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49.
Original programme for the landmark gathering compered by Alexander Trocchi at the Royal Albert Hall on June 11, 1965.
Mustard colour folded card, printed in green. Measures 28x10.2 (when folded).
Prints the Blakean invocation for the event, a collaborative piece spontaneously conceived by a gathering of ten poets at Alexander Trocchi's Notting Hill flat (Trocchi's involvement in the event was suggested by Allen Ginsberg, previously near neighbours of one another on the Lower East Side).
Its inclusion of the line "You are not alone" (at Ginsberg's insistence, according to Michael Horovitz) was particularly prescient as at least 7000 people turned up, arousing the feeling for many beats, proto-hippies and outsiders that they indeed were not alone (years later Hoppy recalled: "That was when we first saw each other. You walked in, saw 6000 people just like you and thought, 'Shit, are there that many of us?' ").
The programme also lists the names of the most prominent poets who read at the event (as well as Pablo Neruda, unpersuaded to participate) and "somewhere in the evening Andrei Voznesensky" (who left after Ginsberg's unsuccessfull attempt to persuade him to read), along with "the voice of William Burroughs" (a tape recording of Burroughs - then in New York - was played on stage by Ian Sommerville during the intermission).
Trocchi's role as MC was described by The Sunday Telegraph of June 13: "He emerged as a model chairman, introducing the speakers without fuss and exercising a kindly but implacable 'guillotine' on the time allowed for each poet at the mike… Each poet got a very fair crack of Mr. Trocchi's whip, so to speak."
Very Good plus, at least.
