Michael McClure, Chapbook Poet

Michael McClure, a founding member of the Beat Generation, is noted for he popularity of his dynamic poetry readings. At the age of twenty-two he gave his first poetry reading at the Six Gallery, in the event that began the Beat Generation and the San Francisco poetry scene. Michael McClure is more active than ever, performing his poetry in venues as diverse as the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, N.Y.U., The Bottom Line, and the Iron Horse Coffee house.

"The Los Angeles Times characterized McClure as "The role model for Jim Morrison." McClure's music sources range from Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk, to the rock with which his poetry performances frequently share a bill. McClure's own songs include Mercedes Benz, popularized by Janis Joplin.

For years McClure has been working with his friend The Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek. They play clubs, colleges and festivals like the Jack Kerouac Festival, and TV appearances on the shows of David Sanborn and Dennis Miller. The Poetry Flash described one of the poet's readings: "McClure-dressed in black---stood and uttered his words with a sort of sultry precision. His gestures punctuated his words, enthralling, enlisting a dynamic tension between audience and performer that didn't let up till the words stopped."

McClure is features in several films, among the Scorcese's Last Waltz, and Beyond The Law by Norman Mailer. McClure is the author of the prize-winning and scandal-provoking play The Beard which was arrested by the police fourteen nights in a row in Los Angeles. He is an accomplished novelist hailed by the New York Times. McClure has written the autobiography of his Hell's Angel friend, Freewheelin Frank Secretary of the Angels and the afterword to Jim Morrison's biography, as well as the text for Dennis Hopper's book of photographs.

McClure has published three new books of poetry in the last year: Touching the Edge, Huge Dreams, and Rain Mirror.

More Michael McClure Online:

McClure-Manzarek Metasite
Selections of Dharma Devotions at JACK Magazine