him on his solo career. Also joined with Crosby, Stills and Nash, to create a supergroup of harmonizers, alternating recordings with them. Following the drug death of a member of Crazy Horse, as well as one of his roadies, he entered a bleak period of mournful songs, followed by a far more political oeuvre, making himself a voice of protest and consciousness down through the decades. Able to become a bridge figure between older and younger rockers, as the Grand Old Man of rock’n’roll, stretching his active career from the 1960s to the millennium. Continued to be an outspoken critic of American militarism and violence, occasionally importuning his audiences to wake up. Suffered a crumbling spinal disc in 1971. Briefly supported Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s in a short political turn-around. One of the very few rock’n’roll celebrities to continue a highly relevant career into middle age. Married Pegi Morton in 1978, their son Ben, would have severe cerebral palsy. Also had a daughter with her, as well as another son with a milder case of the same afflictiion with actress Carrie Snodgrass. Because of his sons’ disabilities, he became involved in a San Francisco school for severely handicapped children, and also became part owner of Lionel Trains, after developing a remote control device that allows the disabled equal opportunity for play. Ever the scold, but rarely sacrificing his strong esthetic in the process, he remains a man for all the ongoing seasons, refusing to mellow his stances with age. Has produced over 25 solo albums, seeing himself as a musical schizophrenic, equally capable of the contemplative and the discordant, while serving as a grandfatherly beacon for the generations of young musicians who have followed him. Inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Turned a self-described music novel, Greendale, into a film in 2004, serving as cinematographer as well, in his ongoing desire to continually expand his metiers in order to serve his unabated creativity. Successfully underwent surgery for a brain aneurysm the following year, and continues to be a steady voice of his times, with the release of “Living With the War,” in 2006, and its damning of the Bush administration. Inner: Driven, mournful and restless. Primitivist, uncompromising, always striving for simplicity, with a wonderful ear for lyrics and a simply, resonant playing style. Uncompromising lifetime of a long and fruitful career as a voice of lyrical protest, dedicated to righting social wrongs, while plumbing the depths of his heart with his own personal triumphs and tragedies. William Bliss Carman (1861-1929) - Canadian/American poet. Outer: From a family of American loyalists who fled to Canada during the American Revolution. Father was a Canadian barrister. Mother was loosely related to New England Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson (Reinhold Niebuhr). Educated at Frederickton Academy, then studied the classics at New Brunswick Univ. After only three days at Oxford Univ., he left and wound up doing graduate work at the Univ. of Edinburgh, where he studied physics, math and philosophy. Classically beautiful, tall, with a mass of blond hair, while he dressed eccentrically as a matter of principle. Returned to Canada to teach and read law with his father, but didn’t care for the profession. Since he was a child, he had an abiding love for the poetry of nature, but didn’t find any early adult pursuits that matched it. Published his first poem in 1884, while editing a weekly, then two years later, he went to Harvard to study philosophy. Met poet Richard Hovey (David Crosby) there and the duo decided to dedicate themselves to Poetry, with a capital ‘p’. Went hiking with him in New England, and their joint adventures resulted in his best remembered work, “Songs of Vagabondia,” which wound up a three volume series. Remained a close friend of Hovey until his premature death in 1900. An optimistic, impressionistic writer, his poetic outpouring was highly emotional, transliterating his feelings into high language. After Harvard, he worked as an editor for various journals. Lived like a poor bohemian in NYC, fending off starvation with an editing job, and later wrote a literary column for various newspapers, although his single-minded devotion remained to poetry. A true lyricist, all his works were fresh and spontaneous. Never married, and he eventually retired to Connecticut, where he died. Inner: Shy, reticent and self-deprecating. Unswayed by celebrityhood even after being awarded a poet’s laureate medal by the Canadian Parliament. Sweet nature, without a sense of the profound. Esthete’s lifetime of totally dedicating himself to the art of poetry as a higher form of expression, without being burdened by the familial trappings of mundane life. Petrus Borel (Joseph-Pierre Borel d’Hauterive) (1809-1859) - French poet. Outer: Father had fought for the armies of the Convention and was an ironmonger, who worked hard to see that all his sons got a decent education. 12th of 14 children. Studied architecture per his sire’s desire, and was apprenticed to an architect, but his real love was for literature, and he eventually abandoned his studies for it. Became the center of a bohemian circle of eccentric Romantics, who rebelled against all classical tenets, while he was known as “le Lycanthrope,” the man-wolf. His group, who were an offshoot of those who hung around Victor Hugo (Henry Miller), called themselves Les Jeunes France, and flung down their gauntlets against all philistine forms, while embracing poverty as a reflective lifestyle. Published his first verse in 1832, and did his most resonant work during the decade, including a translation of Daniel Defoe’s (John Steinbeck) “Robinson Crusoe,” and his own best-known work, “Madame Potiphar.” Wrote in a largely melodramatic style, filled with horror and shocking imagery, which would later influence the Surrealists. Part of the crew, including Charles Baudelaire (Lou Reed) and Theophile Gautier (Tom Waits) who met and consumed hashish and opium under the name of the Club des Hashichin, holding monthly seances to open their minds to altered states. Earned little from his efforts and spent a largely impoverished life, living communally with friends, while openly despising all that was bourgeois and materialistic. In 1846, he ultimately had to take a civil service job, which took him to colonial Algeria. Lost his post, however, because of his unsuitability for any kind of steady employment, and his accusations of his superiors of malfeasance in 1855, and wound up ragged and unkempt in a Gothic mansion, where he died in abject poverty. Inner: Charismatic and intense but also proud and touchy, and little suited for the realities of this world. Otherworldly lifetime of giving poetic and public vent to a deep unbridled, and decidedly unromantic, anger, which he would later transliterate in far more disciplined fashion.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS HOBOING TROUBADOUR:
Storyline: The gravel-voiced vagabond eventually finds his way off the road to a stable life, after many a go-round of moving in confused circles around any semblance of self-worth and self-satisfaction.
