Michael McClure obit

Michael McClure, famed Beat poet who helped launch the SF Renaissance, dead at 87

 

He was not on the list.

Michael McClure, the young poet recruited to put together the famed Six Gallery readings in 1955 that launched the San Francisco Renaissance and the legend of the Beats, died Monday, May 4, at his home in the Oakland hills. He was 87.

McClure died from the lingering effects of a stroke he suffered in spring 2019, Garrett Caples, a close friend and editor at City Lights Publishers, told The Chronicle the day after McClure’s death.

“Michael was incredibly gracious, erudite, and totally dedicated to the poet’s calling,” said Elaine Katzenberger, publisher of City Lights, which put out McClure’s works going all the way back to 1963’s “Meat Science Essays.” “He was a sometimes-trickster, most definitely a provocateur, and yet, quite solicitous and patient, a sage who was beautiful inside and out.”

That first public reading for McClure, then 22 years old, was overshadowed by the introduction of “Howl,” by Allen Ginsberg. But McClure outlasted all of the Beats in a career that spanned more than 60 years. He published more than 30 books of poetry, plays and anthologies, most recently 2017’s “Persian Pony” and 2016’s “Mephistos and other Poems,” the latter anchored by a poem that took him 16 years to write.

“The poems dive through time and space like dolphins through the waves,” McClure said at the time of publication of “Mephistos,” released by City Lights.

With his cinematic looks and mod three-piece suits, McClure made it onto stages far bigger than those offered at poetry readings. He read at the Human Be-In at Golden Gate Park that launched the Summer of Love in 1967  and at the Band’s “Last Waltz” at Winterland in 1976.

“Without the roar of McClure, there would have been no ’60s,” actor Dennis Hopper once said.

An article in the Los Angeles Times described him as the role model for Jim Morrison of the Doors. He later had a long association with another member of the Doors, Ray Manzarek. They recorded together and toured together, with McClure reading to the accompaniment of Manzarek on keyboards.

“Michael was one of the most significant American poets of the latter half of the 20th century,” Caples said. “He had a place in popular culture in addition to literary culture that not many poets have been able to occupy.”

McClure also wrote novels, plays and songs, most famously “Mercedes-Benz,” which he co-wrote for Janis Joplin. With Manzarek, he played 200 gigs across America, Mexico and Japan. This helped McClure buy the home at the base of Butters Canyon in the Oakland hills, where he lived for 20 years with his second wife, sculptor Amy Evans McClure.

“I never got any poetry to make a cent,” he told The Chronicle in 2003. But teaching paid, and for 43 years he was a professor of poetry at California College of the Arts. He started there in 1963 and was still teaching when he was bestowed an honorary doctorate degree, in 2005, as the longest-tenured faculty member at the art college.

“There is no way that you can read a poem by Michael McClure without experiencing some kind of connection with something primal and cosmic,” Juvenal Acosta, dean of Humanities and Sciences and professor of writing and literature at CCA, told The Chronicle in 2018. “He has changed the way we speak and read American poetry.”

Well into his 80s, McClure remained a poet in demand, both for his current work and for his association with the Beats. He and Gary Snyder were the only poets still alive who had read at Six Gallery on Oct. 7, 1955.

McClure was living at Scott and Haight streets and coming over the hill to Six Gallery, which had sculptures hanging from the rafters and a plank stage on the floor, on Fillmore at Greenwich streets. He had been asked to organize the reading, but his time was tight, with a wife who was expecting. He foisted the organizational duty on Ginsberg, who recruited Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Philip Lamantia and Kenneth Rexroth. Each of the poets read several works. Lawrence Ferlinghetti was in the room, but did not read. Neither did Jack Kerouac, busy as he was with his drinking.

In his nonfiction account of that night, “Scratching the Surface of the Beats,” published in 1982, McClure sets the stage for the revolution that was to follow in the mid-1950s:

“The world that we tremblingly stepped out into in that decade was a bitter, gray one. But San Francisco was a special place. Rexroth said it was to the arts what Barcelona was to Spanish Anarchism. Still, there was no way, even in San Francisco to escape the pressure of the war culture. we were locked in the pressure of the Cold War and the first Asian debacle — the Korean War.  My self image in those years was of finding myself — young, high, a little crazed, needing a haircut, in an elevator with burly crew-cutted, square jawed eminences, staring at me like I was misplaced cannon fodder. … We saw that the art of poetry was essentially dead — killed by war, by academies, by neglect, by lack of love, and by disinterest. We knew we could bring it back to life.”

Each of the poets was given about 10 minutes to read and McClure’s contributions were “Point Lobos: Animism,” “Night Words: the Ravishing,” and one simply titled “Poem.” (“There was no other title because it was as far as I had been able to go in poetry.”)

His final reading that night was “For the Death of 100 Whales,” which is credited with launching the concept of eco-poetics and presaged the “Save the Whales” movement by Greenpeace by about 20 years. Put together, the works read that night brought verse out of the rigid form and into the free-form literature most commonly associated with Kerouac’s 1957 novel “On the Road.”

