Publication Date: August 20, 2023
***New - 8/1/2023: You can now pre-order the Kindle ebook edition on Amazon.com - Click Here
You can pre-order the Hardcover and Paperback editions on Amazon.com - Click Here
You can pre-order the Hardcover and Paperback editions at Barnes & Noble.com - Click Here
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After over three years of writing and editing, The Last Hippy Poet of the Woodstock Generation
will finally be released on August 20, 2023. It will be available in three editions:
Hardcover (652 pages, with original artwork and photographs in full color) - $44.99
ISBN 978-0-9635499-9-0
Paperback (652 pages, with original artwork and photographs in glorious black & white) - $24.99
ISBN 978-0-9979975-0-7
Kindle ebook (with original artwork and photographs in full color) - $9.99
ISBN 978-0-9979975-1-4
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The hardcover and paperback editions will be available here on my website,
where I can sign and personalize them for you, then ship them directly to you.
The hardcover and paperback editions will also be available at Barnes & Noble.com,
or at your favorite online and brick and mortar bookstores.
If you cannot find them, please ask your favorite bookseller to order them for you.
All three editions will be available on Amazon.com.
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Read the title poem from the book - Click Here
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**Special Note: On November 20, 2022, my manuscript was selected as a finalist in the 2022 American Writing Awards.
The American Writing Awards is a prestigious global writing competition judged by renowned writers of the literary world in multiple writing categories. For full results go to: https://americanwritingawards.com/ (my award listing is on page 39).
— This book is my Magnum Opus --
The culmination of over 50 years as a poet, author, artist, and musician.
At over 600 pages, it is a monumental and essential piece of work, consisting of a memoir and two sections of narrative verse, creating a fascinating book in three parts—a triad. It is also a hybrid book—a unique reading experience that seamlessly blends memoir, poetry, and artwork.
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The Last Hippy Poet
of the
Woodstock Generation
— A Triad --
Part 1: Heartbreak Kid: on the streets of Hollywood in the 1960s
A psychedelic memoir—chronicles of my teens and twenties growing up in Hollywood during the rebellious 1960s and beyond (written during the pandemic lockdown of March-June, 2020).
Part 2: Bat's Ass Blues
A section of narrative verse on the nature of perception—introspection, fantasy and dreams, political, social and spiritual/religious commentary (composed during the pandemic of 2020-2021).
Part 3: Butterflies On Lavender
A section of narrative verse on the nature of love—unveiling the many facets of love—and the feelings thereof (composed during the pandemic of 2020-2021).
The culmination of over 50 years as a poet, author, artist, and musician.
At over 600 pages, it is a monumental and essential piece of work, consisting of a memoir and two sections of narrative verse, creating a fascinating book in three parts—a triad. It is also a hybrid book—a unique reading experience that seamlessly blends memoir, poetry, and artwork.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Last Hippy Poet
of the
Woodstock Generation
— A Triad --
Part 1: Heartbreak Kid: on the streets of Hollywood in the 1960s
A psychedelic memoir—chronicles of my teens and twenties growing up in Hollywood during the rebellious 1960s and beyond (written during the pandemic lockdown of March-June, 2020).
Part 2: Bat's Ass Blues
A section of narrative verse on the nature of perception—introspection, fantasy and dreams, political, social and spiritual/religious commentary (composed during the pandemic of 2020-2021).
Part 3: Butterflies On Lavender
A section of narrative verse on the nature of love—unveiling the many facets of love—and the feelings thereof (composed during the pandemic of 2020-2021).
From the back cover book description:
1960s Rock-N-Roll is on the rise in this extraordinary coming-of-age chronicle, exploring the yearnings and angst of a troubled, working-class teen struggling to survive on the streets of Hollywood. It is a captivating exploration into what the '60s and '70s were about on the city streets and beaches of Southern California for the teens growing up in those times.