Tom Waits (1949) - American singer, actor and songwriter. Outer: Claims to have been born in a moving taxi, on the 8th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Parents were both teachers, mother was of Norwegian descent and was a sometime singer, father was Scotch-Irish, taught Spanish and played guitar in a mariachi band. One of 3 children, with two sisters. The duo divorced when he was 10, and he lived with his mother afterwards, with his sire largely disappearing from his life. Had a middle-class upbringing, but attended a mostly black junior high school, which opened him up to more eclectic musical tastes. Felt himself a man out of time, a 1950s character in the 1960s, a decade he said he slept through, while pursuing an offbeat affinity for the Beats and classic Americana music of the past. 6’. Left home, served in the Coast Guard, lived a vagabond life out of a car, and began songwriting while working as a doorman at an L.A. nightclub. Appropriately, he began his career at L.A.’s Troubadour Club. A gravel-voiced performer, he soon built up a cult following as an opening act, although he often received negative audience reaction for his offbeat style, which including carrying a whiskey flask onstage and offering musical paeans to the detritus of American culture. His first album did poorly, but he continued touring with a trio, which he later had to disband because of financial reasons, as well as his own escalating drinking problem. Despite adverse record sales, he maintained his eccentric mumbling style of talk-singing, then expanded into movies, beginning with Paradise Alley in 1979, playing numerous small, but memorable parts. Involved with singer Rickie Lee Jones at the same time. Built up a small cult following during the 1970s, and then abandoned his down-and-out performing persona, when he saw his act was becoming too contrived around it. Eventually stopped smoking and drinking, married his co-writer and producer, Kathleen Brennan, in 1980, had a daughter and two sons and settled down in Northern California, while continuing his wry assault on the complacent musical sensibilities of America. Began exploring the nightmare alley aspect of his contemporary world, stripping down his instrumentation to its barest of essences, while recasting his voice into a host of transmutations, becoming, in essence, the storytelling bard he had always been. Credited his wife with opening him up to his greater possibilities, including serving as a co-writer on many of his subsequent songs. Won several Grammys for his efforts, and also co-wrote a musical play in 1986 with Brennan, “Frank’s Wild Years,” which successfully ran on Off-Broadway and with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater. Continued his theatrical collaborations into the 1990s, as well as movie soundtracks, acting, more albums and working on other people’s projects. In his steady rise to greater and greater prominence and preeminence, he added TV to his C.V. after the turn-of-the-century, while fighting successfully over the decades, against the abject commercialization of his voice by suing ad companies which tried to imitate him for their own gain. Inner: Off-beat, wry, eccentric and a deliberate outsider, with a unique voice and stage presence. Self-styled albino catfish in the lake, allowed to grow bigger and bigger without ever being caught. Bibulous bard lifetime of eventually getting the intimate support and outward acclaim he needed to set his life straight without losing any of his originality or need to redress the culture of his times. Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931) - American poet. Outer: Father was a physician. 2nd of 6 children. The death of 3 younger sisters made his mother ardently religious, which affected the whole household. His parents wanted him to be a doctor but he was more attuned to the dis-ease of the collective human spirit. Attended Hiram College, then left to go to Chicago and study at the Art Institute there. Didn’t think of himself as a poet, and never lost interest in drawing, illustrating some of his own books. Worked in a department store during the day, attending Chicago Art Institute at night. Unable to sell any of his work, he set out on a vagabond trip out west, reciting poems for food and lodging. Continued this mode throughout much of his early life, chanting his verse, and trading his poesy for momentary survival. When he wasn’t tramping in his late 20s, he lectured at the YMCA and Illinois anti-saloon league. Eventually grew weary of wandering and in 1925, married Elizabeth Conner, after meeting her at one of his lectures, 2 children from the union. Had a special affinity for his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln had had his law office. Poverty, ill health and worry sapped his strength as a writer. Lived in his wife’s hometown of Spokane, then returned to Springfield. His last years were filled with gloom and despair. Suffered from diabetes, and died from a coronary thrombosis, perhaps as the result of taking poison. Best remembered for his poems, “The Congo,” and “General William Booth Enters Heaven.” Inner: Had a troubadour’s impulse, but couldn’t maintain his early vitality and vigor. Intuitive, grew steadily more pompous, never transcended his early limits. Saw himself as a teacher and evangelist, but was tired, sick and unhappy by life’s end. Burnout lifetime of searching for support for his poetic sensibilities, but an inability to find it over an extended period ultimately did him in. Theophile Gautier (Pierre Jules Theophile Gautier) (1811-1872) - French poet, novelist, journalist, dramatist and critic. Outer: Father was a tax collector and staunch royalist, as well as fairly well-educated. Two sisters. When he was three, the family moved to Paris. A superior student, he was taught partially at home by his sire, as well as at the College Charlemagne, where he formed a lifelong friendship with fellow poet Gerard de Nerval (Nathanael West), with whom he shared a fascination with earlier French literature. Through him, he fell into the Parisian circle of romantics around dramatist Victor Hugo (Henry Miller), known as the “petit cenacle.” Originally wanted to be a painter, and pursued that pathway, but soon found literature far more to his liking, and embarked on a multifaceted career of French letters. A good athlete, as both a swimmer and boxer, although he was basically gentle and benign. Published early verses with family money, but after the uprising against Charles X (Roland Emmerich) in 1830, he was forced to be a support for his siblings, with his family’s financial position in ruins. Enjoyed his first success with an epistolary novel, “Mademoiselle de Maupin” in 1835, that propounded his basic philosophy of “art for art’s sake.” Highly social and a bohemian at heart, he fell in with a group of hashish and opium users in the 1840s, including Nerval, Petrus Borel (Neil Young) and Charles Baudelaire (Lou Reed), and grew fat with maturity after enjoying a slender youth, while sporting a flaming crimson waistcoat as his signature garment. Became known as “the elephant,” because of his subsequent huge size and exceptional strength. An enthusiastic traveler, he used his wanderings as fodder for his pen, personalizing his observations, and adding immeasurably to the travelogue genre over the course of his active life. Had many affairs, with a son from one of them. The great love of his life was with Carlotta Grisi, a ballet dancer, although she failed to reciprocate his heartfelt feelings and he wound up having two daughters with her sister, Ernestina, a singer whom he married. Disliked writing, although needed to live off what he could produce by the pen. A critic as well as inveterate letter writer, he wound up outlasting many of his fellow romantics to become a grand old man of the movement. Became a highly prolific journalist as a reviewer and theater critic, most notably for La Presse from 1836 to 1854, despite a distinct dislike for producing work under deadline pressure. Nevertheless, he was given several prestigious editorships, including the influential “L’Artiste,” in 1856, thanks to a keen eye for detail, and a highly esthetic nature. Totally apolitical, he had little difficulties in accepting and largely ignoring the tumultuous changes in France during his life. Despite his influence on the country’’s intellectual life, he was rejected for the French Academy three times, although held other high posts, including royal librarian to a cousin of emperor Napoleon III (Darryl F. Zanuck) in 1868. At the outset of the Franco-Prussian War, which would lead to the latter’s fall, he suffered through the Prussian invasion of Paris, and the violence of the Paris Commune afterwards, and eventually succumbed to a long-standing cardiac condition. Inner: Well-loved, large-hearted and highly eccentric, with a good sense of humor. Bohemian to the bone, with a good command of language, a prodigious memory and an astute literary sensibility. Expressed little interest in the larger issues of his times, preferring to focus on the cultural life of France, and letting everything else serve as backdrop for it. Had great affection for cats. Elephantine lifetime of exploring sheer volume as a means of expression, creating a prolific career that was popular at the time, but might have been better remembered had it been more focused.

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PATHWAY OF THE MUSICIAN AS POET OF THE PEOPLE:
Storyline: The homespun hoosier learns that macho posturing is not what it means to be a man, but rather caring, responsibility and maturity, allowing him to ultimately reclaim his poet’s voice and be a true observer of mid-Americana.
John C. Mellencamp (1951) - American singer and songwriter. Outer: Father was an electrical contractor, mother was a homemaker and postal employee. Born with meningocele, a potentially crippling deformity of the spine, making the backbone a lifelong issue of his. Operated on and separated from his mother for about a month as an infant. Taught to be macho by his father, although felt the latter was never home for him. Rebellious, good athlete, but wound up as a beer-swilling truant as a teenager. Continually clashed with parents and authorities. In his teens, he married Priscilla Esterline, a young woman 3 years older than himself, who was already 3 months pregnant with their daughter. Lived with his wife’s parents, worked as an electrician’s handyman and played in rock’n’roll bands. Enrolled in a 2 year community college, and gave up drugs in school, while becoming interested in glitter rock. Took a job as a telephone installer, but was fired for his obscene nature. Went to New York and wound up signing a contract with the same manager as David Bowie. Still raw, he released 2 albums, but then disbanded his band. Divorced in 1981, and the same year he married Vicky Granucci, only to divorce at decade’s end. Two daughters from the union. Renamed himself Johnny Cougar, and had a breakout album in 1982 with “American Fool,” catapulting him center-stage. Slickly marketed, he went to England, then back in the U.S., before finally finding more of his own songwriting voice. Save for that one stint, he has spent most of his life in southern Indiana. Fell in love with the daughter of a stuntman, divorced and married her, but remained on good terms with his ex-wife. His back-up band came together and he started recording under the name John Cougar Mellencamp. As his music turned more personal and far less imitative, he became more of a political activist. Made amends with his sire, and his family eventually entered his sphere, with his father becoming his financial manager, his brother his road manager and his ex-wife his office manager. In 1992, he married a much younger model, Elaine Irwin, and had 2 more sons from the union.Continues his career with occasional film appearances, and a growing maturity and depth to his work, voicing his concerns for humankind in general. Suffered a mild heart attack at 40 because of poor dietary habits. Also an artist, publishing Mellencamp: Paintings and Reflections. Inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Inner: