John Sinclair (born October 2, 1941) is an American poet, writer, and political activist from

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of ...

. Sinclair's defining style is

jazz poetry Jazz poetry has been defined as poetry that "demonstrates jazz-like rhythm or the feel of improvisation" and also as poetry that takes jazz music, musicians, or the jazz milieu as its subject. Some critics consider it a distinct genre though others ...

, and he has released most of his works in audio formats. Most of his pieces include musical accompaniment, usually by a varying group of collaborators dubbed Blues Scholars. As an emerging young poet in the mid-1960s, Sinclair took on the role of

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

for the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

rock band MC5. The band's politically charged music and its Yippie core audience dovetailed with Sinclair's own radical development. In 1968, while still working with the band, he conspicuously served as a founding member of the

White Panther Party The White Panthers were an anti-racist political collective founded in November 1968 by Pun Plamondon, Leni Sinclair, and John Sinclair. It was started in response to an interview where Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, w ...

, a militantly anti-racist socialist group and counterpart of the

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

. Arrested for possession of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

in 1969, Sinclair was given ten years in prison. The sentence was criticized by many as unduly harsh, and it galvanized a noisy protest movement led by prominent figures of the

1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed throughout much of the Western world in the 1960s and has been ongoing to the present day. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights mo ...

. Sinclair was freed in December 1971, but he remained in

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

– his case against the government for illegal domestic surveillance was successfully pleaded to the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

in '' United States v. U.S. District Court'' (1972). Sinclair eventually left the US and took up residency in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. He continues to write and record and, since 2005, has hosted a regular radio program, ''The John Sinclair Radio Show,'' as well as produced a line-up of other shows on his own radio station, ''Radio Free Amsterdam''. Sinclair was among the first people to purchase recreational marijuana when it became legal in Michigan on December 1, 2019.

Early life and education

Sinclair was a member of the Class of 1960 at

Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Interco ...

in Albion, Michigan, but he dropped out after his first year. Sinclair subsequently attended the Flint College of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, now the

University of Michigan-Flint A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. During his time at UM-Flint he served on the university's Publications Board, school newspaper ''The Word'', and was the president of the Cinema Guild. He graduated in 1964.

1960s activism

Born in

, Sinclair was involved in the reorganization of the Detroit

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

, ''

Fifth Estate The Fifth Estate is a socio-cultural reference to groupings of outlier viewpoints in contemporary society, and is most associated with bloggers, journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, and the social media or "social license". Th ...

'', during the paper's growth in the late 1960s. ''

'' continues to publish to this day, making it one of the longest continuously published alternative periodicals in the United States. Sinclair also contributed to the formation of Detroit Artists Workshop Press, which published five issues of ''Work Magazine''. Sinclair worked as a jazz writer for '' Down Beat'' from 1964 to 1965, being an outspoken advocate for the newly emerging Free Jazz Avant Garde movement. Sinclair was one of the "New Poets" who read at the seminal Berkeley Poetry Conference in July 1965. In April 1967 he founded the '' Ann Arbor Sun'', a biweekly underground newspaper, with his wife

Leni Sinclair Leni Sinclair, born Magdalene Arndt, is an American photographer and radical political activist. She has photographed rock and jazz musicians since the early 1960s. She was the co-founder of the White Panther Party along with John Sinclair and Pun ...

and artist

Gary Grimshaw Gary Grimshaw (February 25, 1946 – January 13, 2014) was an American graphic artist active in Detroit and San Francisco who specialized in designing rock concert posters. He was also a radical political activist with the White Panther Party and r ...

Involvement with the MC5

Sinclair managed the

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated w ...

-band MC5 from 1966 through 1969. Under his guidance the band embraced the counter-culture revolutionary politics of the

, founded in answer to the

' call for white people to support their movement. During this period, Sinclair booked "The Five" as the regular house band at Detroit's famed

Grande Ballroom The Grande Ballroom ( ') is a historic live music venue located at 8952 Grand River Avenue in the Petosky-Otsego neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. The building was designed by Detroit engineer and architect Charles N. Agree in 1928 and origina ...

in what came to be known as the "Kick out the Jams" shows. He was managing the MC5 at the time of their free concert outside the 1968

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

in Chicago. The band was the only group to perform before police broke up the massive anti-Vietnam war rally because it was turning into a riot. Eventually, the MC5 came to find Sinclair's politics too heavy-handed. He and the band separated in 1969 In 2006, Sinclair joined MC5 bassist Michael Davis to launch the

Music Is Revolution Foundation Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, serving as a general board member.

