Franklin Rosemont
Encyclopedia
Franklin Rosemont was a poet, artist, historian, street speaker, and co-founder of the Chicago Surrealist Group
. Over four decades, Franklin produced a body of work, of declarations, manifestos, poetry, collage, hidden histories, and other interventions intended to inspire a new generation of revolution, and became perhaps "the most productive scholar of labor and the left in the United States."
musician.
, The Rise & Fall of the DIL Pickle: Jazz-Age Chicago's Wildest & Most Outrageously Creative Hobohemian Nightspot and Juice Is Stranger Than Friction: Selected Writings of T-Bone Slim. With Penelope Rosemont
and Paul Garon
he edited The Forecast is Hot!. His work has been deeply concerned with both the history of surrealism (writing a forward for Max Ernst
and Alchemy
: A Magician in Search of Myth) and of the radical labor movement in America, for instance, writing a biography of Joe Hill
.
Chicago Surrealist Group
The Chicago Surrealist Group was founded in Chicago, Illinois in July, 1966 by Franklin and Penelope Rosemont after a 1965 trip to Paris, during which they had been in contact with André Breton...
. Over four decades, Franklin produced a body of work, of declarations, manifestos, poetry, collage, hidden histories, and other interventions intended to inspire a new generation of revolution, and became perhaps "the most productive scholar of labor and the left in the United States."
Early life
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, to father Henry, a labor activist, and mother Sally, a jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician.
Career
He edited and wrote an introduction for What is Surrealism?: Selected Writings of Andre Breton, and edited Rebel Worker, Arsenal/Surrealist SubversionArsenal/Surrealist Subversion
Arsenal/Surrealist Subversion is an extremely sporadically appearing surrealist magazine published in Chicago and edited by Franklin Rosemont, though The Beat Page claims Philip Lamantia was a "contributing editor"...
, The Rise & Fall of the DIL Pickle: Jazz-Age Chicago's Wildest & Most Outrageously Creative Hobohemian Nightspot and Juice Is Stranger Than Friction: Selected Writings of T-Bone Slim. With Penelope Rosemont
Penelope Rosemont
Penelope Rosemont , attended Lake Forest College. She has been a painter, photographer, collagist and writer, and "graphic designer for [Arsenal/Surrealist Subversions] and other...
and Paul Garon
Paul Garon
Paul Garon is an author, writer, and editor, noted for his meditations on surrealist works, and also a noted scholar on blues as a musical and cultural movement. He was one of the founding editors of Living Blues magazine in 1970...
he edited The Forecast is Hot!. His work has been deeply concerned with both the history of surrealism (writing a forward for Max Ernst
Max Ernst
Max Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.-Early life:...
and Alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
: A Magician in Search of Myth) and of the radical labor movement in America, for instance, writing a biography of Joe Hill
Joe Hill
Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in Gävle , and also known as Joseph Hillström was a Swedish-American labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World...
.
Publications
Rosemont is the author of the poetry collections The Morning of a Machine Gun|The Morning of a Machine Gun: Twenty Poems & Documents. Profusely Illustrated By the Author., The Apple of the Automatic Zebra's Eye, and Penelope: A Poem, as well as An Open Entrance to the Shut Palace of Wrong Numbers, a book that explores the phenomenon of "wrong numbers" from a surrealist perspective, which was published by Black Swan Press in 2003. He also edited and introduced Hobohemia: Emma Goldman, Lucy Parsons, Ben Reitman & other agitators & outsiders in 1920s/30s Chicago, by Frank O. Beck.External links
- Franklin Rosemont 1943–2009 This "cyber-tombeauTombeauA tombeau is a musical composition commemorating the death of a notable individual. The term derives from the French word for "tomb" or "tombstone". The vast majority of tombeaux date from the 17th century and were composed for lute or other plucked string instruments...
" at Silliman's Blog by poet Ron SillimanRon SillimanRon Silliman is an American poet. He has written and edited over 30 books, and has had his poetry and criticism translated into 12 languages. He is often associated with language poetry. Between 1979 and 2004, Silliman wrote a single poem, The Alphabet...
includes comments, tributes, and links - Remembering a Wobbly Surrealist an extensive tribute to Rosemont
- Franklin Rosemont, fellow worker, surrealist poet, great American comprehensive set of links to obituaries on Rosemont found around the web as of April 2009
- Franklin and Penelope Rosemont collection of IWW Publications at Newberry LibraryNewberry LibraryThe Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...