The Free Venice Beachhead – 39 Years Later
Venice was right in the thick of things in the
60s. If there was a golden age here in Abbot Kinney’s day, there was
certainly another golden age in Venice in the 60s. One might say it all started
here in the 1950s with the Beat poets and artists. There was a direct link with
them - through John and Anna Haag and many others - to the turmoil of the
60s.
While Jim Morrison and the Doors were
translating his Venice poetry into music that would be consumed by millions, the
Haags were abandoning their Venice West coffee house and initiating marches down
Ocean Front Walk against the war and police brutality. The Free Venice movement
that was created spun off community organizations for theater groups, art
shows, a food co-op, a survival committee, a political party and a
newspaper.
The newspaper founded in
1968 was the Free Venice Beachhead. From its first gleam in John Haag’s
eye, it was conceived as a way to tie the community of Venice together. There
was no thought of getting rich or making a journalistic reputation. And so it
has gone since that first Beachhead rolled off the press 39 years ago on Dec. 1,
1968.
The fact that we’re still
alive and kickin’ means that the values of the 60s are still alive. And if
the reports from our readers are accurate, they resonate with many who were not
even alive then.
On Dec. 15,
we’re going to take a step back from the daily grind of raising money for
the next issue, and PARTY! We’re returning to that famous landmark of our
community, the Venice West coffee house, now Sponto Gallery, where legendary
poets held forth and where John might have thought up the
Beachhead.
We’ll start with short
readings from our regular contributors and segue into a party befitting the
occasion.
Posted: Sat
- December
1, 2007 at 07:23 PM