"Stories from Berkeley" chronicles 1960's and 1970's counter culture

According to my Social Studies-teacher-daughter, very little about the counter-culture of the 1960’s and 1970’s is taught in secondary schools in Texas. Nathan Spooner’s new release, Stories from Berkeley: Adventures in the Slow Lane, preserves a part of our history which, unfortunately, is becoming lost.

Spooner chronicles his life as a philosophy student at Berkeley and a street performer in the Bay area including his relationships with Joadie Guthrie, son of Woody Guthrie; renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz; various house-mates in the communal house in which he lived; and fellow musicians. Although Spooner does not emphasize the turbulent political tenor of the times, he does put the anti-Viet Nam war effort in perspective.

After Berkeley, Spooner moved to Alaska for ten years where he and his wife raised their children. Upon returning to Berkeley the Spooners no longer felt at home there and moved to the Central Coast of California. Nathan Spooner is now a special education teacher with grown children and grandchildren.

Spooner successfully captures an era of American life that should be preserved. Stories from Berkeley has a nice rhythm to it and is an interesting read. This book is appropriate for high school students and would make a wonderful adjunct to Social Studies programs in both secondary schools and in college curriculums.

Stories from Berkeley (ISBN 978-0-9701698-1-5, US $16.95) can be ordered from Barnes and Noble online and is also available from the author at http://www.nbspublish.com/pages/ordering.html.

‘Western Writers of America’ honors Mike Blakely

The Western Writers of America, a guild of 600 professional writers of Western literature, has announced a new category, Best Western Song, and has awarded Hill Country writer and musician Mike Blakely a Spur Award for his song The Last Wild White Buffalo.

“When one thinks of the great American West, one naturally hears great music,” says WWA President Cotton Smith. “Memorable words and music that tell us of this special place in America’s heart. That is an important part of the Western experience and WWA wanted to honor it with the creation of the Songwriting Spur Award.”

Blakely’s winning song, The Last Wild White Buffalo, was created from his short story “The Rarest of the Breed.”

According to Melody Groves, WWA Publicity Chair, “To qualify for Best Western Song, the song had to be released for the first time in 2007 and available to the public with the lyrics dependent in whole or in part on setting, characters, or customs indigenous to the American West or early frontier.”

Blakely recorded The Last Wild White Buffalo as a single in 2007 and almost immediately sold out. His new CD, Rarest of the Breed, will be released June 6 and will include his winning song.

Blakely’s short story, The Rarest of the Breed, upon which the song was modeled is available through Amazon.com as a download for $0.49.

Blakely also won a Spur award in 2001 for his novel Summer of Pearls.

Blakely and Willie Nelson have co-written a novel, A Tale Out of Luck, which is scheduled for release in September. Also in September is Blakely’s “Fandango” book and music festival at Luckenbach in September. Details can be found on Blakely’s web site, http://mikeblakely.com/.