xt7w6m33584b https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7w6m33584b/data/mets.xml The Kentucky Kernel Kentucky -- Lexington The Kentucky Kernel 1990-04-13 Earlier Titles: Idea of University of Kentucky, The State College Cadet newspapers  English   Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Kentucky Kernel  The Kentucky Kernel, April 13, 1990 text The Kentucky Kernel, April 13, 1990 1990 1990-04-13 2020 true xt7w6m33584b section xt7w6m33584b  

Kentucky Kernel

Established 1894 University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky Independent since 1971 Friday, April 13, 1990

WHAS to broadcast
Wildcat basketball,
football again in ’90

Vol. XClll, No. 148

 

DOWN THE STRETCH

Associated Press

horse.
ltluc Grass Stakes at Kcencland.

:i/iii said.

t'hnrchill Downs

tugs. two of them this year

lilakbar.

Park.

 

l'rainer Ron Sara/in doesn't get upset when his colt. Shot (inn
Scott, is referred to as a Calder horse.
After all, the colt is Within one race of being a Kentucky Derby

The colt’s Derby status Will be determined tomorrow in the l-mile
"He has to be right up there in the first three." the 44-year«old Sar-

\hot (inn Scott. raced prnnartly at t alder. was made the carb co-
tlnrd choice \vith Land Rush at *»I III the held ol seven i-year oltls
rllc red ycstt'ttla} for the Blue (truss.
the -l ‘ taiorite was Summer \‘rtuall winner ol the the l‘lttllt‘ Jim
i~'..-,irri \Iart h it , at l'iirafuax l’ark
\ \ rttoti ill the Blue (irass would makc Summer Squall the minor
l'\.il to unbeaten Mister Frisky in the I lull-mil: Derby on May a at

lhc second choice at 1.: was t nbrnllcd. the iilornla Derby 'y‘. Itillt’l’
who has lllllsllt‘tl behind Shot (inn Scott in all three ol their incct-

('omplenrig the Iicld are l'op Snob. Slew of Angels and lskandai

Each starter will carry 12] pounds, and if all seven start, the race
“(Ill be worth $287,125, with $186,631 [0 the winner.

Top Snob is trained by Carl Nal‘rger, who also trains Unbridled.
They will not run as an entry because of different owners.

In his last start, Shot Gun Scott won the I I/Ib-mile Fountain of
Youth, in which Unbridled finished third on March 3 at Gulfstream

The Fountain of Youth marked only the second time in nine~career
\l‘dl’lS that Shot Gun Scott raced away from Calder, the Miami track

See STAKES, Page 6

Back to the ’20s
Local drug store brings back the past

By BOBBY KING
Staff Writer

In a fast-paced world where
we‘re told old ways are no longer
the best. Hutchinson's Drug Store
stands as an oasis where the semi.
mentalist in all of us can rejoice.

Here, on 40] W. Main street, the
craziness of the day is left behind
as soon as you pull on the brass
handle of the front door which
leads to a place where time has
stood still for nearly 70 years.

After stepping onto the colorful
tile Iloor, the first eye-catching
sight is the marble-based soda
fountain where tasty delights are
still tnade the same way they were
half a century ago.

Tucked away iii a comer is a for-
tune telling machine that, for a pen-
ny, not only tells you if someone is
about to enter your life, but also

how much you weigh. Be warned
however, the ancient machine is off
by a pound.

John Hutchinson, the store's
proud but humble owner, presides
over this treasure chest of memora‘
bilia. His reason for keeping things
the way they are is simple.

“Because it‘s always been that
way,” he said. “These are the fix-
tures I grew up with so I didn't
want to change it."

Hutchinson, who admits he never
was good at throwing things away.
said the bottles of elixirs, tonics
and cures of the past were replaced
by something better if they didn’t
sell.

“I‘m kind of a pack rat. you
might say. They were just put away
and stored. Now they've become
almost antiques," Hutchinson said.

