San Francisco Beats and Rebirths

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the San Francisco Renaissance, which arose from the West Coast Bohemianism, in comparison to the New York School and the Black Mountain School. It shows how the San Francisco Renaissance was particularly important because it not only represented the collected works of geographically limited poets, but also served as a center from which ideas were exchanged and brought to life. It also discusses how one would be hard pressed to firmly separate any of the important beat poets from the San Francisco Renaissance, such as Robert Duncan and Robert Creeley.

From the Paper:

"The first reading for the San Francisco Renaissance featured poetry by Kenneth Rexroth, Jack Spicer, and Robert Duncan. The latter would shortly serve as a teacher at the Black Mountain College, working with fellow San Franciscan Robert Creelet to forge strong links between the two schools. (Wikipedia, "San Francisco...") Yet despite this early reading, and similar such displays of avant- garde work, the true emergence of the San Francisco Renaissance was linked to a reading at a much later date. In October of 1955, at the Six Gallery, influential San Francisco poets Mike McClure, Gary Snyder, and Phil Whalen were joined by newcomer Allen Ginsberg (and Lamantia reading the work of a deceased poet)."

More papers on San Francisco Beats and Rebirths:

• Term Paper # 129724 : "Geology and the San Francisco Bay"
• Descriptive Essay # 122589 : "San Francisco and Los Angeles"
• Book Review # 28642 : "Imperial San Francisco"

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