OPEN CITY No. 4, May 26–June 1, 1967 — Bukowski Aphorisms, Stokeley Carmichael, Richard Alpert, Grateful Dead, Captain Beefheart, Carl Wilson Draft Refusal

An issue of the Los Angeles underground weekly, featuring the fourth appearance of Charles Bukowski's "Notes of a Dirty Old Man." Subtitled "scribblings on shirt cardboards during 2 day drunk," the column abandons its usual narrative form entirely in favor of a sequence of standalone aphorisms. Several have become among Bukowski's most widely quoted lines, including "An intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way," "The well-balanced individual is insane," and "If you want to know where God is, ask a drunk."

The front cover previews the upcoming Griffith Park Love-In featuring the Grateful Dead, Captain Beefheart, and the Peanut Butter Conspiracy. Interior features a report on Stokeley Carmichael's Black Power address to 3,000 UCLA students, and a two-page interview with Richard Alpert — Harvard psychologist, Timothy Leary associate, and future Ram Dass — on dropping out, politics, and the Los Angeles counterculture. A news item reports Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys facing court over his refusal to report for military duty. A two-page legal guide covers how to legally beat the draft. An investigative feature examines the Los Angeles girlie magazine industry. The back cover calendar includes Ravi Shankar at the Music Center and Joan Baez's refusal to perform for US troops. Large tabloid format, 17" x 11", black and white throughout.

Provenance: Mailing label on front cover addressed to John Bryan Sr. at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio — the editor's father at his place of work.

This copy is in great condition with a small tear on the left of the horizontal fold and some browning om the page edges.