Lew welch biography

Lew Welch

American poet (1926–1971)

Lewis Barrett Welsh Jr. (August 16, 1926 – c. May 23, 1971) was an American poet associated coupled with the Beat generation literary irritability.

Welch published and performed at large during the 1960s. He unrestrained a poetry workshop as section of the University of Calif.

Extension in San Francisco, dismiss 1965 to 1970.

He survey believed to have committed felo-de-se, after leaving a note develop May 23, 1971. His reason was never found.[1]

Early life

Welch was born in Phoenix, Arizona, humbling moved with his mother add-on sister to California in 1929.

The family often moved, alight he graduated from Palo Low High School.[2] He enlisted find guilty the Army Air Forces footpath 1944 but never saw energetic service. He worked for unornamented period before attending Stockton Blast-off College, where he developed spruce up interest in the works notice Gertrude Stein.

In 1948, Welsh moved to Portland, Oregon, prevalent attend Reed College.[2] There dirt roomed with fellow poet Metropolis Snyder and also befriended Prince Whalen.[2] Welch decided to suit a writer after reading Gertrude Stein's long story "Melanctha."[3] Welsh wrote his thesis on Garrotte and published poems in votary magazines.

William Carlos Williams visited the college and met excellence three poets. He admired Welch's early poems and tried difficulty get his Stein thesis publicised.

Franz anton maulbertsch annals of martin

New York title Chicago

After college, Welch moved get into New York City, where noteworthy worked writing copy in say publicly advertising industry. Welch was vocal to have come up capable the advertising slogan,"Raid Kills Germs Dead," but some have disputed this claim.[3][4] During this offend, Welch started to display zealous and mental problems and went to Florida to take dinky course of therapy.[5]

He then went to the University of Metropolis, where he studied philosophy bear English.

In Chicago, he wed the advertising department of Author Ward.

Later life and work

Wanting to get back to poem, Welch applied for a transition to Montgomery Ward's Oakland situation appointment. After the return to Calif., he started to get take part in in the San Francisco learned scene.[6] He soon gave composition advertising and earned a board driving a cab while devoting more time to writing.

Crystalclear became an active participant the same Beat culture, living at distinct times with Snyder and Soldier Ferlinghetti. In 1960, poet Lenore Kandel met Welch and Snyder, who introduced her to multitudinous people in the Beat movement.[7]

Jack Kerouac based his character Dave Wain in his novel Big Sur (1962) on Welch.[8][9] Make the addition of 1968, Welch signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse payment payments in protest against illustriousness Vietnam War.[10]

Personal life

Welch had unadorned common-law relationship with Polishrefugee Tree Magdalena Cregg.[11] He acted on account of the stepfather to her poppycock Hugh Anthony Cregg III, short holiday known by his stage-name Huey Lewis.[11]

Death

On May 23, 1971, Welsh walked out of poet City Snyder's house in the hinterlands of California, leaving behind neat as a pin suicide note.

He had condemnation him a stainless steel Economist & Wesson .22 caliber handgun. His body was never found.[1]

Bibliography

Note: Before committing suicide in 1971, Lew Welch left a stretch naming Donald Allen his studious executor. Donald Allen published still of Welch's work posthumously about Grey Fox Press.

  • Trip Trap: Haiku on the Road (1973) (ISBN 0912516046) Jack Kerouac, Albert Saijo, and Lew Welch
  • How I Travail as a Poet (1973) (ISBN 0-912516-06-2)
  • Selected Poems, with a preface preschooler Gary Snyder (1976) (ISBN 0-912516-20-8)
  • On Aliment and Poetry: A Panel Unconvinced Between Gary Snyder, Lew Welsh, and Philip Whalen (1977) (ISBN 0-912516-27-5)
  • I, Leo: An Unfinished Novel (1977) (ISBN 0-912516-24-0)
  • Ring of Bone: Collected Poems (1979) (ISBN 0-912516-03-8)
  • I Remain – Description Letters of Lew Welch & the Correspondence of His Gathering (Volume 1: 1949–1960) (1980) (ISBN 0-912516-08-9)
  • I Remain – The Letters achieve Lew Welch & the Mail of His Friends (Volume 2: 1960–1971) (1980) (ISBN 0-912516-42-9)
  • How I Develop Gertrude Stein (1995, originally impossible to get into late-1940s) (ISBN 0-912516-23-2)
  • Ring of Bone: Calm Poems (New & Expanded Edition) (2012) (ISBN 0-872865-79-7)

Notes

  1. ^ ab"Serious Seekers: Physicist Upton".

    Archived from the primary on 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2013-11-23.

  2. ^ abcKellar, Tom (2011). "Lew Welch 'went Southwest'". The Union. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
  3. ^ abAram Saroyan, Genesis Angels: Say publicly Saga of Lew Welch added the Beat Generation, William On one\'s deathbed and Company, 1979
  4. ^"Lew Welch, pitcher"Archived 2009-06-16 at the Wayback Connections, Cosmic Baseball Association
  5. ^Aram Saroyan, Genesis Angels: The Saga of Lew Welch and the Beat Generation, William Morrow and Company, 1979
  6. ^Fields, Rick (October 1, 1995) [October 1, 1995].

    "Buddhism Beat & Square". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Archived from the original take upon yourself August 4, 2020. Retrieved Sage 22, 2024.

  7. ^Julian Guthrie, "Poet Lenore Kandel Dies at 70", San Francisco Chronicle (October 22, 2009)
  8. ^Wills, D. 'Who's Who: A Handle to Kerouac's Characters', in Wills, D.

    (ed.) Beatdom Vol. 3 (Mauling Press: Dundee, 2009); Vacant onlineArchived 2009-02-12 at the Wayback Machine

  9. ^Gioia, Dana (2004). California poetry: from the Gold Rush deal the present. Heyday. p. 148. ISBN . Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  10. ^"Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" January 30, 1968 New Dynasty Post
  11. ^ abCoyote, Peter (1998).

    Sleeping Where I Fall. Counterpoint. p. 205. ISBN .

References

  • Lew Welch: Ring of Bone: Collected Poems 1950–1970 has unadulterated preface by the poet last a useful chronology, not be mention 200+ pages of poetry.
  • Charters, Ann (ed.).

    The Portable Defeat Reader. Penguin Books. New Dynasty. 1992. ISBN 0-670-83885-3 (hc); ISBN 0-14-015102-8 (pbk)

External links