Imprisonment and public support

After a series of convictions for possession of

, Sinclair was sentenced to ten years in prison in 1969 after offering two

joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

s to an undercover female narcotics officer. The severity of his sentence sparked high-profile protests, including an infamous incident at the 1969

Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

wherein Yippie activist

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...

jumped on the stage and seized a microphone during a performance by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

. Hoffman managed to shout only a few words about Sinclair's plight before he was forcibly ejected from the stage by guitarist

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Towns ...

. With a more successful protest,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

performed his new song "John Sinclair" on television and recorded it for his next album, ''

Some Time in New York City ''Some Time in New York City'' is a part-studio, part-live double album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band that included backing by the American rock band Elephant's Memory. Released in June 1972 in the US and in September 1972 in ...

'' (1972), though by that time Sinclair had been released. With "directness and simplicity", said one critic, the lyrics lament Sinclair's intended harsh punishment: "They gave him ten for two – what else can the bastards do?" Various public and private protests culminated in the "

John Sinclair Freedom Rally The John Sinclair Freedom Rally was a protest and concert in response to the imprisonment of John Sinclair for possession of marijuana held on December 10, 1971, in the Crisler Arena at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The event ...

" at Ann Arbor's Crisler Arena in December 1971. The event brought together celebrities including Lennon and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

; musicians David Peel,

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...

and

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

and

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

; poets

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

and Ed Sanders; and countercultural speakers including

Rennie Davis Rennard Cordon Davis (May 23, 1940 – February 2, 2021) was an American anti-war activist who gained prominence in the 1960s. He was one of the Chicago Seven defendants charged for anti-war demonstrations and large-scale protests at the 1968 De ...

David Dellinger David T. Dellinger (August 22, 1915 – May 25, 2004) was an American pacifist and an activist for nonviolent social change. He achieved peak prominence as one of the Chicago Seven, who were put on trial in 1969. Early life and schooling Delli ...

Jerry Rubin Jerry Clyde Rubin (July 14, 1938 – November 28, 1994) was an American social activist, anti-war leader, and counterculture icon during the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s, he became a successful businessman. He is known for being one of the ...

, and

Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...

. Three days after the rally, Sinclair was released from prison when the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the sta ...

ruled that the state's marijuana statutes were unconstitutional. These events inspired the creation of Ann Arbor's annual pro-legalization

Hash Bash Hash Bash is an annual event held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, originally held every April 1, but now on the first Saturday of April at noon on the University of Michigan Diag. A collection of speeches, live music, and occasional civil disobedience a ...

rally. In 1972,

Leonard Weinglass Leonard Irving Weinglass (August 27, 1933 – March 23, 2011) was a U.S. criminal defense lawyer and constitutional law advocate, best known for his defense of participants in the 1960s counterculture. He was admitted to the bar in New Jer ...

took on the defense of Sinclair in Detroit, Michigan after he was charged with conspiracy to destroy government property along with Larry 'Pun' Plamondon and John Forrest. The case became '' United States v. U.S. District Court'', 407 U.S. 297 (1972), on appeal to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. The Court rendered a landmark decision prohibiting the US government's use of domestic electronic surveillance without a warrant, freeing Sinclair and his co-defendants.

Writing, performances, and poetry

Sinclair has been writing a newspaper column on

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

, "Free the Weed," since the mid-1980s. The primary focus of Sinclair's column has been the social history of cannabis use in the US; however, he often touches upon the global campaign for its legalisation. Since the mid-1990s Sinclair has performed and recorded his spoken word pieces with his band The Blues Scholars, which has included such musicians as Wayne Kramer, Brock Avery, Charles Moore, Doug Lunn, and Paul Ill, among many others. He also performed as a distinctive disc jockey for New Orleans' WWOZ Radio, the public jazz and heritage station. On March 22, 2006, Sinclair joined

The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Ge ...

on stage at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, and read his poem "Monk in Orbit" during the instrumental break in the song "Nonfiction". Two days later, he went back onstage at the Black Crowes show in the Paradiso, reading his poem "Fat Boy" during the long instrumental jam following the Black Crowes' song, "How Much for Your Wings?". On January 20, 2009, to mark

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

's inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, Sinclair performed a series of his poems accompanied by a live band, featuring Elliott Levin, Tony Bianco and Jair-Rohm Parker Wells at Cafe OTO in Dalston,

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the ...

. In 2011, Sinclair recorded spoken-word for the intro to the song “Best Lasts Forever” by Scottish band The View (band), produced by Youth (musician).

The John Sinclair Foundation

Created in 2004, The John Sinclair Foundation is a non-profit organization based out of

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Its mission is to ensure the preservation and proper presentation of the creative works via in poetry, music, performance, journalism, editing and publishing, broadcast and record production of John Sinclair. To date, the foundation has produced books, zines, records, and documentaries highlighting John Sinclair's contribution to the historic cannabis legalization effort, rock music in Detroit, and psychedelic communitarianism.

