The Journal of Albion Moonlight

Poet/novelist Kenneth Patchen (1911-1972) was a figure in New York City’s Greenwich Village literary scene, which Folkways Records’ founder Moses Asch documented. A jazz lover, Patchen often read poetry to jazz accompaniment, and he also collaborated with John Cage and Charles Mingus. In the ’50s and ’60s Folkways released three albums of the author reading his poems, but this one is something different. Released in 1972 as a memorial to Patchen, it features recordings of the author reading excerpts from one of his novels, The Journal of Albion Moonlight. He wrote the book in 1941, capturing in a surrealistic way an observer’s reaction to the horror of World War II as it enveloped Europe in the summer of 1940. Patchen was a staunch pacifist, a distinctly minority position during World War II, but he won the admiration of San Francisco beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg, who cited him as an influence. The liner notes include a message from Patchen’s widow, Miriam, as well as reproductions of various artifacts from the author’s career.

Track Listing

101	P. 1-2 May 2 Kenneth Patchen	01:59
102	P. 11 May 18 Kenneth Patchen	00:24
103	P. 11-12 May 19 Kenneth Patchen	00:46
104	P. 13 June 5 Kenneth Patchen	01:26
105	P. 14-15 June 6 Kenneth Patchen	02:19
106	P. 15-16 June 7 Kenneth Patchen	02:19
107	P. 17 June 14 Kenneth Patchen	01:04
108	P. 17 June 15 Kenneth Patchen	00:26
109	P. 22-26, 32-33 June 19 Kenneth Patchen	08:05
110	P. 53 June 27 Kenneth Patchen	01:52
111	P. 90-91 July 5 Kenneth Patchen	03:14
112	P. 134-135 July 6 Kenneth Patchen	02:22
113	P. 135-136 July 16 Kenneth Patchen	01:58
114	P. 143 July 17 Kenneth Patchen	01:35
115	P. 167-171 June 30 Kenneth Patchen	07:57
116	P. 203-204 July 30 Kenneth Patchen	02:37
117	P. 213-215 Aug. 7 Kenneth Patchen	03:33
118	P. 298-300 Kenneth Patchen	03:44
119	P. 312-313 Aug. 27 Kenneth Patchen	03:54