Tony Frisco (who uses the nom de plume Antonio Pineda and regularly contributes to Rock and the Beat Generation) comments:
David Meltzer rehearsed the SERPENT POWER @ Straight Theater during my tenure. A raga/rock/jazz confluence which blew my mind. Larry Keenan the teen rebel who photographed the famous pic of Dylan/McClure/Ginsberg is a San Francisco legend. Meltzer is a poet and influencer who does not receive the attention he deserves.
Your view and that link are valuable, Philip. I had a tricky encounter myself with Michael McClure more than 20 years ago. I suppose every encounter has its own dynamic.
SIMON : I checked my copy of "St MARKS IS DEAD -THE MANY LIVES OF AMERICA's HIPPEST STREET by Ada Calhoun(Norton 2016) -She grew up on St Marks Place ,knows infinitely more about it than I do ,and wrote what I think will remain the standard account for quite some time. No mention of when the bookstore closed though -but a cornucopia of information particularly about 60's ,counterculture, beats ,Jazz (5 spot)- that I think would interest you...My affection for the area?- I wound up playing harp & singing Blues at St Marks Bar in the Nineties -long after the Stones made their Waiting On A Friend video there - the place had a life-size black and white mural of the Stones engaging in characteristically decadent pursuits ,right next to what passed for the stage... I think the new ownership -which ruined the place and ended the policy of live bands seven nights a week-ended all music in fact- I think they destroyed the mural in the re-model. I have tried to locate it several times to no avail...
The 90's were very wild in that area-very much in the tradition of the Sixties - I have no idea what's going on there now - but my sense is, to paraphrase BBKing -"the buzz is gone"
Of course I have a few quibbles. LSD was prevalent in SF long before 65. It was legal to order from Switzerland in the early 60s.
Also there are pictures of Charles Plymell with Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti etc that are iconic. The novel Last of the Moccasins published by CL has become classic but never mentioned by CL. Charley doesn't consider himself a Beat, he says he's hobohemian. He's 90 and one of the few remaining from that era.
SIMON: I don't remember when it closed . At one time it was on the downtown side of St Marks Place between 2nd & 3 rd Avenue , with the extensive poetry& pamphlets on consignment -and at one time it was on the uptown side of the street -the side of "The Dom"which I think was one of the first discos in New York - but it also had rock & blues acts like the Chambers Brothers before they hit the Fillmore -later Warhol, Lou Reed,& Nico- The bookstore moved around the corner to 3 rd Avenue a half block up-and had a pretty long run there -before it was priced out and moved several blocks away while it kept the name -but it didn't last long there.
One of many long gone New York counterculture/music/literary venues.
While no City Lights ,the St Marks Place Bookshop in NYC ,in all its locations ,cries out for a place in literary/bookseller history & its appeal to countercultural types.
When it was on the downtown side of the street,I remember a frantic Allen Ginsberg entering and loudly asking for a copy of W E B Du Bois' Souls of Black Folk. I also spoke to Abbie Hoffman there ,after he re-surfaced, about a mutual acquaintance Brad Fox who is mentioned in Jonah Raskin's biography of Abbie,and overheard Chandler Broussard bitterly complaining about the politics of the literary world..
But what was really important about the store in terms of its connection to City Lights and the East Village , to struggling, unknown countercultural writers was its consignment
rack which featured, then the unknown on the East Coast works by writers from what has arguably become the most prominent neo-Beat Poetry Press-The Zeitgeist Press ,featuring the works of "The Berkeley Bubble Lady"Julia Vinograd ,David Lerner,
(both no longer with us) and the publisher/poet all around Poetry force- eventually a graduate of Allen Ginsberg's program at Brooklyn Colllege-Bruce Isaacson very much alive, and
the center of an avant-garde Poetry scene in Las Vegas today.
The loss of the St Marks Bookshop as a hub was a significant blow and a symptom of
the decline in the cultural prestige that St Marks Place
A warm and thoughtful interview. I was particularly engaged by Garrett's observations about Ferlinghetti's aversion to nostalgia and emphasis on looking to the future. I also very much enjoyed his observations about the culture of City Lights as a living enterprise and how it and its employees intersect with and diverge from its Beat roots. Having gone there regularly since my teens, and bought more books than I can count there, and having published two poems set in its environs, it gave me a the warmest of feeling to sit back and enjoy this interview as day turned to night.
A cool thing that happened to me back in the mid 80s= I had written a ton of inspired poetry, a zillion pages back before my zealousness diminished. So I edited and pared it downI had a printer pal in los Gatos who published it but I had to distribute it. It was called Guardian Angel and in my own cosmogony it was the best stuff I ever did. I went in to City Lights and saw Mr Ferlinghetti who just happened to be downstairs behind the counter. He told me to talk to another who told me they'd sell it on commission
A week later I was once again in North Beach and there was my little volume in the front window between some kind of Henry Miller and another which I forget.. it was night time and the light seemed golden...cool moment...
Tony Frisco (who uses the nom de plume Antonio Pineda and regularly contributes to Rock and the Beat Generation) comments:
David Meltzer rehearsed the SERPENT POWER @ Straight Theater during my tenure. A raga/rock/jazz confluence which blew my mind. Larry Keenan the teen rebel who photographed the famous pic of Dylan/McClure/Ginsberg is a San Francisco legend. Meltzer is a poet and influencer who does not receive the attention he deserves.
