Lewis Ellingham's Poet be Like God Research Materials
Finding aid prepared by Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, California, 92093-0175
858-534-2533
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Copyright 2005
Descriptive Summary
Title: Lewis Ellingham's Poet Be Like God Research Materials
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0126
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, California, 92093-0175
Languages:
English
Physical Description:
3.6 Linear feet
(8 archives boxes, 4 card file boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1983-1987
Abstract: Papers of writer Lewis Ellingham, containing audio recordings and photocopies of materials used in his research on poet Jack
Spicer (1925-1965) and the Spicer Circle, which flourished from roughly 1956 to 1965. The collection consists largely of interview
recordings and transcripts, correspondence, and drafts of Ellingham's book
Poet Be Like God: Jack Spicer and the San Francisco Renaissance (1998).
Creator:
Ellingham, Lewis
Scope and Content of Collection
The Lewis Ellingham Papers contain sound recordings and photocopies of materials used by Ellingham in his research on Jack
Spicer and the Spicer Circle, which flourished from roughly 1956 to 1965. The collection consists largely of interview recordings
and transcripts, and drafts of Ellingham's book
Poet Be Like God: Jack Spicer and the San Francisco Renaissance (1998). The papers do not include any of Ellingham's creative writing or personal correspondence. The papers are highlighted
by lengthy quotations from contemporary poetry which is, in some cases, available nowhere else. Moreover, since many of the
persons interviewed are Ellingham's friends, this collection also serves as a sort of memoir.
All papers in the collection are photocopies of the originals which currently are held at the State University of New York
at Buffalo library.
Arranged in four series: 1) INTERVIEWS; 2) OTHER WRITERS' FILES; 3) SPICER CIRCLE PAPERS, and 4)
POET BE LIKE GOD TYPESCRIPT. The organization follows Ellingham's own arrangement.
Biography
Lewis Ellingham, writer of prose, poetry and fiction, was born on 27 February 1933 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was the son
of a Protestant small town newspaperman and a German Catholic mother. He attended Campion, a Jesuit residential high school
from 1947 to 1951. Upon graduating, he began studies in Bloomington at Indiana University.
The years 1952 through 1965 were most pivotal in influencing Ellingham's writing career -- as is revealed in the following
statement he made in 1990:
"In 1952, at age 19, I left home, leaving Indiana University in my first year; avoiding the Korean War draft by declaring
myself homosexual at the same time, my student deferment automatically ending once I had left college. I lived briefly in
New York's Greenwich Village and Chicago's Hyde Park, where my older brother...attended the University of Chicago. In 1954
I came to Berkeley and, shortly afterward, to North Beach in San Francisco, where... [for the most part] I have lived ever
since. The central event of these decades in San Francisco was my close association with Jack Spicer's circle of writers and
artists, in my case from 1961 through 1965 [the year of Spicer's death]."
From 1963-1965, Ellingham served as book editor for the Sierra Club, editing various guides and articles as well as the Exhibit
Format series. Other than that job, Ellingham has been formally employed only sparingly. His most prolific writing periods
have been during the 1960s, and from 1979 to the present. In 1990, he was an organizer of "OutWrite '90," a gay writers' conference
in San Francisco, which attracted over a thousand participants.
Ellingham has published poetry, prose poetry and short fiction in the following publications:
M (1963);
Mythrander (1964);
Open Space (1964);
Magazine (1965);
Cassiopeia and Cassiopeia/Ephemeris (1967-69);
Nine Queen Bees (1970);
The Jefferson Airplane (booklet, 1971);
The Capilano Review (1976);
No Apologies (1983-85);
Mirage (1985-86);
Acts (1983-87);
Soup (1984);
Ironwood (1987); and
Line (1986-88). He has also written these unpublished books:
The Wounded Laurel (poetry, 1971);
Twenty Years of Writing (1982); '
Mechanically We Move in God's Universe' (ten stories from the San Francisco Bay Region, 1983);
The Bushes They Were Bells (fantasy fiction, 1985);
The Countless Unmurmuring Dead (autobiography, 1986);
Koot's Death (novel, 1987);
Xavier (novel, 1988); and
The Rain Column (novel, 1989). In 1984, he wrote
Poet Be Like God: Jack Spicer and the San Francisco Renaissance which was not published until 1998, (the research materials for this book comprise UCSD's Ellingham collection).
