Lenore Kandel
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 19:18, 23 March 2009 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Current revision Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | '''Lawrence Ferlinghetti''' (born '''Lawrence Ferling''' on [[March 24]], [[1919]]) is an [[American poet]], [[Painting|painter]], [[Liberalism|Liberal]], and the co-founder of [[City Lights Bookstore|City Lights Booksellers & Publishers]]. Author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and film narration, he is best known for ''[[A Coney Island of the Mind]]'' (New York: [[New Directions Publishers|New Directions]], 1958), a collection of poems that has been translated into nine languages, with sales of over 1 million copies. | + | '''Lenore Kandel''' (January 14, 1932 in [[New York City]] – October 18, 2009 in [[San Francisco, California]]) was an American poet, affiliated with the [[Beat Generation]] and [[Hippie]] counterculture. |
| - | ==The Beats== | + | |
| - | Although in style and theme Ferlinghetti’s own writing is very unlike that of the original New York based [[Beat Generation|Beat circle]], he had important associations with the Beat writers, who made [[City Lights Bookstore]] their headquarters when they were in San Francisco. He has often claimed that he was not a Beat, but a [[bohemian]] of an earlier generation. A married war veteran and a bookstore proprietor, he didn’t share the high (or low) life of the beats on the road. [[Kerouac]] wrote Ferlinghetti into the character “Lorenzo Monsanto” in his autobiographical novel ''[[Big Sur (novel)|Big Sur]]'' (1962), the story of Jack’s stay (with the Cassadys, the McClures, [[Lenore Kandel]], [[Lew Welch]], and [[Philip Whalen]]) at Ferlinghetti’s cabin in the wild coastal region of [[Big Sur]]. [[Kerouac]] depicts the Ferlinghetti figure as a generous and good-humored host, in the midst of [[Dionysus|Dionysian]] revels and breakdowns. | + | |
| - | Over the years Ferlinghetti published work by many of the Beats, including [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[Jack Kerouac]], [[Gregory Corso]], [[William S. Burroughs]], [[Diane DiPrima|Diane diPrima]], [[Michael McClure]], [[Philip Lamantia]], [[Bob Kaufman]], and [[Gary Snyder]]. He was [[Ginsberg]]’s publisher for over thirty years. | + | == Biography == |
| + | |||
| + | Her first works of poetry were the chapbooks ''An Exquisite Navel'', ''A Passing Dragon'', and ''A Passing Dragon Seen Again'', published in 1959. Several of her poems also appeared in ''Beat and Beatific II'' in 1959. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Although Kandel was born in New York, her family lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania during her childhood. Afterward, she moved to Los Angeles to live with her father, screenwriter [[Aben Kandel]]. She returned to New York to attend [[The New School for Social Research]] on scholarship for three and a half years before she dropped out. She moved to San Francisco in 1960. She began living in the East-West House co-op where she met [[Jack Kerouac]], who later immortalized her as ''Romana Swartz'', "a big Rumanian monster beauty," in his novel ''[[Big Sur (novel)|Big Sur]]'' (1962). In the novel, she is described as being the girlfriend of Dave Wain, who was based on [[Lew Welch]]. "Dave" describes how she walked around the "Zen-East House" (''East-West House'') wearing only purple panties. Kerouac described her as "intelligent, well read, writes poetry, is a Zen student, knows everything [...]" (''[[Big Sur (novel)|Big Sur]]'', p. 75). | ||
| + | |||
| + | Kandel was briefly notorious as the author of a short book of poetry, ''The Love Book''. A small pamphlet consisting of four poems, ''The Love Book'' provoked censorship with its three-part poem, "To Fuck with Love." Police seized the work as being in violation of state obscenity codes, from both [[City Lights Books]] and ''The Psychedelic Shop'' in 1966. Subsequently Kandel gained cause célèbre status. She herself defended her verse as "holy erotica." A jury declared the book obscene and lacking in any redeeming social value in 1967 and sales increased; Kandel thanked the police by giving one percent of all profits to the Police Retirement Association. The decision was overturned on appeal and the book continued to sell well. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 1964, she was asked to read at the University of California Poetry Conference organized by [[Charles Olson]]. Along with [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[Timothy Leary]], [[Michael McClure]] and others, Kandel was a speaker at the [[Human Be-In]] in the [[Golden Gate Park]] polo fields on January 14, 1967. The only woman to speak from the stage, Kandel defiantly read from ''The Love Book''. It was her 35th birthday, and McClure later stated, "The entire crowd of 20,000 or 30,000 people sang 'Happy Birthday' to her." | ||
