Camp Angel
Encyclopedia
Camp Angel was Civilian Public Service
(CPS) camp number 56, one of many camps across the United States where conscientious objectors (COs) were given unpaid jobs of "national importance" as a substitute for World War II military service.
Camp Angel was unique as the only Fine Arts Program camp in the CPS system. Between 1942 and 1945, Camp Angel's Fine Arts Program sponsored production of original plays and publication of books by the COs. When the war was over, notable objectors including poet William Everson
, actor/writer Kermit Sheets
and dramatist Martin Ponch relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and launched what became known as the San Francisco Renaissance
, profoundly influencing the Beat Generation
.
William Everson, architect and printer Kemper Nomland
, Kermit Sheets and William R. Eshelman
founded the Untide Press
at the camp in 1943, with the aim of bringing poetry to the public in an inexpensive but attractive format.
The name was a challenge to the official camp magazine the Tide Press.
The Untide Press developed a reputation for high-quality writing and innovative design. Writers included William Everson, Glen Coffield
, Jacob Sloan, George Woodcock
, John Walker, and Kenneth Patchen
.
William Everson said that "those of us of Untide rank among our biggest moments in CPS the completion of a book, and the very real sense of achievement it occasions."
For many of the COs, their time at the camp was a period of great creativity. Kemper Nomland created portraits of others at the camp including Glen Coffield, Windsor Utley
and Bill Webb, several of which are held in a collection at Lewis and Clark College. One of his paintings was published in two of Coffield's books as well as the The Illiterati camp magazine.
Nomland also provided the illustrations for William Everson
's War elegies, published by Untide Press
in 1944.
Kermit Sheets wrote the satirical plays Mikado in CPS and Stalingrad Stalemate while in the camp.
Glen Coffield published his first collection of poems Ultimatum (1943), a one-man operation since he was author, typist, designer and illustrator.
His anthology Horned Moon was published by the Untide Press in 1944, and several of his poems were also published in The Illiterati.
Civilian Public Service
The Civilian Public Service provided conscientious objectors in the United States an alternative to military service during World War II...
(CPS) camp number 56, one of many camps across the United States where conscientious objectors (COs) were given unpaid jobs of "national importance" as a substitute for World War II military service.
Camp Angel was unique as the only Fine Arts Program camp in the CPS system. Between 1942 and 1945, Camp Angel's Fine Arts Program sponsored production of original plays and publication of books by the COs. When the war was over, notable objectors including poet William Everson
William Everson
William Everson , also known as Brother Antoninus, was an American poet of the San Francisco Renaissance and was also a literary critic and small press printer.-Beginnings:Everson was born in Sacramento, California...
, actor/writer Kermit Sheets
Kermit Sheets
Louis Kermit Sheets was an actor, director, playwright and an artistic partner with poet James Broughton.-World War II:...
and dramatist Martin Ponch relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and launched what became known as the San Francisco Renaissance
San Francisco Renaissance
The term San Francisco Renaissance is used as a global designation for a range of poetic activity centered on San Francisco and which brought it to prominence as a hub of the American poetic avant-garde. However, others The term San Francisco Renaissance is used as a global designation for a range...
, profoundly influencing the Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
.
William Everson, architect and printer Kemper Nomland
Kemper Nomland
Kemper Nomland Jr. was a modernist architect in Los Angeles, California and part of a father-son architectural team with his father Kemper Nomland. He was also a painter and printer of poetry and arts publications....
, Kermit Sheets and William R. Eshelman
William Robert Eshelman
William Robert Eshelman was an American pacifist, editor and librarian. He was active in causes such as preventing censorship, ending racial segregation and stopping the Vietnam war, while gaining distinction in his professional career.-Career:...
founded the Untide Press
Untide Press
The Untide Press, founded in 1943, attempted to bring poetry to the public in an inexpensive but attractive format.It was founded by writer William Everson, architect and printer Kemper Nomland, actor Kermit Sheets and editor / librarian William Eshelman, in a camp of conscientious objectors in...
at the camp in 1943, with the aim of bringing poetry to the public in an inexpensive but attractive format.
The name was a challenge to the official camp magazine the Tide Press.
The Untide Press developed a reputation for high-quality writing and innovative design. Writers included William Everson, Glen Coffield
Glen Coffield
Glen Coffield was an American poet and conscientious objector. He was born in Prescott, Arizona, and received a B.S. degree in education from Central Missouri State Teachers College in 1940...
, Jacob Sloan, George Woodcock
George Woodcock
George Woodcock was a Canadian writer of political biography and history, an anarchist thinker, an essayist and literary critic. He was also a poet, and published several volumes of travel writing. He founded in 1959 the journal Canadian Literature, the first academic journal specifically...
, John Walker, and Kenneth Patchen
Kenneth Patchen
Kenneth Patchen was an American poet and novelist. Though he denied any direct connection, Patchen's work and ideas regarding the role of artists paralleled those of the Dadaists, the Beats, and Surrealists...
.
William Everson said that "those of us of Untide rank among our biggest moments in CPS the completion of a book, and the very real sense of achievement it occasions."
For many of the COs, their time at the camp was a period of great creativity. Kemper Nomland created portraits of others at the camp including Glen Coffield, Windsor Utley
Windsor Utley
Windsor Utley was an American musician, artist, teacher and gallery owner, closely associated with the painter Mark Tobey.Utley was born in Laguna, California in 1920...
and Bill Webb, several of which are held in a collection at Lewis and Clark College. One of his paintings was published in two of Coffield's books as well as the The Illiterati camp magazine.
Nomland also provided the illustrations for William Everson
William Everson
William Everson , also known as Brother Antoninus, was an American poet of the San Francisco Renaissance and was also a literary critic and small press printer.-Beginnings:Everson was born in Sacramento, California...
's War elegies, published by Untide Press
Untide Press
The Untide Press, founded in 1943, attempted to bring poetry to the public in an inexpensive but attractive format.It was founded by writer William Everson, architect and printer Kemper Nomland, actor Kermit Sheets and editor / librarian William Eshelman, in a camp of conscientious objectors in...
in 1944.
Kermit Sheets wrote the satirical plays Mikado in CPS and Stalingrad Stalemate while in the camp.
Glen Coffield published his first collection of poems Ultimatum (1943), a one-man operation since he was author, typist, designer and illustrator.
His anthology Horned Moon was published by the Untide Press in 1944, and several of his poems were also published in The Illiterati.