Burning The May Tree: The Sacrifice of Jim Morrison

Unlocks the history and significance of the rock band The Doors in terms of Jim Morrison's published poetry. The book gives us a window into an epic struggle for cultural change, and how it was suppressed.

A great way to get started with Jim's poetry and Doors history.

"Every time I pick up the new edition of Burning the May Tree, I discover a thought or idea about Jim's poetry that strikes me as unique and insightful. Yours is the only book to shine a focused, intelligent and critical light on Morrison's writing."

- Frank Lisciandro, co-editor of Wilderness and The American Night, books of Jim Morrison's posthumously published poetry.

Chris M Balz enjoys gardening, farming, philosophy, computers, physical culture, and helping people who have, and act upon, ideas that will advance human consciousness in historical trajectory. His favorite books include, in approximate order: "Society of the Spectacle", by Guy Debord; "Collapse", by Jared Diamond; "The Golden Bough", by Sir James Frazier; "One-Dimensional Man", by Herbert Marcuse; "Relativity", by Albert Einstein, the Collected Works of William Blake; "The Lords and the New Creatures", "Wilderness", and "The American Night", by James Douglas Morrison; "Violence and the Sacred", by Rene Girard; "I, Robot", by Isaac Asimov; "The Foundation" series by Isaac Asimov; "Dune", by Frank Herbert; "Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien; "Problem Frames", by M. Jackson; "Functional JavaScript", by Michael Fogus; "Design Patterns", by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, and John Vlissides; "Operating System Concepts" by Silberschatz et alia; and last but not least, "An Acres, USA Primer", by Acres, USA. His favorite movies include, in approximate order: "Apocalypse Now", all the Peter Jackson movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's books (in spite of deviations from the books), "Blade Runner", and "Blade Runner: 2049". His favorite things include algorithms and data structures, and animal companions. His favorite computer games include "Shadow of Mordor" and "Battlefield I".

Glenn E. Smith is a musician currently residing in western Massachusetts. He plays music for dance jams, performances, festivals, university classes, kids camps, fire circles, and song circles, as well as leading his own improvisational vocal gathering called Vocal Voyagers. More info at www.soundseeds.com.

My first memory of The Doors was in eighth grade. Walking home from school, my friend and I sang at the top our lungs Light My Fire. I don't know how we knew the words, but I can still feel the wild energy we experienced by singing. It was 1985. A year later I would meet Chris during high school. It was only after he graduated from college that I learned of his interest in The Doors. Over the years we've stayed in touch, so it was a real pleasure to work on this project. I didn't know much about the band other than its omnipresent music and a few references in the lyrics to the poetry of William Blake. It's amazing to be challenged by new perspectives and figuring out how to triangulate the new in relation to my education and to my work, which is the main reason I enjoyed the work.