One antique wooden case, built
near the turn of the century. is de-

Trainer ~ Jockey

HCHAEL MUIKemel Stall

PHOTO FINISH: Long shot Black Tie Affair mounted by Mark Guidry, finished by a neck in front of Shaker Knit in the Common-
wealth Breeders‘ Cup in a Grade III race yesterday at Keeneland Race Course. Black Tie Affair paid about $66 20 fora $2 ticket

Calder horse hoping Blue Grass leads to Derby

STAKES

Morning
l

n.lll\‘

 

TOP SNOB

Carl A Niil/ger - terry Bailey

,20-1

 

UNBRIDLED

(‘arl A. Nat/get - (’raig l’crrct

3-1

 

SLEW OF ANGELS

James [2. Day - Ricardo Lopez

 

LAND RUSH

D. Wayne Lukas - Angel Cordon). Jr.

 

SUMMER SQUALL

Neil J. Howard - Pat Day

 

SHOT GUN SCOTT

R.J.Sarazin - Dave Penna

 

 

ISKANDAR ELAKBAR

Daniel J. Vella - Richard Migliore

30-1

 

 

voted entirely to mementos like
these. The contents include a bottle
ofjuniper extracts, a box of Bond‘s
laxative pills and a wooden cork re-
ducer. The latter was used to fit
corks into the glass medicine
bottles back in the days before
child-proof lids.

However, the truest sign of the
times is a license to “distribute me-
dicinal liquor" dated November 10,
1933. At the bottom of the license
large block letters read: “Issued un-
der authority of the National Prohi-
bition Act."

The predominance of wood iii
the store is no accident. The stained
oak cabinets and shclies add some-
thing to the atmosphere other mate«
rials can‘t. Hutchinson said.

“They have a warmth to them
that stainless steel doesn‘t have.

See HUTCHINSON, Back page

TRISH HARPRING Raw-er ti'aphicx

 

By BRIAN JENT
Managing Editor

Since becoming the UK athletics
director over a year ago, CM.
Newton has been swamped with
questions and letters asking “When
are you going to get a clear station
covering UK
sports back on
the radio net-
work?"

Yesterday,

Newton an~

swered that

question with

the announce-

ment that UK

men‘s basket»

ball and football

games will be NEWTON
be carried on Si WI MS ne\t year.

“This is a great day for L'K ath-
letics," Newton said during a press
conference. “For years, fans from
throughout the country were able to
listen to our games on WHAS. This
contract Cn‘s'tllc‘x that they will be
able to hear all the games either
ll'x't' or on ,t tapftl-tlt‘layetl l".l\i\' "

Acsording to the .Lgrecmcnt, all
I K basketball and Iootball games
which do not conflict with the ini-
versity of l.ottl\‘. the games xx Ill rc

L‘L'IH.‘ lI\’c‘ etHc rag: liottt \\ HAS.

Howcicr. all conflicting games
will be carried b3. Louisville's
\\"/\\rv(i-x\\l_ ‘olii l lt.t\ lirttdtltthl-
L'tl lllc‘ “:l l :‘ ' I lilt‘ Th:
\‘cthtllh

In addition, “HAS will [‘ltHlth
static-day retiroadcasts to run prior
to midnight if»! for any game not
carried livc.

"The tact of having them re-
broadcast belore midnight would
mean Kentucky alumni would be
able to hear the games," said W.
James Host, managing partner ol
Sports Commmutations. “Even if
they were done il\t' they wouldn‘t
be able to hear them during the
course ol the .irtcrrmor that is the
extra bontn it. 11%: crane "iitrz' "
‘»‘-I£.»\S u...‘

‘ 1;..tna "er. my.

llt\c‘

Rob-rt Mt: '
prcsnlizx at. f.
curt-tint, plea l .l““t.i .‘\.;‘uit:.lin-.‘
lllt‘ \l.ilti‘li"~ \;t11 cinfft‘zi't. it? Ill-
clude the Cats. the last time the
station .iircrl .: “Titian L'.llltc‘ was
five years ago

'ir‘ coin ' ti"
bcsl \Uf‘ in ‘,
Sclz'rs.’ ..l K‘.

b.- part or illui

, \\ ll \S i’Lit'C (\

Cheerleaders finish
second in competition

Stall reports

In: I l\ cheerleaders harmed
secontl place m the (‘ollet'e (been
lx‘ehllll‘.‘ .\.lll trial (‘ltariit‘ioroliip It:
.‘»"».'l\\'ll;l

that; hint? last \cason‘x secotul l‘lacc

San Antonio Texas List
lIIII\lI

‘1 think \ nailed th: rt titinc '
xlltl lx’itli 'loiirtellot. the I ‘ t:n male
‘-\" had wins :'lc‘\peri
.litl texil

captain
tire on thy Lani .rrnl tlx".
great,”

l K won the WM” liarnprorixbip.
but have strict“ had [\kii\t1c'cc\\l\'t‘
second-place Imtshes.

