Suntree, Philip

Original Typed & Signed Poem: To Live Near the Sea

San Francisco, CA: No Publisher, 1976. First Edition. Signed by Philip Suntree. “Philip actually studied with Galway Kinnel and Robert Bly before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. He had many mentors who were influential. A very literary and intelligent person, he soaked up everything he could get his hands on. He lived in Berkeley during the 1970s but often came to San Francisco, and I used to go over to Berkeley frequently to see him and his family and to hang out with the “Street Poets” scene that was going on over there then. He was more interested in the Beat/Baby Beat scene in San Francisco and so joined forces with us in North Beach and became one of the rotating editors of Beatitude magazine for Beatitude No. 26, which he co-edited with Ken Wainio. Eventually we became best friends and he was the one who introduced me to Gary Snyder and the Kuksu community up on the San Juan Ridge, which is where I ended up after leaving San Francisco. We have remained close friends ever since, and I published his collection of poems Celtic Blood: Selected Poems 1968-1994 (Cullowhee, NC: New Native Press, 1995). He was a major player in the Beatitude cadre and acted as MC for the 1st Annual San Francisco Poetry Festival. He has a poetic voice like no one else I know.”--Thomas Rain Crowe, Thomas Rain Crowe Archive, pg 29. Offered here is To Live Near the Sea (1976) by Philip Daughtry (a/k/a Philip Suntree), the great & greatly varied British-American poet who among many other things is a descendant of Frank & Jesse James, the quintessential Wild Western American outlaws. In our book, Starting From San Francisco (Item No. 3071), Thomas Rain Crowe (b. 1949) tells the story of the Baby Beat Generation/ Second San Francisco Renaissance, which he was at the center of alongside Daughtry (then known as Suntree) during the 1970s. In SFSF, Crowe relates fascinating anecdotes about Daughtry/Suntree in relation to the larger group-phenomenon. Daughtry & Crowe remain close friends & colleagues to this day, as of this writing, & we have had the privilege of knowing & befriending them both—true originals. To Live Near the Sea is a poem that seems to be pulling heavily on Suntree’s studies under the tutelage of Galway Kinnell (1927-2014) and Robert Bly (1926-2021). Surrealist, Deep-Image-adjacent, shot through with an inherent musicality that is reminiscent of the likes of Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) and Charles Olson (1910-1970), To Live Near the Sea is undeniably one of Suntree’s best poems! From the archive of Thomas Rain Crowe (b. 1949), scholar, writer and co-founding member of the Baby Beat Generation. 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 #3071) & the catalog for the Crowe archive (see item #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. Signed in pencil near bottom of right side is “Philip Suntree” most likely in Suntree’s own hand although we cannot be sure. Single sheet original manuscript. First & presumably only printing. In relatively fine to very fine condition with minor wear at fine edges, a number of creases from previous folding, slight smudging/staining, and two small perforations at top middle from a previous staple. Fine-Very Fine. [Item #7774]

Price: $100.00