Dick McBride (poet)
Encyclopedia
Richard William McBride (born May 8, 1928) is an American
beat poet, playwright
and novelist. He worked at City Lights Booksellers & Publishers
from 1954-1969.
, Dick spent years travelling around Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, Kentucky
and Nebraska
working in radio, before moving to San Francisco, California
in the early 1950s.
Kenneth Patchen
introduced him to Lawrence Ferlinghetti
, who offered him a job as store manager at the City Lights Bookstore
. He worked at City Lights for 16 years and became friends with Allen Ginsberg
, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
and several other Beat Generation
writers.
In 1964, McBride moved to the United Kingdom
for six months to help "bohemianize" Better Books
in London for Tony Godwin
.
In 1967 City Lights moved their publishing operation to 1562 Grant Avenue, Dick ran this part of the business with his brother Bob McBride and Martin Broadley for several years.
He returned to England in 1969, where he worked as the director of independent book distributors “McBride Bros. and Broadley”, selling books in England and to the Continent.
In the summer of 1973, Dick McBride and Bernard Stone hosted a "Fourth of July Party
" for Allen Ginsberg at the Turret Bookshop, London. Ginsberg’s “Fall of America
” had been published earlier that year, and it seemed appropriate to hold a reading on the birthday of American Independence. The party is commemorated in his biography of Ginsberg "Cometh With Clouds" (Cherry Valley Editions 1982).
Then during the 1980s, he moved on to Australia
. In 1988, McBride returned to the UK and settled in West Malvern
, Worcestershire.
In November 1996, Dick was a guest at the Conegliano
Poetry Festival, where he read his poetry alongside Yevgeny Yevtushenko
, Andrey Voznesensky
and Roger McGough
. The festival was organised to honour City Lights and the Beats and to celebrate Allen Ginsberg's 70th Birthday
In 2001 he collaborated with Celluloid on the Last Beat project, a live and recorded performance project that received airplay on BBC Radio 3's "Late Junction
". A UK tour followed, including a performance at the Birmingham ArtsFest.
In 2006 he headlined the "Words In Motion" stage at the Big Chill Festival
at Eastnor Castle
.
In January, 2009 Dick appeared at "The British Beat" event as part of the "Back On the Road" exhibition at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts
, Birmingham
. The exhibition featured the original manuscript scroll of Jack Kerouac
's 'On the Road
'. The event was curated by Professor Dick Ellis, Head of American and Canadian Studies at Birmingham University
and also featured readings by Jim Burns, Ian McMillan, David Tipton & Camelia Ellias.
He now lives in Colwall
, Herefordshire, where he continues to write and perform.
. It was illustrated with woodcut
s by the artist and actor, Victor Wong
. The Bread and Wine Mission was started by Pierre Delattre and was home to Bob Kaufman
's magazine Beatitude.
Ballads of Blood was published in 1961 by the Golden Mountain Press, San Francisco.
His first book, Lonely The Autumn Bird: Two Novels was published by Alan Swallow in 1963. It consists of two short novels; the title novel, Lonely The Autumn Bird and Tilt.
In 1966, his second novel Memoirs Of A Natural-Born Expatriate was published by Alan Swallow. It tells the story of a man who (like the author) works at City Lights Bookstore
.
In 1982, Charles Plymell
's Cherry Valley Editions published Cometh With Clouds a short biography of Allen Ginsberg
. It contains a foreword by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
.
Jacqui - Love Poems was privately produced in 1994. The second edition was published by McBride's Books in 1997 and is dedicated to his second wife, Jacqui.
McBride's third novel, The Astonished I (Memories & Wet Dreams) was published by McBride's Books in 1995. It is a recollection of the authors time in San Francisco. It is dedicated to his friend, Tim Prael and contains an introduction by Charles Plymell
.
The first chapter of the book recalls a conversation with Jack Kerouac
who had phoned City Lights to talk to Ferlinghetti about publishing Visions of Cody
. A slightly different version of the first chapter was originally published in Transit and then The Beat Journals, both published by Kevin Ring's Beat Scene Press.
