1932- American
poet, essayist and
playwright. A member of the
Beat Generation.
In 1954 he went to San Francisco and got caught up in the Beat Poetry scene. He was one of the five poets who read at the famous Six Gallery reading which included Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Bob Kaufman and was MCed by Kenneth Rexroth. That night he read the poems, For the Death of 100 Whales and Point Lobos: Animism.
He became part of what was later called the San Francisco Renaissance. In the process, he met Kenneth Patchen, Bob Kaufman and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. A year later he met Jack Kerouac and Gregory Corso. He appears as one of the characters in Jack's novel "Big Sur".
In 1958 Wallace Berman in LA introduced him to Peyote. As a result, he wrote Peyote Poem.
He went on to be a part of the counter culture and participated in the "Human Be-In" during the Summer of Love.
He wrote:
Still writing today, and also a member in good standing of the Cosmic Baseball Association.
Related nodes
Sources:
Miles, Barry, "Jack Kerouac, King of the Beats", Henry Holt and Co., New York, 1998
Last Updated 11.09.02