David Meltzer

David Meltzer February 17 1937 – December 31 2016 Was An American Poet And Musician Of The Beat Generation And San Francisco Renaissance. Lawrence Ferlinghetti Described Him As "one Of The Greats Of Post-World-War-Two San Francisco Poets And Musicians." Meltzer Came To Prominence With Inclusion Of His Work In The Anthology The New American Poetry 1945-1960. Meltzer Was Born In Rochester New York The Son Of A Cellist And A Harpist. In 1940 The Family Moved To Brooklyn. At The Age Of 11 He Wrote His First Poem On The Topic Of The New York City Subway System. He Performed On Radio And TV In The Horn And Hardart Children's Hour. The Family Moved Once Again To Rockville Centre. His Parents Separated And He Accompanied His Father To Los Angeles In 1954. In 1957 He Moved To San Francisco And Became Part Of A Circle Of Writers Based Around Jack Spicer And Robert Duncan. In 1958 He Recorded An Album Of His Poems With A Jazz Combo For Jim Dickson On Dickson's Vaja Label. The Album Was Not Released But Finally Saw The Light Of Day In 2006 On Sierra Records Titled "David Meltzer Poet With Jazz 1958." Jim Dickson Had Earlier Recorded Lord Buckley Lenny Bruce And The Page Cavanaugh Trio. Later Jim Would Be A&R Producer For World Pacific And Elektra Records As Well As Discovering And Producing The Rock Group The Byrds. In 1968 Meltzer Signed The “Writers And Editors War Tax Protest” Pledge Vowing To Refuse Tax Payments In Protest Against The Vietnam War. One Of The Key Poets Of The Beat Generation Meltzer Was Also A Jazz Guitarist Kabbalist Scholar And The Author Of More Than 50 Books Of Poetry And Prose. 2005 Saw The Publication Of David's Copy The Selected Poems Of David Meltzer Edited By Michael Rothenberg And With An Introduction By Jerome Rothenberg Which Provides A Current Overview Of Meltzer's Work. Meltzer's Beat Thing La Alameda Press Is His Epic Poem On The Beat Generation. Jack Hirschman Said Of It “Meltzer's Most Important Lyri-Political Work To Date...Written By A Poet Who In Terms Of The Rhythms And Verbal Inventiveness And The Naming Of Figures Of Popular Culture Is Without Equal Anywhere.” Meltzer's Other Books Include No Eyes Poems On Lester Young And A Book Of Interviews San Francisco Beat Talking With The Poets City Lights Books . Meltzer Taught At The New College Of California In The Poetics Program . Which Was Originally Founded By Robert Duncan. He Lived In The San Francisco Bay Area. Meltzer Died On December 31 2016 Aged 79. read less