Former Punk Pagan Looks Back
The Newspaper Tree in El Paso interviews artist, educator, and practicing Pagan Bonnie Lyons about growing up in New York in the sixties, and embracing punk-rock along with modern Paganism in the seventies.
Bonnie Lyons, photo by Richard Baron
“My college years ushered in the beginning of the Punk scene, and I was enthralled with the energy of the music and the lifestyle that went with the music. Having started out as a folk kid and then being a hippie kid who survived the disco era, I embraced the Punk scene. In 1977-78 I lived in the East Village in NYC, on 13th Street and 2nd Ave., with my boyfriend and my tribe mates, all of them still my friends today. This era in my life was also the start of my Magical training and started me on the Pagan path that I presently walk. Five of us paid $200 a month ($40 each!) for a five-room railroad flat apartment on the first floor, with steel gates across the front window and many locks on the front door. Most of the time we had enough food, hot water and heat to share with fellow musicians, magicians, artists and other folks in the scene. I didn’t hang as much as the “Bridge and Tunnel” crowd at CBGBs, as we always had punk bands and other musicians living and rehearsing in our midst and we didn’t have to pay for live music.”
The entire interview is a fascinating read, it is a shame they didn’t venture further into her religious history, a series of interviews like this with modern Pagans who have been involved with the community for thirty years or more could be a great boon to future generations.
