McClure, Michael

The Beard

San Francisco, CA: Coyote, 1967. First Printing. Softcover. “Michael McClure’s [1932-2020] The Beard is a mysterious piece of work, for while its surface seems simple, repetitive and obscene, there is an action working which is dramatic and comic at once, and the play emits an odd but intense field of attention, almost like a magnetic field, almost as if ghosts from two periods of the American past were speaking across decades to each other, and yet at the same time are present in our living room undressing themselves or speaking to us of the nature of seduction, the nature of attraction, and particularly, the nature of perverse temper between a man and a woman. Obstinacy face to face with the sly feint and parry all in one, the repetition serves almost as subway stops on that electric trip a man and woman make if they move from the mind to the flesh. That mysterious trip, whose mystery often resides in the dilemma of whether the action is extraordinarily serious or meaningless. It is within these ambiguities, these effervescences, that The Beard plays, masterfully, be it said, like a juggler” (Norman Mailer, from unpaginated Introduction). So reads the infamous, legendary prose artisan, Norman Mailer’s [1923-2007] generous introduction to the great San Francisco Renaissance poet, Michael McClure’s 1967 offering, “The Beard.” “The Beard” — perhaps McClure’s most notorious production, and that’s including the “Beast language” of ‘64’s “Ghost Tantras,” or the “Meat Science Essays” which likewise appeared that same year — was almost performed with legendary Doors frontman, Jim Morrison (1943-1971) playing the male lead. The play, which climaxes (pun intended) with the male lead performing cunnilingus on the female lead — would have been the epitome of shock-rock sexual excess — free love meets The Living Theatre, San Francisco be damned. While McClure was reportedly enthusiastic about the possibility, censorship troubles and the Doors’ own rising star prevented the collaboration from happening. While the play embroiled McClure in a junior version of the censorship imbroglios that embattled many of his more famous (& arguably more impactful) Beat Generation compatriots), it is more widely known for these sensationalist literary-historical facts than it is widely read. For this reason, we at TMB invite scholars to reconsider The Beard on its own terms, — particularly in the context of the sexual realities of San Francisco life as exposed by Joan Didion in her paradigm-shifting essay, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” There’s much to be said about The Beard that’s yet to be discussed: and perhaps you’re the writer (or scholar) to do it. Softcover in sewn binding: the First Trade Edition; "First Printing, 1967" per copyright page. In Very Good condition with only moderate-to-significant age-toning, foxing, staining & spotting to front, back covers & spine-edge at varying locales; moderate-to-enunciated shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of same; moderate rubbing throughout, otherwise generally clean. Very Good. [Item #6949]

Price: $35.00