Breit, Luke; Cherkovski, Neeli; Schwartz, Stephen

Broadside: Malvina Birthday Celebration (May 10, 1975)

San Francisco, CA: Caffe Malvina, 1975. First Printing. Single Sheet. A broadside-poster (measuring appx. 11 x 14”) advertising a poetry reading at the cult-famous Malvina Coffee House — which, during the mid-to-late 1970s, was mobilized as a venue by the authors of the Second San Francisco Renaissance. The layout and format for MCH posters was standardized: center alignment reigned, and the venue title was always found floating like a thundercloud in black, bold letters above the names of an evening’s participants. Most MCH posters advertise a month in advance: see, for example, TMB Item #7795. This poster, however, defies the routinization model — and does so on account of the “Birthday Celebration” advertised near the poster’s topmost fine-edge. As far as thematic coherence is concerned, it’s kind of all over the place on first glance: for Neeli Cherkovski (1945-2024) was born on July 1, 1945; and Luke Breit (b. 1933), for his part, was born on December 13, 1933. This, of course clears up the initial confusion regarding whether all three poets’ birthdays were being celebrated, or what the precise combination (or lack thereof) was on this count. The "birthday poet" & third figure to which the poster refers, Stephen Schwartz (b. 1948), remains somewhat elusive & apocryphal in the context of the Second San Francisco Renaissance. While we’ve verified that Schwartz was born in 1948, we are unsure whether the 10th of May — the day on which this reading was staged — was the poet in question’s actual date of birth. We do know the following about Schwartz, however: thanks to the reportage provided by Thomas Rain Crowe (b. 1949), the co-authorial founder of the Second San Francisco Renaissance. Of Schwartz, Crowe writes: “Stephen Schwartz was hanging out with Neeli Cherkovski, [Philip] Lamantia, and Francis Ford Coppola and was working with Coppola’s film-focused publication that he called The City. Schwartz was all into the Russians and considered himself a Communist at the time–which was apropos for his connection with the Surrealist group in San Francisco which also included Allan Graubaud and the Chicago Surrealists. He was a very vocal and outspoken presence and seemed to like to instigate conflict or at least debate about ideas and political issues” (The Thomas Rain Crowe Archive, p. 76). While the production value of the broadside-poster, itself isn’t as glitzy or hi-fi as some of the other productions from the SSFR, the Malvina posters are relics from its DIY underbelly — which was as key to the vitalization of the Renaissance project as any of its more polished offerings. Broadside-Poster on Single Sheet: from the first-&-only printing of this scarce bit of MCH/Renaissance ephemera. From the archive of Thomas Rain Crowe (b. 1949), the acclaimed American poet who was at the center of the Baby Beat Generation/ San Francisco Renaissance during the 1970s. The TRC archive was acquired, assembled & curated by Third Mind Books as a single item (see our item No. 1010), & its vast number of individual pieces are now being offered incrementally throughout this new year of 2025. The TRC archive collectively represents the entire legacy of the BBG/SSFR, & its critical collaborations-mentorships by the key figures of the original Beat Generation/ San Francisco Renaissance. See also Starting From San Francisco (item No. 3071), published by TMB, to obtain a thorough understanding of this important literary phenomenon from TRC himself. In very good condition with only mild-to-moderate shelf-wear, light bumping, mild bump creasing, & some chipping (minute, low-impact closed tears) to select locales along fine-edges & corners of recto & verso sides. Very Good. [Item #7797]

Price: $25.00