Previously unpublished 1998 Lenore Kandel interview unearthed

*“Come on, get used to it. Loosen up. You must liberate!”: Lenore Kandel (as quoted by Peter Berg in 2006) holding a copy of her Love Book.*

Diggers.org archivist Eric Noble has posted the text of a previously unpublished 1998 interview with Lenore Kandel.

A very small portion of this hour-plus interview, conducted by French filmmakers Alice Gaillard and Céline Deransart, was used in their documentary Les Diggers de San Francisco. The remainder of the conversation has now been transcribed and edited for clarity and is now online. (I helped with some editing.) Go here to read it: https://diggers.org/lenore_kandel.htm

Lenore Kandel was a visionary poet, famed author of the controversial ‘holy erotica’ ‘The Love Book,’ an accomplished belly dancer and folk musician, the only female speaker at the Human Be-In (which occurred on her 35th birthday), and by many accounts, a major, imaginative, persistent force within the Diggers and the Haight scene in general, especially during the crucial 1966-1968 period. (Eric argues that it’s Lenore’s repeated, public use of “Love” that gave the “Love Generation” its name… I don’t know if I’m persuaded on that count [yet], but it’s possible!) She was involved in the early ’60s with Beat poet Lew Welch (they both appear, thinly fictionalized, in Jack Kerouac’s semi-autobiographical 1962 novel, Big Sur); published countless poems in small press magazines, chapbooks and the 1967 Grove Press collection, Word Alchemy (a posthumous 2012 collection of her complete poetic output is in print); appeared with boyfriend/Digger/Hells Angel Bill ‘Sweet William’ Fritsch in Kenneth Anger’s ‘Invocation of My Demon Brother‘; and, along with many other Diggers, was a featured poet at The Band’s ‘The Last Waltz’ concert.

An endearingly gentle-ecstatic Lenore Kandel reads a fresh poem at The Band’s The Last Waltz concert, Nov. 25, 1976.

Untreated injuries resulting from a 1970 motorcycle accident caused Lenore severe pain for the rest of her life; by the ’90s, when this interview was conducted, she was essentially homebound — but, as you will read, she remained intellectually alive, articulate and learned, playful and joyful. There are so many lovely passages in this interview. Yes, I wish Lenore had talked about her own family background, Fritsch, Hells Angels, all the incredible Diggers women, Diane di Prima, Emmett Grogan, Lew Welch, and on and on—but I am so grateful for what is here.

On a personal note, I had hoped to interview Lenore regarding the Diggers in 2006 with my documentary filmmaking partners; however, when I contacted her, she was in one of her periods when she was feeling unwell. She asked me to call back. In 2009, as my partners and I started to prepare a second trip to northern California to conduct further interviews, Lenore was at the top of our list. Before I called her to try and schedule, I did a quick Google search, and was saddened to learn that she had passed away the previous week.

Everyone that I subsequently interviewed about the Diggers talked about Lenore with great fondness, especially Phyllis Wilner and Vicki Pollack. (Peter Berg and Kent Minault also shared some vivid memories of her brilliance.) Unfortunately, there is almost no record—in print or otherwise—of Lenore herself talking at much length about the Diggers. So, I am especially happy that Alice and Celine shared the unexpurgated footage of their interview with Lenore with Eric—and that he has now made it available to everyone. Love wins.

“Come dance with me across my sparkling nerves”: Lenore Kandel and other Digger poets at the Band’s ‘Last Waltz’ (San Francisco, 1976)

Readings by:

Emmett Grogan:

Sweet William (Bill Fritsch):

Lenore Kandel:

Diane di Prima:

Freewheelin Frank Reynolds:

(Note: poets Michael McClure, Robert Duncan and Lawrence Ferlinghetti also read)

The Band’s Perfect Goodbye

A Behind-the-Scenes Report by Emmett Grogan

(originally published in Oui Magazine)

On December 6, 1969, I attended a concert at a race track in Livermore, near Altamont, California. Three hundred thousand people gathered on the grounds to see and hear rock performers on a crowded stage. Several cameramen were positioned at various angles to record the event as part of a documentary on The Rolling Stones’ concert tour of America. One of the cameramen got lucky. His lens was focused on the right place at the right time. The scene he recorded — the murder of an audience member by Hell’s Angels “security men” — became the dramatic highlight of the documentary Gimme Shelter. Like the photographing of this scene, the Altamont concert itself had happened by accident. And most of it went wrong. Nothing was planned. Everything was winged, improvised on the spot. Like life. Like death.

Six years passed before I went to another concert in the San Francisco Bay area, and this was an orchestrated event in which nothing was left to be played by ear, not even the music. The Band’s Last Waltz was as calculated as a pension. Every aspect of the production was carefully charted, as were the planets governing the stars. Nothing was overlooked or given space to simply happen. The planning was meticulous, the affair thoroughly cased, like a Willie Sutton bank job.

The Last Waltz was not only a hit, it was a major-league home run with the bases loaded. A grand slam. The Los Angeles Times called it “the most prestigious collection of rock stars ever assembled for a single show.” An elegant rambling moved Eric Clapton to remark, “Don’t think there will be anything like it ever again. Ever.” He’s right. There won’t be another gathering quite like it. In the year of Nadia Comăneci, the timing was perfect. According to a professional astrologist, the day was excessively rare. The sort of day you wait for years to happen. The kind of day that won’t happen for perhaps another decade.

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“We succeeded pretty well, at least for a while”: visionary poet LENORE KANDEL on the Diggers

Poet and Digger Lenore Kandel movingly reads from her poem To Fuck With Love (1966), and then reflects on the Diggers’ work and legacy. This YouTube video was filmed at Lenore’s memorial in 2010, where the footage was shown; you will see memorial attendees walk in front of the screen a couple of times. I’m fairly certain the footage of Lenore is from an interview conducted by the makers of the Les Diggers de San Francisco documentary film, released in 1998. Some of this footage was not included in the film.

“Lenore Kandel, poet, talks with Carlos Fresneda and Isaac Hernandez, illustrated from a beautiful collection of photos from her life. This video was shown at her memorial. Photos and audio ©2012 IsaacHernandez.com”

Fellow Digger Vicki Pollack shares information and insights about Lenore’s life at the memorial.

Fellow Digger Peter Berg reflects on Lenore at her memorial.

Fellow Digger Kathy Nolan reads some as-yet-unpublished poems by Lenore, and shares some thoughts.

Fellow Digger Judy Goldhaft reads a poem in remembrance of Lenore from Janeane [sp?].

Fellow Digger Peter Cohon/Coyote pays tribute to Lenore.