June 6 (1982) marks the day Kenneth Rexroth died, in Montecito, California, aged 76, “Father Figure”, as his New York Times obituary noted,”to Beat Poets” (see also Eliot Weinberger’s much later appraisal in Kevin Gallagher’s Rexroth feature for Jacket).
Here on the Allen Ginsberg Project, we’ve noted his undeniable significance in the establishment and recognition of a Beat literature (and his subsequent virulent rejection of it) – (Weinberger cites his famous disclaimer – “An entomologist is not a bug”). Rexroth was an essential figure in the early days. He remains, surprisingly (or perhaps not so surprisingly) occluded, still occluded.
Our friend, David S Wills has made an extensive study of him, occasioned by his prominent role in the legendary fabled 6 Gallery Reading. Here he is, from last year, speaking of him, interviewed by Simon Warner:
DSW: I think his name probably appears in my book (A Remarkable Collection of Angels) more than Ginsberg’s does, and I used Ginsberg as a sort of narrative thread to tie the middle part together. But that’s because Rexroth was incredibly important and was busy forming a scene well before Ginsberg and co arrived in the Bay Area. The funny thing when I was researching this book was just how much people would praise him on one hand and then say something – usually while laughing – terrible about him on the other. This traces back even to contemporary documents.
People were endlessly amused by this man who was both a genius and a bullshitter, both kind and monstrous, both intellectual and hilariously irrational. He knew lots but always pretended he knew much more. He would tell stories about knowing Oscar Wilde, who had died before Rexroth was born, and if you mentioned a famous female writer he would claim to have slept with her – even if you’d made up a totally fictional person. He could be downright nasty to friends and lovers and people often avoided him for long periods, and I don’t think there’s anyone he knew well whom he didn’t attack and fall out with at some point…
Gary Snyder perhaps tolerated him more than anyone else and took a very Buddhist approach to dealing with the nastiness, but one gets the feeling he is excusing just inexcusable behaviour. Yet when he found a talented young writer he would go out of his way to support them. He really pushed for the success of the 6 Gallery and the reading there, and then he seems to have arranged for them to have subsequent readings, and he largely wrote the famous New York Times article that brought the Beats to a national level of interest.
Around the key era of this book, 1955 to 56, Rexroth clearly had a severe breakdown caused by domestic problems. This was exacerbated in various ways by these young Beat poets, one of whom, Robert Creeley, screwed Rexroth’s wife. Between bad behaviour, misunderstandings, and Rexroth’s general tendency towards insecurity and paranoia, he just blew up and was a bit of an embarrassment for a period of months or even years. I think it’s only because he was so respected as a poet and community organiser that people sort of ignored or tolerated him wandering around screaming accusations at them. Later, of course, he calmed down a bit but he never forgave Kerouac and his various reviews of Kerouac’s books are just awful.
In fact, the best Allen Ginsberg letter I ever read is sadly unpublished. He wrote to Rexroth and went on for several pages calling out his faults, begging him to show some decency. He was spurred to do this by one of Rexroth’s public tirades against Kerouac. It absolutely should have been in his collected letters. It shows Ginsberg at his emotional best, furious and passionate yet at the same time somehow tolerant and, above all, desperate to put poetry and community above personal bitching. I hope it is published one day.”
Wills’ extensive study and deep insights have born fruit in an extended piece that he published on his Beatdom Substack just a few months ago – “Honest Advice Wanted – Allen Ginsberg and Kenneth Rexroth – An in-depth look at the very difficult relationship between two major poets” – You are strongly advised to read it .
As he notes in his introduction – “Much has already been written about Kenneth Rexroth and the Beat Generation, including an essay I put together for Beatdom #24. However, these accounts have tended to look at his relationship with the writers as a group and particularly his role as an elder who initially supported them but later turned against them. They have understandably focused on the animosity between Rexroth and Jack Kerouac, which is certainly the most salacious part of the story. (Who doesn’t enjoy reading about an old-fashioned literary feud?) Rexroth’s role in the 6 Gallery reading has also been documented, as has his defence of “Howl” in 1957. I do not want to repeat too much and so in this essay I will aim to rely heavily on unpublished and largely uncited documents to look at the whole arc of the “friendship” (if indeed that is an appropriate term for the rather difficult relationship) between Rexroth and Allen Ginsberg..”
On the anniversary of Rexroth’s passing, but on any day, a “must-read”.