Aug. 13, 2026
#170 Peter Connors / Grateful Dead & Philosophy / Iterations of Jam Music / Growin' Up Dead / Cornell '77
Peter Connors has published nine books of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, and edited dozens of volumes of poetry and prose. His nonfiction books – Cornell ‘77, Growing Up Dead, JAMerica, and White Hand Society — have garnered him a reputation as a leading chronicler of the Grateful Dead, jam band, and countercultural community. In 2017, his book, Cornell ‘77: The Music, Myth and Magnificence of the Grateful Dead’s Concert at Barton Hall, was included in the Grammy-nominated Grateful Dead box set, May 1977: Get Shown the Light, released by Rhino Records in May 2017. In 2022, his debut novel, Merch Table Blues, and his first prose poetry collection in a decade, Beyond the Edge of Suffering, were both published.
https://www.peterconners.net