The teams were indeed in the
pertormancc of the overall routine.
crowd orientation. the diIIicult}
level and the duality of their gym—
nastic stunts.

Although L'K‘s team, \\thll con-
sists of 14 regular members and
two altemaies. was satisfied with
their performance, they were disap—
pointed with second place. accord

 

 

WEIGHING IN: Andrea Mitchell, 14, is weighed by Sheila
Griggs, at the Nursing Expo in Memorial Coliseum yesterday

KEITH JOHNSON/Kernel S's"

 

 

arch

rncrnbci
\cc‘otttls

.\\ .i ill t'iitmti.
leading. tram :..::: \ Il»‘lt! the rc—
gion get ideas. Irwin stunts per-
formed b\ t? c i i\ cheerleaders.
according n: i wizciiot.

" \ lt‘t o’ » .;..i.1\ especially the
lower thirst-ins dd .1 lot of stuff we

" c ricer-

tlltl last »_‘.it 7 tittt‘ltiit said

Dating scene
changing
into business

By JULIE ROWLAND

Staff Writer

The dating came l\ .: thug hardv
Cl lit t‘la‘»

.\tnl for tho rt .l\\‘:l mam people
are turning in illllt‘tlli’xilttil and dat-
mg scriitcx

"Hats .irt called
rneatntar‘kctx. .i'itl \\ he wants to go
to a platc tiict ..l.r tlzat. t‘\[k‘clclll)
il \ou'rc not tut: Ir; a i‘ilx‘rlllghl
stand.’ suit “\lllx \l. \Ialion, t‘rt‘\l-
dent ol l llc‘\l\lt‘\ international.

l.rte\t\kw intc:ti.itron.n. an intro-
duction \t‘l\l\\'. l\ not the same as
a dating \sixnc .\ dating service
lIlltl\ sortieonu .1 date for .i \i‘t‘clllt‘
ment. and an Illlltttlllxllttil strut-e
simply introduces Ils numbers to
one another

One of thc it a it'lh people use iri-

.tti:lliii'ltl\

Sec l).»\ I l\(£. flack page

 

v. ...... v...-..- ......... , ....... _ .. ...... . ., .

Diversions

'lbday: Partly croudy. '

_. nigh inthe uppersos .
' Tbmon'ow: Rain likely-t
High in the upper SOs.

‘Divine Right’s Trip’
back after 15 years.

Review, Page 3.

Bat Cats fall
short in 11th inning
Story, Page 5.

 

 

 

 

 

 2 — Kentucky Komol, Frlday,Aprll13, 1990

VIEWPOINT

Prejudicial analysis
cause for apology

.-\s law students at this universi-
ty, we are outraged and resentful of
both the treatment of Dale Bald-
win‘s campaign by editor (CA.
Duane) Bomfer and Bonifer's insin-
tiation that law students, cheerlead—
ers and athletes are not the “proper"
voting members for SGA elections.

Bonil‘er‘s opinion that Dale Bald-
w m capitali/ed oIf his name recog-
nition and handicap reeks of irre-
sponsible iournalism and extreme
narrow-mmdedness. ls Dale to be
punished merely because he pos-
sesses a recogni/able name on this
eampus‘,’ We doubt very seriously
that Dale maintains more name-
recognition than does Sean Loh-
man, and we failed to see Bonifer‘s
slamming of Lohnian for using his
recognition as an incumbent candi-
date in the election Further, Boni-
fer‘s reference to Dale’s usage of
sympathy through his handicap was
a very unfair and uncalled for com-
ment. Once again, Bonifer criticizes
Dale for something that Dale can-
not be criti/ed for. How would Bo.
nifcr have liked Dale to campaign?
Dale cannot get up from his wheel-
chair and hand out campaign litera-
ture like your average candidate can
»~ and Bonifer‘s cruel reference to
Dale's campaigning from his
wheelchair makes one want to see
Bonner ride around in a wheelchair
for a ten days and see just how dif-
ficult ii is to be handicapped.
May be then Bonifer’s heartless
comments would cease. at least for
a little while

