<TitleType>01</TitleType> <TitleText>City Lights/Grey Fox</TitleText>

City Lights Books transfers@onixsuite.com 20130918 eng

COM.ONIXSUITE.9780872865907 03 01 City Lights Books 01 GCOI 87286100395340 02 0872865908 03 9780872865907 15 9780872865907 BC <TitleType>01</TitleType> <TitleText>City Lights/Grey Fox</TitleText> <TitleType>01</TitleType> <TitleText textcase="02">Robert Duncan in San Francisco</TitleText> 1 A01 Rumaker, Michael Michael Rumaker Michael Rumaker has written several novels and short story collections, as well as the memoir Black Mountain Days. He was born in Philadelphia and is a graduate of Black Mountain College—where Duncan served as his outside thesis advisor—and Columbia University. He taught at City University of New York and the New School for Social Research. 01 eng 146 00 146 03 24 Internet CL Hierarchy Beat Generation 24 Internet CL Hierarchy Biography/Memoir 24 Internet CL Hierarchy San Francisco Literature & History 01 "A harrowing picture of what life was like for a homosexual man in San Francisco before the Castro became the Castro."—Truthout A newly expanded edition of an enduring classic, Robert Duncan in San Francisco is both a portrait of the premier poet of the SF Renaissance and a fascinating account of gay life in late 1950s America. Following his graduation from Black Mountain College, Michael Rumaker made his way to the post-Howl, pre-Stonewall gay literary milieu of San Francisco, where he entered the circle of Robert Duncan. His account of that time gives an unvarnished look at Duncan's magnetic personality and occasional failings, while delivering vivid snapshots of other significant poets like Jack Spicer, John Wieners, and Joanne Kyger, against the backdrop of legendary North Beach haunts like The Place, Vesuvio, and City Lights Books. Contrasting Duncan's daringly frank homosexuality with his own then-closeted life, Rumaker conjures up with harrowing detail an era of police persecution of a largely clandestine gay community struggling to survive in the otherwise "open city" of San Francisco. First published in 1996, this expanded edition includes a selection of previously unpublished letters between Rumaker and Duncan, and an interview conducted for this edition, in which Rumaker provides further reflections on the poet and the period. Praise for Robert Duncan in San Francisco: "This is a wonderfully revealing account of a series of life-changing collisions between a young writer (Rumaker), an older writer(Duncan), a still older mentor for both (Charles Olson), a city (San Francisco), and an important era in American literature (the 1950s), when it was being turned upside down by the individuals and their friends. It's also a tender and intelligent account of a young man's coming to grips with being gay in the midst of this upheaval. Much more than memoir; it's history."—Russell Banks "Robert Duncan in San Francisco offers a surprising portrait of a mentor in all his witty, wicked, luminous, and vulnerable complexity. Straddling the lines of memoir and cultural history, Michael Rumaker gives a rare and delightful view of Duncan at home in the gay community while also documenting the struggles of that community in 1950s America." —Lisa Jarnot, author of Robert Duncan, The Ambassador from Venus "In this fine memoir of his 16 months in San Francisco, Rumaker learns many lessons about being at home with who he is, in what he calls 'Robert's city.'"—Joanne Kyger 02 A revealing portrait of a major poet of the SF Renaissance and a gripping account of late '50s gay life. 08 "In Robert Duncan in San Francisco, the reader finds himself in the middle of an extended conversation. It is not a linear narrative. At times, it even reads like prose poetry...a portrait of friendship among a group of exceptional writers, and a historical document about gay life at a unique time and place in America. Rumaker's memoir is a valuable addition to the books by and about Black Mountain writers, and on hopes that it engenders further interest in, and study of, their work."—Jim Nawrocki The Gay and Lesbian Review 08 "[Robert] Duncan was ahead of his time and his frank homosexuality inspired [author Michael] Rumaker to embrace his own. 'Robert Duncan in San Francisco' stands with books like Christopher Isherwood's 'A Single Man' as important works on gay liberation." KCET 08 "Robert Duncan in San Francisco is a one-of-a-kind glimpse into Duncan's life, written by Michael Rumaker, one of the rare firsthand chroniclers of the pre-Stonewall era of gay culture." Bookslut 08 "This isn't a memoir solely about the physical presence of Robert Duncan. It’s also about the presence of his spirit that inspired those in his orbit, many of whom found the courage to add to the literary lake." Lambda Literary 08 "[Robert Duncan in San Francisco]looks at the intriguing relationship between the famous, their fans and the soon-to-be famous." San Francisco Chronicle 08 "This expanded edition of a local classic is not only a portrait of the S.F. Renaissance poet, but also a glimpse of pre-Stonewall gay life in the late-1950s. Author Michael Rumaker knew Duncan, and he shares the good with the bad, set against legendary North Beach haunts." —Alexis Coe SF Weekly: Read Local 08 "Duncan was witty, wicked, brilliant and complex yet he did not hide who he was or his sexual lifestyle. In this book, which is part memoir and part cultural history, we get a fascinating look at the man and his friends." Reviews by Amos Lassen 08 "... wonderful and exuberant yet Rumaker, outlining his friendship with Duncan and his associations with his crowd… reveals the dark side of San Francisco in the 1950s and 60s." The Beat Scene 08 "…the book offers an intriguing view of the city during the pre-Stonewall era. Of particular interest are previously unpublished letters between Rumaker and Duncan." San Jose Mercury News 23 01 http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100395340/extras/RobertDuncaninSanFranciscoExcerptCL.pdf 04 03 72 01 http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100395340/images/87286100395340L.jpg 07 03 72 01 http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100395340/images/87286100395340S.jpg http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100395340 City Lights Publishers 01 City Lights Publishers 02 20130113 08 16 oz City Lights Books 01 WORLD 20 20130113 01 02 12.95 USD