Philip Lamantia
Encyclopedia
Philip Lamantia was an American poet
and lecturer. Lamantia's visionary poems were ecstatic, terror-filled, and erotic which explored the subconscious world of dreams and linked it to the experience of daily life.
in 1943, when he was fifteen and in the final issue of the Surrealist magazine VVV the following year. In 1944 he dropped out of Balboa High School to pursue poetry in New York City
. He returned to the Bay Area in 1945 and his first book, Erotic Poems, was published a year later.
Lamantia was one of the post World War II poets now sometimes referred to as the San Francisco Renaissance, and later became involved with the San Francisco Beat Generation
poets and the Surrealist Movement in the United States. He was on the bill at San Francisco's Six Gallery
on October 7, 1955, when poet Allen Ginsberg
read his poem Howl
for the first time. At this event Lamantia chose to read the poems of John Hoffman, a friend who had recently died. Hoffman's poetry collection Journey to the End (which includes the poems that Lamantia read at the Six Gallery) was published by City Lights in 2008, bound together with Lamantia's own Tau, a poem-cycle also dating from the mid-fifties. Tau remained unpublished during Lamantia's lifetime.
Nancy Peters
, his second wife and literary editor, quoted about him, "He found in the narcotic night world a kind of modern counterpart to the gothic castle -- a zone of peril to be symbolically or existentially crossed."
The poet spent time with native peoples in the United States and Mexico in the 1950s, participating in the peyote
-eating rituals of the Washo Indians of Nevada
. In later life, he embraced Catholicism, the religion of his childhood, and wrote many poems on Catholic themes.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and lecturer. Lamantia's visionary poems were ecstatic, terror-filled, and erotic which explored the subconscious world of dreams and linked it to the experience of daily life.
Biography
The poet was born in San Francisco to Sicilian immigrants and raised in that city's Excelsior neighborhood. His poetry was first published in the magazine ViewView (magazine)
View was an American literary and art magazine published from 1940 to 1947 by artist and writer Charles Henri Ford, and writer and film critic Parker Tyler. The magazine is best known for introducing Surrealism to the American public....
in 1943, when he was fifteen and in the final issue of the Surrealist magazine VVV the following year. In 1944 he dropped out of Balboa High School to pursue poetry in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He returned to the Bay Area in 1945 and his first book, Erotic Poems, was published a year later.
Lamantia was one of the post World War II poets now sometimes referred to as the San Francisco Renaissance, and later became involved with the San Francisco 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...
poets and the Surrealist Movement in the United States. He was on the bill at San Francisco's Six Gallery
Six Gallery reading
The Six Gallery reading was a poetry-reading which occurred at the Six Gallery on Friday, October 7, 1955, at 3119 Fillmore Street in San Francisco....
on October 7, 1955, when poet 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...
read his poem Howl
Howl
"Howl" is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg in 1955 and published as part of his 1956 collection of poetry titled Howl and Other Poems. The poem is considered to be one of the great works of the Beat Generation, along with Jack Kerouac's On the Road and William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch...
for the first time. At this event Lamantia chose to read the poems of John Hoffman, a friend who had recently died. Hoffman's poetry collection Journey to the End (which includes the poems that Lamantia read at the Six Gallery) was published by City Lights in 2008, bound together with Lamantia's own Tau, a poem-cycle also dating from the mid-fifties. Tau remained unpublished during Lamantia's lifetime.
Nancy Peters
Nancy Peters
Nancy Joyce Peters is an American publisher, writer, and co-owner with Lawrence Ferlinghetti of City Lights Books and Publishers in San Francisco....
, his second wife and literary editor, quoted about him, "He found in the narcotic night world a kind of modern counterpart to the gothic castle -- a zone of peril to be symbolically or existentially crossed."
The poet spent time with native peoples in the United States and Mexico in the 1950s, participating in the peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
-eating rituals of the Washo Indians of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. In later life, he embraced Catholicism, the religion of his childhood, and wrote many poems on Catholic themes.
Works
- Erotic Poems (Berkeley: Bern PorterBern PorterBernard Harden "Bern" Porter was an American artist, writer, publisher, performer, and scientist.In 2010 his work was recognized by an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.- Biography :...
, 1946) - Ekstasis (San Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1959)
- Narcotica (San Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1959)
- Destroyed Works (San Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1962)
- Touch of the Marvelous ([no place] Oyez, 1966)
- Selected Poems 1943-1966 (San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1967)
- Charles BukowskiCharles BukowskiHenry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
, Harold NorseHarold NorseHarold Norse was an American writer who created a body of work using the American idiom of everyday language and images. One of the expatriate artists of the Beat generation, Norse was widely published and anthologized.- Life :Born Harold Rosen to an unmarried Lithuanian Jewish immigrant in Brooklyn...
, Philip Lamantia: Penguin Modern Poets, No. 13. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1969) - Blood of the Air (San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1970)
- Touch of the Marvelous -- A New Edition (Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1974)
- Becoming Visible (San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1981)
- Meadowlark West (San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1986)
- "Private Works" a collaborative book with Brian 'Giu' Jeffrey (San Francisco: Lamantia Publishing, 1991)
- Bed of Sphinxes: New and Selected Poems, 1943-1993 (San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1997)
- Garrett Caples (Ed.): Tau; with Journey to the End by John Hoffman (San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2008)
External links
- Obituary by Marcus Williamson in The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
(UK) - Obituary by Stephen Schwartz: A Mystic and Tormented Believer. The Passing of Poet Philip Lamantia. In: San Francisco Faith, 2005
- Philip Lamantia multimedia directory
- Guide to the Philip Lamantia Papers at The Bancroft Library
- Philip Lamantia's Last Interview
- Biographic-appreciation of Lamantia as teacher