The Huncke Festschrift Project (2024)

The Hague, Netherlands: Counter Culture Chronicles/Casioli Press (book, boxed set, postcards, cassettes, numbered), 2024.
8.25" x 5.875" x 0.375" (book), 124 pages, softcover; 7" x 5" x 1.125" (box); 4.25" x 5.875" (postcards, each of 25); 2.75" x 4.125" x 0.625" (cassette, each of 2). ISBN 979-889269499-5.

The Huncke Festschrift Project, as compiled and edited by V. J. Eaton (The Literary Denim) and published by Counter Culture Chronicles/Casioli Press (Milan, Italy) in a book/boxed set of 75 numbered copies in January, 2024. From the copyright page: "Project package includes this book with transcripts and original essays, 16 sound clips of remembrance and homage on 2 cassettes, a playlist card, and 25 5x7 [4" x 6" is closer] photo cards of mostly unpublished photographs with their back story."

A well-assembled collection of essays, interviews, recordings, images, etc. about Herbert Huncke. This includes as one might expect a number of references to William S. Burroughs. Many of the items in the book are transcriptions from the audio on the cassettes.

Of particular Burroughs-related interest is "Huncke across the Years: All That Was Crooked, Maddening, Comical, & Tender" an essay by Kit Knight, co-editor of the unspeakable visions of the individual series of publications, pp. 11-21, and "Recollections", an interview between V. J. Eaton of The Literary Denim and Huncke's friend David Sands, pp. 23-31. Both of these items contain significant discussion of William S. Burroughs, Herbert Huncke, and Joan Vollmer (Burroughs).

This copy is number 69/75, and was acquired through Soundohm (Milan, Italy).

Contents: 

• Book:
• V. J. Eaton: Preface
• Gregory Stephenson: Introduction
• Arthur Knight and Herbert Huncke: "The Dannemora Bust" (interview)
• William Gargan: "Finding Huncke's Busts" (essay)
• Kit Knight: "Huncke across the Years: All That Was Crooked, Maddening, Comical, & Tender"(essay)
• Arthur Knight: photo of Kit Knight
• V. J. Eaton and David Sands: "Recollections" (interview)
• R'lene Dahlberg: photo of Herbert Huncke and David Sands
• R'lene Dahlberg: "Huncke suicide poem" (image of broadside)
• Gerald Nicosia: "Herbert Huncke: A Memoir" (essay)
• V. J. Eaton and Gerald Nicosia: "Nicosia-Huncke Interview, with Jan Kerouac" (interview)
• Raymond Foye: "He Sang for His Supper" (essay)
• Gordon Ball: "Huncke at St. Mark's" (essay)
• V. J. Eaton and Ann Charters: "... but I Liked Him the Most" (interview)
• Hilary Holladay: "In Spite of Being So Downwardly Mobile" (essay)
• Ben Schafer: "Herbert Huncke Never Asked Me for a Dime" (essay)
• Robert Yarra: "My Auspicious Meeting with Herbert Huncke" (essay)
• Robert Yarra: photos of Herbert Huncke and Marty Matz
• Marty Matz: "Ode for Bob Yarra" (poetry)
• Laki Vazakas: "I'm Very Grateful for All the Powwows" (essay)
• Timothy Moran: "Under a Huncke Moon" (essay)
• Jason Pilarski: "Flowers" (essay)
• Jason Pilarski: "Huncke, Roger and Irvyne Richards, and Corso" (essay)
• Shiv Marabito: photo of Gregory Corso and Roger Richards
• Jason Pilarski: "It Got a Little Hairy as It Went On" (essay)
• Jerome Poynton: email to V. J. Eaton on "Huncke Hospital Question"
• V. J. Eaton: photo of Jerome Poynton
• V. J. Eaton, Pam Plymell, and Charles Plymell: "The Junkie Cover" (interview)
• V. J. Eaton, Pam Plymell, and Charles Plymell: "Hitman" (interview)
• V. J. Eaton, Pam Plymell, and Charles Plymell: "Huncke, Malanga, and Warhol" (interview) 
• V. J. Eaton, Pam Plymell, and Charles Plymell: "Pancakes and Hamburgers" (interview)
• V. J. Eaton and Kit Knight: "Huncke and the unspeakable visions" (interview)
• image of Huncke's birth record
• images of title pages of books inscribed by or to Herbert Huncke
• Postcards:
• "Huncke in William Gargan's apartment, Brooklyn, NY 4-22-82"
• "Huncke. Signed print. New York City 1991. Photo Louis Cartwright"
• "Kit Knight and Huncke at the Small Press Book Fair, NYC, September 2, 1984. Photo Arthur Knight."
• "Roger Richards owner of The Rare Book Room, NYC and Huncke at Roger's apartment 26 Horatio Street, Apt 20, NYC. Photo Robert Yarra."
• postcard for The Literary Denim with an excerpt from "the unpublished Huncke Taper, a phone conversation recorded August 16, 1974 by Arthur Knight of the unspeakable visions of the individual [...]"
  