The second chapter of The Astonished I describes the first reading of Thou Shalt Not Kill (a lament for the death of Dylan Thomas
) by Kenneth Rexroth
at the Cellar in Green Street, San Francisco.
His most recent collection of poetry, Remembered America: Poems by Dick McBride was published by Rue Bella in 2004.
, who introduced him to the work of Giono, Celine
, Proust, Nathaniel West and William Saroyan
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
beat poet, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and novelist. He worked at City Lights Booksellers & Publishers
City Lights Bookstore
City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence...
from 1954-1969.
Life
Born in Washington, IndianaWashington, Indiana
Washington is a city in Daviess County, Indiana, United States. The population was 11,509 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Daviess County.-History:...
, Dick spent years travelling around Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
working in radio, before moving to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
in the early 1950s.
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...
introduced him to Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...
, who offered him a job as store manager at the City Lights Bookstore
City Lights Bookstore
City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence...
. He worked at City Lights for 16 years and became friends with Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...
and several other 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...
writers.
In 1964, McBride moved to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for six months to help "bohemianize" Better Books
Better Books
Better Books was an independent bookstore. It was founded by Tony Godwin and was located at 94 Charing Cross Road, London.-History:It was founded by British publisher Tony Godwin who took over the premises at 94 Charing Cross Road, London, in 1946....
in London for Tony Godwin
Tony Godwin
Anthony James Wylie "Tony" Godwin was a British publisher of the 1960s/1970s. His contribution to the publishing industry is recognized in the form of the Tony Godwin Memorial Trust....
.
In 1967 City Lights moved their publishing operation to 1562 Grant Avenue, Dick ran this part of the business with his brother Bob McBride and Martin Broadley for several years.
He returned to England in 1969, where he worked as the director of independent book distributors “McBride Bros. and Broadley”, selling books in England and to the Continent.
In the summer of 1973, Dick McBride and Bernard Stone hosted a "Fourth of July Party
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
" for Allen Ginsberg at the Turret Bookshop, London. Ginsberg’s “Fall of America
The Fall of America: Poems of These States
The Fall of America: Poems of These States is a book of poetry by Allen Ginsberg, published by City Lights in 1973 for which Ginsberg won the National Book Award. It's characterized by a prophetic tone inspired by William Blake and Walt Whitman, as well as an objective view characterized by William...
” had been published earlier that year, and it seemed appropriate to hold a reading on the birthday of American Independence. The party is commemorated in his biography of Ginsberg "Cometh With Clouds" (Cherry Valley Editions 1982).
Then during the 1980s, he moved on to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In 1988, McBride returned to the UK and settled in West Malvern
West Malvern
West Malvern is a village and a civil parish on the west side of the north part of the Malvern Hills at the western edge of Worcestershire, administered by the Malvern Hills District , and part of the informally defined area often referred to as the Malverns...
, Worcestershire.
In November 1996, Dick was a guest at the Conegliano
Conegliano
Conegliano is a town and comune of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of around 36,000 people. The remains of a castle that was built in the 10th century remain on a nearby hill...
Poetry Festival, where he read his poetry alongside Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko is a Soviet and Russian poet. He is also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, actor, editor, and a director of several films.-Early life:...
, Andrey Voznesensky
Andrey Voznesensky
Andrei Andreyevich Voznesensky was a Soviet and Russian poet and writer who had been referred to by Robert Lowell as "one of the greatest living poets in any language." He was one of the "Children of the '60s," a new wave of iconic Russian intellectuals led by the Khrushchev Thaw.Voznesensky was...
and Roger McGough
Roger McGough
Roger Joseph McGough CBE is a well-known English performance poet. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Poetry Please and records voice-overs for commercials, as well as performing his own poetry regularly...
