Contact: Paul Nelson FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel: 206-422-5002 E-mail: pen@splab.org
BEAT GENERATION POET MICHAEL MCCLURE TO READ, LEAD WORKSHOP IN SEATTLE
Rare Seattle Appearance Includes Public Reading, Private Writing Workshop and Lecture
Seattle, WA, January 26, 2010—Michael McClure is a poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist who initially gained fame as one of the five poets who read at the infamous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955, where Allen Ginsberg first read Howl. On March 12 and 13, 2010, he’ll perform a public reading and offer both a private lecture and writing workshop at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle.
McClure is the author of 16 books of poetry, and has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Obie Award for Best Play, an NEA grant, the Alfred Jarry Award, and a Rockefeller grant for playwriting. His play The Beard provoked numerous censorship battles. In Los Angeles, the cast was arrested after each performance for fourteen nights in a row. Later, The Beard received two Obies in New York, and it has played a role in U.S. censorship and free speech battles since 1966 when it won its first lawsuit.
McClure has worked extensively Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek, and they have collaborated on several CD’s. Third Mind, a film of Michael and Ray’s conversations and performances, premiered on the Sundance Channel. McClure’s songs include “Mercedes Benz,” popularized by Janis Joplin. His journalism has been featured in Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, the L.A. Times and San Francisco Chronicle.
Michael McClure’s next two books are Of Indigo and Saffron from UC Press, and Mysteriosos and other poems from New Directions. McClure performed on December 8, 2009 with The Charles Lloyd Quartet in Los Angeles at Disney Hall.
On Friday, March 12, Michael McClure holds a private lecture at 7:30PM. Admission is $30, and space is limited. On Saturday, March 13, McClure will lead an afternoon writing workshop from 1:00 to 4:00PM, followed by a public reading at 7:30PM. The workshop cost is $100 per person, and space is limited. Admission to the public reading is $10. All events will be held at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S. Alaska St, Seattle.
SPLAB is an intergenerational writing, performance, resource and outreach center. Founded in 1997 in Auburn, Washington, by poets Paul Nelson and Danika Dinsmore, SPLAB recently relocated to Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood. SPLAB hosts a weekly writer’s critique circle, Living Room, every Tuesday on the 2nd floor of Columbia City Cinema at 7pm. For more SPLAB event information, visit www.splab.org. This event is co-sponsored by Poets & Writers, www.pw.org, Dark Coast Press, www.darkcoastpress.com the State Commission on Humanities, Augusto Romano, L.Ac, KBCS-FM, Wabi Sabi restaurant in Columbia City and Copper Canyon Press.
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For more information or to arrange an interview with Michael McClure, contact Paul Nelson at 206-422-5002. To pre-purchase tickets for McClure events, visit www.splab.org.