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Tracy Thompson, Poet of the Sun, Part of the San Francisco Literary Renaissance Movement, Archive of 41 Journals from the 1960s-1970s: Poetic, Raw Ideas Capturing Political and Cultural American Change by Tracy Thompson, Poet Of The Sun - 1960s-1970s

by Tracy Thompson, Poet Of The Sun

Tracy Thompson, Poet of the Sun, Part of the San Francisco Literary  Renaissance Movement, Archive of 41 Journals from the 1960s-1970s: Poetic,  Raw Ideas Capturing Political and Cultural American Change by Tracy Thompson, Poet Of The Sun - 1960s-1970s

Tracy Thompson, Poet of the Sun, Part of the San Francisco Literary Renaissance Movement, Archive of 41 Journals from the 1960s-1970s: Poetic, Raw Ideas Capturing Political and Cultural American Change

by Tracy Thompson, Poet Of The Sun

  • Used
San Francisco California CA: San Francisco, Creative Review. Good+. 1960s-1970s. Spiral bound. On offer is is a superb collection of the private journals of one of America's most prolific poets of the mid-twentieth century. The author of these journals is the American poet Tracy Thompson. Thompson lived in California and became an integral part of the literary scene that grew up in San Francisco following World War Two (WWII). Thompson was a college professor in Boise Idaho and then San Francisco, but his true calling was poetry. He was considered a very important part of the San Francisco Literary Renaissance movement in the years immediately following WWII through the 1970s. He was the most prolific poet published in what is referred to as the 'little magazine' period of the early sixties. His friends included Alan Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Thom Gunn, Bob Kaufman, Charles Bukowski, Kenneth Rexroth and many other poets and artists of his day. These writers, including Thompson, were giants in the field of modern American poetry. One of his greatest supporters was Glen Coffield the publisher of Creative Review. It was Coffield who first referred to Thompson as the Poet of the Sun. Coffield once noted that such was Thompson's productivity that he produced over 500 manuscripts in just one year alone. This was a unique time in American history, a time that saw dramatic social change, major upheavals in social consciousness among the youth of America and massive cultural turmoil. A new generation of American youth were seeking new social structures, new ways to live their lives. The "Leave It To Beaver - Father Knows Best" world of suburban America was no longer an attractive option and people like Thompson were in the vanguard of that societal change. Tracy Thompson was a giant in the field of modern American poetry and a significant figure in American literature. His journals are undated. However, there are drafts of letters, sketches, etc that bear dates that situate these in the late 1960s to mid-1970s. The subjects of his writings are as diverse as the man's own interests. He speaks of Buddhist philosophical ideas, something with which he was very familiar, as he had studied Zen Buddhism in Japan. Other entries talk about numerology. L Ron Hubbard and Charles Manson, William Lewis Herron (convicted murderer) and Ludwig von Beethoven all became subjects of his analytic thinking (although one could wonder what Beethoven, Chopin, Shakespeare and Elizabeth Taylor might think about sharing that list with convicted murderers. ) He is intensely interested in human relationships. For instance, in one place he writes: "Instead of trying to get a woman, why not try getting along with women for a while? That'd be something of a horse before the cart, instead of the sneaky doomed fiasco of hiding in a corner with a chick like a metaphysical outlaw", "Women need bastardly men the way I needed bitchy Rachel - for STRENGTH. It's a genius need as anyone who feels it knows ..." , "... Also, Nixon's a typical Prot(testant) in basing all his good on guilt (evil). Prots do that from Luther on .... " These thousands of pages offer a fascinating insight into one of America's great writers. For a literary scholar, especially one who focuses on poetry, these journals are an absolute gold mine. They could form the centrepiece of a research collection on modern American poetry or be a significant addition to such a program or collection. For a private collector, they are an outstanding collection of the thoughts and raw ideas that underpinned the writing of this outstanding poet. Century The collection consists of 41 coil-bound notebook, 11.0 inches by 8.5 inches. Each contains between 100 and 200 pages for a total of about 3,000+ journal pages! The notebooks are in good condition. There are signs of wear on some covers and pages. His handwriting is quite legible. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 3000 pages; .
  • Bookseller Independent bookstores CA (CA)
  • Format/Binding Spiral bound
  • Book Condition Used - Good+
  • Quantity Available 1
  • Publisher San Francisco, Creative Review
  • Place of Publication San Francisco California CA
  • Date Published 1960s-1970s