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920 Esmeralda
San Francisco,Ca. 94110.
824-1576
23 June 1975

J.F. Goodwin
1219 Kearny
San Francisco,Ca.

Dear Jack: Just got your letter of 2/28 which the Focus Gallery forgot to forward until now.

Thanks much for the information. I had talked to many of the principals at Six reading, which by the way Whalen says was Nov. 1955, and the people involved come up w/different stories, Shig [[crossed out]] Robt. LaVigne did the posters, Ernie Nadalini said he did, Whalen said there were none, only announcements he dittoed. The Six poets were Whalen, Gary Snyder,Lamantia, Ginsberg,nad,McClure-the sixth being Kerouac who never read-he was too shy;he was drinking too much wine and seemed to be fairly drunk-but he wrote a fairly clear description of the event in the Dharma bums.

The reason,he wrote some people may be mad at Gilbert is some friends put on a poetry reading that was pretty much an attack on Allen.One of the poets read a really ugly personal satire on Allen- very long and nasty and an imitation of Howl.

The art festival line up was muy impressive-at least now looking at the names represented. Too bad they don't do anything like that today.

Re your words that Barney and Tom cooked up "beatnik" festival, you probably got from Barney. He is one of the most informative sources around, but sometimes things come out distorted. Actually what became the Rolling Rennaisance evolved from a manic idea of mine. I was having a show of photos the After-Beat at Seven Arts Francais gallery on Stockton street in the Beach might, and the owner Pat Partridge mentioned the possibility of a Then and Now show and events,since she was friends with Wes Wilson, the Fillmore Auditorium poster artist and other artists of that era- she lining them up-me lining up from my era. We had a seriesof meetings with Tom and others-but she was somewhat difficult to work with-Barney and Dr. Francis Rigney stomping out of a meeting;but we had my show minus the events. I put a series of ads in Village Voice(see enclosed) trying to bring some people back. Then John Fisher, a black poet and playwright friend of mine, introduced me to Bob Johnson of Intersection who went for idea. Peter Bailey and Bob thought up the word- Rolling Rennaisance- I flipped out and wound up in Langlie Porter- and Bob and others put it together.

Focus show in revised form going to NYC in July to Gotham Book Mart and Gallery for three months.

Prevail,

Mark Green

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-07-31 11:46:38 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-07-31 13:41:18