cloudbusting in organon

As it turns out, the locale in "Cloudbusting" is Organon, rather than Algernon, as it appears on many lyrics websites. I believe that there was a copyright infringement issue when the song came out, and the name "Organon" had to be omitted. You were given Organon as a clue with the handout, and as it turns out, you let this "clue" slip by. That's okay, but remember in the future to use the clues that are close at hand. My point with this assignment was to show that a poem (a song) is merely a snippet of the whole that allows you, the reader, to fill in any necessary details. The direction you take is clearly yours, as long as you supply the evidence to bring it all together. As it turns out, with "Cloudbusting," the video leads us in the direction of intent by the author/poet.

As you've discovered, it goes well beyond what we could have imagined. The song is based on a novel entitled The Book of Dreams by Peter Reich, written from a child's point of view. The boy's father is everything to him; he is the magic in his life, and he teaches him all he knows, particularly to be open-minded and not to build barriers. His father has built a machine that can make it rain, a "cloudbuster"; and the son and his father go out together cloudbusting, until the fateful day when the men in the car come to take the father away. The novel is a fantasy of childhood and yet it explores the difficulties and pain of losing one's father. Didn't know all that was there, did you?

There's more. The story is true. It was written by the son of American Psycho-analyst, Werner Reich whose theories of "Orgone Energy" (get it, Organon?) had the ever-increasingly nervous American Secret Service watchful of Werner's every move. Werner Reich died on November 3, 1957, in the Federal Penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. His criminal charge was based on his refusal to stop selling the Orgone Accumulator , which could collect and distribute Orgone Energy, thereby making possible the cure for EVERYTHING. Put yourself in a little boy's shoes now. Is Daddy the coolest, or what?

What we end up with in The Book of Dreams, by Peter Reich, is a fantasy based on the author's life. It's a beautiful novel of hope and heartache, and ranks among the best of children's chapter books. The fact that it's based on a true, albeit wacky, story just makes it that much more interesting.