May I start by saying hello to any new visitors at The Main Stem. We are officially out of dormancy, for better or for worse. The calendar year is coming to a close, and by the natural turning of the day we will soon be back at January 1st again. It’s been a good year, in the end. There have been plenty of times where I felt uninspired or out of hope or directionless; but on the back end of these I am happy with where the year has finished up. I decided to write this post, not because I felt I had anything compelling to write about but instead to try and trim the old branches of the blog to make way for fruitful new growth. It's a new year after all, and this thing doesn’t grow unless you take care of it.
Click below for the rest of the post! Poetry, music, lots of my favourite things.
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On that note, there are a handful of things that I could have posted about this year but chose not to. The year was busy, and the rhythms relentless, and in that way I think I struggled to look at the meaningful moments in a wider context. Now that I have had a few days of downtime, the year and its gifts have presented themselves to me. Namely, I got into pottery for a while, I went out hiking with Jake and Pietro and we finally crossed The Dales Way off our list, I did a bit of basic construction work with a friend, I hosted the second edition of my Harvest Moon Viewing and I explored many interests and learnt many interesting things. A lot of these things went into a ‘Blog Ideas’ note on my phone but never made it past that point. Jake says not to be self-depricating in my writing and he’s also vouched himself not to write any more about ‘not-writing’ on his own blog, so here you are reading a re-written section consisting of some insecure justification for not posting during 2025. A big thanks to my editor. But we’re here now; and if it’s end of year and reflection that are the catalysts for my return to The Main Stem, I arrive at the gate a different person to twelve months ago. If I can say this every twelve months then I think I am getting this whole reflection thing dialled in. The two major things that shaped my 2025 are the guitar and Taoism. Through both of these things a lot of my other thoughts and interests seem to have fused cell walls and merged together, creating a new space in my mind.
Instead of some breathing exercises or an Om, let's start with a poem to get us in the mood.
A Big Day
Getting water at the spring
Carrying firewood
Chattering with a neighbour
The sun goes down.
February 1982, Nanao Sakaki
And below, one from Gary Snyder, from the website of Torre Wenaus
- (Right side: Nanao (left), Gary Snyder (right), doing readings together in 1991. A still from this video.)
Poetry and music have been my two gateways into ideas about Eastern philosophy. I got onto Taoism from poet Nanao Sakaki, whom I got onto from poet Gary Snyder. (Gary Snyder I got onto from Jaime de Angulo, and he from Lloyd Kahn... it all comes back to Lloyd!!!). Getting to know the work and lives of poets assosciated with the Beat movement, who in the 60's were opening their minds to the cultures of the East. The sixties in America really saw an influx of bridging characters between the cultures of the east (Ancient India, China, Japan) to the west. Indian classical music was in, Zen Buddhism, Yoga, psychadelics, anything that helped to give some context to 'who we are' without the constant turmoil of capitalist industrial sosciety. The East represented a life slower, more considerate, more connected to oneself and to nature. Snyder was a figure who, in the world of poetry, did a lot for bringing some of these ideas to the mainstream. He lived in Japan in the 60's to study Chan / Zen Buddhism and his poetry collections always reflected zen thought whilst addressing humankind's relationship to the planet. Through Snyder I read about Nanao Sakaki, whom he met in Japan during his Zen studies. Nanao was a Japanese poet, writer and wanderer who embodied Taoist philosophy in his life and in his work. He and Snyder formed a lifelong friendship of travelling, performing poetry readings, doing talks, translating one another's work. Nanao, disillusioned with industrial Japan, started a counter-culture movement in the sixties in Tokyo, publishing a counterculture magazine and forming a collective later referred to as The Tribe. By the time Snyder and he had met, The Tribe had been able to secure some land on an Suwanose Jima, a remote island southwest of mainland Japan in the China Sea, setting up a community of people living there together and working on creative practices, craft works and communal living. Snyder spent a few years living there in what would later become known as the Banyan Ashram. Nanao in return spent many years wandering nomadically in the wildest parts of North America, through the seventies and eighties, popping in to meet Snyder and friends for the occasional book release, public reading, fundraiser, protest, or birthday. Nanao spent forty years living nomadically, writing poetry, visiting friends and covering tens of thousands of miles by foot. Here is an excerpt from the foreword to Nanao's book of poetry titled 'Break The Mirror' (1987), written by Gary Snyder.