“It was the critical moment for the Beat Generation, the grouping together of five young proto-anarchists and Buddhists,” said McClure of the Six Gallery Reading. “As we spoke, we realized from the results that we were speaking for the people. We were saying what they needed and wanted to hear, and that encouraged us. We drew a line in the sand and decided not to back off that line.”

In addition to his own books, McClure figured as a character in others. In Kerouac’s autobiographical novel, “Big Sur,” he is portrayed as Pat McLear.

“McLear is the handsome young poet who’s just written the most fantastic poem in America, ‘Dark Brown,’ which is every detail of his and his wife’s body described in ecstatic union and communion and inside out and everywhichaway and not only that he insists on reading it to us,” exults Kerouac’s own fictional character, Jack Duluoz.

McClure was a literary bridge between the Beats, the hippies, and the animals in the zoo he once read to.

“Michael was the youngest of the poets that became known as the Beats,” Ferlinghetti told The Chronicle three years ago, at 99. “He was not only the youngest, he was completely different than anyone else. He spoke in beast language.”

McClure was born Oct. 20, 1932, in Marysville, Kansas. His parents divorced when he was young and he moved to Seattle. After graduating from high school, he attended Wichita State and the University of Arizona before finally earning his bachelor of arts at San Francisco State University in 1955, shortly before the Six Gallery reading.

His first book of poetry, “Passage,” was published in 1956, and he hustled to earn a living, with his first wife and fellow poet Joanna, and daughter, Jane, to support, until 1963 when he was hired at CCA.

By the time Acosta came to the faculty in 1998, McClure was semiretired.

“He was always the cool cat. He always wore black,” Acosta said. One time, Acosta ventured to ask why. “Those of us who wear black are in mourning for ourselves,” he was told by McClure.

A practicing Buddhist, he liked to start his day with meditation and a hike in the redwood forest uphill from his house. At age 83, he slipped on slick footing under the redwoods and his legs went out from under him. “I was temporarily suspended in the air like Wile E. Coyote and then dropped,” he recalled.

He required hip surgery and it took a long recovery, which left him with a tremor and unable to read poetry off the page. But it didn’t stop him.

For one of his last Bay Area events, a 2015 reading in Palo Alto, he had his poems written on the wall, as captions for a series of horse paintings done by his wife, Amy. He walked around the room repeating the words and horse whinny sounds, and the audience was entranced.

At the end, the audience wanted more, so he reached for his book, “Ghost Tantras,” published in 1964 and reprinted by City Lights in a 50th anniversary edition. His hands were so shaky they could barely turn the page, but they found their way to tantra 39.

“This poem comes from 1962,” he announced before beginning the reading.

“MARILYN MONROE, TODAY THOU HAS PASSED THE DARK BARRIER — diving in a swirl of golden hair. I hope you have entered a sacred paradise for full warm bodies, full lips, full hips, and laughing eyes!”

In June 2016, McClure appeared at a six-day festival in Manhattan called “Beat & Beyond.” The hipsters who organized the event called McClure “El Authentico,” and asked him to portray himself in a poem-by-poem reenactment. He declined and instead played the role of Kenneth Rexroth, who was the emcee of the affair.

The house was full and it was filmed for a documentary, further evidence that the Six Gallery readings will live on and on, just like the legend of the Beats.

So will McClure’s journals, which are now in the collection of the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. McClure’s last book of new poems, “The Persian Pony,” was released by Ekstasis Editions of Victoria, B.C., in 2017.

Writer

Curses and Sermons (2009)

Curses and Sermons

Short

written by

2009

 

Rebel Roar: The Sound of Michael McClure (2008)

Rebel Roar: The Sound of Michael McClure

Video

written by

2008

 

Lions Love (... and Lies) (1969)

Lions Love (... and Lies)

5.8

the play "The Beard" by

1969

 

Bitnici pevaju

TV Movie

poems

1967

 

The Beard (1966)

The Beard

5.2

play

1966

 

Actor

Lee Horsley in Matt Houston (1982)

Matt Houston

6.5

TV Series

Valet

1983

1 episode

 

The Hired Hand (1971)

The Hired Hand

6.9

Plummer

1971

 

Maidstone (1970)

Maidstone

4.7

1970

 

HWY: An American Pastoral (1969)

HWY: An American Pastoral

6.6

Michael McClure (voice)

1969

 

Lions Love (... and Lies) (1969)

Lions Love (... and Lies)

5.8

The Beard Writer (uncredited)

1969

 

Wild 90 (1968)

Beyond the Law

4.4

Grahr

1968

 

Triptych in Four Parts (1958)

Triptych in Four Parts

7.8

Short

1958

 

Soundtrack

Drew Barrymore in The Drew Barrymore Show (2020)

The Drew Barrymore Show

4.9

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2021

1 episode

 

heute-show (2009)

heute-show

7.6

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz" (uncredited)

2021

1 episode

 

Hoy nos toca (2017)

Hoy nos toca

6.0

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2018

1 episode

 

Indivisible (2016)

Indivisible

6.9

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2016

 

Eric Roberts and Elizabeth Rice in Paradise Club (2015)

Paradise Club

4.9

writer: "Antechamber" (as Michael Mc Clure, "Antechamber", "To Glean the Livingness of Words")

2015

 

Aufgspuit! (2006)

Aufgspuit!

