10 Years ‘Warrior Poet’ Celebration Denied

Dear American Indians, Poets, and Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I share some unfortunate news. After weeks of calls and emails, Ana Ruiz from Drive Music Publishing decided not to grant us the copyrights to use any photo’s, music, songs, videos and not even the poetry of ‘Warrior Poet’ to celebrate the life and work of ‘Warrior Poet’. Even mentioning his real name is problematic. While I am deeply saddened and devastated by this decision, I must respect the family’s wishes.

I sincerely apologize to all of you who were looking forward to this celebration. Let us hope to reunite next year at the 6th Poetry Downtown Festival, where we will celebrate the life and work of Allen Ginsberg with his iconic words:

America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing!

With pain in my heart,
Erik van Loon

p.s. Below, you’ll find my first email and their final response regarding this difficult situation.