Jack Spicer (1925-1965) was a San Francisco poet who rejected the traditional centers for poetry -- i.e., academia and the
large publishing houses. As a result, he devoted his life to writing poetry by day and forging a community of young, experimental
poets by night in the North Beach bars. While working as a research linguist at UC Berkeley for David Reed and briefly as
an instructor at San Francisco State (1957), he also founded White Rabbit Press and two magazines,
J and
Open Space, in which he published much of his own work and that of his friends. In 1957, he claimed to experience dictation by voices
other than his own, and he began incorporating these voices in much of his work.
Spicer's work is noted for its experimentation with language, form and compositional method, and it often focuses on the dialectic
between language and experience and between the self and the outside world. Recently, Spicer's writing has been growing in
critical acclaim, even though it has long been revered by many poets.
Lewis Ellingham, who met Spicer in 1961, also came to admire and respect Spicer's work. Out of devotion to Spicer, he decided
in 1983 to document the inner workings of the circle of writers that had assembled around Spicer so as to explore the implications
for how and why it occurred. Ellingham interviewed over thirty witnesses to the scene - including such notables as Robert
Duncan and Robin Blaser - and recorded their comments on cassette tape and in writing.
One of the products of this research was the manuscript
Poet Be Like God. Ellingham's approach in creating this book was more sociological than literary. As he wrote in a letter to Michael Davidson,
"I did not undertake this work to celebrate these people; they only are a part of my theme, which basically is Proustian of
a kind of Left Bank I admire."
Preferred Citation
Lewis Ellingham's
Poet Be Like God Research Materials, MSS 126. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 1986-1987.
Restrictions
Duplication of materials from this collection, other than note-taking, is prohibited. The original collection is located in
the SUNY-Buffalo Poetry Collection and requests for duplication must be directed to SUNY-Buffalo.
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Allen, Donald, 1912-2004 -- Correspondence
Blaser, Robin -- Correspondence
Borregaard, Ebbe -- Correspondence
Creeley, Robert, 1926-2005 -- Correspondence
Davidson, Michael, 1944- -- Correspondence
Duerden, Richard
Duncan, Robert, 1919-1988
Ellingham, Lewis -- Archives
Levertov, Denise, 1923-1997 -- Correspondence
Miles, Josephine, 1911-1985
Spicer, Jack
American literature -- 20th century -- History and criticism
American literature -- California -- San Francisco -- History and criticism
American poetry -- 20th century -- Manuscripts
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th century
INTERVIEWS
Scope and Content of Series
1) INTERVIEWS. Arranged in two subseries: A) Transcripts and Related Materials, and B) Audiocassettes.
A) Transcripts and Related Materials: Alphabetically arranged (by interviewee) typescript transcripts of the interviews related
to the Spicer Circle scene, as well as related correspondence (mostly between Ellingham and the interviewees). The written
transcriptions were created by Ellingham and are unedited, so some discrepancies between the sound recordings and the written
versions exist. Transcripts of Ellingham's interviews with Harry Z. Coren and Nemi Frost (both of which took place in 1987)
are missing; however, the recordings of those interviews are filed in the second subseries, "Cassette Recordings."
B) Audiocassettes: Original cassette recordings of the interviews, also arranged alphabetically by interviewee. The subseries
also includes two recordings of lectures made by Jack Spicer.