7.7

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2012

1 episode

 

Kate Hudson and Gael García Bernal in A Little Bit of Heaven (2011)

A Little Bit of Heaven

6.2

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2011

 

Tatort (1970)

Tatort

7.0

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2009

1 episode

 

The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)

The Baader Meinhof Complex

7.3

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2008

 

Sándor Fábry in Esti showder (1999)

Esti showder

7.4

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2007

1 episode

 

ShakespeaRe-Told (2005)

ShakespeaRe-Told

7.8

TV Mini Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2005

1 episode

 

Eva Birthistle, Trevor Eve, Wil Johnson, and Sue Johnston in Waking the Dead (2000)

Waking the Dead

7.9

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz" (1970) (uncredited)

2003

1 episode

 

Ellen Fjæstad, Carl-Robert Holmer-Kårell, and Rosanna Munter in Eva & Adam - Fyra födelsedagar och ett fiasko (2001)

Eva & Adam - Fyra födelsedagar och ett fiasko

5.4

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

2001

 

George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube in Three Kings (1999)

Three Kings

7.1

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

1999

 

The Life and Times of the Red Dog Saloon (1996)

The Life and Times of the Red Dog Saloon

7.7

writer: "Baby Dear"

1996

 

Luke Perry, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Ian Ziering, and Gabrielle Carteris in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)

Beverly Hills, 90210

6.5

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz" (uncredited)

1991

1 episode

 

Spaced Invaders (1990)

Spaced Invaders

5.3

performer: "Takin' Over the World"

producer: "Takin' Over the World"

writer: "Takin' Over the World"

1990

 

Bangkok Hilton (1989)

Bangkok Hilton

7.8

TV Mini Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz " (uncredited)

1989

1 episode

 

Grandeur et décadence d'un petit commerce de cinéma (1986)

Black Sequence

6.5

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz"

1986

1 episode

 

Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in Miami Vice (1984)

Miami Vice

7.6

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz" (uncredited)

1985

1 episode

 

Loni Anderson, Tim Reid, Frank Bonner, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Richard Sanders, and Gary Sandy in WKRP in Cincinnati (1978)

WKRP in Cincinnati

8.0

TV Series

writer: "Mercedes Benz" (uncredited)

1978

1 episode

 

The Last Waltz (1978)

The Last Waltz

8.1

performer: "Introduction to the Canterbury Tales" (poem)

1978

 

Self

Classic Artist Series

TV Series

Self

2014

1 episode

 

Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin' - The Story of L.A. Woman (2012)

Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin' - The Story of L.A. Woman

7.7

Self - Poet and Friend of The Doors

2012

 

Photograph of Neal Cassady Shaving at Ginsberg’s

Keenan

Video

2011

 

The Poetry Deal: a film with Diane di Prima

Video

Self

2011

 

By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume Two (2010)

By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume Two

Video

Self (segment: "Two: Creeley

McClure")

2010

 

Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder (2009)

Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder

6.9

Self

2009

 

Na plovárne (1999)

Na plovárne

7.5

TV Series

Self

2008

1 episode

 

Rebel Roar: The Sound of Michael McClure (2008)

Rebel Roar: The Sound of Michael McClure

Video

Self

2008

 

One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur (2008)

One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur

8.0

Self

2008

 

Classic Albums (1997)

Classic Albums

8.4

TV Series

Self - Friend and Poet

2008

1 episode

 

Breaking the Rules (2006)

Breaking the Rules

6.2

Self

2006

 

San Francisco's Summer of Love (2003)

San Francisco's Summer of Love

TV Series

Self

2003

 

Light My Fire: Ray Manzarek - A Return to the Whisky a Go Go (2000)

Light My Fire: Ray Manzarek - A Return to the Whisky a Go Go

Video

Self - Poet

2000

 

The Third Mind (2000)

The Third Mind

Self

2000

 

The Source (1999)

The Source

7.2

Self

1999

 

No More to Say & Nothing to Weep For: An Elegy for Allen Ginsberg 1926-1997 (1997)

No More to Say & Nothing to Weep For: An Elegy for Allen Ginsberg 1926-1997

6.6

TV Movie

Self

1997

 

What Happened to Kerouac? (1986)

What Happened to Kerouac?

7.0

Self

1986

 

Kerouac, the Movie (1984)

Kerouac, the Movie

6.8

Self (poet)

1984

 

Poetry in Motion (1982)

Poetry in Motion

7.0

Self

1982

 

Visions of a City (1978)

Visions of a City

6.8

Short

Self

1978

 

The Last Waltz (1978)

The Last Waltz

8.1

Self - Performer (as Michael Mc Clure)

1978

 

Liberty Crown

Short

Self

1967

 

The Maze: Haight/Ashbury

Short

Self

1967

 

Be-in (1967)

Be-in

6.3

Short

Self

1967

 

I Take These Truths (1994)

Two: Creeley/McClure

5.4

Short

Self

1965

 

Archive Footage

The Practice of the Wild (2010)

The Practice of the Wild

7.7

Self (archive footage)

2010