| + | |||
| + | Kandel published her only full-length book of poems, ''Word Alchemy'', in 1967. She was one of 15 people interviewed in ''Voices from the Love Generation'' ([[Little, Brown and Company]], 1968). In 1976, Kandel recited a poem at the iconic concert [[The Last Waltz]] performed by [[The Band]] (but was not included in the film or soundtrack). | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 1970, Kandel suffered massive spinal injuries in a motorcycle crash with her then-husband Billy "Sweet Wiliam" Fritsch (poet and member of the [[Hells Angels]]). Despite having to cope with excruciating pain for the remainder of her life, she continued to write and maintain social ties. | ||
| + | |||
| + | She died at home on October 18, 2009, of complications from [[lung cancer]], with which she had been diagnosed several weeks earlier. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 2012 ''Collected Poems of Lenore Kandel'' was published. It features 80 of her poems, many of which had never before been published. | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Film and music == | ||
| + | |||
| + | Kandel appears in the [[Diggers (theater)|Digger]] film ''[[Nowsreal]]'' (1968), sewing a Hells Angel patch on William Fritsch's jacket. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Kandel appears in the [[Kenneth Anger]] film ''[[Invocation of My Demon Brother]]'' (1969), with William Fritsch, smoking a marijuana cigarette contained in a miniature skull. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In the 2013 film [[Big Sur (film)|''Big Sur'']], Kandel is portrayed by [[Stana Katic]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Further reading == | ||
| + | '''By Lenore Kandel''' | ||
| + | * Lenore Kandel, ''Collected Poems of Lenore Kandel'', North Atlantic Books, 2012, {{ISBN|1583943722}}, {{ISBN|978-1583943724}} | ||
| + | * [https://www.facebook.com/GeekCityApocalypso/ Limited edition of The Love Book published by Joe Pachinko of Superstition Street Press in 2003], {{ISBN|0-9665313-1-0}} | ||
| + | * Lenore Kandel, ''Word Alchemy'', [[Grove Press]], Evergreen trade paperback, 1967, {{ISBN|1-299-22275-7}} | ||
| + | * Lenore Kandel, ''The Love Book'', Stolen Paper Review, San Francisco, 1966, paperbound, 8 pages | ||
| + | * Lenore Kandel, ''A Passing Dragon See Again'', Three Penny Press, Studio City, 1959. | ||
| + | * Lenore Kandel, ''An Exquisite Navel'', Three Penny Press, Studio City, 1959. | ||
| + | * Lenore Kandel, ''A Passing Dragon'', Three Penny Press, Studio City, 1959?. | ||
| + | |||
| + | '''Anthologies featuring Kandel's work''' | ||
| + | * Brenda Knight, ''Women of the Beat Generation'' (Conari Press, 1996) contains a biographical portrait of Kandel, as well as three of her poems | ||
| + | * Richard Peabody (ed.), ''A Different Beat: Writings by Women of the Beat Generation'' (Serpents Tail, 1997), pp 100–103 | ||
| + | * Carole Tonkinson (ed.), ''Big Sky Mind: Buddhism and the Beat Generation'' (Riverhead Books, 1995), pp 260–272. | ||
| + | * Anne Waldman (ed.), ''The Beat Book: Writings from the Beat Generation'' (Shambhala, 2007) | ||
| + | * Carmela Ciuraru (ed.), ''Beat Poets'' (Everyman's Library, 2002) | ||
| + | * David Steinberg (ed.), ''The Erotic Impulse'' (Tarcher, 1992) contains "Seven of Velvet," which is not available in other collections | ||
| + | * Alan Kaufman and S.A. Griffin (ed.), ''The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry'' (Basic Books, 1999) | ||
| + | * Jenny Skerl (ed.), ''Reconstructing the Beats'' ([[Macmillan (publisher)|Palgrave Macmillan]], 2004), Ronna C. Johnson, chapter 6, contains an essay about Kandel and selections from her poems | ||
| + | * Leonard Wolf (ed.), in collaboration with Deborah Wolf, ''Voices from the Love Generation'' ([[Little, Brown and Company]], 1968) hardcover, 283 pages, interviews done in Haight-Ashbury | ||
| - | When the Indian poets of the [[Hungryalists]] literary movement came in contact with the visiting Beat poets, Ferlinghetti introduced the Hungryalist poets to Western readers through the initial issues of City Lights Journal. | ||
| - | == See == | ||
| - | *[[City Lights Pocket Poets Series]] | ||
| - | *[[City Lights Journal]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Lenore Kandel (January 14, 1932 in New York City – October 18, 2009 in San Francisco, California) was an American poet, affiliated with the Beat Generation and Hippie counterculture.
Biography
Her first works of poetry were the chapbooks An Exquisite Navel, A Passing Dragon, and A Passing Dragon Seen Again, published in 1959. Several of her poems also appeared in Beat and Beatific II in 1959.