Transcripts and Related Materials
Box 1, Folder 1
Telephone interview from San Francisco to Vancouver
1983
Box 1, Folder 2
"Opposition in the Life and Work of Jack Spicer"; fragments of a telephone interview with Blaser; galley proof for
New Apologies, issue #1
1983
Box 1, Folder 3
Notes and partial transcript of conversation between Blaser and Ellingham in San Francisco
1983
Box 1, Folder 4
Bernstein, Charles. Letter to Ellingham about interview of Robin Blaser
Box 1, Folder 5
Watson, Scott. Letter to Ellingham about interview of Robin Blaser
Box 1, Folder 6
Borregaard, Ebbe and Joanne Kyger
1982
Box 1, Folder 8
Also includes pre-recorded stories and incidents from Chugg's "The Company of Men"
1982
Box 1, Folder 9
"The Company of Men: A Recital for Six Actors and an Audience" -- written by Chugg
Box 1, Folder 10
Letter from Chugg to Ellingham
1984
Box 1, Folder 14
Includes typescript letter to Duncan from Ellingham
1983
Box 2, Folder 1-2
Includes typescript letters to Duncan from Ellingham
1983
Box 2, Folder 3
Copyright waiver and registration forms for the Duncan interviews
1983 - 1985
Box 2, Folder 4
Correspondence between Duncan and Ellingham about the interviews
1982 - 1985
Box 3, Folder 4
Meltzer, David. Includes letters and a portion of the transcript edited by Meltzer
1983
Box 3, Folder 6
Mulholland, Catherine. Includes manuscript and typescript letters from Mulholland to Ellingham
1984
Box 3, Folder 9
Persky, Stan. Includes typescript letters and waiver sent to Persky by Ellingham
1983
Box 3, Folder 10
Primack, Ron. By telephone from San Francisco to New Orleans; includes typescript and manuscript letters between Ellingham
and Primack
1982
Box 4, Folder 2
Sawyer, Jess. Recorded remarks sent to Ellingham by Sawyer
1983
Box 4, Folder 3
Spicer, Holt. Recorded remarks sent to Ellingham by Spicer; also includes correspondence between Ellingham and Spicer
1983
Box 4, Folder 4-6
Stanley, George
1982 - 1984
Box 5, Folder 4-5
Borregaard, Ebbe and Joanne Kyger. Recto of second cassette contains part two of Harold Dull interview
1982
Box 5, Folder 10
Chugg, Gail. Includes monologue by Chugg on Jack Spicer
1982
Box 5, Folder 12-13
Coren, Harry Z., M.D.
1987
Box 5, Folder 15
Dull, Harold. Sides 3 and 4 only; side 2 is on recto of Borregaard-Kyger cassette; side 1 is on recto of Myrsam Wixman cassette
1982
Box 6, Folder 7-8
Field, Thomas. Part 1 of the interview with Parkinson is on the recto side of the second tape
1982
Box 7, Folder 5
Miles, Josephine. Recto side contains part two of Parkinson interview
1982
Box 7, Folder 6
Mulholland, Catherine
1984
Box 7, Folder 7
Navarro, Armando. This tape was hand-edited by Ellingham while making it, and consequently it contains several discontinuities;
the Englishman speaking on side 3 is Peter Wigham
1983
Box 7, Folder 11
Primack, Ron
1982
General note
Done on the telephone
Box 7, Folder 12-13
Ryan, John Allen. A portion of part two was inadvertently recorded over with part six by Ellingham
1982
Box 7, Folder 14
Sawyer, Jess. Recorded by Sawyer
1983
Box 8, Folder 5-6
Wixman, Myrsam. Part one of Harold Dull interview on recto of second tape
1982
Box 8, Folder 7-8
Spicer, Jack. "Poetry and Politics"
1965
Box 8, Folder 9-13
Spicer, Jack. Vancouver lecture
OTHER WRITERS' FILES
Scope and Content of Series
2) OTHER WRITERS' FILES: Materials relating to Spicer (journal entries, notes, essays, articles and ephemera) collected and
created by Russell FitzGerald and Robert Duncan and given to Ellingham to assist him in his research.
