Cherkovski, Neeli

Original Artwork ("Hirsch/ man/ Amer/ ica," 1975)

San Francisco, CA: No Publisher, 1975. First Edition. Inscribed & signed by Neeli Cherkovski to Thomas Rain Crowe. “I met Neeli early on and we became ‘compatriots’ almost immediately. He was really the person who introduced me to everyone and to what was going on in San Francisco during my first weeks and months there. In that sense he was very generous with his time and energy (which he had a lot of in those days). He was already entrenched in the literary life, having come up from Los Angeles and the scene there with Charles Bukowski, Paul Vangelisti and others–and was making a life for himself in San Francisco with the long-term in mind. My first response to Neeli was that he was a lot like a young version of Allen Ginsberg. A kind of publicist and traffic cop for what was going on around him. This kind of energy and enthusiasm attracted all kinds of people, both younger and older than him. In this sense, it wouldnt be wrong to say that he was the “spark” that ignited much of what happened during those years. He was often the “idea man” behind things that would eventually take place in North Beach and beyond. He identified strongly with the gay community, the gay poets and writers and–like writers of the generation before him–wrote often about love and the gay experience. But he wasn't snobbish or confined by his sexual preferences and could mix with any crowd or in any kind of environment.”--Thomas Rain Crowe, Thomas Rain Crowe Archive, pg 17. Neeli Cherkovski (1945-2024), a.k.a Neeli Cherry, was an American poet, memoirist, and one of the most influential/co-founding members of the Second San Francisco Renaissance/Baby Beat Generation along with the venerable Thomas Rain Crowe (b. 1949). Aside from being an accomplished and prolific poet whose works include: Animal (1996), Leaning Against Time (2005), From the Canyon Outward (2009), and The Crow and I (2015); Cherkovski was also coeditor of Anthology of L.A. Poets with the great Charles Bukowski (1920-1994), Cross-Strokes: Poetry between Los Angeles and San Francisco (with Bill Mohr), and Collected Poems of Bob Kaufman with Raymond Foye (b. 1957) and Tate Swindell. Offered today, however, is one of Cherkovski’s artworks, Hirschman America. This work, while simple, is incredibly evocative. Thick black ink slashes the page like a blade, scything out “Hirschman America”-- Hirschman being of course a reference to the legendary Jack Hirschman (1933-2021)--the ink starts thick, strong, bold, and clear. However, as Hirschman’s name ends and America begins the ink fades rapidly, becoming ephemeral and ghost-like, almost as if the very proximity of Hirschman’s Soviet spirit on the page rejects the very notion of America being clearly displayed–oh, how Stalin would weep with pride! Underneath the black ink is thinner strokes, smears, and jagged shapes & curves of either faded red or magenta ink creating a sort of surrealist tableau beneath “Hirschman America.” 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. Inscribed and signed in thin black ink at bottom right corner of recto: “For Tom / Dawson / my good friend / Neeli Cherry / 75 / North Beach.” Original artwork on stiff board (approx. 11" x 14"). In very fine condition with only minor wear to fine edges. Very Fine. [Item #7809]

Price: $100.00