The Relevance of Rexroth

by Ken Knabb

Literary Nonfiction. A critical appreciation of the great San Francisco poet, essayist and social critic by situationist writer-translator Ken Knabb.

Genres: Poetry

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Ken Knabb (b. 1945) is an American radical writer and translator, particularly known for his translations of Guy Debord and the Situationist International. His works include The Relevance of Rexroth (1990), the Situationist International Anthology (1981), and the collection Public Secrets (1997). More recently, Knabb has written extensively on the Occupy movement. He holds a bachelor's degree from Shimer College in Chicago, where he enrolled via the early entrance program. (from Shimer College Wiki)

Reviews

[James]

A neat, sensible introduction to a poetry hero I was always aware of but never put the pieces together.

I guess I should have figured out from Rexroth's appearance alongside William Carlos Williams in Penguin Modern Poets #9, the New Direction translations from the Japanese, the 1959 poetry-and-jazz album with Ferlinghetti (of which, I have to confess, I only ever listen to the one Ferlinghetti track) that this was some formidable non-conforming individual: nice to have it tidily confirmed.

Also, to have some suggestion of why Rexroth has not figured in the beat revival of the last 20 years, a revival that continues to show its force in the creation of a new generation of hipsters - Rexroth's low and caustically expressed opinions of Jack Kerouac's novels earned him the disdain and (largely) the neglect of the revivalists (preeminent among whom, though Knabb doesn't say so, would be Barry Miles, one-man literary industry).

[Sean A.]

Tender, informative, easy and almost dare-i-say entertaining to read overview of some of the primary themes in poet-autodidact-and-anarchist-and more kenneth rexroth's life and work. Well cited with a lot of primary quotes and sources easily outlining rexroth's relevance in three main topics; sex, mysticism and revolution (though knabb could've done a better job about how and where these three intertwine).
For those who love and know rexroth's work, and those interested in great artists/and or thinkers and humanitarians who opposed the state, mass culture, et al.

[Scotty]

seems the west coast is always making itself culturally problematic within any american movement. here's a short little book on the beat movement's black sheep, the poet/anarchist/ron-swanson-lookalike kenneth rexroth. you can find it for free on knabb's bopsecrets if you're too cheap to shell out the $5. or you can read it there and kick 'im $5 at a later date. whatevs. good read. really enjoyed it.

[Gene]

Fantastic introduction to Rexroth. Highly recommended.