 

Guest
OPINION

Bonifer also lets law students,
graduate students, cheerleaders and
athletes know that since they are
not involved in SGA. according to
his standards, their vote does not
matter. Bonifer criticizes Dale for
having support from this group of
people — Does that mean that
graduate students. cheerleaders and
athletes should not be involved in
SGA elections? I hope Bonifer con-
siders our vote worth more than he
represented in his article.

Bonifer encourages what most
persons at this University do not
like to see: unfair presumptions
concerning the handicapped which
are very close to prejudicial com—
ments: accusations that if you do
not fit in Bonifcr‘s model of the
classic UK student, your vote does
not matter and it also includes sim-
ple irresponsible reporting. Bonifer
needs to reconsider the thoughtless
comments made, and apologize to
Dale Baldwin, who ran a solid cam-
paign by involving segments of the
student body who previously had
not been too involved in SGA eleo
tions. Our hats go off to Dale for
his honest and professional repre-
sentation of the student body.

Melissa Bellow and Debbie Smi—
leanrrtest are UK law students.

 

on all subt‘nitted material.

 

Letters Policy

Writers should address their comments to: Editorial
Editor, Kentucky Kernel, 035 Journalism Building,
Lexington. Ky. 40506-0042.

Writers must include their name, address. telephone
number and major classification or connection with UK

We t‘CSClVC the right to edit all material,

 

 

‘1 c.

C.A. Duane Bonlter

Editor in Chief
Michael L. Jones

Editorial Editor

Tom Spaldlng

Executive Editor

Brian Jent
Managing Editor

Tonia WIII
Campus Editor

Jerry Volgt
Editorial Cartoonist

Julie Esselman
Special Projects Writer

 

 

 

 

 

SIRJ‘tke men haven’t

fiflgo‘l'en in 3 dos/6.

.5“- ~ — A

‘9‘; .

“m. ‘ ‘95)“

\5_

‘,\\‘~s:~,~.s\

\b

‘\\

I

Then bY (703 '_

we'll make. +h¢rw

 

 

 

 

 

Mapplethorpe exhibit raises questions

Freedom of expression is not the
only issue involved in the debate
over Mapplethorpe’s photographs.
If it were, there would scarcely be
any debate.

Freedom of expression is actually
a secondary issue here. though it is
the one most frequently raised by
commentators. Behind it lies the
more perplexing issues of how
community is maintained in a plu-
ralistic society, and how such a so-
ciety can agree upon and make use
of values to guide public and pri-
vate life. We normally eschew sin-
gle-issue politics. Our discussions
of value are often hopelessly mono-

‘l‘i YOUR HOME AWAV FROM HOME iN THE KERNEL CLASSIFIEDS

 

 

 

 

“I’M A
COLLEGE

STUDENT. AND
WORKING FOR

KELLY HAS
HELPED ME

UN] )ERSTA ND

THE
BUSINESS

WORLI .”

“I ‘ve broadened my education and expanded my knowledge. Improved my skills.
It‘s the perfect job experience to put on a resume or an application. "

 

Guest
OPINION

maniacal.

In the case of Mapplethorpe’s
photographs, the contr0versey is
caused by the collision of the desire
to protect freedom of expression,
with the desire to define what is ac-
ceptable treatment of persons. One
need not agree with those who
wish to bar the exhibition of some
of the photographs to see the logic
of their position. They argue that
while freedom of expression is a
valuable social guideline, other val—
ues demand that some forms of hu—
man expression (for a variety of
reasons) be prohibited.

Thus. if the debate over the Map-
plethorpe photographs is to do us
any good, if must help us under-
Stand how to handle the conflicts
raised in the interplay of values
held in our society. We should re-
sist the temptation to impugn the
character of those who defend free-
dom of expression. We should also
refrain from raising hysterical
alarms about the ability of a few
“well-organized zealots” to keep
some of us from exercising our
freedoms. That is certainly a con—
cern against which we should con-
tinually be on guard. But what is
taking place with the Mapplethorpe
photographs should be viewed as
part of a long-standing debate over

the values we will hold in this so-
ciety, and the ways those values
must be applied. As such it is a ne—
cessary exercise.

