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BEYOND THE BOARDWALK;
Book by McKuen, Rod
- GenresPoetry
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
12 people want to read
About the author
Rod McKuen
148 books90 followersRod McKuen (born April 29, 1933) was a bestselling American poet, composer, and singer, instrumental in the revitalization of popular poetry that took place in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Born Rodney Marvin McKuen in Oakland, California, McKuen ran away from home at the age of eleven to escape an alcoholic stepfather and to send what money he could to his mother. After a series of jobs, from logger, ranch hand, railroad worker to rodeo cowboy, throughout the west, McKuen began in the 1950s to excite audiences with his poetry readings, appearing with such well-known poets as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg; during this time, he often used the pseudonym "Dor".
McKuen moved to New York City in 1959 to compose and conduct for the TV show The CBS Workshop. By the 1960s he had achieved fame, far surpassing in sales the works of the Beat poets who preceded him. During the early 1960s he spent most of his time in France. This began his project to translate the work of legendary singer/songwriter Jacques Brel, into English. After Brel died he said, "As friends and as musical collaborators we had traveled, toured and written - together and apart - the events of our lives as if they were songs, and I guess they were. When news of Jacques’ death came I stayed locked in my bedroom and drank for a week. That kind of self pity was something he wouldn’t have approved of, but all I could do was replay our songs (our children) and ruminate over our unfinished life together."[1]
He became an icon across college campuses for his ability to capture in verse the feelings of anxiety, love, confusion, and hope that were common during the Vietnam era. His public readings had the drawing power of a rock concert.
McKuen's commercial success is unparalleled in the field of modern poetry. His poetic works have been translated into a dozen languages and sold over 65 million copies. Throughout his career he has continued to enjoy sell-out concerts around the world and appears regularly at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall.
Edward Habib's liner notes for McKuen's Amsterdam Concert album make the often-repeated claim that Rod McKuen is the best-selling and most widely read poet of all time. This claim is probably rooted in the fact that McKuen's works -- unlike those of Shakespeare or Dante Alighieri -- are copyrighted, and his total sales can be more readily quantified.
As a songwriter, he contributed to the sale of over 100 million records. His material has been recorded by such artists as Frank Sinatra (who in 1969 recorded A Man Alone, an album of McKuen's songs), Johnny Cash who (just before his death) recorded McKuen's "Love's Been Good To Me", Waylon Jennings, The London Philharmonic, Greta Keller, Perry Como, and Madonna. Perhaps his most well-known song is "Jean", recorded by Oliver in 1969 for the soundtrack to the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. In 1959, McKuen released a novelty single on the Brunswick label called "The Mummy". Bob Mcfadden and Dor was listed as the artist.. In 1961, he had a hit single titled "Oliver Twist".. McKuen has proven to be a prolific songwriter, penning over 1500 songs. He collaborated with a variety of internationally renowned composers, including Henry Mancini and John Williams, and a highly successful series of albums with Anita Kerr. His symphonies, concertos, and other classical works have been performed by orchestras around the globe. His work as a composer in the film industry has garnered him two Academy Award nominations.
Throughout his multi-award-winning career, McKuen paired his artistic endeavors with a spirit for social reform. Before a tour of South Africa in the 1970s, McKuen demanded “mixed seating” among white and black concert-goers, opening the doors for successful tours by a variety of African-American performers, including Sammy Davis, Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald. He also spearheaded efforts to raise AIDS awareness and fund charities for children and senior
Born Rodney Marvin McKuen in Oakland, California, McKuen ran away from home at the age of eleven to escape an alcoholic stepfather and to send what money he could to his mother. After a series of jobs, from logger, ranch hand, railroad worker to rodeo cowboy, throughout the west, McKuen began in the 1950s to excite audiences with his poetry readings, appearing with such well-known poets as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg; during this time, he often used the pseudonym "Dor".