. The festival was organised to honour City Lights and the Beats and to celebrate Allen Ginsberg's 70th Birthday
In 2001 he collaborated with Celluloid on the Last Beat project, a live and recorded performance project that received airplay on BBC Radio 3's "Late Junction
Late Junction
Late Junction is a music programme broadcast on three nights a week by BBC Radio 3. Billed as "an eclectic mix of world music, ranging from the ancient to the contemporary", the programme has a wide musical scope. It is not uncommon to hear medieval ballads juxtaposed with 21st century electronica,...
". A UK tour followed, including a performance at the Birmingham ArtsFest.
In 2006 he headlined the "Words In Motion" stage at the Big Chill Festival
The Big Chill (music festival)
The Big Chill is an annual festival of alternative, dance and chill-out music and comedy, held in the grounds of Eastnor Castle during early August...
at Eastnor Castle
Eastnor Castle
Eastnor Castle is a 19th century mock castle, two miles from the town of Ledbury in Herefordshire, England, by the village of Eastnor. It was founded by John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers as his stately home and continues to be inhabited by his descendents. Currently in residence is the family of...
.
In January, 2009 Dick appeared at "The British Beat" event as part of the "Back On the Road" exhibition at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Barber Institute of Fine Arts
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham....
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. The exhibition featured the original manuscript scroll of Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
's 'On the Road
On the Road
On the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
'. The event was curated by Professor Dick Ellis, Head of American and Canadian Studies at Birmingham University
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
and also featured readings by Jim Burns, Ian McMillan, David Tipton & Camelia Ellias.
He now lives in Colwall
Colwall
Colwall is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England on the border with Worcestershire, nestling into the side of the Malvern Hills. Areas of the village are known as Colwall Stone, Upper Colwall and Colwall Green along over a mile of the B4218 road...
, Herefordshire, where he continues to write and perform.
Literary career
McBride's first collection of poetry Oranges was published in 1960 by Wilder Bentley at the Bread and Wine Press in San Francisco, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It was illustrated with woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s by the artist and actor, Victor Wong
Victor Wong
Victor Wong was a Chinese American character actor who appeared in supporting roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s.-Education:...
. The Bread and Wine Mission was started by Pierre Delattre and was home to Bob Kaufman
Bob Kaufman
Bob Kaufman , born Robert Garnell Kaufman, was an American Beat poet and surrealist inspired by jazz music. In France, where his poetry had a large following, he was known as the "American Rimbaud."-Biography:...
's magazine Beatitude.
Ballads of Blood was published in 1961 by the Golden Mountain Press, San Francisco.
His first book, Lonely The Autumn Bird: Two Novels was published by Alan Swallow in 1963. It consists of two short novels; the title novel, Lonely The Autumn Bird and Tilt.
In 1966, his second novel Memoirs Of A Natural-Born Expatriate was published by Alan Swallow. It tells the story of a man who (like the author) works at City Lights Bookstore
City Lights Bookstore
City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence...
.
In 1982, Charles Plymell
Charles Plymell
Charles Plymell is a poet, novelist, and small press publisher. Plymell has been published widely, collaborated with, and published many poets, writers, and artists, including principals of the Beat Generation....
's Cherry Valley Editions published Cometh With Clouds a short biography of Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
. It contains a foreword by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers...
.
Jacqui - Love Poems was privately produced in 1994. The second edition was published by McBride's Books in 1997 and is dedicated to his second wife, Jacqui.
McBride's third novel, The Astonished I (Memories & Wet Dreams) was published by McBride's Books in 1995. It is a recollection of the authors time in San Francisco. It is dedicated to his friend, Tim Prael and contains an introduction by Charles Plymell
Charles Plymell
Charles Plymell is a poet, novelist, and small press publisher. Plymell has been published widely, collaborated with, and published many poets, writers, and artists, including principals of the Beat Generation....
.
The first chapter of the book recalls a conversation with Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
who had phoned City Lights to talk to Ferlinghetti about publishing Visions of Cody
Visions of Cody
Visions of Cody is an experimental novel by Jack Kerouac. It was written in 1951-1952, and though not published in its entirety until 1973, it had by then achieved an underground reputation...
