ANGUS MACLISE - MASTER OF SYNTHESIS [excerpts]
by René Van Der Voort

... Most people first heard of Angus MacLise because of his connection with the Velvet Underground, further investigation revealed that he had also been a founding member of the Theatre of Eternal Music, worked in multimedia and the Fluxus movement, designed his own calligraphy, was a mystical poet, an actor, publisher, bookshop owner and world traveller. ...

...On his return to New York, Angus joined them to provide the music for a ritual happening called Launching of the Dreamweapon. It was the first theatrical event by Aquarium productions, set up by Angus and his old friend Piero Heliczer, a display of lights, dancers, poetry and improvised music from the group who played behind a veil. The multimedia extravaganza gave them a concept to work in and during the summer of ‘65 they were the anonymous musicians who performed at screenings of underground films by Barbara Rubin, Kenneth Anger and a second Aquarium presentation Rites of the Dreamweapon. ...

...Playing under different names like the Warlocks and the Falling Spikes they finally settled for the Velvet Underground. According to legend it was either Angus who coined the name because he saw a paperback with this title at a bookrack in Times Square or Tony Conrad who found a copy of the book on a sidewalk. Anyway the name stuck and in an attempt to expand their audience they put more structure in the music instead of free improvisation only. A paid gig was offered, all but Angus were eager to accept and when he did not show up for the concert he got booted out. ...

...Hetty and Angus travelled to British Columbia to settle down but they could not get working visas. Their journey continued throughout Asia and ended up in Kathmandu, Nepal, where Hetty gave birth to a son, Ossian. The boy was declared a Tulku or reincarnated Lama by Karmapa, the head of the Kargyupta sect; the first time a child of two westerners had been so elected. In the Kathmandu Valley they met with a group of foreigners who were making Tibetan woodblock prints to sell to tourists.
A poetry community was formed when Ira Cohen and Charles Henri Ford also settled down in the region. Angus started the Spirit Catcher Bookshop with fellow poets John “Fungi” Chick and Roberto Valenza and brought out a literary magazine called Ting Pa. The shop became a meeting place for the poetry and music scene. Ira Cohen published a series of books and broadsheets, the Bardo Matrix Starstream Editions. The first edition, Gregory Corso’s Way Out, a play/poem was performed once at the Yakand Yeti Crystal Ballroom by Ira, Angus and writer Bill Barker. All the publications were printed on rice paper.

...Angus MacLise died on the Summer Solstice, June 21, 1979 at the Shanta Bawan Hospital in Kathmandu. He was cremated to the traditions of the Tibetan Buddhists. His life had been dedicated to Art. In his own words: “I followed a curve through poems, calligraphy, music and journey, humming with as many beings as possible.”...