A couple of points can be raised
in this context. First. it is an indi-
cation of the fragmentation of our
culture that we seem unable to see
the communitarian issues involved
here. Because our thinking is re-
lentlessly individualistic, no one
would question my right to decide
what pictures may hang in my liv-
ing room. But living together in a
society we share common space, all
are affected by the actions of their
neighbors. In a democratic commu-
nity, all have a say about the furni-
ture of that common space, the
workings of those common struc-
tures. the character of our common
activities. The making and display-
ing of images is not simply a pri-
vate act. In Mapplethorpe‘s case. it
was a pointedly public aet. Thus it
is entirely appropriate for each of
us to ask how freedom of expres—
sion will be balanced With the ques-
tions of whether we want those pic-
tures hung in our community, and
whether we corporatel y approve of
the acts that were done in order to
make them. Our problem is that we
are not sure of how to decide this
issue without risking anarchy on
one hand and fascism on the other.

Second, because these are photo-
graphs of human beings. it is not
an idle question to ask whether we
corporately wish to allow human
beings to be treated in the ways ne-

cessary to produce such images.
This is not a novel question. It has
been raised before in other con-
texts. In order to create a photo-
graph of a little girl with her geni-
tals exposed, Mapplethorpe had to
find a real little girl and convince
her to pose that way. The debate.
then, must include the question of
whether we think Mapplethorpe's
freedom to express his imagination
should be allowed to take prece-
dence Over the responsibility we
have to protect the dignity, priva—
cy, and well-being of children ——
that little girl in particular.

If we decide that every individual
must be given the freedom to ex-
press anything he or she can possi-
bly conceive, then we must also be
prepared to accept the effects this
will have on the life of our com-
munity. If we decide that in some
cases other values take precedence
over that of freedom ofexpression,
then we must accept the task of de-
ciding which activities are to be.
prohibited, and which forms of ex—
pression are to be barred.

If it could help us devise ways to
handle this dilemma. the debate
over Mapplethorpe’s images would
be benefical. As it is now being
conducted, one may be permitted a
good deal of skepticism that it will
have any such effect.

David W. Wright is (1 education
graduate sittdmt.

 

 

 

Need a new Place?

aEmJ

 

 

find one in the Kernel Classifieds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EARN CA SH Fort THE HORSES
Earn up to $30 Week

By Donating Plasma

WHEN:

Mon -Thurs -7AM -8 PM

Friday ' 7 AM - 6 PM

Saturday & Sunday - 8:30 AM - 2 PM

‘ Special Bonus for new donors
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IL__J

 

Hurry Ends April 30,1990
9 III
2043 Oxford Circle
Lexington, Ky 40504 - 254-8047

KEll‘IEZTJi’c‘é'S”

The Kelly Girl'People The First and The Best'

lit} M I M \ Not an l.’m\ new! a in

 

 

 

 

   

DIVERSIONS

Kentucky Kernel, Friday, April 13, 1990 — 3

Hunter Hayes
Arts Editor

 

‘Divine Right’s Trip’ available for new group of readers

 

Authors to
sign books
at local

bookstore

By HLNTER HAYES
Arts Editor

UK authors Gurney Nor-
man and Ed McClanahan will
sign copies of their books to-
morrow at Black Swan
Books.

Norman is the author of
Kinfolks, a collection of short
stories, and the recently re.
issued novel Divine Rig/it's
'l'rip.

McClanahan is the author
of Famous People I Have
Known.

The signing will be held in
celebration of Norman’s first
novel coming back into print.

Norman also will sign cop-
ies of the first installment of
Crazy Quilt, his second nov-
el. Supplies of that book are
limited.

McClanahan said that while
copies of his book will be
available, the focus will be on
Divine Right's Trip, for
which he wrote the afterword.

“I‘ll probably put my name
somewhere around the after—
word, if Gurney will let me,”
he joked. “Who knows,
maybe I’ll sign his books and
he can sign mine.“

“I’m just beside myself
with delight that it‘s coming
back in print because I think
it‘s a very important book,"
McClanahan said. “In addition
to being an important book
historically, it‘s a wonderful
book. It's so readable, it’s so
funny and it wells so fast. It’s
so full of surprises that it
really delights me that people
are going to have the opportu-
nity to enjoy it again because
it’s been out of print all these
years."