. A slightly different version of the first chapter was originally published in Transit and then The Beat Journals, both published by Kevin Ring's Beat Scene Press.
The second chapter of The Astonished I describes the first reading of Thou Shalt Not Kill (a lament for the death of Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
) by Kenneth Rexroth
Kenneth Rexroth
Kenneth Rexroth was an American poet, translator and critical essayist. He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance, and paved the groundwork for the movement...
at the Cellar in Green Street, San Francisco.
His most recent collection of poetry, Remembered America: Poems by Dick McBride was published by Rue Bella in 2004.
Influences
McBride was strongly influenced by Kenneth PatchenKenneth 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...
, who introduced him to the work of Giono, Celine
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
, Proust, Nathaniel West and William Saroyan
William Saroyan
William Saroyan was an Armenian American dramatist and author. The setting of many of his stories and plays is the center of Armenian-American life in California in his native Fresno.-Early years:...
.
Musical collaborations and recordings
- In 2000-2001 Dick McBride collaborated with Celluloid on the “Last Beat” project, a live and recorded project that received airplay on BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
's "Late JunctionLate JunctionLate Junction is a music programme broadcast on three nights a week by BBC Radio 3. Billed as "an eclectic mix of world music, ranging from the ancient to the contemporary", the programme has a wide musical scope. It is not uncommon to hear medieval ballads juxtaposed with 21st century electronica,...
". - In 2008, Charlie Stewart produced Upbeat & Groovy: Dick McBride reads poems 1960-2008, a recording of Dick reading his poetry at his home in Colwall, Herefordshire. The recording was limited to 150 copies.
Prose
- Haircut Dream (City Lights Journal: Number One, Published by City Lights Books, 1963)
- Lonely The Autumn Bird; Two Novels (A Swallow Paperbook, 1963)
- Memoirs Of A Natural-Born Expatriate (Alan Swallow, 1966)
- Cometh with Clouds: Memory, Allen Ginsberg (Cherry Valley Editions, 1982) ISBN 0-916156-54-0
- The Astonished I (Memories & Wet Dreams) (McBride's Books,1995) ISBN 0-9527136-0-8
- The Garden (Annihilator Press, 1999)
- Allen Ginsberg & The Blue Rinse Brigade (Urthona, 2001)
- Behan & The Beats (Appliance Books, 2005)
- Macho Ovum
Poetry
- Oranges - Illustrated by Victor WongVictor WongVictor Wong was a Chinese American character actor who appeared in supporting roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s.-Education:...
(Handset and printed at the Bread & Wine Press, San Francisco by Wilder Bentley, 1960) - Ballads of Blood (Golden Mountain Press, 1961)
- Jacqui - Love Poems (McBride's Books, 1994) ISBN 0-9527136-1-6
- Remembered America: Poems by Dick McBride Volume 1 (Rue Bella, 2004) ISBN 0-9536710-9-7
Plays
- From Out The Whale's Mouth
- Unnecessary Miracle
- Devils In A Quandary
- There And Where
Anthologies
- Beat Voices: An Anthology of Beat Poetry ed. David Kherdian (Beech Tree Books, 1996) ISBN 0-688-14916-2
External links
- Dick McBride at MySpace
- The Last Beat - Dick McBride with Celluloid
- From San Francisco to St. Ann's Well
- Big Chill 2006 Words In Motion Line-up
- Art | Exhibitions | Jack Kerouac: Back On the Road
- Guide to the Richard McBride Correspondence at The Bancroft Library
Further reading
- Ferlinghetti, Lawrence & Morgan, Bill "The Beat Generation in San Francisco: A Literary Tour" City Lights Books, 2003 ISBN 0-87286-417-0
- French, Warren G "The San Francisco Poetry Renaissance" Twayne, 1991 ISBN 0805776214