My experience with Michael McClure was different. I found him to be cordially forthcoming http://www.philipgounis.com/michael-mcclure-interviewed
Your view and that link are valuable, Philip. I had a tricky encounter myself with Michael McClure more than 20 years ago. I suppose every encounter has its own dynamic.
SIMON : I checked my copy of "St MARKS IS DEAD -THE MANY LIVES OF AMERICA's HIPPEST STREET by Ada Calhoun(Norton 2016) -She grew up on St Marks Place ,knows infinitely more about it than I do ,and wrote what I think will remain the standard account for quite some time. No mention of when the bookstore closed though -but a cornucopia of information particularly about 60's ,counterculture, beats ,Jazz (5 spot)- that I think would interest you...My affection for the area?- I wound up playing harp & singing Blues at St Marks Bar in the Nineties -long after the Stones made their Waiting On A Friend video there - the place had a life-size black and white mural of the Stones engaging in characteristically decadent pursuits ,right next to what passed for the stage... I think the new ownership -which ruined the place and ended the policy of live bands seven nights a week-ended all music in fact- I think they destroyed the mural in the re-model. I have tried to locate it several times to no avail...
The 90's were very wild in that area-very much in the tradition of the Sixties - I have no idea what's going on there now - but my sense is, to paraphrase BBKing -"the buzz is gone"
I didn't know about this, but it's definitely on my reading list.
Thank you so much, Dave, for that extra background. Very interesting.
Of course I have a few quibbles. LSD was prevalent in SF long before 65. It was legal to order from Switzerland in the early 60s.
Also there are pictures of Charles Plymell with Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti etc that are iconic. The novel Last of the Moccasins published by CL has become classic but never mentioned by CL. Charley doesn't consider himself a Beat, he says he's hobohemian. He's 90 and one of the few remaining from that era.
Thank you, Pam, for raising those relevant points. I hope you and Charley are doing well.
Wonderful interview. Fascinating stuff. Thanks Simon and Garrett.
Appreciated, Leon. Glad you enjoyed it. I expect R&BG will be seeing more contributions from yourself as 2026 unfolds…
Ready, willing and able. Bring it on.
SIMON: I don't remember when it closed . At one time it was on the downtown side of St Marks Place between 2nd & 3 rd Avenue , with the extensive poetry& pamphlets on consignment -and at one time it was on the uptown side of the street -the side of "The Dom"which I think was one of the first discos in New York - but it also had rock & blues acts like the Chambers Brothers before they hit the Fillmore -later Warhol, Lou Reed,& Nico- The bookstore moved around the corner to 3 rd Avenue a half block up-and had a pretty long run there -before it was priced out and moved several blocks away while it kept the name -but it didn't last long there.
One of many long gone New York counterculture/music/literary venues.
Thank you, Dave, for all that further background. Do any other readers know the year that the St Mark’s bookshop eventually closed?
While no City Lights ,the St Marks Place Bookshop in NYC ,in all its locations ,cries out for a place in literary/bookseller history & its appeal to countercultural types.
When it was on the downtown side of the street,I remember a frantic Allen Ginsberg entering and loudly asking for a copy of W E B Du Bois' Souls of Black Folk. I also spoke to Abbie Hoffman there ,after he re-surfaced, about a mutual acquaintance Brad Fox who is mentioned in Jonah Raskin's biography of Abbie,and overheard Chandler Broussard bitterly complaining about the politics of the literary world..
But what was really important about the store in terms of its connection to City Lights and the East Village , to struggling, unknown countercultural writers was its consignment
rack which featured, then the unknown on the East Coast works by writers from what has arguably become the most prominent neo-Beat Poetry Press-The Zeitgeist Press ,featuring the works of "The Berkeley Bubble Lady"Julia Vinograd ,David Lerner,
(both no longer with us) and the publisher/poet all around Poetry force- eventually a graduate of Allen Ginsberg's program at Brooklyn Colllege-Bruce Isaacson very much alive, and
the center of an avant-garde Poetry scene in Las Vegas today.
The loss of the St Marks Bookshop as a hub was a significant blow and a symptom of
the decline in the cultural prestige that St Marks Place
has undergone .
A gripping piece of micro-history, Dave. Subterranean stories from the underground. When did the St Mark’s Bookshop actually close. 🙁
A warm and thoughtful interview. I was particularly engaged by Garrett's observations about Ferlinghetti's aversion to nostalgia and emphasis on looking to the future. I also very much enjoyed his observations about the culture of City Lights as a living enterprise and how it and its employees intersect with and diverge from its Beat roots. Having gone there regularly since my teens, and bought more books than I can count there, and having published two poems set in its environs, it gave me a the warmest of feeling to sit back and enjoy this interview as day turned to night.
So please you enjoyed it, Marc, and I enjoyed, in turn, absorbing your reminiscences here.
Yes indeed the Beats are important to City Lights
!
A cool thing that happened to me back in the mid 80s= I had written a ton of inspired poetry, a zillion pages back before my zealousness diminished. So I edited and pared it downI had a printer pal in los Gatos who published it but I had to distribute it. It was called Guardian Angel and in my own cosmogony it was the best stuff I ever did. I went in to City Lights and saw Mr Ferlinghetti who just happened to be downstairs behind the counter. He told me to talk to another who told me they'd sell it on commission
A week later I was once again in North Beach and there was my little volume in the front window between some kind of Henry Miller and another which I forget.. it was night time and the light seemed golden...cool moment...
That is a lovely story, Sean. Thank you for sharing it.