McKuen moved to New York City in 1959 to compose and conduct for the TV show The CBS Workshop. By the 1960s he had achieved fame, far surpassing in sales the works of the Beat poets who preceded him. During the early 1960s he spent most of his time in France. This began his project to translate the work of legendary singer/songwriter Jacques Brel, into English. After Brel died he said, "As friends and as musical collaborators we had traveled, toured and written - together and apart - the events of our lives as if they were songs, and I guess they were. When news of Jacques’ death came I stayed locked in my bedroom and drank for a week. That kind of self pity was something he wouldn’t have approved of, but all I could do was replay our songs (our children) and ruminate over our unfinished life together."[1]
He became an icon across college campuses for his ability to capture in verse the feelings of anxiety, love, confusion, and hope that were common during the Vietnam era. His public readings had the drawing power of a rock concert.
McKuen's commercial success is unparalleled in the field of modern poetry. His poetic works have been translated into a dozen languages and sold over 65 million copies. Throughout his career he has continued to enjoy sell-out concerts around the world and appears regularly at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall.
Edward Habib's liner notes for McKuen's Amsterdam Concert album make the often-repeated claim that Rod McKuen is the best-selling and most widely read poet of all time. This claim is probably rooted in the fact that McKuen's works -- unlike those of Shakespeare or Dante Alighieri -- are copyrighted, and his total sales can be more readily quantified.
As a songwriter, he contributed to the sale of over 100 million records. His material has been recorded by such artists as Frank Sinatra (who in 1969 recorded A Man Alone, an album of McKuen's songs), Johnny Cash who (just before his death) recorded McKuen's "Love's Been Good To Me", Waylon Jennings, The London Philharmonic, Greta Keller, Perry Como, and Madonna. Perhaps his most well-known song is "Jean", recorded by Oliver in 1969 for the soundtrack to the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. In 1959, McKuen released a novelty single on the Brunswick label called "The Mummy". Bob Mcfadden and Dor was listed as the artist.. In 1961, he had a hit single titled "Oliver Twist".. McKuen has proven to be a prolific songwriter, penning over 1500 songs. He collaborated with a variety of internationally renowned composers, including Henry Mancini and John Williams, and a highly successful series of albums with Anita Kerr. His symphonies, concertos, and other classical works have been performed by orchestras around the globe. His work as a composer in the film industry has garnered him two Academy Award nominations.
Throughout his multi-award-winning career, McKuen paired his artistic endeavors with a spirit for social reform. Before a tour of South Africa in the 1970s, McKuen demanded “mixed seating” among white and black concert-goers, opening the doors for successful tours by a variety of African-American performers, including Sammy Davis, Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald. He also spearheaded efforts to raise AIDS awareness and fund charities for children and senior
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 21, 2016
My paperback copy of this book has McKuen's autograph, from 1976, displayed in prominent Magic Marker (and dated) on the front cover. My friend, who was working for the now-defunct Waldenbooks chain, got the book and autograph for me when the poet toured; Russ knew that I'd been a fan since I first discovered McKuen's work in 1968 (I was 10 at the time). I only recently re-discovered it -- I had preserved it so carefully that I was lost in some of my older boxes.
This is the first of McKuen's works (to my knowledge) to comment on his then-newfound fame in the Introduction. He observes, "If I sell five copies of a book, [critics] are unanimous in their praise. If I sell ten, I can expect one dissent. If the number grows to ten thousand, my reviewers will always be 'mixed.' At ten million, I have detractors of every persuasion, most notably those reviewers who read the statistics not the books. ...I say again, the poem is me. I lived, or am living it. I accept no advice on how it could or should be lived." (p.11 of this edition)
As of this date, I have recently re-read three other collections of McKuen's poems, then this one as if brand new (I recognize some of the works, but not all; I may have put it carefully away before reading it all). If one is to appreciate the poetry, one must appreciate the poet, from his life beginnings to his "Beat" and San Francisco coffee-house beginnings. He is, by all accounts, his poetry, just as he says. To this degree, perhaps sadly, his work is a product of his time: The late 1950s through the early 1980s. Where some poetry lasts in spite of time, McKuen's poetry lasts because of the time in which it was created, which it described with unencumbered emotion more than technical expertise.