Short and feisty, populist at heart. Tamed down from his earlier wildman stance to become a vocal poet of note. Spine-searching lifetime of getting in touch with his inner cougar, while allowing a darker, more volatile side of a poet of the people to come through, before finding the courage to embrace a softer maturity. James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916) - American poet. Outer: Of Pennsylvania Dutch extract, father was a lawyer. Mother loved poetry, father loved oratory, and their son had a strong sense of language while growing up. Observant and slender, he would listen to his sire at the courthouse, where he also picked up the Hoosier dialect. An amateur musician, he left school at 16, and traveled around Indiana with a group of boys who called themselves, “The Graphics,” and decorated country barns. Became a wandering musician afterwards with a patent medicine company before finally settling as a newspaperman. Under the name of “Benj F. Johnson of Boone,” he began writing for the Indianapolis Journal in his mid-20s. Much of his work was penned in Hoosier dialect, chronicling the ordinary life of the area. Printed a poem purportedly by Edgar Allan Poe (Patti Smith), as a joke, and was forced to resign, receiving local and unwanted publicity. Became known as “the Hoosier Poet.” Extremely popular in his time because of the simplicity, sentimentality, humor and pathos to his lyrics. “When the Frost is on the Punkin” is one of his most popular poems. Had acute stage fright which he never conquered, despite being a popular lecturer. Lived with close friends until his death. Never married. Also wrote children’s verse and published several collections of poems during his lifetime. His later work, however, was extremely repetitious. Inner: Meticulous, dignified hermit who had a steady stream of visitors. Extremely modest, repressed. Conflicted lifetime of opening himself up a sliver as a public figure, despite a dual pull both towards and away from the spotlight, and a shyness that did not match his ambition to be famous. Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) - American lawyer, writer and poet. Outer: Father was a lawyer, judge and an officer in the Continental Army. Grew up on the family 1800+ acre plantation, ‘Terra Rubra,’ and was educated at home until the age of 10. His only sister married future Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney (Earl Warren). After attending a local school, he went to St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, where he graduated at the top of his class, then studied law at his uncle’s firm there. Slender, erect, with dark blue eyes and thin, mobile features. Thought about entering the ministry, although didn’t, but subsequently became a leader in the Sunday school movement. Passed his bar and by his mid-20s had a well-established practice in Georgetown. In 1802, he married Polly Taylor Lloyd, the daughter of a colonel, six sons and five daughters from the union. War with Britain, which saw nearby Washington destroyed, disrupted his relatively harmonious life, and he joined the army in 1814. When he heard a well-loved elderly physician was being held hostage by the British, he and an American agent of prisoner exchange, negotiated for his release. While waiting under guard, an intense battle raged through the night over Baltimore, but by the dawn’s early light in the rockets red glare, they saw that nearby Ft. McHenry had not surrendered, and the American flag was still there. In jubilation, he penned the commemorative lines on the back of an envelope that would become the core of the American national anthem, and set them to the tune of an old British drinking song called “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The verses were published later that month by a Baltimore periodical, under the name, “Defence of Ft. McHenry.” Soon after, a Baltimore actor sang it as “The Star-Spangled Banner,” at a public performance, and it became such a popular patriotic song, that over a century later, in 1931, Congress declared through legislation, that it was now the official national anthem. Capped his career by becoming a United States District Attorney, and appeared before the Supreme Court a goodly number of times. Lived in Georgetown until the last decade of his life and died of pleurisy in his sleep while visiting one of his daughters. Numerous monuments and memorials would be subsequently built in his honor, and he would eventually be inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 1970. Inner: Ardent, generous and fond of riding. Strongly patriotic, and well-grounded, with his focus on his professional, rather than creative life. Star spangled lifetime of penning a lyric for the American ages, as prelude to plunging full-time into his creative side in future go-rounds as a regional poet celebrating the country’s interior landscape.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS INCOMPLEAT ALIEN:
Storyline: The pessimistic recluse pounds his disaffected disconnection from life around him with nine inch nails while trying to reconcile a deep spirituality and love of nature with less-than-heartfelt sentiments about his fellow human beings.
Trent Reznor (1965) - American singer and songwriter. Outer: Parents were divorced, lived with his grandparents in a small Pennsylvania town, and had an alienated upbringing, with a perennial feeling of being an outsider, as well as a taste for extremes. Initially trained to be a classical pianist, from the age of 5. Found contemporary music more to his liking and began exploring it in his teens. Went to nearby Allegheny College, studying computer engineering for a year. Became interested in the possibilities of electronic music, dropped out and moved to Cleveland, where he worked at a recording studio doing odd jobs. Played in various bands as a keyboardist, then found a manager, and signed with a small NY label. His first album, recorded with his band Nine Inch Nails, “Pretty Hate Machine,” became an underground hit, and he was anointed the first star of the ‘industrial rock’ genre. Subsequent tensions with his label, however, fostered feelings of self-destruction, which were evident in his follow up album. Moved to Los Angeles and lived for a year in the house in which Charley Manson’s minions killed actress Sharon Tate (Carmen Electra), where he recorded his second album. Made a memorable mud-splattered appearance at Woodstock ‘94, and then spent the next several years allowing alcohol and cocaine addiction largely strip him of his sensibilities, while issuing two albums, “The Downward Spiral,” a dark look at youth’s angst, after which he checked into a rehab clinic, and “The Fragile,” which started him bingeing again. Often was so depressed after a concert, that he’d resent his audience for having a good time. Scored several bleak films during this period, and helped his friend Marilyn Manson, by producing his breakthrough album, although the duo later had a falling out. Finally went cold turkey after the turn of the century, and moved from the temptations of New Orleans, to a more sober life in Los Angeles. It would not be until 2005, 8 years after his previous effort, that he would finally feel together enough for another album, which was enthusiastically greeted by his hard core fan base. The same year, he was awarded $2.9 million in a breach of contract suit against his former manager. Plays most of the instruments on his recording sessions, although tours with a back-up band, while dressed in his customary black. Inner: Angry, disconnected and pessimistic, with the ability to transpose emotion into his music. Obsessive, moody, and reclusive, while continually searching for connection with the outside world outside of his music. Always apprehensive about the road and its self-destructive lures. Severed head lifetime of giving clear musical reflection to the industrial waste tastes of his generation, while exploring more directly the outre aspects of his reclusive personality. Robinson Jeffers (John Robinson Jeffers) (1887-1962) - American poet. Outer: Father was a 49 year-old Presbyterian minister, who held a chair at Western Theological Seminary, mother was 22 years her husband’s junior. Educated his son in languages, then sent him to private schools in Switzerland, Germany and America. Began writing verse at 11. Changed schools often because of his family’s predisposition for travel. Went to the Univ. of Western Pennsylvania, then when his family moved to California when he was 16, Occidental College. Did grad work at USC, then the Univ. of Zurich in Switzerland, before abandoning literature for medicine at USC, and finally forestry at the Univ. of Washington. Fell in love with Una Call Kuster, an attorney’s wife, but didn’t pursue the romance. His move to Washington was an attempt to end the relationship, but she divorced and the duo eventually married anyway when he was in his mid-20s, 3 children from the union, including twin sons, with one daughter dying in infancy. The marriage was basically a satisfactory one. Built his own tower home of stone on the rugged slopes of Carmel, California at the start of WW I, and spent the rest of his life there. Saw humanity as a disaster waiting to happen, and lived at a remove from everyone else, although he made the cover of Time magazine in 1932 for having done so. Despite popular acceptance, he became bored with his poetry, after trying to rescue it from obscure references with his own sense of narrative drive, with incest as a repetitive theme. Isolationist before and during WW II. Despite a self-described love of nature, he preferred to wander in his own mind, rather than the surrounding landscape. Wrote little after his wife died in 1950. Deeply critical of humanity in his work, with a powerful sense of metaphor and image for the grandeur of nature and the ignorance and the pathos of the human race, himself included. Wrote free verse lyrics and grim blank verse narratives, although his reputation plummeted after his death. Inner: Pessimistic, alienated, isolated. Vain and self-contradictory. Felt the planet would be far better off without his own species. Moody lifetime of pursuing his own company and thoughts as a buffer against being part of a reviled race, that, nevertheless, provided him with a lyrical language with which to disparage it. Philip Freneau (1752-1832) - American poet, essayist and editor. Outer: From a family of French Huguenot settlers in NYC. Father was an importer of wines, and his home was a cultured center of refinement. Graduated Princeton, taught school and studied for the ministry. Spent 2 years in the Caribbean, then actively participated in the American Revolution. Captured and imprisoned by the British for sailing through a blockade, which earned him the reputation as ‘Poet of the Revolution’ for his biting verse in response to his temporary bondage. Served as master of a brig for 5 years, married in his late 30s, then became editor of a political journal. Balanced his life with political activism and the quiet contemplation of the sea in order to write poetry. After a lack of success as an editor over subsequent journals, he took to the sea again as master of freighters, and finally retired in poverty to his small farm. Fought his entire life against special privilege and the tyranny of wealth, before ironically embracing both his next go-around. Lived his adult life in perpetual economic uncertainty, thereby not only identifying with commonality but also being to able to write of and for it through direct experience. Lost his way in a blizzard while walking home and perished. Inner: Passionate, romantic, egalitarian. Deeply imbued with nature, while having a fierce political nature as well. Lost bearings lifetime of losing his sense of equilibrium between the poet and the activist, and suffering for it at life’s end.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS BELLIGERENT INDIVIDUALIST:
Storyline: The shorn-headed iconoclast learns the lesson of forgiveness and is ultimately able to integrate the feminine into her off-balanced psyche and reclaim herself as an interesting voice with a soaring esthetic and something of note to say.