"... His spirit, craft, knowledge of history, make him - whether he likes it or not - an exemplar of a lineage that goes back to the liveliest of Taoists, Chuang-tzu. His poems were not written by hand or head, but with the feet. These poems have been sat into existence, walked into existence, to be left here as traces of a life lived for living - not for intellect or culture. And so the intellect is deep, the culture profound. And this kind of intellect and culture is precisely what the people of China and Japan have appreciated as the real meaning of learning and culture for millenia. For all his independence Nanao Sakaki carries the karma of Chuang-tzu, Hsieh, Ling-yun, Ling-chi, En-no-gyoja, Saigyo, Ikkyu, Basho, Ryokan, and Issa in his bindle. This is the gift that he hands over to the twenty-first century, with the Grand Canyon and penguins rolled in! But Nanao's work is truly unique, I know of no poems with quite this slant, compassionate, funny, deceptively simple, cosmic, deeply radical, free."
Nanao, by Allen Ginsberg.
Click on picture for source.
Scans of front and back covers of my copy of The Back Country by Gary Snyder and Break the Mirror by Nanao Sakaki.
First things first, Taoism is both a set of philosophies, and a religion. The philosophies came first - developed in ancient China - and the framework for identifying as a Taoist and having a religious practice came later on. 'Tao' means or translates to 'way' and it can be said that Taoism is about letting everything go on it's natural course. The passing of each of us through time is inevitable. It is happening from the moment your consciousness arises at the start of your life to the moment it leaves you at the end of your life. Despite what happens to your consciousness before and after this period (depending what you believe), we can agree that human 'life' is defined within that framework, and that anything before or after those markers is guesswork. Taoist philosophy does not need to be applied to life within a religious way. There is room for you to believe in whatever you like before birth and after death, Taoist thought helps us to navigate the 'life' period in a way that festers a happy and meaningful existence. If you think that consciousness exists between the periods of birth and death (as I do), then being where you are right now, right within that timeline, wherever that is, all you've got. The fact that I am living, breathing, conscious and experiencing is valuable in itself. If I got hit by a bus tomorrow than my whole experiencing, my whole thinking and making meaning would be over. Lights out. We can agree that this, or a miriad of other causes for my death, could be right around the corner. Unlikey, but eventually inevitable. Life is unpredictable. The end is coming, for all of us, and there is just no way to know when that will be. So we should be living in appreciation of what we do have, when we have it, because we may only be one day away from it all being stripped away.
Now, when you're healthy and busy, then there is no push to prioritise this mindset. Part of being in tune with the 'way' (tao) is to live in accordance with the present moment by putting life back within this finite and ever-expiring frame. If this could be my last meal, I sure as hell better enjoy it. If this could be my last hug, I sure as hell better appreciate it. The more we live with this idea, the more gratitude we feel, the more within the present moment we are. Living in accordance with the Tao is made sometimes a bit easier by likening this process to water. Allan Watts, like others before him, really leaned into this analogy when writing and teaching about Taoist thought. He coined the term 'the watercourse way' to describe living in accordance with the Tao. To be like water, ever adapting to its circumstances, continuing to flow and move in it's inevitable nature. The watercourse way also means to find the path of least resistance in life like water moving down a stream, moving past rocks and bending and flexing to continue best on it's journey. For us, this is letting go of the past and not being afraid of the future. Just flow. Just be. And in order to do that we need acceptance. We each have our own 'way', our own path through time, inevitable and finite, and it is our resistance to the natural 'way' of our being that causes a life of suffering. Life feels so complicated and important but within the framework of the Tao, both the good and bad need to be appreciated. 'Polarity' is a fundamental part of Taoist philosophy and this is the idea that meaning is created through the relationship of two opposing and opposite forces or ideas. Put simply, that we cannot appreciate something without knowing the absence of said thing. How can you appreciate a warm meal unless you have known hunger, how can you appreciate company unless you have known loneliness.
Polarity, or the concepts of 'yin' and 'yang' help us to realise that through every hard/bad/difficult/painful experience there is the greater understanding of the opposing good force. Life is shit, to all of us, but it's also joyous and has reverence, something that Taoism encourages you to find in all situations in life, good and bad, long term and in the present moment. For me, it means living in the present, because that's exactly the only thing we're all able to do. Not asking more of yourself then just that. Be in the present. When you're tired, rest. When you're hungry, eat. When you are sad, please cry! And in doing so, know that the plunge of sadness, the surge of emotion, is only giving you a greater understanding of the opposing good force. So, acknowledging that the world has it's 'way' and you have your own 'way' through the world - made up of an immense spectrum of experiences - we're left with being present and finding the present moment valuable. More valuable than worrying about the past, or the future. Instead to be living in simple awe that you are ticking along inevitably through an experience that, like everything, will come to an end, and that this end could be something completely out of your control. Being present and not shying away from all of life's pain. These are the ideas of Taoism that resonated with me and I think help me to be more grateful of the current moment, and of everything in it's own way.