Michael Courtney, owner
of Black Swan Books, said
that people unable to attend
may call to reserve a copy of

the book.

Gurney Norman and Ed
McClanahan will autograph
their books lomorrowfroni 3
to 5 pm. at Black Swan
Books. 505 East Maxwell St.
For additional information
call the bookstore at 252-
7255.

 

 

 

By HWTER HAYES
Arts Editor

Now entering the second decade
after its original publication, and
about 15 years since it was last
available, Divine Right's Trip, the
cult novel of the counterculture that
chronicles the experiences of an
Eastern Kentucky hippie, is once
again available for a nationwide au-
dience.

Written by Hazard, Ky. native
Gurney Norman, an associate pro-
fessor in the UK English depart-
ment, the book focuses on much
more than just a young man’s hal-
lucinating journey across the coun-
try.

“I have come to see my book as
a novel of the homefront during the
Vietnam War," Norman said. “It ac-
counts for one comer of life among
the American people in the late
’605. So to make sense out of the
chaos —— to make a story out of the
chaos of the times —- was part of
the impulse to write the book.

“More specifically, it was to tell
the story of one or two people
whose lives are in chaos and how
they go about making sense out of
their lives.”

The book tells the story of “Di—
vine Right" Davenport and his rela-
tionship with his girlfriend, Es-
telle; his coating to terms with his
own sense of place; and a humor-
ous account of his Volkswagen
minibus.

“Practically everybody had a
van,” Norman said. “People lived
in vans. The Volkswagen vans
were to the hippies what jeeps were
to World War 11 soldiers."

Divine Right, or D.R. for short,
travels across America in search of
answers about life even though he
isn‘t sure of what questions to ask.
Along the way he encounters a mil-
itant but hospitable redneck, false
prophets anti eventually his own
sense of his past and future.

“In a way it‘s a survival story,"
Norman said. “It's a story about
this young person who is caught
up in all of the negative parts of
the counterculture experience. He‘s
drug—ridden, he‘s broke, he can‘t
think, he doesn't cat well, he has
no job, no place to live and he’s
psychologically and emotionally
unstable. Is there any hope for a
person like that? I think the novel
says, ‘Yes, there is.’ "

The book draws its inspiration
from not only the counterculture
movement of the late 19605 and
early ’70s but from mythology and
ancient philosophical texts.

“Another part of my inspiration
of the book was my own readings
of mythology so that I saw the sto—
ry of Divine Right Davenport as a
retelling of an old myth which the
scholar Joseph Campbell calls the
‘universal hero myth,m Norman

said. “There’s a lot of references to
the hero. There's a TV show called
‘Johnny Hero.’ This whole busi-
ness of the dragon fight —— the first
chapter is called St. George and the
Dragon.”

One of the more dominant as-
pects of the book, however, is the
way that it deals with the Vietnam
War and its effects on the home-
front.

“It shows innocent Americans at
home acting out their struggles as
the war is raging," Norman said.
“In recent years we’ve seen a lot of
novels and a lot of films about
Vietnam.

“The American people are slowly
getting what it was really like to be
a soldier in Vietnam. 1 see this as a
novel about the generation of
people who went to war. Some of
them were made crazy by it and by
the turbulence of the times, so
what they did was go off and ajoin
a freaky underground world.”

Norman also demonstrates how
Eastern Kentucky natives shared a
similar experience with the Vietna-
mese peasants.

“The people of the coal fields,
whose land was being destroyed by
the strip mining in the ’60s, were
very aware of the connection be—
tween their experience here and the
experience of the peasants of Vict~
nam who were having Napalm
dropped on them,” he said. “It was
a common experience. It was the
experience of having this huge,
enormtius force from some very
powerful, military/industrial com—
bine come into your place and de-
stroy the people, the animals, the
land, the water and the very fabric
of life itself.

“People in the coalfields felt that
what was happening to thc Vietna«
mese people was also happening to
the Kentucky people.

