Interview with Jane Friedman, Founder of Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project
What was it like growing up as kid in New York City in the Beat era?
It was through the Beats that I knew that I wanted to be poet, to be a part of this generation that protested, shouted, and rebelled against the status quo. You felt a shift. They opened my eyes to possibilities—social activism and issues that I could participate in. They brought those issues and ideas home to me in an immediate and direct manner, in a way that a young person could understand. So that potential to explore the world from a different perspective was an inspiration.
Where did you hang out?
There was a four-block area that we haunted—a beaten path we all took: down MacDougal, over to Bleecker, maybe to Sullivan Streets, back to MacDougal—listening to folk music and poetry was intoxicating. Hanging out in coffee houses, the “cool” of it: all around me people were reading books and newspapers (Le Figaro in French!), and cultivating an aura of “hep” which was very glamorous to me. I grew up in a liberal, sophisticated West Village Jewish family, but with the Beats, one got the sense that there was larger world out there and you didn’t have to conform—a real “counterculture” to the accepted ideas and existing order of things.
What were your cultural touchstones?
I was into folk music and poetry and the street performances that were exploding every where. The Gaslight, Dave Van Ronk, Len Chandler, Washington Square Park, these are the people and places who influenced me. I was very young, I didn’t necessarily know everyone personally, but we saw each other in clubs, coffee houses, on the streets. I had a first edition of Howl that I carried everywhere in the back pocket of my jeans. That was a real fashion statement for a high school freshman!
Why is it important to revisit the Beats now?
I sense the passing of time. The Beats changed the very fabric of our society and I wanted to honor those originators that who helped create and perpetuate this movement. This may be the last time these groundbreaking artists come together and it’s important to hear their voices and to acknowledge the tremendous impact they have had on our culture and our lives as connected, responsible, and creative citizens of the world.
What is the tie-in to your long-range vision and mission of Howl! ?
Howl! Happening was founded to preserve and shine a light on the art and social history of the East Village and Lower East Side. I watched the effects of gentrification as artists and thinkers and creators were pushed out—first from Greenwich Village and now from the EV/LES. We are a community with a legacy that has far-reaching impact beyond the borders of the neighborhood. I want Howl! Happening to be a place that honors pioneering thinkers, a place where artists and poets and musicians and performers, past and present, can feel nurtured, comfortable, listened to, and embraced.
