Various (Coolidge, Clark; Cherkovski, Neeli; Dunagan, Patrick James; Harvey, Kyle)

Coolidge & Cherkovski in Conversation

Fruita, CO: Lithic Press, 2020. First Edition. Softcover. “Then [William Carlos] Williams was so anti-Wasteland (sic), and he thought it ruined American poetry, and set it back how many decades. And so, I was ready to be there with him on that, at the barricades; because I loved him so much and understood him, I thought. And I didn’t even read Eliot until years later. And then I realized he was some kind of great poet, but it wasn’t right for me then to have had to deal with that. [Philip] Guston and I used to talk about how we loved ‘Four Quartets.’ But then, it’s important that you be embattled, and say, ‘Fuck you!’ to people you didn’t really know why you were saying it to” (Clark Coolidge, as qtd. on Pg. 39). As the above-quoted portion of the text intimates, “Coolidge & Cherkovski in Conversation” is teeming with profundities — but first, a little background: second-generation Beat poet, jazz musician, and literary-theoretical marksman, Clark Coolidge (b. 1939) was born in Providence, Rhode Island. Notably, he attended Brown University (where his father, Arlan Coolidge, chaired the Department of Music). This stint at Brown ended up being just that—a stint—and the young Clark, who studied geology during his time at the storied university, moved. First, to New York, where he “cultivated links” with the likes of Ted Berrigan. Then, to San Francisco (in 1967), where Coolidge joined David Meltzer’s (1937-2016) band, The Serpent Power (& on whose eponymous debut album Coolidge himself can be heard). An inveterate autodidact, Coolidge’s cosmopolitan interests functioned like a funhouse of the mind; and to be counted among them were subjects as unique and disparate as “caves…bebop, Salvador Dali, Jack Kerouac” [who looms large in Clark’s literary-compositional mind] and classic films. That elliptical intellect is surely on display here, as the fortunate readers of this work will recognize. Coolidge frequently sparkles in this here showing, and genius seems to flake off the page like dandruff. His noted interlocutor, Neeli Cherkovski (b. 1945) likewise contributes effectively & thoughtfully. A “poet’s poet,” Neeli informally (albeit precociously) apprenticed under Charles Bukowski as a teenager -- an episode somewhat hilariously cataloged in the masterful, John Dullaghan-directed documentary, “Bukowski: Born into This.” Cherkovski’s storied mentorship line doesn’t stop there, however. In fact, it’s merely where it begins: for the legendary Harold Norse (1916-2009) — certainly among the “House favorites” here at Third Mind Books — was also a force in Cherkovski’s personal & literary life. These are just two West Coast luminaries among many whose impact on (and association with) Neeli might well merit books of their own. “Coolidge & Cherkovski in Conversation” was edited by poet-photographer-graphic designer, Kyle Harvey, whose excellent designs adorn the bulk of Lithic Press titles. It also features an Introduction by Patrick James Dunagan, the organizational mind behind the recently unearthed (& posthumously published) “Rock Tao” — a prescient, “rescued classic” from David Meltzer’s most experimental period. With beards for manes, these lions still roar: their wisdom hard fought, and barrel-aged. Softcover original: a First Edition of this fresh and welcome contribution to Beat literary history & scholarship. [ISBN: 9781946583161]. In very fine condition, virtually as new with only slightest shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers. Very Fine. [Item #5269]

Price: $20.00