“So let’s see the poor hippie Di-
vine Right as a casualty of the war
era. When he comes to his own
farm, it has been disfigured and dc~
stroyed. He can hardly find his own
way around it, it has been so torn
up. It’s blasted. His own head ,7
his own thinking _ is blasted. The
major point of the novel is that he
can heal his own mind and spirit
only as he takes responsibility to
heal the land."

The book was serialized in 1071
in the Last Whole Earth Catalog,
the farewell edition of the counter-
culture consumer publication. That
edition won a National Book Award
in 1972.

Stewart Brand, the publisher of
the catalog, said that Di vine
Right's Trip was published in the
catalog as the result of his desire to
offer something different for his
readers.

”His book was in process and it
came out in a conversation over
coffee or food where I was speculat-

 

STEVE SANDERS ' r: S'a“

Gurney Norman's first novel, “Divine Right’s Trip," has been released in various editions woridwwe until
it went out of print about 15 years ago. The book became available once again this month

 

“Some of them were
made crazy by it and by
the turbulence of the
times, so what they did
was go off and join a
freaky underground
world."

Gurney Norman,
author

#
itig on having the Whole liartit
Catalog deal with a work of fic-
lion," Brand said. “(iurncy volun-
teered 7* he knew how to make
that happen. It kept uni» in; about
that time we nccdcd to till that
place on the page.

“People who would ll\c‘ the cata—
log foutid that they were draw it into
Gurncy‘s plot and would go plot-
ting along with it.

“They wound up in phiccs of the
catalog they would never have vcii-
turcd otherwise and found tliem~
sclycs shopping there. Some peo-
ple have had their lives changed as
a result."

Ed McClanahan. a lOIl‘g‘IllllC
friend of Noriiian’s and a Kcntiick}
author. said that printing the book
as it was being v. rittcii was a chal-
lenge for Norman which he con-
qticrcd well.

“Whatever he w rotc‘ down he was
committed to. he couldn't go back
and change," b’lc‘C‘lundhan said. “In
fact it was written under the same
circumstances as novels like Dick-
ens’ novels, a lot of the major 19th
century writers. They were working
under the stune circumstances that
Gumcy was.

“It’s a really hard thing to do.
Having written a novel, I know
how many times I went back and
made changes and I did that over
the years countless times.

Public Enemy takes urban View of racial issues with

By MICHAEL L. JONES
Editorial Editor

FEAR OF A BLACK PLAle'I'
Public Enemy
Def American

Public Enemy was the world's
first important rap group and their
third album, Fear ofa Black Planet,
is the first important album (rock
or rap) of the ’90s From the open-
ing instrumental “Contract On the
World (Love Jam)" to last sum—
mer‘s smash hit, “Fight the Pow-
er," to the soundtrack of Spike
Lee‘s film “Do The Right Thing,"
the sclf~pr0claimed “Black Panthers
of Rap" have both solidified rap‘s
status as a progressive art form and
carved themselves a deeper niche in
musical history.

This is, in short, rap‘s first mas-
terpiece.

Their last album, It Takes A Na—
tion of Millions to Hold Us Back,
forced America to accept rap as a
means of valid political and social
commentary. Nation's multi-
layered sound incorporates clever
samples and the aggressiveness of
punk rock and couples it with Pub-
lic Enemy leader Chuck D‘s unique
voice to signal rap’s coming of
age. Public Enemy became an attic-
ulate voice for the feelings of rage
and betrayal so many black Ameri-
cans bumed to express. In the pro-
cess they capture a restless white
audience that was tired of generic,
recycled music that said nothing.

On Nations, Public Enemy talks
about everything you‘d ever wanted
but never had the chance, or the
guts, to say. They attack the media

(“Don’t Believe the Hype,") protect
rap’s right to sample (“Can I Get A
Witness") and they chart political
injustice (“Bring the Noise,"
“Prophets of Rage" along with oth-
er songs on the album.)

Public Enemy provides black
youths with the same forum for
their grievances that punk gave
their white counterparts a decade
earlier. They openly praise radical
black leaders like Marcus Garvey,
Malcolm X anti the Rev. Louis
Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam.
And they urge all of their brothers
and sisters to follow their lead.

