Jack Micheline
Encyclopedia
Jack Micheline born Harold Martin Silver, was an American
painter
and poet
from the San Francisco Bay Area
. His name is synonymous with street artist
s, underground writers, and "outlaw" poets. One of San Francisco's original Beat poets, he was an innovative artist who was active in the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance
of the 1950s and 1960s.
, New York
, of Russia
n-Romania
n ancestry. Micheline took his pen name from writer Jack London
and his mother's maiden name. He moved to Greenwich Village
in the 1950s, where he became a street poet, drawing on Harlem
blues and jazz rhythms and the cadence of word music. He lived on the fringe of poverty, writing about hookers, drug addicts, blue collar workers, and the dispossessed.
In 1957, Troubadour Press published his first book River of Red Wine. Jack Kerouac
wrote the introduction, and it was reviewed by Dorothy Parker
in Esquire magazine. Micheline relocated to San Francisco in the early 1960s, where he spent the rest of his life. He published over twenty books, some of them mimeographs and chapbooks.
Though a poet of the Beat generation
, Micheline characterized the Beat movement as a product of media hustle, and hated being categorized as a Beat poet. He was also a painter, working primarily with gouache
in a self-taught, primitive style he picked up in Mexico City
.
Bryan's Los Angeles alternative newspaper Open City
Solicited frm Micheline by guest editor Charles Bukowski
, its subject was a promiscuous young woman. The story used the F-word and Bryan was arrested for obscenity, but was not convicted.
Second Coming Press
published a book of Micheline's stories, entitled Skinny Dynamite after his most notorious work, in 1980.
while riding a BART
subway train from San Francisco to Orinda in 1998. The back room at San Francisco's Abandoned Planet Bookstore (until it was closed) showcased Micheline's wall mural paintings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
from the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. His name is synonymous with street artist
Street artist
A street artist is someone who creates and/or sells their art or craft in public for the pleasure of passers-by.Some people use the term 'street artist' more broadly and also refer to people involved in busking, such as musicians who sing and/or play instruments, acrobats, jugglers, living statues,...
s, underground writers, and "outlaw" poets. One of San Francisco's original Beat poets, he was an innovative artist who was active in the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance
San Francisco Renaissance
The term San Francisco Renaissance is used as a global designation for a range of poetic activity centered on San Francisco and which brought it to prominence as a hub of the American poetic avant-garde. However, others The term San Francisco Renaissance is used as a global designation for a range...
of the 1950s and 1960s.
Beat Poet
Born in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n ancestry. Micheline took his pen name from writer Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
and his mother's maiden name. He moved to Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
in the 1950s, where he became a street poet, drawing on Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
blues and jazz rhythms and the cadence of word music. He lived on the fringe of poverty, writing about hookers, drug addicts, blue collar workers, and the dispossessed.
In 1957, Troubadour Press published his first book River of Red Wine. Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
wrote the introduction, and it was reviewed by Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
in Esquire magazine. Micheline relocated to San Francisco in the early 1960s, where he spent the rest of his life. He published over twenty books, some of them mimeographs and chapbooks.
Though a poet of the Beat generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
, Micheline characterized the Beat movement as a product of media hustle, and hated being categorized as a Beat poet. He was also a painter, working primarily with gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
in a self-taught, primitive style he picked up in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
Obscenity Bust
In September 1968, a short story he wrote, "Skinny Dynamite", was published in Renaissance 2, the literary supplement of John BryanJohn Bryan (journalist)
John Charles Bryan was a newspaper publisher, editor and journalist who was best known for founding and running the Los Angeles alternative newspaper Open City...
Bryan's Los Angeles alternative newspaper Open City
Open City (newspaper)
Open City was a weekly underground newspaper published in Los Angeles by avant-garde journalist John Bryan from May 6, 1967 to April 1969. It was noted for its coverage of radical politics, rock music, psychedelic culture and the "Notes of a Dirty Old Man" column by Charles Bukowski.-Founder:John...
Solicited frm Micheline by guest editor Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
, its subject was a promiscuous young woman. The story used the F-word and Bryan was arrested for obscenity, but was not convicted.
Second Coming Press
Second Coming Press
Second Coming Press was a San Francisco-based small press founded by A.D. Winans that was in existence from 1972 to 1989. It specialized in publishing poetry and essays...
published a book of Micheline's stories, entitled Skinny Dynamite after his most notorious work, in 1980.
Death
Micheline died of a heart attack in San Francisco, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
while riding a BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
subway train from San Francisco to Orinda in 1998. The back room at San Francisco's Abandoned Planet Bookstore (until it was closed) showcased Micheline's wall mural paintings.
Marriage and children
Micheline was married twice, to Pat Cherkin in the early 1960s, and later to Marian "Mimi" Redding. He had a son, Vincent, who was born in 1963 to his first wife, Pat. Has 2 grandchildren (Vincent's son and daughter) Dustin Silvaer and Nicole SilvaerPublished works
- Tell your mama you want to be free, and other poemsongs (1969); Dead Sea Fleet Editions.
- Last House in America (1976); Second Coming Press.
- North of Manhattan: Collected Poems, Ballads, and Songs (1976); Manroot.
- Skinny Dynamite and Other Stories (1980); Second Coming Press.
- River of Red Wine and Other Poems (1986); Water Row Press.
- Imaginary Conversation with Jack Kerouac (1989); Zeitgeist Press.
- Outlaw of the Lowest Plant (1993); Zeitgeist Press.
- Ragged Lion (1999); Vagabond Press.
- Sixty-Seven Poems for Downtrodden Saints (1997); FMSBW.2nd enlarged edition (1999).
- To be a poet is to be: Poetry (2000); Implosion Press.
- One of a Kind (2008); Ugly Duckling Presse.
External links
- Official Website of Jack Micheline
- Some poems by Micheline
- Whiskey, Madness, and Bellevue by Jack Micheline at Underground VoicesUnderground Voices MagazineUnderground Voices is an American literary magazine created in 2004. Based in Los Angeles, Underground Voices caters to edgy, raw, dark fiction, flash fiction, and poetry. The magazine also publishes the works of visual artists...
- Guide to the Jack Micheline Papers at The Bancroft Library
- Skinny Dyamite at amazon.com