Miller, Wayne

The Burning Globe: New and Selected Poetry

San Francisco, CA: Smoking Mirror Press, 2004. First Edition. Softcover. Inscribed & signed by Wayne Miller to Thomas Rain Crowe, the co-authorial founder of the Second San Francisco Renaissance. "Wayne stayed in San Francisco many years before moving to his current residence in southern California. Wayne’s book came out during the decade of the 70s to much applause and really put him “on the map,” as it were. Wayne’s Native American heritage loomed large in that book and in his life and writing in general. He was a tall handsome figure and a real presence wherever he went. His reading style was dramatic (as indicated in the photo of him reading at the San Francisco International Poetry Festival) and he could hold an audience even of that size. He didn’t live in North Beach during the years we’re discussing here, but his work appeared in most of the literary publications in the Bay Area and he gave readings when the situation felt right to him. He had a discriminating personality, which was evident in his poems. When he hung around North Beach he was often with Janice Blue, Bob Kaufman, Eugene Ruggles, Jack Micheline and that crowd.” So reads an excerpt from our book, Starting from San Francisco: Thomas Rain Crowe in Conversation with Third Mind Books (Item No. 3071) on the American poet and educator, Wayne Miller. Miller’s work during the 1970s-&-beyond is baubled (and richly!) with reference to the poet’s own Native American heritage, which the poet explored artistically as well as academically. For example, in 1976 Miller was a “Professor of Native American Studies” at the San Francisco Art Institute. This is an especially unique distinction, as it makes him one of the only Second San Francisco Renaissance poets who maintained direct links to academia while contributing unreservedly to the “movement literature” of the SSFR, as well as its crowning expression of “direct action” (e.g., the “1st Annual San Francisco Poetry Festival” referenced above). This work, The Burning Globe, showcases work that spans Miller’s entire career — from the San Francisco years alluded to, above to poems released within a decade of this publication. As observers may notice, The Burning Globe also notably features blurbs of support (on its back cover) from legendary American rock singer, Janis Joplin, and the great American Beat poets Richard Brautigan, Jack Hirschman, and Robert Creeley. While the blurbs themselves do not have further attribution (i.e., we don’t know when they were secured, and the stories behind their origins), we do not that Miller was a well-connected man and widely-respected during his heyday — so are in some senses unsurprised by them, despite their being extremely impressive unto themselves. The poetry, as well, is extremely well-crafted: as Miller was certainly one of California’s best in the 1970s and is deserving of a readership even today. From the archive of Thomas Rain Crowe, the legendary American poet and co-authorial founder of the Second San Francisco Renaissance. For more information on the Thomas Rain Crowe archive (assembled & curated by Third Mind Books), see our book, Starting from San Francisco: Thomas Rain Crowe in Conversation with Third Mind Books (Item No. 3071) & the catalog for the Crowe archive (Item No. 1010), which contains several excerpts and quotations from the book as well as a full listing of the archive’s contents, which are now being offered for sale individually on the Third Mind Books site. Trade-format softcover original: First Edition, though not explicated as such on copyright page. This copy is additionally inscribed & signed by Miller to his friend-&-literary compatriot, Crowe. Miller’s signature, in thin, black pen ink, reads: “For TRC / Wayne Miller.” In very fine condition with only mild shelf-wear, light bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; otherwise, clean. Very Fine. [Item #7381]

Price: $30.00