Sinead O’Connor (1967) - Irish singer and songwriter. Outer: Father was an engineer, mother was a dressmaker. 3rd of 4 children. Had a middle-class upbringing until her parents separated when she was 8, then lived with her abusive mother for 8 years. Subject to constant beatings, and often starved and locked in her room. Stole and skipped school in reaction to the abuse. As a petty thief, she was constantly hauled into the police station, but never charged because of tearful confessions. Moved in with her father and stepmother, after the former won a landmark case for sole custody of his children, but was sent to a home for delinquent girls run by Dominican nuns for shoplifting. Got her first taste of performing music in reform school. Released after 18 months, she went to a boarding school, but ran away to Dublin at 16. Sang on street corners, and worked as a Kiss-o-gram girl, delivering singing messages, dressed as a French maid. Sang with a band, and while awaiting a contract, her mother died in an auto accident. Realized the latter didn’t know what she was doing, and was able to forgive her for her atrocious behavior. Immediately afterwards, her career shifted into high gear. Moved to England, had a son by John Reynolds, a drummer in a band she played with, the duo married and later amicably divorced. Made her debut album in her early 30s, “Lion and Cobra.” Her career expanded, and she became an international figure, but continued to court controversy. Refused to appear in New Jersey during the Gulf War build-up because of the violence in the lyrics to the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Shaved her head, although later let hair grow out. In 1992, she tore up a picture of the pope on American national television, causing great controversy, as radio stations banned her, fans destroyed her albums, and her popularity never fully recovered from the incident. Later bore a daughter, without initially naming the father, journalist John Waters, and then did court battle for custody of her. Came out as a homophile, and was ordained as a clergy-woman by an unrecognized bishop of a renegade Irish sect in 1999, taking the name Mother Bernadette Maria, although she is not recognized as such by the traditional Church. Eventually able to forgive herself and become a more mature, emotionally integrated entertainer, more interested in developing her own lyrical grace then setting the media afire with her antics. Married Nicholas Sommerlad, a younger British journalist in 2001, then announced her retirement two years later, because of chronic fatigue syndrome, and asked to be left alone. Had a son with musician, in 2004. Became a rastafarian, and unretired in 2005 with a reggae album, followed up two years later by “Theology,” an album about her own benevolent sense of God, to countervail the war-god sensibilities of the world. Publicly revealed she suffers from bipolar disorder. 4 children all told, with the last the product of her current relationship, and the first three born in different decades with different fathers. Inner: Impulsive, angry, able to channel her rage into a powerful singing voice. Perennial sense of being an outcast, refuses to live in Ireland. Healing lifetime of rising from abusive beginnings to become an international figure, whose redirected anger directly matches her talent. Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) - American writer. Outer: Parents were German-Jewish immigrants. Father was a successful businessman, who was tyrannical and irascible, and made a handsome fortune through investments. Youngest of 5, 2 siblings died in childhood. Lived in Vienna and Paris before moving back to America as a child. Heard 3 languages while growing up, and was able to disassociate words from their meaning because of it. Short and round, with trademark close-cropped hair. Her mother was an invalid who died of cancer when she was 14. The former was a remote and negative figure in her life, making her reject the feminine within her. The death of her father when she was 17 was also a release. Lived with relatives in Baltimore afterwards, then studied philosophy and psychology at Harvard Annex (now Radcliffe), while her older brothers provided for her education. Went to Johns Hopkins to become a psychologist, but got bored after 4 years and traveled abroad with her sibling Leo. Independently wealthy, the duo settled in Paris in 1903, and became art patrons and collectors, while running an informal salon for young artists and writers. Eclipsed by her bossy, supercilious sibling for years, with whom she created the basis for an extremely impressive modern art collection, before the two eventually went their separate ways in 1914. A homophile, she had a lifelong companionship, beginning in 1907, with Alice B. Toklas (Samantha Ronson), who served her as secretary, typist, and protector of her flame, after meeting her on her very first day in Paris. Managed to avoid WW I through judicious travel, before becoming a supply driver to French hospitals. Began writing in college, and saw that would be her foremost field of expression. After publishing several inaccessible novels of wordplay, she became the leader of avant-garde literary experimenters of the 1920s. Considered music to be “an art for adolescents,” nevertheless established a working relationship with composer Virgil Thomson, inspiring "Four Saints in Three Acts." At the same time, during the 1930s, she wrote "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas," her best known work, in which she augmented her own legend. Thoroughly enjoyed the long-sought fame which that work gave her. Her 2nd autobiography followed 3 years later. Considered herself a Republican, and gave enthusiastic support to right-wing governments, while vocally opposing the American New Deal. Returned to America after a 30 year absence for a triumphant lecture tour in mid-decade. During WW II, she lived in seclusion with Alice B. in occupied France. Died of stomach cancer in an American hospital in a Paris suburb, at the end of the conflict. Inner: Highly original, subjective and abstract, as well as a powerful cultural force, albeit only of her own time. Wrote musically, rather than literarily, with an emphasis on verbal sound instead of meaning. Incisively witty, given to theatrical gestures, belligerently individualistic. Self-professed genius, courageous, and her own woman. Self-celebrating lifetime of taking advantage of the privilege of her birth, if not her parents, and creating a unique existence dedicated to the promulgation of her view of art and language. Eugene Scribe (1791-1961) - French playwright. Outer: Father was a silk merchant of modest means. Following his sire’s death, he continued his studies at the Sainte-Barbe college, showing himself to be a diligent student. Studied law, despite a strong interest in the theater, then had his first success, "Les Dervis," in 1811, a collaboration with one of of the Delavigne brothers. Became a playwright, although his initial efforts were all highly derivative, until he realized he would fare better if he dealt with current customs in his writings. After 1816, and a satirical work that brought him far more to public notice, he devoted himself exclusively to his craft. Initially wrote “vaudevilles,” which were primarily amusements, with catchy songs appended to him. Began writing comedies of intrigue in 1820, producing some 150 of them for a new theater, often in collaboration with others, with twists galore, while reflecting his contemporary world. Beginning in 1822, he worked in close concert with composer Daniel Auber (Virgil Thomson) writing libretti for his works, as well as for others. Realized his great wish to write for the prestigious Comedie Francaise in 1833, with far more substantial material, and the following year he was elected to the French Academy. Continued penning his vaudevilles, as well, and, following a series of failures in the 1850s, ended his career with them. Happily married late in life, and ultimately became a largely forgotten figure, since he was a reflection of his times, and as tastes changed, he failed to change with them. Nevertheless, he always had a good business sense, and wound up quite wealthy, with a country estate at Sericourt. Had little sense of character in his work, and was stylistically undistinguished, but made up for both failings with a good sense of plot and drama. Worked with types, rather than people, but had an innate wit, and helped move drama out of its romantic conventions and into the arena of middle-class problems, so that he had a ready identifiable audience for his works, allowing him to be the most successful French dramatist, for a while, of his particular age. Penned over 400 plays. Inner: Extremely generous, well-socialized and tuned to his times for a time. Entertaining lifetime of taking a collaborative talent as far as he could, before switching genders to get far more into his/her emotional side, and all the inherent drama latently lying there.

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PATHWAY OF THE MUSICIAN AS ONGOING AMERICAN ICON:
Storyline: The Texas troubadour turns himself into an institution, while leading a larger-than-life on-the-road existence, fueled by bio-diesel, altered states, and an outlaw disregard for ordinary propriety.
