[Item], The Wisdom of Sun Ra collection, Sc MG 942, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
The Wisdom of Sun Ra collection consists of jazz musician Sun Ra's typed writings in the form of streetcorner leaflets printed on goldenrod paper. These writings provide insight into his philosophical vision and cosmic worldview. In 2006, a selection of these writings was published in a book titled, The Wisdom of Sun Ra: Sun Ra's Polemical Broadsheets and Streetcorner Leaflets, by John Corbett. The Wisdom of Sun Ra collection contains some of these published works, as well as unpublished writings.
Le Sony'r Ra, popularly known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz pianist, organist, and synthesizer player, composer, bandleader, and poet best known for his avant garde and experimental musical style, cosmic philosophies, and theatrical performances with his band, the Arkestra. He is also recognized as one of the early pioneers of Afrofuturism. Sun Ra, born Herman Poole Blount on May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, was regarded as a skilled pianist and composer by his early teenage years. Although Blount based his musical activities in Birmingham until 1945, his big band toured extensively. In 1945 Blount relocated to Chicago where he registered with the local musicians union under the name Sonny Blount. During his Chicago years (1945 - 1961), Blount read extensively, researching mystical and occult practices, ancient culture, biblical history, and contemporary developments in science and space exploration. He formed a reading group called Thmei Research which included his manager, Alton Abraham, and a small group of intellectuals from the South Side of Chicago. On October 20, 1952, Blount changed his legal name to Le Sony'r Ra, later shortened to Sun Ra, which is a reference to the Egyptian God of the Sun, Ra. Many of the writings featured in this collection provide a glimpse into the early formations of Sun Ra's philosophical worldview, where he creatively reinterprets biblical history and scripture, explores and creates new etymologies, and utilizes divine mathematical equations to unlock the hidden wisdom of the universe. After his time in Chicago, Sun Ra relocated to New York City (1961 - 1968), Philadelphia (1968), and California (1969 - 1993). He and the Arkestra continued to tour until his death in May 30, 1993.
The Wisdom of Sun Ra collection consists of 46 unpublished and 23 published writings from Sun Ra, typescript copies on goldenrod paper.
The Wisdom of Sun Ra collection is arranged into one series of Writings and further divided into two sub-series: Unpublished and Published. Published titles can be found in The Wisdom of Sun Ra: Sun Ra's Polemical Broadsheets and Streetcorner Leaflets, compiled by John Corbett (Chicago, IL:WhiteWalls, Inc., 2006).
Purchased in 2017 from Kenneth Mallory ABAA/ILAB. Provenance: The Estate of Pat Patrick.
Processed by Barrye Brown, 2019.