I apologize for seeming to praise with faint damns, as I do enjoy McKuen's work. What I realize, however, is that his work is likely to be lost on future generations who will find it (if this word still exists half a century hence) "quaint." I make no direct comparison to Armistead Maupin and his first book of Tales of the City; I only observe that, to those of us who lived through the 70s and know anything of San Francisco's magic, Tales will be brilliant, impeccable, magnificent, while to those who come after, a great many references and sensitivities of the work will be lost.
Thus, also, for McKuen, who spanned that short gap between the Beats and the delirium of the delicious, love-struck city by the bay, wherein one must wear flowers in one's hair. If you know the song, you'll hear McKuen's heartbeat in each poem; if you don't, the words may seem maudlin, under-structured, haphazard. To borrow the title of one of McKuen's collections, "Listen to the Warm." These are private lamentations of a restless, conflicted, often tortured heart whose rhythm is better heard and felt than read. Don't bother searching for poetic feet and meter; it can exist in these poems, but only when they happen naturally, not because they were carefully crafted.
McKuen is as much from-the-gut as Ginsberg and Kerouac, but he was content to stop there, polishing but little, letting his natural voice break through in every work. If you can still find recordings of his readings, whether or not backed by music (most notably, Anita Kerr and the San Sebastian Strings), you will feel the poetry at its warmest. Take that measure with you as you read further, and you'll observe the how and why of his work. This, to some, is considered a fault: The poem must be an artifact, they say, separate from the poet. If so, then enjoy McKuen's faults, for each of us has at least as many... but few can speak them quite so well.
This is the first of McKuen's works (to my knowledge) to comment on his then-newfound fame in the Introduction. He observes, "If I sell five copies of a book, [critics] are unanimous in their praise. If I sell ten, I can expect one dissent. If the number grows to ten thousand, my reviewers will always be 'mixed.' At ten million, I have detractors of every persuasion, most notably those reviewers who read the statistics not the books. ...I say again, the poem is me. I lived, or am living it. I accept no advice on how it could or should be lived." (p.11 of this edition)
As of this date, I have recently re-read three other collections of McKuen's poems, then this one as if brand new (I recognize some of the works, but not all; I may have put it carefully away before reading it all). If one is to appreciate the poetry, one must appreciate the poet, from his life beginnings to his "Beat" and San Francisco coffee-house beginnings. He is, by all accounts, his poetry, just as he says. To this degree, perhaps sadly, his work is a product of his time: The late 1950s through the early 1980s. Where some poetry lasts in spite of time, McKuen's poetry lasts because of the time in which it was created, which it described with unencumbered emotion more than technical expertise.
I apologize for seeming to praise with faint damns, as I do enjoy McKuen's work. What I realize, however, is that his work is likely to be lost on future generations who will find it (if this word still exists half a century hence) "quaint." I make no direct comparison to Armistead Maupin and his first book of Tales of the City; I only observe that, to those of us who lived through the 70s and know anything of San Francisco's magic, Tales will be brilliant, impeccable, magnificent, while to those who come after, a great many references and sensitivities of the work will be lost.
Thus, also, for McKuen, who spanned that short gap between the Beats and the delirium of the delicious, love-struck city by the bay, wherein one must wear flowers in one's hair. If you know the song, you'll hear McKuen's heartbeat in each poem; if you don't, the words may seem maudlin, under-structured, haphazard. To borrow the title of one of McKuen's collections, "Listen to the Warm." These are private lamentations of a restless, conflicted, often tortured heart whose rhythm is better heard and felt than read. Don't bother searching for poetic feet and meter; it can exist in these poems, but only when they happen naturally, not because they were carefully crafted.
McKuen is as much from-the-gut as Ginsberg and Kerouac, but he was content to stop there, polishing but little, letting his natural voice break through in every work. If you can still find recordings of his readings, whether or not backed by music (most notably, Anita Kerr and the San Sebastian Strings), you will feel the poetry at its warmest. Take that measure with you as you read further, and you'll observe the how and why of his work. This, to some, is considered a fault: The poem must be an artifact, they say, separate from the poet. If so, then enjoy McKuen's faults, for each of us has at least as many... but few can speak them quite so well.
Displaying 1 of 1 review