Radical Faerie Ted "Haia" Burk dies http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=3760
02/26/2009 by Liz Highleyman [email protected] Radical Faerie Ted Burk, better known to his community as Haia, died in his sleep on January 6 after a long period of declining health. He was 73. "Through out the 1980s and 1990s, Haia was an important figure in the San Francisco Radical Faerie movement," said longtime friend Joey Cain. "He brought both a humor and a depth that were truly fae and inspired many." Mr. Burk (originally named Ted Joseph Berkowitz) was born in Nebraska on July 23, 1935. His family later moved to the San Fernando Valley, and he liked to say he grew up in Hollywood. Mr. Burk attended the University of California at Los Angeles, earning a bachelor's degree in theater arts. He served in the Army in Korea at the end of the Korean War in the early 1950s, where he was a base disc jockey. Mr. Burk was politically active throughout his life. According to a biography compiled by a friend, he worked on the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy, and once breakfasted with the candidate and his wife Jackie. He later took part in protests against the Vietnam War. He also traveled widely, visiting Europe, India, and South America. With his love for poetry, Mr. Burk gravitated toward Beatnik, bohemian, and hippie circles, and he regarded psychedelic drugs as a path to enlightenment. He recalled reading poetry with Allen Ginsberg in New York City, and he met Abby Hoffman in jail while doing time for financial misdeeds. During the mid-1960s, Mr. Burk's band, the CIA (Citizens for Interplanetary Activity), shared the bill with up-and coming stars such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. He later recalled conversing with Hendrix about UFOs and drinking with Joplin in Buena Vista Park. While exploring the Hare Krishna movement, Mr. Burk hung out at John Lennon's compound near London and performed with George Harrison on an album of Hindu chants. When Hare Krishna guru Prabhupada encouraged him to marry, however, Mr. Burk decided the group was not for him. During the 1970s, Mr. Burk adopted the name "Haia," which he said he got from an Ouija board. He performed with the Angels of Light theatrical troupe, a successor to the Cockettes. A Radical Faerie for more than 20 years starting in the early 1980s, Mr. Burk was known for the male elf dolls he collected. He often shared his poems and drawings at the regular San Francisco Faerie heart circles in the Haight. "He was a man who would greet you with a brother hug and a hand full of little tiny flowers," Mr. Burk's friend and caretaker Steve Mitchell wrote in a tribute. "He was a man that beguiled the Radical Faeries with his poetry, wit, and zany magical charisma." Mr. Burk is survived by Mitchell, his brother Bruce Berk, and his cat Misha. A celebration of his life and art will take place Sunday, March 8, at 2 p.m. at 455 14th Street in San Francisco. . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
