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Time, Place, and Conditions

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Length: 00:07:37

Political radical and former prisoner, Ray Levasseur sorts out his past, present, and future. Read the full description.
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Piece Description

After serving 20 years in prison for actions taken against the United States government, Ray Levasseur begins the search for his place in his family and as a political activist in a country very different from the one he left.

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Review of Time, Place, and Conditions

Ray Luke Levasseur reflects on a life...missed. He spent 20 years in prison for the crimes of the Ohio Seven. Beginning in 1974 he and his partners went underground and simply dissappeared. Then in 1984 after a major FBI manhunt, he was captured and imprisoned for crimes against the US government, including more than 20 bombings.

The piece is one side of an interview with Levasseur recently let out of prison, and beginning to rebuild his life. He comes off changed, mellowed, but clearly unrepentent for the bombings that he says "resulted in no personal injuries, simply property damamge." Moments after he says this he proudly shows off pictures of this children and grand children, then jumps right back into detailing some of the crimes he considered are still perpetrated everyday by the US Government in communities around the world. "One person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter!"

The piece is mixed with occassional elements of rythmic ethereal music, but is otherwise clean of only this man's voice. It is moving in its simplicity and the clarity of Levasseur's thoughts. It would need to be placed properly within a larger context. The audio quality is excellent, as is the editing.

Musical Works

"The Great Lover," Erwin Van Moll, A Journey Into Ambient Groove 4," Quango Records, 1997.
"Collage of Dreams," John Beltran, "Dimensions in Ambiance 2," 1997, Quango Records