• "Louis Cartwright and Huncke, New York City circa early-1990s. Photo Colleen Burke"
• "Two Polaroids. Huncke in the Chelsea Hotel in Raymond Foye's Hanuman Books room #807, 1991. The Polaroids were in color but for better contrast have been gray scaled for publication. Photos Paul Rickert"
• "Huncke at a Brooklyn College reading 4-27-87 – also attended by William Burroughs, Michael McClure, and Allen Ginsberg  kissing an unknown female holding a Grove Press hardback edition of William Burroughs' Naked Lunch. Neither of them look much at ease. (Spoiler: this female is not Linda Twigg.) Photo William Gargan"
• "Michael McClure, Huncke, William Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg in the Student Union, Brooklyn College 4-27-87. Photo William Gargan"
• "Huncke 1987 in Christine's Restaurant, NYC, on 1st Ave around the corner from Allen Ginsberg's apartment. Photo Allen Ginsberg."
• "Huncke, December 1953 at the Hotel Elite on 8th Ave and 51st St, NYC, shortly after his release from Green Haven State Prison in Stormville, NY and about 18 months before his June 1955 Manhattan Dr's office Dannemora Bust. Photo Allen Ginsberg"
• "Jason Pilarski and Huncke at the Cabrini Medical Center, NYC, May 1996.[...] A screen capture from one of Allen Ginsberg's contact sheets."
• "Jason Pilarski, Louis Cartwright, Huncke, 1993. [...] A screen capture from one of Allen Ginsberg's contact sheets."
• "Huncke, Chelsea Hotel, Room 828, 1994. Photo Timothy Morgan"
• "Huncke, Jason Pilarski, Raymond Foye outside of the Tibetan Cuisine, 2nd Ave near 6th St, NYC, 7-28-91. Photo Paul Rickert"
• "Huncke's stash box from the Raymond Foye Collection"
• "Huncke Pen and Crayon Drawing, Chelsea Hotel, 1995. [... copyright] Timothy Moran"
• "Huncke Pen and Crayon Drawing, Chelsea Hotel, 1996. [... copyright] Timothy Moran"
• "Laki Vazakas, Louis Cartwright, Barbara Matz, Huncke in Barbara and Marty Matz' suite in the Chelsea Hotel 1991. Photo Robert Yarra"
• "Huncke and Raymond Foye at a Huncke reading, Brooklyn College 1984. Photo Brian Graham."
• "Burroughs and Huncke in Burroughs' NYC Bunker apartment circa 1984. Photo by Louis Cartwright."
• "Burroughs, Ginsberg, and Huncke in Burroughs' NYC Bunker apartment circa 1984 signed by all three and by Louis who intended to sell prints, but according to Raymond Foye that was a project Cartwright never got around to. Photo by Louis Cartwright."
• "Vali Myers, ballet dancer, fantasy artist, and subterranean, counter-cultural muse with Huncke and Barbara Matz in the Matz' Chelsea Hotel suite, Fall 1991. Photos Robert Yarra."
• "Huncke 7 weeks before his death, Chelsea Hotel Room 828, June 17, 1996. Photo David Sands"
• "Peter Orlovsky, Huncke, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso. Photo Timothy Greenfield-Sanders"
• Cassettes:
• "huncke 1" [cover image of Huncke and Barbara Matz at the Chelsea Hotel, 1991, taken by Robert Yarra]:
• Side A:
• Huncke and Arthur Knight: "The Dannemora Bust" 
• William Gargan: "Finding Huncke's Busts"
• Gerald Nicosia: "Nicosia/Huncke Interview with Jan Kerouac"
• Laki Vazakas: "I'm Very Grateful for All the Powwows"
• Side B:
• David Sands: "Recollections"
• Gordon Ball: "Huncke at St. Marks Church"
• Raymond Foye: "He Sang for His Supper"
• Hilary Holladay: "In Spit of Being So Downwardly Mobile"
• "huncke 2" [cover image of Marty Matz and Huncke at the Chelsea Hotel, 1991, taken by Robert Yarra]:
• Side A:
• Ann Charters: ".......but I liked Him the Most"
• Kit Knight: "Huncke and the Unspeakable Visions"
• Pam and Charles Plymell: "Hitman"
• Pam and Charles Plymell: "The Junkie Cover"
• Pam and Charles Plymell: "Huncke, Malanga and Warhol"
• Jason Pilarski: "It Got a Little Hairy as it Went On" 
• Side B:
• Jason Pilarski: "Huncke, Roger and Irvyne Richards, and Corso"
• Jason Pilarski: "Flowers"