Michael McClure‘s new book of poems has just been released by City Lights: “A landmark work of bio-romanticism, Mephistos and Other Poems is (McClure’s) first completely new collection in five years…. The title sequence, “Mephistos” stems from (his) ongoing “grafting” experiment, growing new poems from fragments of his older works. “Some Fringes: is a series of haiku-like nature poems, while the seventeen-part “Rose Breaths” derives from the poet’s practice of meditation. The freestanding poems grouped under the title “Being:” pay homage to many of McClure’s collaborators and fellow travelers, such as Bruce Conner, Terry Riley,and Dave Haselwood. The book climaxes with “Song Heavy”, recounting (his) recent encounter with a beached whale in Rockport, MA, and recalling his classic “For the Death of 100 Whales” which he read in the Six Gallery in 1955 – the inaugural moment of American eco-poetics.”
Diane Di Prima writes of McClure – “He is such a sweet paradox. Like most of Shelley and the late poems of D.H.Lawrence, McClure turns the phenomenal world inside out, seeking Mind within mind”.
Robert Hunter – “Close attention will be rewarded in kind. Keep Mephistos close at hand, read only a poem or two at a time, let the magery possess you, It’s okay, you can trust it. It’s McClure; he’ll never steer you wrong
Jonah Raskin‘s review in the NY Journal of Books is here (his notice in the San Francisco Chronicle – href=”http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/poetry-questions-michael-mcclure”>here
Rebecca Foresman interviews him regarding the poem “Mephisto 20” in The New Yorker – here
Garrett Caples interviews McClure for the Poetry Foundation – here
Here’s McClure reading from Mephisto last Thursday at City Lights (He’ll be reading again at Moe’s Books in Berkeley, December 6th)
Michael McClure on the Allen Ginsberg Project – here, here, here, here and here.