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The Wisdom of Sun Ra: Sun Ra's Polemical Broadsheets and Streetcorner Leaflets Paperback – August 1, 2006

by Sun Ra (Author), Anthony Elms (Editor), John Corbett (Editor)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 5 ratings
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From the Arkestra to his experiments with synthesizers, Sun Ra was one of the most inventive jazz musicians in history. Yet until now, there has not been a collection of his earliest writings that reveal the beginnings of his work as philosopher, mystic, and Afro-Futurist. This new volume unveils over forty newly discovered typewritten broadsheets on which Sun Ra expounded his wholly unique philosophical message. 

While in Chicago during the mid-1950s, Sun Ra preached on street corners and occasionally created scripts to accompany his lectures—intricate texts that invoke science fiction, Biblical prophecy, etymology, and black nationalism. Until this point, the only broadsheet known to exist was one given to John Coltrane in 1956. These newly unearthed writings attest to the provocative brilliance that inspired Coltrane. Sun Ra annotated many of them by hand, and together the sheets reveal fascinating new aspects of his worldview.

The Wisdom of Sun Ra is an invaluable compendium of writings by one of the most intriguing and influential jazz figures of the century.
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  1. Print length
    144 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    WhiteWalls
  4. Publication date
    August 1, 2006
  5. Dimensions
    6.75 x 0.5 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0945323077
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0945323075
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Known for his talent as a jazz composer, bandleader and keyboardist . . . Sun Ra also made a name for himself with his 'cosmic philosophy,' which curious fans everywhere can now read thanks to The Wisdom of Sun-Ra. . . . For those wanting to look further into Sun Ra’s philosophies—and willing to spend the $20 to do so—The Wisdom of Sun-Ra contains a treasure trove of material." -- Roxana Hadadi ― Jazz Times Published On: 2006-08-17

"John Corbett's selection offers a fascinating window on to the weird world of one of the 20th century's most influential musicians."—Rachel Aspden, New Statesman

 

  -- Rachel Aspden ― New Statesman Published On: 2006-08-28

"Includes beautiful reproductions of the dog-eared broadsheets, with full transcriptions in the second half of the book. As interesting as the writings are in their own right, they also offer powerful insights into the personality and philosophy that was central to Ra's later work." -- Peter Margasak ― Chicago Reader Published On: 2006-08-24

"Words are, for Ra, plastic things, and the skill of Ra the verbal sculptor reveals hidden unities. . . . Indeed, his attitude towards his audience is continuously provocative." -- Tom Perchard ― The Wire Published On: 2006-09-01

"Every one of these essays has the right balance of shocking pull quotes and elliptical statements to make you keep reading. . . . Revealing." -- Ben Ratliff ― Bookforum Published On: 2006-12-01

"This collection of his early writings illuminates his journey from street-corner Egyptologist and religious proclaimer to the innovative bandleader proclaiming alien origins whose music has influenced artists from John Coltrane to Sonic Youth. . . . The publication of this book offers a visit to a time where we can see some of Sun Ra's earlier ideas, what shaped the later artist. Reading this collection makes you realize that you need to question what you see and define your own path, just like Sun Ra did." -- Erik Sweet ― Rain Taxi Published On: 2006-12-01

About the Author

Sun Ra (1914–93) was a jazz composer, bandleader, synthesizer player, and musical innovator.



John Corbett is a widely recognized jazz scholar and a former artistic director of the Berlin Jazz Festival. He teaches at the Art Institute of Chicago. Anthony Elms is an artist and writer. He is editor of WhiteWalls and assistant director of Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Terri Kapsalis is a Chicago-based writer, performer, and founding member of Theater Oobleck. She teaches at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ WhiteWalls (August 1, 2006)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0945323077
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0945323075
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 0.5 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 5 ratings

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Sun Ra

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  • seth denizen
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Indispensable Text
    Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    The discovery of these texts in 2000 and their excellent and faithful reproduction in this edition have marked a new era in Sun Ra scholarship, and another key text in Black cultural production saved from the ashes.

    They were found in a chest in a house slated for demolition in Chicago marked with the words "One of Everything" in Ra's handwriting, which would have made a nice title for the text, except that coming from a figure like Ra, any declaration of the wholeness or completeness of an archive/discography sounds more like a taunt. For years Ra's intellectual and theological formation in Birmingham, and then Chicago, has been a guesswork. While lovers of Sun Ra's music have spent years tracing the emergence of Ra's revolutionary sound from New York to its bebop/hardbop origins in Chicago, listening to every note and unpressed arrangement for the moment of transition, a similar archival work has been scarcely possible in tracing the development of Ra's discourse, which plays an integral role in the music.

    While the broadsheets offer few definitive answers, they will become the source text for this and many other questions of Ra's intellectual formation. They are also in themselves a powerful literary work, and read like something between Nietzsche's aphorisms and a pentecostal Ishmael Reed.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Steven C. Seachrist
    4.0 out of 5 stars The Reach For A Better World
    Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    Being that he was a freejazz pioneer, Sun Ra was also naturally a deepspace thinker. This book collects a bunch of early dispatches directly from the uniquely racially and numerically-obsessed mind of one of the true greats of modern music. This is a dimension only hinted at in his song lyrics. It is full-on cosmic weirdness to the highest degree. The book is equally as "unreadable" as his music is "unlistenable". It taps a vein that, thank god, very few of us have access to and it shines a bright light on some of what made this complex man tick. Up until now, his primarily white audiences probably have had no clue what he was really about, unless they happened to catch his low-budge cultfilm "Space is the Place". Here, his apparent frustrations about being black in America are turned into kooky political/religious ranting prose and his fascination with numbers is woven in as if it were just part of the same sort of cosmic conversation. Madness or genius? You decide. Bonus: the book features nice scans of the original, typed papers, plus much more legible transcriptions. It's a lot to ask of a reader, but also a cool supplement to the available music. It is a very short read, thus the less-than-best rating.
    14 people found this helpful
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