The term San Francisco Renaissance is used as a global designation for a range of poetic activity centred around that city and which brought it to prominence as a hub of the American poetic avant-garde. However, others (e.g., Ralph J. Gleason, Alan Watts) felt this renaissance was a broader phenomenon and should be seen as also encompassing visual and performing arts, philosophy, cross-cultural interests (particularly those that involved Asian cultures), and new social sensibilities. Bust of Homer, one of the earliest European poets, in the British Museum Poetry (ancient Greek: ποιεω (poieo) = I create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... This article is about the city in California. ... Ralph J. Gleason (1917-1975) was an influential American jazz and pop music critic. ... From The Essential Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (January 6, 1915 – November 16, 1973) was a philosopher, writer, speaker, and expert in comparative religion. ...

First beginnings

The poet Kenneth Rexroth is generally considered to be the founding father of the renaissance. Rexroth was a prominent 2nd generation modernist poet who corresponded with Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and was published in the Objectivist Anthology. He was amongst the first American poets to explore Japanese poetry traditions such as haiku and was also heavily influenced by jazz. American poet and translator Kenneth Rexroth (December 22, 1905 – June 6, 1982) was among the first poets in the United States to explore Japanese poetry traditions such as haiku. ... Mountebanks ... Ezra Pound in 1913. ... William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (sometimes known as WCW) (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963), was an American poet closely associated with Modernism. ... The Objectivist poets were a loose-knit group of second-generation Modernists who emerged in the 1930s. ... Haiku (俳句) is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poetry. ... Jazz is a musical art form characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. ...

If Rexroth was the founding father, Madeline Gleason was the founding mother. During the 1940s, both she and Rexroth befriended a group of younger Berkeley poets consisting of Robert Duncan, Jack Spicer and Robin Blaser. Gleason and Duncan were particularly close and read and criticised each other's work. Madeline Gleason (1909-1973) was a United States poet and dramatist who was partly responsible for bringing about the San Francisco Renaissance. ... University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (also known as Cal, UC Berkeley, UCB, or simply Berkeley) is a public coeducational university situated in the foothills of Berkeley, California, USA to the east of San Francisco Bay, overlooking the Golden Gate. ... Robert Duncan (1919-1988) was an American poet associated with the Black Mountain poets and the beat generation. ... Jack Spicer (1925-1965) was an American poet and dramatist who was a key part of the San Francisco Renaissance. ... Robin Blaser (born 18 May 1925) is a noted author and poet in both the United States and Canada. ...

A movement emerges

In April 1947, Gleason organised the First Festival of Modern Poetry at the Lucien Labaudt Gallery, Gough Street. Over the space of two evenings, she brought twelve poets, including Rexroth, Robert Duncan and Spiceer to an audience of young poets and poetry lovers. This was the first public recognition of the range of experimental poetic practice that was current in the city. April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

During the 1950s, Duncan and Robert Creeley both spent periods of time teaching at Black Mountain College and acted as links between the San Francisco poets and the Black Mountain poets. Many of the San Francisco writers began to publish in Cid Corman's Origin and in the Black Mountain Review, the house journals of the Black Mountain group. Spicer's interest in the canto jondo also led to links with the deep image poets. In 1957, Spicer ran his seminal Poetry as Magic at San Francisco State College with Duncan as a participant. Robert Creeley (May 21, 1926 - March 30, 2005) was an American poet, author of more than sixty books, and usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that schools. ... From the time of its founding by John Rice in 1933, Black Mountain College, located near Asheville, North Carolina, was known as one of the leading progressive schools of art in the United States. ... The Black Mountain poets, sometimes called the Projectivist poets, were a group of mid 20th century American avant-garde or postmodern poets centered around Black Mountain College. ... Cid Corman (1924 - March 12, 2004) was an American poet, translator and editor who was a key figure in the history of American poetry in the second half of the 20th century. ... Deep image is a term coined by Jerome Rothenberg and used to describe poetry written by him and by Robert Kelly, Diane Wakoski and Clayton Eshleman. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... San Francisco State University is a branch of the California State University system. ...