Willie Nelson (1933) - American singer, actor and songwriter. Outer: Outer: Mother abandoned the family, when she went out to find a job and never returned. The younger of two, with one older sister, Bobbie Lee, a talented pianist who would become part of his subsequent ongoing road show. His father remarried and opened a pool hall, although he was raised largely by aunts and his gospel-singing grandparents, who encouraged his musical talents with mail order lessons beginning at the age of 6. Already songwriting a year later, he was playing guitar with a local polka band by 9, and precociously getting drunk on beer. Picked cotton to help family finances, and joined the Bohemian Fiddlers in high school, while also involving himself in the Future Farmers of America. At the same time, he worked as a disc jockey and sang in local honky tonk bars. After dropping out of high school in 1951, he joined the Air Force, although was released 9 months later because of back problems. Married 16 year old Martha Matthews, a full-blooded Cherokee, in 1952, but the duo divorced a stormy decade later, after his wife got sick and tired of his coming home drunk almost every night. Two daughters and a son who died in his 30s from the union. Went to Baylor Univ. for a year, where he studied agriculture, then moved to the northwest in his early 20s, and continued to sing in clubs and spin records, while working as a plumber’s assistant. Sold Bibles and vacuum cleaners door-to-door, and his song, “Family Bible,” which was covered by another, became a gospel classic. 5’7”, with eventual waist length red/grey hair worn in two long braids, and a short white beard. Came to Nashville in 1960, although struggled there, even while writing one of the most covered country songs of all time, “Night Life.” Despite penning standards for others, record companies didn’t like his singing style, which didn’t conform to country dictates of the time. Married a second time in 1963 to singer Shirley Collie, although his second union also ended in divorce in 1971. Played bass on Ray Price’s touring band, and wrote several hits for others, including “Crazy” for Patsy Kline (k.d. laing), but Nashville failed to fully appreciate his talents, and, after a stint with the Grand Ole Opry and a switch of record labels, he saw his house burn to the ground in 1970. Moved back to Texas, and dropped out of the music scene altogether for a while in order to regroup himself. Returned with a sound that fused a variety of traditions, including country, western swing, r’n’r, and folk, and found his permanent place in the music firmament as an Austin, Texas institution, singing his own songs. Continued switching labels, before finally achieving a number one hit, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” a cover of an earlier classic, as part of the best-selling country album of all time up to that time, “Red-headed Stranger.” Built a studio, Pedernales, and along with Waylon Jennings, became one of the main proponents of outlaw country. Married a third time to former lab technician Connie Koepke in 1971, and moved to Minnesota for a while, where he added three children to his expanding brood of progeny. His third marriage ended in divorce in 1988, thanks to his constantly being on the road, which also curtailed his other unions. Beginning in 1979, with The Electric Horseman, he launched a film career playing character roles, cameos and occasionally singing on screen. Also has made guest appearances on a variety of dramatic TV shows. In the middle of the 1980s, he formed The Highwaymen with Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash, to cash in on their collective outlaw reputation. At roughly the same time, he began sponsoring, along with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, free Farm Aid concerts in Texas, to help farm families, which would become a subsequent yearly staple. In keeping with his outlaw reputation, the IRS hit him with a $16.7 million bill for back taxes and seized most of his assets, many of which were bought up by friends and fans and returned to him. Subsequently sued his accounting house for their manipulations, and by 1993, he had paid of the debt. Two years earlier, he made his fourth and final marriage to Annie D’Angelo, two sons from the union, which was more inclusive than his earlier marriages. Constantly on the road with his bio-diesel bus, the Honeysuckle Rose, and its various incarnations, he would also become a primary spokesman for alternative fuels, creating Bio-Willie, a bio-fuel firm that sells vegetable oil fuel to truck stops. An inveterate and enthusiastic pot smoker, he is also on the advisory board of NORML, an organization dedicated to the legalization of marijuana, the possession of which caused him to be busted in 2005. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. An active supporter of political progressives, as well, he founded an eponymous Peace Research Institute in 2007. In 2010, he cut off his waist-length pigtails, for maintenance reasons, deciding he had spent more than enough time with the upkeep on the downsweep of his hair. Inner: Well-liked and well-lubricated. Highly liberal in his politics, and completely libertarian in his actions and beliefs, as an outlaw with an unending need to be out there entertaining both himself and his adoring audiences. On the road again lifetime of forging himself into a unique American institution, by simply being himself, and letting the devil take the hindquarters. ‘Uncle’ Jimmy Thompson (James Donald Thompson) (1848-1931) - American musician and farmer. Outer: Little really known of his early life. A farmer by trade, he also played music locally as a fiddler in a genre known at the time as “hillbilly music.” Grew up in Tennessee, then lived in Texas until 1912, where legend had it he beat all competition in a monster eight-day marathon fiddle contest. Combined the styles of the two states, while focusing his existence on making a living through tilling the earth. As he got older, and the grind of farming began to wear on him, he began to organize tours to fairs and other public venues, where he was a featured solo fiddler. Along with his wife, who danced to his tunes, he toured, using an old truck, the back of which he had rigged up as a home for them. The duo were known as Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Ella, and were eventually joined by his niece Eva Thompson Jones, on the piano. The latter was a Nashville music teacher. Legend also has it, he was the first performer for the initial radio broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry on WGM, on November 28, 1925. The date is considered the official birth of the show, despite another version having been on the air a month or so beforehand, while the official name was not adopted until 1927. At the time he was in his late 70s, but his spry fiddling and warbling supposedly elicited a large audience response, and helped make the Opry an electronic institution. Supposedly knew 1000 fiddle tunes, although only stayed with the Opry for about a year. Because he performed well-before the electronic era, he remains a vague figure, whose detail of life has been lost to the unrecorded vagaries of time. Only a quartet of his recordings survive. Inner: Fiddling around lifetime of laying some of the foundations for his subsequent go-round in this series, in which both Nashville and Texas would play a pivotal part in his playing, as would his continuous on-the-road sensibilities.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS VISIONARY OF VIOLENCE:
Storyline: The martial memorialist mixes his passive-fist nature and belief in the ultimate transcendence of humanity with a gritty lyrical take on the mayhem underlying that transcendence, while dealing with his own addictions to death and self-destruction, in an ongoing attempt at integrating his realities with his projections.
Warren Zevon (1947-2003) - American songwriter. Outer: Named after his uncle, who died in WW II, and whose memory hovered over him. Father was a Russian Jewish immigrant who became a boxer, then a professional gambler and gangster. Mother was Mormon and of Scotch-Welsh descent, who was extremely withdrawn, but encouraged her son’s pursuit of music. The family name was Livotovsky, which was changed by his grandfather. Raised in California. His progenitor’s profession kept the family moving, not close with parents, who divorced when he was a teen. Learned to play piano as a child. Briefly studied music, and after several visits to maestro Igor Stravinsky, taught himself guitar and began writing songs. Played in local bands, moved to NYC, then the San Francisco area. After the failure of his initial efforts, he wrote advertising jingles and worked as a pianist and bandleader for the Everly Brothers, before they broke up. Married and divorced, one child from union. Moved to Spain, where he sang in an Irish bar outside Barcelona, before the popularity of some of his songs induced him to return and record. His friend, Jackson Browne, produced his next album, and by the end of the 1970s, he had made a name for himself, despite spending much of the decade in an alcoholic haze. His breakthrough album would be Excitable Boy in 1978, which included his best known single, “Werewolves of London.” Married Crystal Brelsford in 1974, and proved to be an abusive unfaithful husband, so that she divorced him in 1981, although she later compiled a posthumous oral biography of him entitled I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, thanks to her ongoing belief in his supreme talent. One child from union. Addicted to alcohol, which curtailed his career, although he finally freed himself of it in the early 1980s, after retreating from the music business for several years. In 1987, he celebrated with Sentimental Hygiene, which featured collaborations with an all-star medley of rock icons. Continually exploring violence, politics and offbeat circumstances in his work. Married a third time to actress Kim Lankford. His oddly eccentric songs made him a headliner, but he couldn’t maintain his momentum and his career waned, as he went to small venues, rather than pursue the path of the rock-star. Despite occasional writer’s block, he continued his off-beat calling and maintained a low key existence, as an oddity of rock’n’roll. Discovered he had inoperable lung and liver cancer in 2002, but faced his demise with good humor and a sense of inner peace, although began drinking again at the news. Continued writing and recording, and lived long enough to see the birth of his first grandchildren, a set of twins, before dying at home from the dis-ease. His final album, The Wind, went on to win 2 posthumous Grammy awards, the very first of his career. Inner: Good-natured wit with a belief in the enduring goodness of humanity. Lifelong smoker, voracious reader and movie-goer, with a preference for ‘hard-boiled’ fare. Well-informed, with an earlier braggadocio about his capacities for self-destruction. Self-appointed poet laureate of martial violence. Obsessive-compulsive, with a phobia around doctors. Eccentric lifetime of creating himself as an offbeat uncompromising voice in the public wilderness. Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) - English poet. Outer: Born in the house of his grandfather, who had been a former mayor. When the old man died 2 years later, he was forced to live in backstreets with only memories of wealth. The oldest of 5, with three brothers and a sister. His mother wanted him to restore their family to gentility via a Church career, and gave him a strong evangelical upbringing. On Sundays, he would rearrange the family sittingroom to resemble a church, then in a cardboard mitre would conduct an evening service, replete with a sermon. His father eventually was made an assistant superintendant of joint railways. Serious and slightly priggish as a youth, with interests in archaeology, geology and botany, he left school at 18, after failing to win a scholarship to the Univ. of London, and became an unpaid lay assistant to a vicar. Away from his mother’s influence, he was less and less enamored of evangelism and more critical of the Church, while remaining sensitive to the suffering of poor. Showed himself to be a romantic at heart in his poetic dabblings, with a particular affinity for John Keats (Jeff Buckley). On the verge of a nervous breakdown, he left the vicarage and became an English teacher at the Berlitz School of Languages in Bordeaux, France, after recovering. A homophile, although considerable doubt exists as to whether he ever acted on his sexual feelings. Served as a tutor in a cultivated French household when WW I broke out. Returned to England the following year, enlisted in the Artists Rifles and was commissioned with a Manchester regiment. Several months later, he fell into a cellar, where he was trapped for three days, while suffering a severe concussion, a symbol of his own resisted underground world. Invalided home a few weeks later with severe shellshock. Met poet Siegrfried Sassoon in a hospital in Edinburgh, and began contributing to the hospital magazine, “Hydra,” as part of a work-cure, while viewing Sassoon as his poetic mentor. Found a far leaner voice under the latter’s tutelage, and quickly surpassed him in the musicality and density of his verse. Returned to the front later that summer, where he served as a company commander with the Artists Rifles, despite being highly critical of the war. Won a medal for bravery and was killed in battle by machine gun fire leading his platoon, one week before the armistice to end WW I. Had been planning a book of poetry based on WW I, as well as verse dramas. His collected poems were published 2 years following his death, by Sassoon. Inner: Although he repudiated his mother’s religiosity, he was a strong believer in Jesus Christ. Intrigued with the aesthetics of violence, poet of martial conflicts. Martyred lifetime of celebrating violence and death through poetry, while directly sacrificing himself to the great gods of war as a way to purge himself of his obsessive linkage to the brutality of humanity. Oliver Madox Brown (1855-1874) - English poet. Outer: Father was artist Ford Madox Brown (Lindsay Anderson). Mother was his sire’s former model and second wife, who was originally illiterate, but taught by her husband to read and write, only to prove to be a difficult partner, because of a combination of epilepsy and alcoholism. Had one older step-sister, Lucy (Carly Simon), as well as an older brother who died in infancy, and another younger artist sister who went on to marry the writer Ford Madox Ford (Anthony Minghella). Known as ‘Nolly’ to his family, he proved to be a precocious writer, penning one novel, “Gabriel Denver,” and some poetry, most of which he destroyed. Like his sisters, he was also an artist, although his talents were never given a chance to develop, because of his early death from blood poisoning on the anniversary of the publication of his novel. Left two other nearly completed novels, as well as some short stories as his legacy. Inner: Precocious, with a respectable talent for exposition. Flickering candle lifetime of exhibiting innate poetic skills, while feeding into a pattern of premature deaths that probably preceded this go-round as well, and would continue on after it.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS MAN OF THE PEOPLE:
Storyline: The workingman’s laureate finds great appeal from his audiences with his ability to plumb the lyrical metaphors of commonality, while keeping himself and his own processes largely hidden from view in a magical act of endearing proportion.
Bruce Springsteen (1949) - American singer and songwriter. Outer: Father was a bus driver, who also drifted from job to job. Mother was a secretary. His parents wanted him to be a lawyer, but he was an indifferent student, who felt he had spent his childhood in a trance. His family moved to California when he was 15, but he stayed behind to finish school. His singular early interest was in garage bands, hosting numerous along the Jersey shore, until finally he settled on the E-Street Band. Dropped out of community college to pursue music fulltime and signed a contract with Columbia Records. Discovered by Crawdaddy Magazine, he affected an unkempt diffident look, while singing of commonplace teenage experience with which his audience could readily identify. Became an extremely popular showman, giving unstintingly of himself in his gravel-voiced strutting, swaggering performances, while personifying a workingclass spirit, that he easily transcended with his success. Appeared simultaneously on the covers of Newsweek and Time in the early 1980s, and enjoyed a huge popularity, while remaining largely hidden from the public, despite the seeming autobiographical material of his songs. Worked out with weights to give himself an even more imposing stage presence and married Julianne Phillips, a former model, in 1985. The two divorced 4 years later, eliciting his most morose, and probably most honest, album, "Tunnel of Love." Later married a back-up singer, Patti Scialfa, who had been in his band for several years, 2 sons and a daughter from the union. Continued on as a major recording and performing star, remaining curiously remote as ever, despite the easy accessibility of his music and lyrics, in a long career buoyed by the fantasies he so easily projects of hard working accessibility. Inducted into the R’n’R Hall of Fame in 1999. After several relatively low profile years, he made a patriotic return in 2002 with his first album in 7 years, “The Rising,” taking advantage of the country’s stunned sensibilities following the shock of the World Trade Center bombing the previous annum. Also reunited with his E-Street Band after cutting them loose some 15 years earlier. Found himself a corespondent in a divorce suit in 2009, although vehemently denied the allegation. The winner of 13 Grammy awards, he remains a voice of his times. Inner: Shy, reserved and remote, but able to command a huge following through his symbolic, rather than actualized, stance as spokesperson for commonality. Other than music, held only one real job in his life, as a gardener for several weeks in 1968. Liberal and empathetic, with the ability to feed off his audiences, much as if he were a musical preacher. Uncommon commoner lifetime of continuing to pursue his ongoing stance as lyrical poet of the people, without having to reveal too much of his painful self in the process. Edwin Markham (Charles Markham) (1852-1940) - American poet. Outer: Mother was a sharp-tongued, greedy, unaffectionate religious fanatic, father was a trapper and hunter. Grew up on a ranch near San Francisco. Spent an unhappy childhood dominated by his bitter, eccentric mother who had separated from his sire. A vivid fantasist during that time, pretending that his father had died instead of divorced his mother, who had 2 short-lived marriages afterwards. His bleak and disturbed mother was constantly haranguing him. Tended sheep as a youth, but the latter wouldn’t allow him to read, feeling it separated him from her, and he was driven inside by her abuses. Went to Christian College in northern California and then taught school in Coloma, California. Highly ambitious, he studied socialism and wrote poetry. Married in 1875 to Annie Cox, who was emotionally incompatible with him, divorced in 1884. A liaison with Elizabeth Senter, a mistress forced him to give up his school post and in 1887, he married Caroline Bailey, an older woman to assuage public disapproval, then tried to live at his mother’s house, but his wife left because of maternal tensions, and he sadly realized he could not desert his overbearing forbearers. His wife eventually died in 1894. During the 1880s, he published poems in various magazines. His best known poem was written in his late 40s, “The Man with the Hoe,” inspired by a painting by Jean Millet (Ben Shahn), which made him world-famous. Became a Swedenborgian, and changed his name from Charles to Edwin. His mother died in 1891, finally freeing him from her bondage. His 3rd marriage in his mid-40s to Anna Catherine Murphy, a teacher who became his editor and collaborator was successful, and their collaboratory son became a novelist. Moved to New York, and became a muckraking journalist with pieces on child labor. Became a national institution of sorts as a lecturer and public personality identified with working people. Ultimately looked upon as the dean of American poets, despite the simplicity and lack of depth of his verse. His birthday, the same as Shakespeare’s, became a national event. In 1936, he suffered a stroke while he was in Mexico, and his last years were spent incapacitated. Died of pneumonia. Inner: Mother-dominated, with an inability to integrate the feminine within himself. Interested in transcendentalism, and had a great desire for fame, at the expense of his self as an artist. Man with a hoe-rrific problem with his female side lifetime of an off-center upbringing which gave him great thirst for public love, and, in the process, lessened his unique natural abilities as a poet of plainness.

