John Wieners Celebration

The poetry of John Wieners (1934-2004) influenced the San Francisco Renaissance, the Beats, and the poetics of pacifism and gay rights. The many registers of Wiener’s poetry are explored in an evening of readings and conversation occasioned by the publication of two new books, Supplications: Selected Poems of John Wieners and Stars Seen in Person: Selected Journals, with presenters including Joshua Beckman, Monica de la Torre, Robbie Dewhurst, Raymond Foye, Fanny Howe, Rachel Levitsky, Hoa Nguyen, Cedar Sigo, and Lewis Warsh.

John Wieners (1934-2004) was a founding member of the “New American” poetry that flourished after the Second World War. Wieners enrolled in the final class of Black Mountain College, and, upon graduation, founded the small magazine Measure. He is the author of seven collections of poetry, three one-act plays, and numerous broadsides, pamphlets, uncollected poems, and journals. Two publications – Supplications: Selected Poems and Stars Seen in Person: Selected Journals – were released in 2015.