, translator and critical essay
ist. He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance
, and paved the groundwork for the movement. Although he did not consider himself to be a Beat poet, and disliked the association, he was one of the major influences on the Beat generation
, and was once dubbed "Father of the Beats" by Time. He was among the first poets in the United States
to explore traditional Japan
ese poetic forms such as haiku
.
Rexroth had two daughters, Mary (who later changed her name to Mariana) and Katharine, by his third wife, Marthe Larsen.
Rexroth was born Kenneth Charles Marion Rexroth in South Bend, Indiana
, the son of Charles Rexroth, a pharmaceuticals salesman, and Delia Reed.
The holiness of the realIs always there, accessibleIn total immanence. The nodesOf transcendence coagulateIn you, the experiencer,And in the other, the lover.
All night I lay awake beside you, Leaning on my elbow, watching your Sleeping face, that face whose purity Never ceases to astonish me.
Towards the end of the night, as trucks rumbled In the streets, you stirred, cuddled to me, And spoke my name. Your voice was the voice Of a girl who had never known loss Of love, betrayal, mistrust, or lie.
In the star-filled dark we cookOur macaroni and eatBy lantern light. Stars clusterAround our table like fireflies.