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PATHWAY OF THE MUSICIAN AS MARTYR TURNED MESSENGER:
Storyline: The former voiceless victim finally gets to actualize her desire for fame through her talents rather than her associations, as she turns the political into the personal, and her earlier iconic fall gal stance into totemic status as a survivor and exemplar of awakened social consciousness.
Melissa Etheridge (1961) - American singer. Outer: Mother was an army computer specialist, father taught psychology and government, and also coached the high school basketball team. Grew up blocks away from the federal penitentiary at Ft. Leavenworth, in an unconscious nod to her incarcerated existence the previous go-round in this series. Took music lessons as a child, and was writing songs by the time she was ten. Sexually abused over a five year period by her older sister, while also coming to see that her orientation was towards her own gender. Had a girlfriend in high school, although remained surreptitious in her priapic activities, finding little support in her hometown for who she really was. Played piano and guitar in various cover bands around Kansas as a teenager, before going to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, which opened her up to her true place in the larger homophile community. Found formal schooling was not the direction she needed, and dropped out after her second semester to return home and make some money in order realize her dream of going to Los Angeles. In 1982, she began playing small bars in L.A., including lesbian venues, which led to becoming a staff songwriter for A&M Records. Finally signed with Island Records in 1986, although they rejected her first album for being too slick. Undaunted, she recut it, and it was released as her debut album. Won Grammys in 1982 and 1994 for Best Female Rocker. In 1993, she publicly came out as a lesbian at the Triangle Ball, which was part of the inaugural festivities for Pres. Bill Clinton’s first term. A highly public gay rights activist afterwards, she has also taken on the environment as an issue close to her heart. Took up with music video producer Julie Cypher, and had a daughter and son with her, who were fathered by the sperm of singer David Crosby. Eventually she and Cypher separated, after the latter had an affair with singer k.d. laing. Co-wrote her memoirs, “The Truth is...My Life in Love and Music” in 2001, in which she candidly discussed both the light and the dark of her life. Hooked up with actress Tammy Lynn Michaels afterwards and the pair had a commitment ceremony in 2003, before an anonymous sperm donor blessed them with twins, a son and daughter in 2006 via the latter. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, she underwent chemotherapy for it, and returned to performing the following year at the Grammy Awards, where she appeared sans hair but with her talent and determination intact, and has since become a public totem of cancer survivors. Politically active for liberal causes, she has often performed for various benefits, and in 2007, she was part of a Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Norway. In addition, she sang at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Won an Academy Reward in 2007 for Best Original Song for “I Need to Wake Up,” which accompanied Al Gore’s environmental scare-a-thon, An Inconvenient Truth. Announced she was separating from her spouse after 7 years in 2010. Inner: Highly personable, with a strong sense of mission. Turnaround lifetime of slaking her thirst for fame via her abilities after earlier falling victim to the fear and loathing of her times. Ethel Rosenberg (Ethel Greenglass) (1915-1953) - American convicted spy. Outer: Of Austrian Jewish ancestry on her mother’s side, and Russian-Jewish on her father’s. Grew up in poverty in a coldwater, windowless, three-room tenement in the immigrant enclave of NYC’s Lower East Side. The oldest of 3, with two younger brothers, including David Greenglass. Close to her father, but estranged from her unhappy mother, who made her the target of her frustrations over her husband’s inability to truly provide for the family. Wanted to be a singer and actress, evincing quite a bit of talent in the former discipline in school productions, but received absolutely no support from her family in her ambitions. Acted in amateur troops on the NYC-New Jersey circuit, and also was part of a large choir that regularly sang at Carnegie Hall. Saved money for music lessons and acting groups, while her mother insisted all of it should go towards the family. Took a job as a shipping clerk for a shipping and packing company, then, angered that men made more money for doing the same work, joined the Ladies Apparel Shipping Clerks Union, only to be let go for her activities. Began singing on picket lines and at union rallies while joining the Young Communist League, where she met Julius Rosenberg, an engineering student, who was three years her junior. Got a better job as a steno for a textile company, and the duo were married in 1939 and had two sons. Became a part-time typist for the U.S. Census Bureau, and took some college child psychology courses in order to try to be a better mother, feeling overwhelmed by her domestic role, with two high-strung children. Although her husband was recruited as a Soviet agent, there is no evidence she ever was. During WW II, her brother David became a machinist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and, as such, passed on some information to Julius. After the war, Julius, David and another partner established a machine shop in NYC, but by 1947, it had failed. In 1949, the Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb, and the paranoia of the time suggested that they had to have done so with espionage help. In subsequent investigations, David Greenglass admitted to have passed on secrets via a courier, after claiming to have been recruited by Julius Rosenberg. Although he initially denied his sister had anything to do with the conspiracy, he later identified her as having typed the notes that were passed on, thereby protecting his own wife, Ruth, who probably was guilty of having done so. Arrested along with her husband, she and he went to trial in 1951, and it was her brother’s testimony that she was the typist which sealed her unfortunate fate, turning her into a major martyr of the Cold War period. The paranoia of the time convicted her even before the trial did, while she did little to protect herself, save for continually proclaiming her innocence. Leftist intellectuals around the world condemned the trial, but popular opinion prevailed. Despite having passed on relatively worthless information, and her own questionable role in the debacle, she and her husband were convicted on conspiracy charges to commit espionage and sentenced to death. Both had repeatedly taken the anti-self-incrimination 5th Amendment, and she refused to bow to governmental pressure to name anyone else involved in the plot. Later evidence would point to her husband’s guilt, although nothing, save her brother’s testimony, would ever implicate her. Her mother and brothers pressured her up until the end to confess, even if it were a fabricated story, although she never did. A popular prisoner while in detention, she used to sing requests to the other incarcerated women. Eventually she became the only woman in Sing Sing’s death house, and her last months were fraught with both fear and depression. In a cause célèbre, both she and her husband were executed via the electric chair, although it took three charges for her to succumb because of her small size, after her husband died following only one. Reputedly smoke rose from her head afterwards, in what would later be deemed a great miscarriage of social justice, in which the government knew they were executing an innocent person. Their two sons were raised by songwriter Abel Meeropol and his wife, taking on their names, and eventually penning their own tome on the affair. Inner: Largely naive, probably far more fascinated with the movements of her time from a personally expressive perspective than a social or political one, despite being gender-sensitive to slights. Dowdy, neurotic and overprotective as a housewife and mother, allowing her husband sway over her, after her earlier desire for fame as a performer had been quashed.Always felt her mother never cared for her, which may have fed into a profound lack of self-love on her part, and her ultimate self-sacrifice. Victim lifetime of being turned into an American Cold War icon, in an odd performance artist piece, guaranteeing her an immortality that the stage or recording studio would never have been able to do.

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PATHWAY OF THE POET AS COMPLEAT ALIEN:
Storyline: The excessive exhibitionist finds ample audience for his need to both shock and dismay those around him with an outrageous need for attention, thanks to a theatrical imagination equal to the task.
