in may of 1997 i took my last class, a public relations class, at the university of north florida. this concluded my college career. i did have to take one summer french course which really sucked, as it was only held at 8 am on saturdays across town... but for the most part, the summer of 1997 was relaxing and full of promise. meanwhile, seemingly every week... someone i respected or admired was picked off by the powers that be up there in cloudville.
the following is a list of people that i respected at the time and their dates of demise. the links are their listings in wikipedia.
i'm also listing people who didn't die in the summer, but were notable in one way or another. the most tragic series of deaths were the oddly related deaths of diana, princess of wales... who was close to gianni versaci, and who had also recently befriended mother theresa. jeff buckley, who was the largest celebrity supporter of nusrat fateh ali khan, died within a few months of each other. the final tragic pairing was the death of ginsberg in the spring and his friend (and lover?), william s. burroughs in the summer. i've also listed others who inspired me, who died in 1997.
allen ginsberg - april 15
jeff buckley - may 29
jacques-yves cousteau - june 25
james stewart - july 2
gianni versaci - july 15
william s. burroughs - august 2
nusrat fateh ali khan - august 16th
princess diana - august 31
mother theresa - september 5
john denver - october 12
michael hutchence - november 22
michael hedges - december 2
chris farley - december 18
i spent about a month in august 1997 traveling the u.s. - a total of about 7,700 miles. along the way i visited the graves of blues singers and poets in new orleans, memorials to hollywood starlets in los angeles, and ancient burial sites of western native americans. while walking the hollywood walk of fame, i noticed that it was the 20th anniversary of elvis' death... a week or so later i was standing over his grave at graceland. interesting.
here's a link to the u2 video for their song 'last night on earth' - which features william burroughs in his last filmed appearance, in the summer of 1997.
the following is a list of people that i respected at the time and their dates of demise. the links are their listings in wikipedia.
i'm also listing people who didn't die in the summer, but were notable in one way or another. the most tragic series of deaths were the oddly related deaths of diana, princess of wales... who was close to gianni versaci, and who had also recently befriended mother theresa. jeff buckley, who was the largest celebrity supporter of nusrat fateh ali khan, died within a few months of each other. the final tragic pairing was the death of ginsberg in the spring and his friend (and lover?), william s. burroughs in the summer. i've also listed others who inspired me, who died in 1997.
allen ginsberg - april 15
jeff buckley - may 29
jacques-yves cousteau - june 25
james stewart - july 2
gianni versaci - july 15
william s. burroughs - august 2
nusrat fateh ali khan - august 16th
princess diana - august 31
mother theresa - september 5
john denver - october 12
michael hutchence - november 22
michael hedges - december 2
chris farley - december 18
i spent about a month in august 1997 traveling the u.s. - a total of about 7,700 miles. along the way i visited the graves of blues singers and poets in new orleans, memorials to hollywood starlets in los angeles, and ancient burial sites of western native americans. while walking the hollywood walk of fame, i noticed that it was the 20th anniversary of elvis' death... a week or so later i was standing over his grave at graceland. interesting.
here's a link to the u2 video for their song 'last night on earth' - which features william burroughs in his last filmed appearance, in the summer of 1997.