Various (Cohen, Allen (Editor); Tsongas, George; Fuller, Buckminster; Hannon, Mike; Levine, Stephen; Monroe, Harry; Smith, Neill; Theobald, Robert; Watts, Alan et al.)

San Francisco Oracle Vol. 1 No. 11 (1967)

San Francisco, CA: Oracle Eternal, 1967. First Printing. “Several years ago Nanao SAKAKI, the wanderer and poet, was travelling on a small inter-island freighter between Kyushu and Amami Oshima and got into a conversation with a fellow passenger, an islander, who casually invited Nanao to come visit his island. Nanao did, another year, and just when a typhoon came; so he was holed up for over a week in a farmhouse waiting for the storm to blow over. The island has only eight households–40 people–and, though the major part of the island is volcano and lavaflow, there is plenty of unoccupied land that is livable. Hence the islanders told Nanao that if he or his friends wished to come camp or live there they’d be welcome…”--Gary Snyder, “Suwa-No-Se Island and the Banyan Ashram.” The Oracle of the City of San Francisco, also known as the San Francisco Oracle, was an underground newspaper published in 12 issues from September 20, 1966, to February 1968 in the legendary Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Allen Cohen (1940–2004), the editor during the paper's most vibrant period, and Michael Bowen (1937-2009), the art director, were among the founders of the publication. The Oracle was an early member of the Underground Press Syndicate, a network of countercultural newspapers and magazines printed and proliferated throughout the 60s and 70s. The Oracle combined poetry, spirituality, and multicultural interests with psychedelic designs, reflecting and shaping the countercultural community as it developed in the Haight-Ashbury. Arguably the outstanding example of psychedelia within the countercultural "underground" press, the publication was noted for experimental multicolored design. Offered today is San Francisco Oracle: The City of God Vol. 1, No. 11, the penultimate issue of the publication. Featuring a swath of San Francisco poets, writers, and cultural icons, this issue includes: “Invisible Future,” an interview with Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), American architect, philosopher and futurist; an surrealist-philosophical essay from Alan Watts (1915-1973), British-American religious philosopher; a transcript of a speech given previously that year by Robert Theobald (1929-1999), American economist and futurist writer; the poem “Notes From the Genetic Journal” by Stephen Levine (1937-2016), American poet who primarily wrote about death, dying, and the soul; the poem “The Seven Cities of the Moon” by George Tsongas (1927-2010), San Francisco native poet and North Beach icon; and essay “Suwa-No-Se Island and the Banyan Ashram” by Gary Snyder (b. 1930), Beat poet, essayist, and environmentalist, among many other great contributions and contributors. A rare issue of the short-lived San Francisco newspaper! From the collection of Albert Glover (b. 1942), direct mentee & noted bibliographer of the great American poet, Charles Olson (1910-1970). Large-format newspaper. First & presumably only printing. In relatively very fine condition with only minor wear to fine edges, slight discoloration/age-toning, slight creasing & tearing at fine edges near top at front and back covers. Very Fine. [Item #7892]

Price: $300.00