Although Kandel was born in New York, her family lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania during her childhood. Afterward, she moved to Los Angeles to live with her father, screenwriter Aben Kandel. She returned to New York to attend The New School for Social Research on scholarship for three and a half years before she dropped out. She moved to San Francisco in 1960. She began living in the East-West House co-op where she met Jack Kerouac, who later immortalized her as Romana Swartz, "a big Rumanian monster beauty," in his novel Big Sur (1962). In the novel, she is described as being the girlfriend of Dave Wain, who was based on Lew Welch. "Dave" describes how she walked around the "Zen-East House" (East-West House) wearing only purple panties. Kerouac described her as "intelligent, well read, writes poetry, is a Zen student, knows everything [...]" (Big Sur, p. 75).
Kandel was briefly notorious as the author of a short book of poetry, The Love Book. A small pamphlet consisting of four poems, The Love Book provoked censorship with its three-part poem, "To Fuck with Love." Police seized the work as being in violation of state obscenity codes, from both City Lights Books and The Psychedelic Shop in 1966. Subsequently Kandel gained cause célèbre status. She herself defended her verse as "holy erotica." A jury declared the book obscene and lacking in any redeeming social value in 1967 and sales increased; Kandel thanked the police by giving one percent of all profits to the Police Retirement Association. The decision was overturned on appeal and the book continued to sell well.
In 1964, she was asked to read at the University of California Poetry Conference organized by Charles Olson. Along with Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, Michael McClure and others, Kandel was a speaker at the Human Be-In in the Golden Gate Park polo fields on January 14, 1967. The only woman to speak from the stage, Kandel defiantly read from The Love Book. It was her 35th birthday, and McClure later stated, "The entire crowd of 20,000 or 30,000 people sang 'Happy Birthday' to her."
Kandel published her only full-length book of poems, Word Alchemy, in 1967. She was one of 15 people interviewed in Voices from the Love Generation (Little, Brown and Company, 1968). In 1976, Kandel recited a poem at the iconic concert The Last Waltz performed by The Band (but was not included in the film or soundtrack).
In 1970, Kandel suffered massive spinal injuries in a motorcycle crash with her then-husband Billy "Sweet Wiliam" Fritsch (poet and member of the Hells Angels). Despite having to cope with excruciating pain for the remainder of her life, she continued to write and maintain social ties.
She died at home on October 18, 2009, of complications from lung cancer, with which she had been diagnosed several weeks earlier.
In 2012 Collected Poems of Lenore Kandel was published. It features 80 of her poems, many of which had never before been published.
Film and music
Kandel appears in the Digger film Nowsreal (1968), sewing a Hells Angel patch on William Fritsch's jacket.
Kandel appears in the Kenneth Anger film Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969), with William Fritsch, smoking a marijuana cigarette contained in a miniature skull.
In the 2013 film Big Sur, Kandel is portrayed by Stana Katic.
Further reading
By Lenore Kandel
- Lenore Kandel, Collected Poems of Lenore Kandel, North Atlantic Books, 2012, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN
- Limited edition of The Love Book published by Joe Pachinko of Superstition Street Press in 2003, Template:ISBN
- Lenore Kandel, Word Alchemy, Grove Press, Evergreen trade paperback, 1967, Template:ISBN
- Lenore Kandel, The Love Book, Stolen Paper Review, San Francisco, 1966, paperbound, 8 pages
- Lenore Kandel, A Passing Dragon See Again, Three Penny Press, Studio City, 1959.
- Lenore Kandel, An Exquisite Navel, Three Penny Press, Studio City, 1959.
- Lenore Kandel, A Passing Dragon, Three Penny Press, Studio City, 1959?.
Anthologies featuring Kandel's work
- Brenda Knight, Women of the Beat Generation (Conari Press, 1996) contains a biographical portrait of Kandel, as well as three of her poems
- Richard Peabody (ed.), A Different Beat: Writings by Women of the Beat Generation (Serpents Tail, 1997), pp 100–103
- Carole Tonkinson (ed.), Big Sky Mind: Buddhism and the Beat Generation (Riverhead Books, 1995), pp 260–272.
- Anne Waldman (ed.), The Beat Book: Writings from the Beat Generation (Shambhala, 2007)
- Carmela Ciuraru (ed.), Beat Poets (Everyman's Library, 2002)
- David Steinberg (ed.), The Erotic Impulse (Tarcher, 1992) contains "Seven of Velvet," which is not available in other collections
- Alan Kaufman and S.A. Griffin (ed.), The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (Basic Books, 1999)
- Jenny Skerl (ed.), Reconstructing the Beats (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Ronna C. Johnson, chapter 6, contains an essay about Kandel and selections from her poems
- Leonard Wolf (ed.), in collaboration with Deborah Wolf, Voices from the Love Generation (Little, Brown and Company, 1968) hardcover, 283 pages, interviews done in Haight-Ashbury
