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An exploration of the surrealist artists, musicians, and performers who forged a unique experimental arts community in Alabama

Pataphysics and Surrealism in Alabama: A Cultural History is the first book to uncover a remarkable chapter in American experimental art, music, dance and writing, tracing the activities of a creative group known as Raudelunas, the music collective Transcendprovisation, and the surrealist association initially called Glass Veal: a series of interrelated artistic and cultural movements that originated in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Alabama, during the 1970s. Drawing on extensive archival research and firsthand accounts, including interviews with twenty-six participants in these groups, sound recordings, publications, and other primary sources, Steven Harris traces the history of a vibrant creative community that began when three University of Alabama students started improvising music together and encouraged others to join them.

From these sessions emerged a dynamic network of performers and artists whose work challenged conventional boundaries between disciplines. Inspired by musical improvisation, surrealism, and pataphysics, participants embraced spontaneity and absurdity as they developed a positive expression of creativity that was both uniquely Southern and sharply distinctive from the dominant culture that surrounded them.

Harris situates these movements within broader histories of Alabama, Dada, pataphysics, surrealism, and improvised music and dance while charting their lasting influence on the artists who participated in them. Featuring a timeline of major events, biographies of key members, and an anthology of representative writings, Pataphysics and Surrealism in Alabama is an essential contribution to the history of American experimental culture.
 

The San Juan River Navajos—residing in the vicinity of Aneth, Montezuma Creek, Bluff, and Tódahidíkáanii—have a fascinating history shaped, in part, by the water they lived near and the land they depended on. Circumscribed by sacred narratives and traditional teachings, the Diné forged a life in this high desert landscape while facing challenges from the environment as well as their neighbors—Utes, Paiutes, Mormons, cowboys, miners, evangelists, agents, government farmers, military personnel, educators, and entrepreneurs of all kinds. Their life has been one of confrontation, change, and adaptation as they explored new paths into the future.
 
Navajo oral tradition is rich in stories and themes that form the basis for ceremonial performance. Everything that is physical, emotional, or spiritual has been placed in this world by the holy people at the time of creation, a process recognized in these accounts and teachings. Each chapter references sacred narratives that provide power through prayers that bring protection and a path for believers to follow. Topics include life on the river before and during the introduction of the white man, efficacy of the chantways, teachings of medicine people, childhood memories, arrival of trading posts, encounters with the automobile and other technology, livestock reduction and its aftermath, and the development of the Aneth oilfield with its ensuing protests. This is the Navajo elders’ story as seen through their eyes and told in their voice.