Philip Lamantia (1927 - 2005)
Monday March 14, 2005
from The San Francisco Chronicle:
“Philip Lamantia -- S.F. Surrealist poet
Visionary verse of literary prodigy influenced Beats,” by Jesse Hamlin
“Philip Lamantia, the blazing San Francisco poet whose embrace of Surrealism and the free flow of the imagination had a major influence on the Beats and many other American poets, died Monday of heart failure at his North Beach apartment. He was 77.”
from The Independent (UK):
“Philip Lamantia, Surrealist poet who influenced the Beats,” by Marcus Williamson
“Philip Lamantia was a poet whom André Breton, leader of the Surrealist movement, described as ‘a voice that rises once in a hundred years.’”
His personal friendships & poetic influence on Beat & post-Beat poets, his residence in North Beach, his exploration of drugs & underground cultures, and his work combining poetry & jazz all mark Lamantia as Beat-affiliate. But his poetry is centrally located in the Surrealist line; witness the inclusion of his “Notes toward a rigorous interpretation of Surrealist occulation” among the essential-but-too-little-known Surrealist documents at Surreal Coconut. Lamantia is remembered as an amazing talker & a wonderful poet by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure, his former wife & editor Nancy Peters of City Lights Books, and countless poets who loved his work.
Related resources:
Our reference page on Philip Lamantia, with book links
“Philip Lamantia -- S.F. Surrealist poet
Visionary verse of literary prodigy influenced Beats,” by Jesse Hamlin
“Philip Lamantia, the blazing San Francisco poet whose embrace of Surrealism and the free flow of the imagination had a major influence on the Beats and many other American poets, died Monday of heart failure at his North Beach apartment. He was 77.”
from The Independent (UK):
“Philip Lamantia, Surrealist poet who influenced the Beats,” by Marcus Williamson
“Philip Lamantia was a poet whom André Breton, leader of the Surrealist movement, described as ‘a voice that rises once in a hundred years.’”
His personal friendships & poetic influence on Beat & post-Beat poets, his residence in North Beach, his exploration of drugs & underground cultures, and his work combining poetry & jazz all mark Lamantia as Beat-affiliate. But his poetry is centrally located in the Surrealist line; witness the inclusion of his “Notes toward a rigorous interpretation of Surrealist occulation” among the essential-but-too-little-known Surrealist documents at Surreal Coconut. Lamantia is remembered as an amazing talker & a wonderful poet by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure, his former wife & editor Nancy Peters of City Lights Books, and countless poets who loved his work.
Related resources:
Our reference page on Philip Lamantia, with book links
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