on July 21, 2017
This is a "down to earth", real remembrance of how it was to grow up in a complex family, made more famous by her brother.Marcia's unique perspective and sense of humor make it a very enjoyable read and an important memoir for all of us as we reflect on our own life journeys and how we are marked by every twist and turn, even when we are unaware at the time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
on September 29, 2017
Marcia
has a gift for story telling that made me feel like I was with her on
her journeys. I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in her
life and times, plus the side stories along the way.
You'll be glad you met her, I know I'd love to hear more from Miss Hippie in the future. She sings a rare and different tune.
A no brainer, if you are Into the Dead
You'll be glad you met her, I know I'd love to hear more from Miss Hippie in the future. She sings a rare and different tune.
A no brainer, if you are Into the Dead
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
on May 25, 2017
There
is some sort of rule, cardinal? ordinal? not sure, about rock 'n' roll
drummers that their last names should have but one syllable.
Buddy Rich, Pete Best, Levon Helm, Charlie Watts, Mickey Hart, like that.
Then there's Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann who not only hogs the syllables but also half the consonants.
On Billy Kreutzmann's 14th birthday in 1960, he received a gasoline powered go-kart. Two months later his little sister, Marcia, was born. He probably really enjoyed the go-kart. Marcia was less reliable.
But Marcia is still around and has authored 'Miss Hippie in Mississippi' 50 years after the birth of the San Francisco sound, of which the Grateful Dead is the longest survivor and arguably the most famous.
Miss Hippie is a highly readable and entertaining cultural history of the last half of the 20th Century both in California and the deep south, where, if the cupboard was bare (often), one could go down to the back bay of Biloxi and fetch up a crab or flounder or something for dinner.
"Boats were as common as Buicks," the author writes, and "bars were as common as boats."
Miss Hippie's voice is unpretentious, but full of humor and tragedy. she asks no pity from the reader and reminds me of Joan Didion, who has patented the queen-of-cool narrative style.
Miss Marcia is not Didion but is almost as much fun. The book is a mere 100 pages. I've read it about a gazillion times and never tire of it.
I was given the opportunity to see this book in manuscript, and watched it take shape in galleys and finally result in a book. That's why I've read it so many times and still do.
It's well understood that the Devil dwells at the crossroads of Mississippi and is the place were bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul.
I'm of the opinion that Miss Hippie was sent down to the sultry territory to keep the Devil down in the hole. Of course, the official explanation is that Marcia's mother and father divorced in California and Marcia made it to the south in the custody of mom.
That's just a cover story. After Miss Hippie was through with Satan, she returned to California to undertake more serious challenges among the north coast counterculture. The Grateful Dead make many appearances in the book but Marcia Kreutzmann introduces us to many more interesting folk who did not share the Dead's celebrity and who, through this story, may perhaps not be forgotten.
Buddy Rich, Pete Best, Levon Helm, Charlie Watts, Mickey Hart, like that.
Then there's Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann who not only hogs the syllables but also half the consonants.
On Billy Kreutzmann's 14th birthday in 1960, he received a gasoline powered go-kart. Two months later his little sister, Marcia, was born. He probably really enjoyed the go-kart. Marcia was less reliable.
But Marcia is still around and has authored 'Miss Hippie in Mississippi' 50 years after the birth of the San Francisco sound, of which the Grateful Dead is the longest survivor and arguably the most famous.
Miss Hippie is a highly readable and entertaining cultural history of the last half of the 20th Century both in California and the deep south, where, if the cupboard was bare (often), one could go down to the back bay of Biloxi and fetch up a crab or flounder or something for dinner.
"Boats were as common as Buicks," the author writes, and "bars were as common as boats."
Miss Hippie's voice is unpretentious, but full of humor and tragedy. she asks no pity from the reader and reminds me of Joan Didion, who has patented the queen-of-cool narrative style.
Miss Marcia is not Didion but is almost as much fun. The book is a mere 100 pages. I've read it about a gazillion times and never tire of it.
I was given the opportunity to see this book in manuscript, and watched it take shape in galleys and finally result in a book. That's why I've read it so many times and still do.
It's well understood that the Devil dwells at the crossroads of Mississippi and is the place were bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul.
I'm of the opinion that Miss Hippie was sent down to the sultry territory to keep the Devil down in the hole. Of course, the official explanation is that Marcia's mother and father divorced in California and Marcia made it to the south in the custody of mom.
That's just a cover story. After Miss Hippie was through with Satan, she returned to California to undertake more serious challenges among the north coast counterculture. The Grateful Dead make many appearances in the book but Marcia Kreutzmann introduces us to many more interesting folk who did not share the Dead's celebrity and who, through this story, may perhaps not be forgotten.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
on July 1, 2017
There
is been much written about The Grateful Dead, the hippie culture and
the lifestyles and experiences of the rich and famous who have been in
the limelight...but rare is it that an author with a truly unique
perspective comes along to give a reader (or fans of this amazing
sub-culture) a peek into both the history and the psyche of The Grateful
Dead universe. Marcia Kreutzmann, the little sister of the famous
drummer Bill Kreutzmann, does exactly this in her debut novel "Miss
Hippie in Mississippi", a delightfully easy to read memoir which shares
both delicate secrets and personal insights with a healthy dose of both
realism and emotional fortitude. I found myself laughing aloud at times,
holding back tears in other moments and overall just cannot recommend
this book enough...It's an awesome read!Check out "Miss Hippie in Mississippi" today.
No comments:
Post a Comment