Press Releases

New Mexico Radio Program Interviews Writing & Poetics Chair Junior Burke

BOULDER, Colo. (November 19, 2007)— Discussing everything from literature and songwriting to politics and a national desire for truth, Naropa University Writing & Poetics Chair Junior Burke is livening up radio from November 19 to November 25.

Interviewed by Art of the Song, a syndicated radio program based in Taos, New Mexico, and aired by 118 stations in 24 states, Burke discusses Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, the inheritors of the Beat legacy, his new album titled While You Were Gone (released by Red Thread Records) and the Poets’ Party, a political movement formed with Summer Writing Program Director Lisa Birman that “writes its own speeches.”  

Burke also published a “prequel” to The Great Gatsby in 2005, entitled Something Gorgeous. He came to Naropa University in 1999 and, approximately six years later, assumed the role of chair of the Writing and Poetics Department. In addition to literary studies, Burke teaches fiction and dramatic writing workshops, a practice central to the Jack Kerouac School’s artistic focus. “Working writers working with working writers,” he explains in the interview, is a pedagogical code that distinguishes Naropa. In fact, he elaborates, the pure academic may not be the best fit in that atmosphere, where the lines sometimes blur between teacher and student. Putting pen to paper, creating and performing original work, is the priority.

Founded by Allen Ginsberg and fellow Beat writers Anne Waldman and Diane Di Prima, the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics continues a proud tradition of operating outside the mainstream. Burke cites Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison as musical lyricists who carried the Beat lineage into their own artistic genres, where it can still be felt today. In addition to social commentary, activism has also been integral to the school, so it’s no surprise that it has engendered its own political party built around a desire for increased honesty and diversity in public discourse. Seeking increased participation by creative thinkers, Burke and Birman’s Poets’ Party plans to hold its own convention this July and hopes to have a presence at the Democratic National Convention in Denver the following August.

Hosted by the performing songwriting duo John & Viv (John Dillon and Viv Nesbitt) Art of the Song is a one-hour independently produced radio show with music and interviews exploring inspiration and creativity through songwriting and other art forms. It explores why songwriters and artists create, how they become inspired, and how others can tap into that creative source in every aspect of their life. Writers of folk and roots music are common guests, as well as novelists and visual artists. Stations and times can be found at the following web address: http://artofthesong.org/stations.html. More information about Junior Burke’s recent CD release and other creative endeavors can be found at www.juniorburke.com.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education.  This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology and religious studies.