“Bass. how low can you go/
Dcathrow, what a brother know...
5-0 said, ‘frecze‘/And I got numb/
Can I tell them that I really never
had a gun/Just the wax that the Ter-
minator X spun/Now they got me
in a cell/'Causc my records they
sell/Because a brother like me said/
‘Farrakhan's a prophet and I think
you ought to listen to/What he has
to say to you’... Black is back/All
in, we're going to win."

The majority of white America
and an older generation of blacks
find it hard to understand Public
Enemy‘s rage and that of their fans.
They fail to realize that it is the
rage that created Public Enemy and
not visa versa. But to understand
Public Enemy you must first be
able to understand today‘s younger
generation of blacks.

In a society that is dominated by
the macho John Wayne mystique,
black men were asked to be non-
violent in their fight for equal
rights (while the same was not
asked of the Klan or the John Birch
Society.) but they could go over-

seas and fight for a country that
was oppressing them.

Public Enemy examines the hy-
pocrisy of non-violence in America
with “Black Steel in the Hour of
Chaos.”

“1 got a letter from the govem-
ment the other day/l open and read
it/lt said they were suckers/They
wanted me for their army or what-
ever/Picture me giving a damn/I
said ‘never’/llcre is a land that nev-
er cared about a brother like me/
And because they never did I wasn‘t
with it/But just that very minute it
occun'ed to inc/The stickers had au~
thority."

Tracy Chapman can sing “Talk-
in' About a Revolution“ and not
raise an eyebrow, but when Chuck
D calls the government an “anti-
nigger machine" it’s bound to cause
static. Their mililant stance was
bound to bring Public Enemy into
confrontation with the powers that
be, but the band used that crisis as
a foundation for Four. Professor
Griff, the leader of the Sercnrity of
the First World (the Sle, Public
Encmy’s bodyguards). was quoted
as making an anti-scmitic state
meat. It didn‘t matter to anyone
that Griff was just a stage prop,
suddenly Public Enemy was a racist
group.

Public Enemy producer Hank
Shocklee told Impact magazine,
“Just because 1 love blue doesn‘t
mean I hate red," and that is the
whole point of the band‘s new al-
bum. After a summer of accusa-
tions and media scrutiny Chuck D,
Flavor Flav and Terminator X are
back to take on all the band‘s crit-
ms.

“1 got so much trouble on my
mind/refuse to lose/Here‘s your
ticket...Cruxifixion ain‘t no tic-
tion/So called chosen lro/cn/
Apologies made to wlioewr pleas-
es/Still they got me like Jesus
Sad to say I got sold down the riv-
cr," Chuck says in “Welcome to
the 'I'crrordomc," the first single
from the new album,

Public Enemy has caused such a
revolution in the rap indu»ir\ that
earlier rappers like Riin-l).\l(‘ and
Ll. Cool I are obsclctc. But Public
Enemy refuses to rest on their Liti—
rcls. They are always progressing
musically and lyrically.

0n “Revolutionary Generation."
Chuck praises the black woman for

"‘He was unable to do that so
whatever he put down he was com-
mitted to and had to work off of
that."

This was one of the points that
McClanahan expresses in the after-
word he wrote for the new edition
of Divine Righr's 'I'rip.

“It was a real pleasure for me be-
cause for one thing it gave me an
opportunity to say if] print what
I've been saying in the book tor
years," he said. “And to tell people
things that only I knew about the
book because I was right there
when he was working on it.

“I love the fact that it‘s a book
about coming home and achieving
stability making coherence out
of the incoherence. To some extent
that‘s been a thcmc of my books
too. Ccrtuiiily what I think Dittnc
Rig/it's 'l'rtp is about is your place
on Earth is necessary to you."

Although the book deals with
important issues, Noriiitiii says that
it also has a lot of playfulness in
it, which augments its entertain
mcnt \‘Liltic.

"It's such It weird story ~ l write
myself into it." Norman said. “In
lili\ \Cll\c‘ this is :i post-modern
novel Scholars who have com-
mcntcd on [)t'vint' li’ttrlit't [rip
have seen it in post-iiiodcrn terms

“'l'hc book plays with the forms
of llc'llt‘ll. it lirctiks the rules. it \'l~
okitcs the customs of fiction. It has
tricks such as word games k, plays
on words and chapters