New Day Jazz

Justin Desmangles

Our guest this afternoon, on the the 5 o'clock hour, is poet David Meltzer, talking about his most recent book, When I Was A Poet, new from City Lights. Born in 1937, David Meltzer is a poet associated with both the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance. He was also included in Don Allen's seminal anthology, The New American Poetry. A child prodigy, Meltzer performed on the radio and TV in New York beginning in the late '40s. In 1957, after a few years in Los Angeles, where he was a part of the circle around Wallace Berman's Semina magazine, Meltzer moved to San Francisco, where he associated with such poets as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Spicer. One of the pioneers of jazz poetry readings, Meltzer formed a psychedelic folk-rock group, Serpent Power, with his late wife Tina and poet Clark Coolidge, recording for Vanguard records in the late '60's. He continues to perform with the music and poetry review, Rockpile. In addition to his many books of poetry, Meltzer published 10 erotic novels in the late '60s and early '70s, including the critically acclaimed Agency Trilogy, revisiting the genre in 1995 with Under. He has edited many anthologies, including San Francisco Beat: Talking with the Poets (City Lights, 2001).

A newly published report shows that the number of homeless children in Sacramento public schools has more than doubled in recent years, yet Mayor Kevin Johnson has issued no response whatsoever to this issue or the report itself. We must demand answers and accountability! Contact Mayor Johnson, and let him know he cannot ignore the homeless children of this city! Demand answers and accountability!

 

Genre

Jazz

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