Box 9, Folder 1
FitzGerald, Russell. An excerpt from his diary, given to Ellingham by Dora FitzGerald
1957 - 1960
Box 9, Folder 2
Spicer's writings: Poems of Jack Spicer, collected and copied by Duncan
Box 9, Folder 3
Spicer's writings: Miscellaneous writings by Spicer, collected and copied by Duncan
Box 9, Folder 4
Spicer's writings: Miscellaneous materials and correspondence
Box 9, Folder 5
Duncan's writings on Spicer: Manuscript notes on Spicer's poetry given to Ellingham
1983
Box 9, Folder 6
Duncan's writing on Spicer: Essay fragments on Jack Spicer -- includes two pages from the Preface to Don Allen's
One Night Stand, Preface to a Spicer bibliography and an explanatory note on the material by Ellingham
Box 9, Folder 7
"Robert Duncan on Spicer" essay by Duncan; includes Duncan's annotations
Box 9, Folder 8
From Spicer to Duncan (manuscript and typescript letters)
1947 - 1965
Box 9, Folder 9
Correspondence from Spicer to others, collected by Duncan
Box 9, Folder 10
Duncan's manuscript notes on Spicer's letters
Box 9, Folder 11
To Duncan about Spicer's death
1965
Box 9, Folder 12
Article and obituary about Spicer's death
1965
Box 9, Folder 13
Advertisement for Spicer's book,
The Heads of the Town Up to the Aethor
1962
Box 9, Folder 14
List of unidentified photographic prints and postcards
SPICER CIRCLE PAPERS
Scope and Content of Series
3) SPICER CIRCLE PAPERS: Primarily comprised of correspondence written by and to Ellingham about the writing, revising, editing
and publishing of his book. Included in this series are copies of some of the last letters sent to Spicer before his death
in 1965. Also included are letters from Denise Levertov to Ellingham, in which she accuses Spicer of sexism and explicates
the reasons behind her accusation. Another interesting aspect of the correspondence is that Ellingham regularly sent interviewees
transcripts of the interviews of other witnesses, and often they wrote Ellingham back to comment on or to refute the other
person's account.
A large portion of the letters deal with Ellingham's concern over securing the publication of his book. Many of the letters
are devoted to Ellingham's concern over Clayton Eshleman's (editor of
Sulfur) rejection of the book and his comment that Ellingham should hire an editor to revise and condense the work so that it would
have a broader, more academic appeal. Also found in this series is a variety of miscellaneous materials relating to the Spicer
circle and the White Rabbit Press.
Correspondence to Ellingham About his Book
Box 9, Folder 15
Alexander, James
1982 - 1983
Box 9, Folder 16
Alexander, Paul
1982 - 1985
Box 9, Folder 19
Black Sparrow Press, (John Martin, editor)
1986
Box 9, Folder 20
Blaser, Robin
1983 - 1984
Box 9, Folder 24
Bowering, George
1983 - 1984
Box 9, Folder 28
Conjunctions, (Bradford Morrow, editor)
1984 - 1985
Box 9, Folder 29
Credences, (Robert Bertholf, editor)
1983 - 1985
Box 9, Folder 30
Creeley, Robert
1983 - 1984
Box 9, Folder 31
Davidson, Michael
1983 - 1984
Box 9, Folder 32
Diaman, Nikkos A.
1982 - 1984
Box 9, Folder 33
FitzGerald, Dora
1982 - 1984
Box 10, Folder 1
Goodwin, Jack F.
1981 - 1985
Box 10, Folder 2
Granger, John
1984 - 1985
Box 10, Folder 6
Ironwood, (Michael Cuddihy, editor)
1985
Box 10, Folder 10
Mulholland, Catherine (Kate)
1983
Box 10, Folder 11
O'Hara, Frank. Letter sent by O'Hara to Jasper Johns; given to Ellingham by Don Allen
1959
Box 10, Folder 13
Persky, Stan. Includes copy of "Moss"
1961
Box 10, Folder 16
Sagetrieb / Paideuma
1985
Box 10, Folder 18
Spicer, Holt V.
1983 - 1986
Box 10, Folder 19
Spicer, Jack. Final letters sent to him before his death
1965
Box 10, Folder 20
Sulfur, (Clayton Eshleman, editor)
1985
Box 10, Folder 23
ZZYZZYVA, (Howard Junker, editor)
1985
Box 10, Folder 24
Miscellaneous correspondence, A-Z
Box 10, Folder 25
White Rabbit Press, Bibliographic History of. Compiled by Alistair Johnston
1957 - 1965
Box 10, Folder 26
Legal release forms (tape waivers)
1983 - 1985
Box 10, Folder 27
List of paintings related to the Spicer scene. Compiled by Ellingham
1956 - 1965
Box 10, Folder 29
White Rabbit Symposium and Jack Spicer Conference, Schedule of events
1986 - 1986
POET BE LIKE GOD (Typescript)
Scope and Content of Series
4)
POET BE LIKE GOD TYPESCRIPT: An early version of the first six chapters of Ellingham's book, as well as the complete 1984 version (thirty-six
chapters).
Box 10, Folder 30
Chapters 1-6. Early copy of the text
Box 11, Folder 1-6
Chapters 1-23. Final version
Box 12, Folder 1-2
Chapters 24-36. Final version
