Michael McClure

American poet, essayist and playwright who, along with Beat poet Allen Ginsberg and four others, performed their poetry in a famous public reading at the Six Gallery in San Francisco in October 1955. Born in Marysville, Kansas, he grew up being shuttled back and forth between Marysville, Wichita and Seattle, Washington due to his parents’ divorce and subsequent remarriages. The young McClure was fascinated by nature, and those around him expected him to pursue this interest as a career. As an adolescent, he read the classics as well as a younger generation of writers like Artaud and Schwitters, and enthused, he began writing poetry, later taking up painting in hopes of gaining further inspiration. In 1954, he moved to San Francisco with plans to attend the California School of Fine Arts; however, instead he became involved with a group of artists, writers and rock musicians. He enrolled in Robert Duncan’s poetry workshop at San Francisco State College. The following year, he met Jack Kerouac who based the Pat McClear character in his book, "Big Sur," on McClure. Drawn into the emerging Beat movement, he became friends with Ginsberg; they had each had a vision of William Blake, and they spent much time discussing how different their respective visions had been. As with much of his subsequent work, McClure’s poem, "For the Death of 100 Whales," which he performed at Six Gallery, was a work inspired by his lifelong involvement with the ecology movement. His first book, "Passage," was published in 1956. The painter and photographer, Wallace Berman, introduced McClure to peyote, and in 1958, he wrote "Peyote Poem," describing his experience with the psychedelic drug. His association with Ginsberg continued, and in 1967, they participated in the "Human Be-In" in Golden Gate Park. McClure wrote the original words on which the Janis Joplin song, "Oh Lord, Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz," was based. In the ’60s and ’70s, his plays, "The Beard" and "Josephine: The Mouse Singer" stirred up much controversy; the former won two awards but resulted in four major censorship trials. He began collaborating with Ray Manzarek, former keyboard player for the Doors, during the early 1990s, and they released a video, "Love Lion." McClure was married twice and had a daughter. He died of stroke-related complications on 4 May 2020 in San Francisco at age 87. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less