(Right side: my guitar! Framus Texas 6, from 1966)
Earlier I said, ‘Poetry and music have been my two gateways into ideas about Eastern philosophy.’ and so now you need to hear about music. This is a passion that I have that burns hotter than that that I have for literature. I spend so much time listening to new music and learning about who created the sounds that I like. I’ve been pretty deep into folk music, deeper than most, but it’s the newness of new sounds that keeps me hooked. Like Gary Snyder is for poetry, there are a few guitarists who have brought Eastern music to a western audience. I’ll dig into a few of these below in case you are interested - but most prominently, this last turn of the calendar has brought me into ‘playing’ music for the first time. A real milestone in my life and I think I will look back on this year as a moment which shaped the rest of my life. Not only do I want to listen to, learn about and generally just love music… but I think I'd like to make some too! – a little late to the party and don’t I know it, but better late than never I always say, hey Fiona?
If I started guitar at thirty-one and play until I am eighty-one then that is fifty years of building the skill. I will be proud of that. I am an absolute beginner, I am learning basic chords and finger picking patterns and am starting both musical and guitar-theory from scratch, but oh boy, am I hooked! I spent four years looking at a banjo that I never once felt any lust over and after finally rewatching (for the hundredth time) the video at the beginning of this post, of John Fahey playing In Christ There Is No East Or West, I could no longer deny my love for the guitar. It has been the pathway for me through exploring so many musical genres and seeing the guitar, being wielded by Fahey as a solo instrument and in such an eloquent and wild way just spoke to me like nothing else ever had. I had to start playing guitar.
(Left: Fahey and a dog. Can't find the source, saved it ages ago.)
John Fahey, founder of American Primitivism, is an enigmatic and mythological god of the guitar. A scholar of the Delta blues, but Fahey's ability to pool his influences and interests together and combine them anew on the guitar was his legacy. I heard rag-time blues mixed with Polynesian slide guitar, mixed with classical Indian ragas and church-choir carol-singing. Somehow unlocking the deepness and sincerity stored in the blues and allowing the weaving of these other elements throughout his long career. Mostly self-published under his own label, Takoma Records, Fahey also recorded and released the work of other guitarists and musicians from like-minded fields. Takoma Records was, in the 60's, a gravity pool of the some of the most unique guitar players in the US, publishing the works of Max Ochs, Robbie Basho, Leo Kottke and Fahey himself. This period marked the first time western guitar virtuosos were trying their hands at the instruments like the sitar and sarod as Indian classical music was breaching through into the veins of young American musicians, many taking tutelage under the hands of Indian classical masters like Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbhar Khan.
Fahey and Grossman, posted to the web by Stefan Grossman. How's my crediting going?
Excerpt from NY Times, 20.12.66 - Click through for full PDF. Hosted by the AliAkbarKhanLibrary
I fell under the spell of John Fahey and through him came to see guitar playing as an artform, How one man can record the heaviness of slavery within the blues, the gliding swoon of Hawaiian slide guitar, the modal play in scales and reverberation of Indian raga and at the same time place you in an old Catholic Church, singing hymns for Christmas time. Captivation guaranteed. I felt the search for transcendence in his guitar playing and this doubled over further in the discovery of six and twelve string guitar player Robbie Basho. Both guitarists met at the University of Maryland, DC, in the 60s and Fahey released some early records from Basho on his Takoma label. Basho, unlike Fahey, came to guitar from a folk background (as opposed to the blues) and used his music as a way of exploring life's mysticism. He studied other classical forms more deeply, from Japanese, to Persian, to Indian Classical - also studying under sarod player Ali Akbar Khan - and through his life explored mysticism and transcendence through his music. Not only a master of the guitar but a voice like no other; music that needs to be heard instead of described. Both Fahey-lore and Basho-lore individually warrant their own blog posts, I tie them together only here due to their overwhelming influence on me, my taste in music and my appreciation for guitar playing as an artform. I'll link to some better resources down below and maybe I'll explore them both later on in future posts. No one did more for steel string guitar than John Fahey and no one has ever made music anything like Robbie Basho.
Album covers for The Falconer's Arm I & II, by Robbie Basho - on Takoma Records
If you've never heard his music - you can start here,
but you are only skimming the surface.
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(Right side: Your author, riding deep through the Blogosphere. Fahey's The New Possibility release poster hanging behind the main control centre.)