The Beats

Around the same time that Duncan, Spicer and Blaser were at Berkeley, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen and Lew Welch were attending Reed College together. these three were to form the nucleus of the West Coast wing of the Beat generation. Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet (often associated with the Beat Generation); and an essayist, lecturer, and an environmental activist who is frequently described as the laureate of Deep Ecology — both roles reflecting his studies of Buddhist spirituality and nature. ... Philip Whalen (October 20, 1923 – June 26, 2002) was a poet and a key figure in the San Francisco Renaissance and the Beat generation. ... Lew Welch (1926-1971?) was a poet associated with the Beats. ... Reed College is a liberal arts college with 1341 students as of the fall of 2004 (45% men and 55% women), located in Portland, Oregon in the quiet Eastmoreland neighborhood. ... Beatnik redirects here. ...

In 1953, Lawrence Ferlinghetti established the City Lights Bookstore and started publishing from City Lights Press two years later. Snyder and Whalen, along with Michael McClure, were among the poets who performed at the famous poetry reading at the Six Gallery in San Francisco on October 13 (or October 7, sources vary), 1955. This reading signalled the full emergence of the San Francisco Renaissance into the public consciousness and helped establish the city's reputation as a centre for countercultural activity that came to full flower during the hippie years of the 1960s. A short fictional account of this event forms the second chapter of Jack Kerouac's 1958 novel The Dharma Bums. Kerouac had attended the reading with some of his poet friends. 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Ferlinghetti (born March 24, 1919) is a poet who is best known as the co-owner of the City Lights Bookstore and publishing house, which published early literary works of the Beat Generation, including Jack Kerouac, Kenneth Rexroth and Allen Ginsberg. ... The City Lights Bookstore, in the North Beach section of San Francisco, is an independent bookstore specializing in poetry. ... Michael McClure (October 20, 1932) is an American poet and playwright. ... This article is about the city in California. ... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years). ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hippie (or sometimes hippy) is a term originally used to describe some of the rebellious youth of the 1960s and 1970s. ... Jack Kerouac (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, artist, and one of the most prominent members of the Beat Generation. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Dharma Bums cover The Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. ...

Legacy

Some of the songwriters of the upcoming rock-music generation read and appreciated writers like Kerouac, Snyder, McClure, and Ginsberg (e.g., Bob Dylan, for one, has talked about this). Hence, given that much of the late-'60s wave of groundbreaking rock music developed within rock's famous "San Francisco Sound," it seems very likely that the writers of the San Francisco Renaissance had an influence on the lyrics, both artistically and in terms of attitudes to living. Both Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Michael McClure were featured on-stage in the rock-star jammed The Last Waltz, a documentary and concert film made by Martin Scorcese about The Band (who had an immense following in the late '60s to mid '70s) and a large number of their musical friends. Portrait photograph of Bob Dylan taken by Daniel Kramer Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman May 24, 1941) is widely regarded as one of Americas greatest popular songwriters. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Ferlinghetti (born March 24, 1919) is a poet who is best known as the co-owner of the City Lights Bookstore and publishing house, which published early literary works of the Beat Generation, including Jack Kerouac, Kenneth Rexroth and Allen Ginsberg. ... Michael McClure (October 20, 1932) is an American poet and playwright. ... The Last Waltz is the name of The Bands final concert, the Martin Scorsese documentary film about the concert, and the album of the concert. ... Martin Scorsese (born November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York, USA) is an American film director. ... The Band. ...

References

Print

• Wagstaff, Christopher (ed). Madeline Gleason: Collected Poems 1919–1979 (has a very useful historical introduction)

Online

• The Beats and the San Francisco Renaissance (http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/exhibits/sixties/beatssf.html) Captured April 25, 2005.
• City Lights Web site (http://www.citylights.com/) Captured April 25, 2005.