- published: 29 Jan 2014
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Barry Miles (or "Miles", born 1943, Cirencester, England) is an English author known for his participation in and writing on the subject of the 1960s London underground. He has written numerous books and his work has also regularly appeared in left-wing papers such as The Guardian. In the 1960s, he was co-owner of the Indica Gallery and helped start the independent newspaper International Times.
In the 1960s, Miles worked at Better Books, which was managed by Tony Godwin. Godwin was friends with Lawrence Ferlinghetti with whom he would exchange Penguin books for City Lights publications. In 1965 Allen Ginsberg gave a reading at Better Books which led to the International Poetry Incarnation, a seminal event that was co-organised by Miles.
In 1965 Miles and his wife, the former Susan Crane, introduced McCartney to hash brownies by using a recipe for hash fudge which they had found in The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook.
Following the International Poetry Incarnation, Miles established the Indica Gallery and Bookshop, allowing him to meet many of the stars of the Swinging London social scene. Miles brought Paul McCartney into contact with people who wanted to start the International Times, which McCartney helped to fund.