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Sound / Weisburd #16

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Title
Weisburd #16
Alternative Title
Gregory-Walsh-Larsen-Kurnick
Creator
Weisburd, Mel
Contributing Institution
California State University, Los Angeles
Collection
California Revealed from California State University, Los Angeles
Rights Information
Copyrighted. Rights are owned by Special Collections & Archives, JFK Memorial Library, California State University, Los Angeles.Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Rights Notes
Property of California State University, Los Angeles, John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, Special Collections and Archives
Description
This recording is from the personal collection of the poet Mel Weisburd, who during the 1950s was the editor of the influential journal of California poetry, Coastlines. Accounts of California poetry of the time now increasingly identify the group of poets associated with the journal (a circle dubbed the “Coastliners” by Weisburd) as an important alternative to the more visible Beat communities of San Francisco and Venice. Weisburd avidly sought to document the poetry activity of Los Angeles in the 50s, which recorded a number of legendary happenings and readings. This recording features poetry readings by Vahan Gregory, a poet and playwright whose work ranged over topics as diverse as the Armenian genocide and the beatnik scene in mid-century Los Angeles; Zack Walsh a poet tied to the beatnik scenes of both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and a member of Wallace Berman’s influential Semina circle; Carl Larsen, a maverick poet, novelist, and playwright who served prominently as an editor (including stints at BRAND X, 7 Poets Press, and others) was the first poet, later followed by the likes of Charles Bukowski, to have a special section of Wormwood Review devoted to him; and finally Stanley Kurnick, a Los Angeles poet and teacher who ran the Los Angeles writers' workshops and poets' workshops at the First Unitarian Church. First Unitarian hosted numerous poetry readings, political workshops, and community events, and was a crucial Los Angeles site for activist political circles and the leftist poetry scene in the 1950s.
Type
sound
Format
Original
1/4 inch audio tape
Extent
1 Tape of 1
00:49:58
Identifier
MW2016.004.16
cls_000003
Language
English
Subject
Poetry reading
Larsen, Carl, 1934-
Walsh, Zack
Place
Los Angeles (Calif.)
Provenance
California State University, Los Angeles, John F. Kennedy Memorial Library
California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

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