In the heart of the turbulent 1960s, Steven is an ordinary teenager trying to find his place in the world until, at the awkward age of 15, his family disintegrates. He leaves the life he has known and moves with his mom to Hollywood, where he becomes a regular dancer on American Bandstand and lands a job as a DJ and doorman at a famous teen nightclub on the Sunset Strip, working alongside iconic L.A. bands like The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, and Sonny & Cher. He finds himself at the epicenter of the blossoming Hippy Counterculture movement. This is his personal, unvarnished story of youth speaking truth to power while struggling through the heartbreak that only love and betrayal can bring.
A finalist in the 2022 American Writing Awards, The Last Hippy Poet of the Woodstock Generation is a book that is sure to inspire, entertain, and make you think. Whether you were part of the Woodstock generation or are a teenager or young adult today, this book is a compelling read.
About the author:
C. Steven Blue wears many hats: Poet, author, artist, musician, micro-press publisher, videographer, and producer/host of literary & arts events. He has published twelve books: nine of his own work, two anthologies of Northwest poets, and the work of remarkable spontaneous poet, karen a. dalyea. For the last four decades, Steven has produced and hosted literary and arts events in both California and Oregon, giving countless opportunities to other creatives along the way. His most recent event series prior to the pandemic was Burnin' Down The Barnes, a monthly literary reading series and poetry open mic at the Eugene, Oregon, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, which ran for four years and was one of the most popular reading series in the Pacific Northwest.
In early education, Steven excelled in music, art, and literature, winning his first poetry award at age twelve. But he dropped out of high school at the age of 18 to begin raising the first of three children. Long working hours and raising a family prevented Steven from earning a college degree, but he is a self-taught street kid who has always hungered for knowledge. Over the years he has taught himself to be a recording engineer, desktop publisher, and videographer, as well as continuing his writing, art, and music whenever possible.
Now, as a well-known West Coast performance poet, Steven stands outside the normal conventions of modern poetry. He is a lyrical/performance poet, reading and performing his poetry from a unique rhythmic perspective: at the crossroads of poetry and music.
As an author, Steven writes from his own life experiences of loss, betrayal, addiction, recovery, joy, and love. From his years of struggling to recover from abuse, alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental breakdown, Steven’s perspective is a refreshing and inspiring journey, one of survival and overcoming adversity, discovering a renewed faith and hope in life, and a spiritual awakening that has given him the ability to live in the here and now.
Steven is retired from a 27-year career in stage production in Hollywood, CA. He currently lives in Eugene, Oregon with his wife Paulette, where he continues to pursue his artistic endeavors.
C. Steven Blue wears many hats: Poet, author, artist, musician, micro-press publisher, videographer, and producer/host of literary & arts events. He has published twelve books: nine of his own work, two anthologies of Northwest poets, and the work of remarkable spontaneous poet, karen a. dalyea. For the last four decades, Steven has produced and hosted literary and arts events in both California and Oregon, giving countless opportunities to other creatives along the way. His most recent event series prior to the pandemic was Burnin' Down The Barnes, a monthly literary reading series and poetry open mic at the Eugene, Oregon, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, which ran for four years and was one of the most popular reading series in the Pacific Northwest.
In early education, Steven excelled in music, art, and literature, winning his first poetry award at age twelve. But he dropped out of high school at the age of 18 to begin raising the first of three children. Long working hours and raising a family prevented Steven from earning a college degree, but he is a self-taught street kid who has always hungered for knowledge. Over the years he has taught himself to be a recording engineer, desktop publisher, and videographer, as well as continuing his writing, art, and music whenever possible.
Now, as a well-known West Coast performance poet, Steven stands outside the normal conventions of modern poetry. He is a lyrical/performance poet, reading and performing his poetry from a unique rhythmic perspective: at the crossroads of poetry and music.
As an author, Steven writes from his own life experiences of loss, betrayal, addiction, recovery, joy, and love. From his years of struggling to recover from abuse, alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental breakdown, Steven’s perspective is a refreshing and inspiring journey, one of survival and overcoming adversity, discovering a renewed faith and hope in life, and a spiritual awakening that has given him the ability to live in the here and now.
Steven is retired from a 27-year career in stage production in Hollywood, CA. He currently lives in Eugene, Oregon with his wife Paulette, where he continues to pursue his artistic endeavors.
For book content page go here