After many years of Fahey, Basho and the music they introduced me to, I finally made the move to sell my banjo and put that money to a guitar. The key, so I was told, is to buy an instrument that you simply think is beautiful and to leave it out of it's case at all times, so I went a-searching and aimed for osmosis, looking for steel string guitars from the 50-70s. I found a steel string, made in the 60s from a now-defunct German manufacturer called Framus. It was old, cheap enough and in good condition and in a beautiful sunburst colourway which reminded me of Fahey's 1939 Recording King Ray Whitley. Here's to osmosis! See end of post for more on Fahey's guitar... The banjo on the other hand sold easily to a young guy. A real student of music type, proficient on guitar and looking for his next challenge. What was a big, heavy and loud concert banjo to me was a solid instrument with great value, to him and with the sale I also handed over any guilt that I had carried for not playing the banjo as it was so thoughtfully given to me as a gift. It was time to make the gesture worthwhile by actually getting something I wanted to play and actually learning to play it. So far so good, whoever told me to buy a guitar that I liked the look of, and to keep it out, was right. That's just the thing that means I am picking it up every opportunity that I get. At time of writing, I am working on learning chords and chord transitions, after a few months of finger picking practice and lots of fiddling around and getting to know the instrument. This new year is the first year to try and knuckle down a little bit, and my sore wrists while I am writing this post are indicative that things are on the right track. One thing is for sure, I am not short of inspiration. The opening video to this post is Fahey playing a hymn titled 'In Christ There Is No East Or West' a piece he recorded throughout his career and taught to Max Ochs who also has a wonderful version; watching this video in summer I set myself a goal to be able to play this song and so now I have to walk the very long road to get there.
(Right side: Ali Akbar teaching sarod to his students in California, some time early 70's.)
The East was crashing like waves into American culture in the sixties, with George Harrison touring and recording with and taking tutelage under sitar-master Ravi Shankar, and sarod-master Ali Akbar Khan opening a school for Indian classical music in California. Basho studied there, reshaping his playing of guitar ever after. Some other awesome guitar players who studied at the Ali Akbar College of Music in the late 60's and early 70's are Sandy Bull and Peter Walker. Both are great examples dedicated to their craft and of the blending of Eastern and Western sounds. I could spend so many hours writing about these players, and likely doing them a great disservice, so I’ll try and put together some links for further material if you’re interested.
Needless to say, it was a great year of actualisation. So many thoughts have found new space and new territory in my mind. It is the year I dedicate to the guitar and to Taoism and maybe when I think back on 2025 in ten, fifteen, twenty years; this will be what I remember it for. Peace to all people, thank you for visiting! Leave me a comment or say hi in the contact form below.
Folding postcard from the Ali Akbar College of Music, class of '73.
Big Ravi Shankar (Sitar), Alla Rakha (Tabla) and Ali Akbar Khan (Sarod) - 1972 baby
Only footage of Sandy available on youtube. He is accompanied beautifully by Senegalese percussionist Aiyb Dieng (missing the accent on the 'i' in his first name).
Plenty of Basho's music available on streaming platforms and youtube.
Absolutely worth watching the below documentary from Liam Barker, really the only way to get a beginning grasp on the true uniqueness of his music and his life.
Plenty of material in the documentary that is not available on the web. Big thanks to Liam, I have watched it four times! Go support by renting on vimeo or downloading directly from the film's website.
https://www.robbiebashofilm.com/
Fahey on the cover of his 1967 record 'Requia' - definitely one of his strangest records with a four piece attempt at musique concrete - but I show you this because he wields his beautiful Gibson - Recording King. See more below!
Master in Command at the helm of the ship, with bar slide in hand and guitar at the horizontal.
Guitarist, folklorist, blues scholar and educator Stefan Grossman released a series of learning materials of Fahey in both audio and video formats (VHS baby).
Lovely 'Grinch' energy here.
'The voice of the tortoise: John Fahey in the desert with chelonian choir, September 1970.'
Scan from a full-page clipping from Mojo magazine, 2005. I like to collect bits like this.
- Robbie Basho dot net - The zenith for Robbie Basho if you want to get down and nerdy. As built by the late artist and guitar player Steffen Basho-Junghans.
- Basho Archives - All you can eat when it comes to Robbie Basho. Lore Galore! As built by the late artist and guitar player Steffen Basho-Junghans.
- Raga Vibrations - Regular radio show of Indian Classical music, from Greg Davis on NTS Radio
- Gary Snyder Living Landsape - A 1997 interview where they discuss some of Snyder's relationship to nature. From the blog of one John P. O'Grady,
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