Marilyn Manson (Brian Hugh Warner) (1969) - American musician. Outer: From a middle-class background, the only child of a furniture salesman, and a nurse. Given a nurturing upbringing, he was sent to a private Christian school to ensure a good education, although he chafed at the rules in his decade-long run there, and the conformity imposed on him. Initially, more of an ideological, than a behavioral rebel. Given his life’s course when his school began holding seminars on the evils of rock and roll, making him far more of an avid listener, and allowing him a ready escape from the pressures of adolescence. Got expelled and spent his last 2 years in a public high school, where he discovered he had a talent for song-writing. Moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. with his parents and began writing rock critiques, then thought he could do better than the bands about which he wrote. Adopted his name from screen-star Marilyn Monroe and mass murderer, Charley Manson, and tried from the outset to combine stardom and social anarchy. Drew from a wide range of alienated stances, including Satanism, pornography and horror films to fashion an act and a persona that would be deliberatively provocative, to become a voice of the forbidden, with a lyrical and musical talent to complement his profound alienation from the norm. Became an opening act for former fellow poet, Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails, and by the time he had released, “Antichrist Superstar,” an Armageddon-ridden take-off on the blandified Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Jesus Christ, Superstar,” he had found his metier. Ripped pages of the Bible and walked around with a dangling fake penis hanging from his pants as part of his calculated shows, and was soon number one on conservative hit lists, who continually protested his tours and shows. Began finding it difficult to get venues, as his androgynous look, flaming red hair and sexual insouciance made him the object of protests, and victim of his own excesses. Wrote The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, glorying in his nihilism, anti-clericalism and debauched sensibilities, while expunging himself of some his earlier Gothic extremes. Moved to Los Angeles, did a little interior re-plumbing, and re-emerged in somewhat more thoughtful mode with “Mechanical Animals.” Continues his charismatic way as a tour guide through the nightmares of the American psyche, although his deliberate provocations began wearing thin by century’s end, and his fan base began to diminish, thanks in large part to his inability to get beyond his one note message. An avid painter, with a similar penchant for the grotesque, he also maintains a Web blog that shows his innate poetic sensibilities. In 2005, he married burlesque queen and fashionista Dita Von Teese, only to have her file for divorce a year later. Inner: Fiercely ambitious, intelligent, intense and articulate. Able to both grab attention with surface shock and deliver the artistic substance behind it to balance the two into a unique artistic vision. Luciferian lifetime of playing the nerd in hell, in hopes of providing a role model for the disaffected and alienated who have neither the voice nor the courage to act out their stranger-in-a-strange land sensibilities. Maxwell Bodenheim (Maxwell Bodenheimer) (1893-1954) - American poet. Outer: Father was a shopkeeper, and the family moved to Chicago in 1900. Expelled from high school, and served 3 years in the military, from 1910-1913, but was dishonorably discharged for going AWOL. Went back to Chicago to live with his parents, where he survived as both a petty thief, and a constant cadger of both food and drink. A handsome self-promoter, with red hair and and blue eyes. Continually leeched off women, but in 1918, he became nominally married to Minna Schein for the next 20 years. One son from the union. Hooked up with writer and journalist Ben Hecht, cowriting plays with him, as well as a short-lived literary paper, before the duo had a falling out, and subsequently raked one another as characters in succeeding novels. Began publishing poetry at the same time, writing in the Modernist vein of the Imagists, although he proved to be a very minor poet. Had one successful novel, Replenishing Jessica, in 1925, and wound up penning 13 of them, as well as 10 books of verse. More than made up for his limitations as a writer with his social antics, continually drawing attention to himself via his outrageous behavior, unconsciously playing the role of the performance poet. In his early 30s, he came to NYC and settled in Greenwich Village, becoming a fixture of the bohemian scene there, particularly the San Remo bar. Had several women threaten to or take their lives over him while he steadily self-destructed. Married a second time to Grace Finan, the widow of a painter, in 1939, who died of cancer in 1950, after which he was both arrested and hospitalized several times for public drunkenness and vagrancy. His final marriage was to Ruth Fagin, an unstable young woman nearly three decades his junior, in 1950, who joined him in his derelict lifetstyle. By life’s end he was largely homeless, and wound up shot to death, while reading Rachel Carson’s “The Sea Around Us.” This poignant commentary would be underlined by the unstable seas of his wife and Charlie Weinberg, a dishwasher, rutting madly in front of him, which occasioned a fight, and then his being shot twice in the chest, before his wife was stabbed to death in the back, to summarily end their lives in one final explosion of creation/destruction. Inner: Displayed a dissipated sexiness when he was younger, despite being extremely unhygienic. Tremendous need for attention, and an equal draw towards self-destruction. Performance art lifetime where his unhinged mind ultimately rose up to slay and consume him, as reminder of his ongoing need to destroy himself in order to create, a lesson he may have finally learned in the next go-round in this series.

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PATHWAY OF THE MUSICIAN AS MIRROR OF THE ANGER AND RHYTHMS OF HIS TIMES:
Storyline: The unrepentant reprobate channels his innate ire and violence into his songs, reflecting the styles and traditions available to him, while continuing to be a completely unique figure on the larger American musical scene.
Busta Rhymes (Trevor Smith, Jr.) (1972) - American rapper and actor. Outer: Mother was of Jamaican extract, father was African-American. At 12, his family moved to Long Island, where he connected up with the hip hop community there, several of whom would go on to notable careers of their own. Became part of Leaders of the New School, and began recording while still in high school. Received his nickname from rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy, who bestowed it upon him as tribute to an Oklahoma Univ. halfback of the time. After he graduated, he pursued music full time, releasing his debut group album in 1991, “The Future Without A Past,” a hard rapping effort, that enjoyed great acclaim from hip-hop aficionados. 6’1”. Personality dynamics doomed the group, and he went solo afterwards, sporting dreadlocks to underline his Caribbean background. Had a son by a girlfriend in 1993. Released his debut solo album on his own Flipmode Records in 1996, “The Coming,” in which he touched back on his reggae roots, combining them with hip hop, to create a unique sound all his own. Enjoyed both critical and commercial success with the effort, not only in the U.S. but in England, as well, and continued as both a single act, and the leader of the Flipmode Squad, as a transatlantic phenomenon. Thought the world might end in 2000, and addressed that possibility in song, while turning to the Bible for some of his thematics. Began doing filmwork to complement his recording career, and switched to a new label, J Record, to celebrate the fact that it didn’t end after all. Able to release a greatest hit collection, relatively early in his career, while attracting big names to all his albums, although his work during this period didn’t sell quite as well as his earlier efforts, and he switched labels once again in 2004. Had his dreadlocks shorn the following year, as a symbol of changing his musical focus, and enjoyed his biggest transatlantic success with “The Big Bang,” thanks to the production touches of Dr. Dre. Began piling up various offenses, including drunken driving, third degree assault and drug and weapon possession, although received light punishment for his various transgressions. His bodyguard was also shot to death during this period, as reflection of the energy around him, as he continues to bust rhymes as an important voice of his larger musical community, while giving strong expression to the antisocial tendencies that scarred his previous go-round in this series. Inner: Angry, Afrocentric and apocalyptic. ‘A’ side lifetime of transposing his singing and songwriting skills to the urban rhythms of his life, after earlier reflecting his southern rural roots, while continuing to act out his asociality, as well as his natural musical charisma. Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) (1885-1949) - American singer and songwriter. Outer: Grandparents were killed by the Ku Klux Klan. Only son of African-American sharecroppers turned small landholders, with a 65 acre farm. Mother led a church choir, and he learned Cajun accordion as a child from his uncle. Absorbed all sorts of musical influences from the life around him. Serious and spoiled when young and, by 16, he was a prodigious cottonpicker, absentee father and promiscuous seducer. In demand at local dances for his powerful voice, extensive repertoire and virtuosity on the 12 string guitar, mandolin, piano, accordion and harmonica. Contracted gonorrhea while working the Shreveport red-light district, recovered and moved to Dallas where he became partners with Blind Lemon Jefferson. Attacked a woman who resisted him in 1916, and was sentenced to a year on a chain gang, but escaped 3 days later, and was hidden by his father, who had mortgaged the family farm to pay for a lawyer. Shot and killed a man over a woman, was convicted in 1918, escaped, lived under the name of Walter Boyd, got caught, was sentenced to 30 years at hard labor, escaped, was recaptured, and in 1920 was transferred to a prison outside of Houston. Worked on labor gangs 12 to 14 hours a day, and through his strength became lead man. The governor was impressed with his voice when he sang a ditty asking for his freedom. Pardoned after 6 1/2 years in 1925, he worked for a Buick agency, then returned home. Accosted by a group of white men, he wounded 5 with a knife, and once again was given 10 years at hard labor in 1930. Got a reprieve 4 years later after once more singing a song asking for a pardon. Recorded by folklorists, the Lomaxes, who took him on tour of college towns. An emotional, rather than virtuoso singer, he kept things simple in his playing and songwriting, relying on his authenticity as a genuine product of southern music traditions. Worked as chauffeur and singer for the Lomaxes, and married Martha Promise, his common law wife in 1935, although continued his compulsively seductive ways, as well as his partying and drinking. Moved to NYC, where he was adopted by left-wing intellectuals, although many could not understand his lyrics because of his heavy accent. Wound up doing two years for assault in NYC’s Riker’s Island, and on his release his home became a musical center fro traveling bluesmen. Went to Europe in 1949, only to find his right hand becoming paralyzed. Hospitalized for six weeks on his return, he died soon after of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Inner: Violent, earthy, extremely strong physically. Master of the 12 string guitar, with a deep bass voice. Hard time lifetime of literally living the blues, while expressing himself both physically and musically, via an unrepentant assaultive anger and an equal facility for transforming his milieu into song.

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