Discography

John Sinclair has recorded several of his poems and essays. On these albums blues and jazz musicians provide psychedelic soundscapes to accompany his delivery: *01 John Sinclair: ''thelonious: a book of monk'' (1996) – New Alliance Records *02 John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars: ''Full Moon Night'' ive(1994) – Alive/Total Energy Records *03 John Sinclair with Ed Moss Society Jazz Orchestra: ''If I Could Be With You'' ive(1996) – SchoolKids Records *04 John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars: ''Full Circle'' (1997) – Alive Records hoice Studio Album *05 John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars: ''White Buffalo Prayer'' ive(2000) – SpyBoy Records *06 John Sinclair: ''Underground Issues'' ompilations(2000) – SpyBoy Records *07 John Sinclair & His Boston Blues Scholars: ''Steady Rollin' Man Live'' ive(2001) – triPup Records * OX-1John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars: ''Fattening Frogs For Snakes, Volume One: The Delta Sound'' (2002) – Okra-Tone Records/Rooster Blues *08 John Sinclair: ''KnockOut'' (2002) – D-Men Records *09 John Sinclair & Monster Island: ''PeyoteMind'' (2002) – Future Is Now Records *10 John Sinclair: ''It's All Good'' ompilation(2005) – Big Chief Records *11 John Sinclair: ''No Money Down: Greatest Hits, Volume 1'' ompilation(2005) – Big Chief Records *12 John Sinclair & Mark Ritsema: ''criss cross'' (2005) – Big Chief Records hoice Studio Album * OX-2John Sinclair: ''Fattening Frogs For Snakes, Volume Two: Country Blues'' (2005) – No Cover Records *13 John Sinclair: ''Guitar Army'' (2007)- Process Media lbum Inserted In Printing Of Book *14 John Sinclair & Pinkeye: ''Tearing Down the Shrine of Truth & Beauty'' ive(2008) – LocoGnosis Records *15 John Sinclair & His Motor City Blues Scholars: ''Detroit Life'' (2008)- No Cover Records Choice Studio Album * OX-3John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars: ''Fattening Frogs For Snakes, Volume Three: Don't Start Me To Talking'' (2009) – Big Chief Records *16 John Sinclair & Planet D Nonet: ''Viper Madness'' (2010) – No Cover Records Choice Studio Album *17 John Sinclair: It's All Good: ''A John Sinclair Reader'' (2010) – No Cover Records *18 John Sinclair & His International Blues Scholars: ''Let's Go Get 'Em'' (2011) – No Cover Records Choice Studio Album *19 John Sinclair & Hollow Bones: ''Honoring The Local Gods'' ive(2011) – Straw2Gold Records *20 John Sinclair: ''Song of Praise — Homage to John Coltrane'' ive(2011) – Trembling Pillow Press *21 John Sinclair: ''Beatnik Youth'' (2012) – Track Records hoice Studio Album*22 John Sinclair: ''Conspiracy Theory'' ompilation(2012) – Big Chief Records *23 John Sinclair: ''Viperism'' ompilation(2012) – Big Chief Records * OX-4John Sinclair & His Blues Scholars: ''Fattening Frogs For Snakes, Volume Four: Natural From Our Hearts'' (unissued) *24 John Sinclair: ''Mohawk'' (2014) – Iron Man Records *25 John Sinclair: ''Beatnik Youth Ambient'' (2017) – Iron Man Records *26 John Sinclair: ''Mobile Homeland'' (2017) - Jett Plastic Recordings/Funky D Records *27 John Sinclair: ''Beatnik Youth'' (2017) – Iron Man Records

References

External links

*
Radio Free Amsterdam DJ Schedule 2018 , JohnSinclair.US
'The John Sinclair Radio Show''] at Radio Free Amsterdam
"Marijuana Revolution"
a 1971 essay by John Sinclair

at ''Woodstock Story''

at ''Stay Thirsty''

at the

Bentley Historical Library The Bentley Historical Library is the campus archive for the University of Michigan and is located on the University of Michigan's North Campus in Ann Arbor. It was established in 1935 by the regents of the University of Michigan. Its mission ...

Twenty to Life: The Life & Times of John Sinclair (film 2004) on IMDb

Interview with John Sinclair
�by Stephen McKiernan, Binghamton University Libraries Center for the Study of the 1960s, August 17, 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, John 1941 births Living people People from Flint, Michigan Writers from Flint, Michigan 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets Poets from Michigan University of Michigan–Flint alumni American people convicted of drug offenses Yippies American cannabis activists American expatriates in the Netherlands