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Griffin (S.A.) collection of underground poetry, Scott Wannberg,
and The Carma Bums
LSC.2248
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: S.A. Griffin collection of underground poetry, Scott Wannberg, and The Carma
Bums
Creator:
Griffin , S. A.
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2248
Physical Description:
189.2 Linear Feet
(276 document boxes, 5 half document boxes, 6 record storage
cartons, 12 flat boxes, 19 oversize flat boxes, 9 scrapbook boxes, 5 tubes, and 15 other
disparate oversize items)
Date (inclusive): circa 1950-2015
Abstract: S.A. Griffin is a poet, performance
artist, publisher, and actor with deep roots in the Los Angeles poetry and punk scenes
beginning in the 1980s. The collection contains monographs, serials, manuscripts,
correspondence, ephemera, audiovisual material, artwork, and memorabilia reflective of
Griffin's extensive connections to Los Angeles poets and performance, including the Venice
West Beat scene. The collection also includes the papers of fellow poet Scott
Wannberg.
Physical Location: Boxes 1-264 and 280-346 are stored
off-site at SRLF. Boxes 265-277 are stored on the B level of Library Special Collections.
The artwork contained in boxes 278 and 279 is currently on exhibition within Library Special
Collections office space. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please
contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging
information.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in
advance using the request button located on this page.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS DIGITAL AND AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and
unprocessed digital and audiovisual materials. For information about the access status of
the material that you are looking for, refer to the Physical Characteristics and Technical
Requirements note at the series and file levels. All requests to access processed digital
and audiovisual materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this
page.
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All
other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not
hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], S.A. Griffin Collection of Underground Poetry, Scott Wannberg,
and The Carma Bums (Collection 2248). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Partial purchase and gift of S.A. Griffin and Lorraine Perrotta, 2014. Additions from
Griffin and Perrotta, 2016.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make
them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and
resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level
of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts
more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to
national and local standards and best practices.
Processed by Kelly Besser with assistance from Rebecca Bucher, in consultation with Genie
Guerard, and with supervision from Megan Hahn Fraser, 2016. Additions processed by Rebecca
Bucher, with supervision by Kelly Besser, 2017. Monographs cataloged by Josh Fiala.
Rehousing of artwork by Octavio Olvera. Digitization of audiovisual materials by Allison
Whalen under supervision from Yasmin Dessem, with a grant from the Institute of Museum and
Library Services. Biography, Biography/History notes, and artwork descriptions written by
S.A. Griffin and edited by Kelly Besser and Rebecca Bucher.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
7714755
S.A. Griffin (Steven Allan Griffin), born March 16, 1954, is a poet, performance artist,
publisher, and actor. After graduating from high school in 1972, Griffin voluntarily entered
the United States Air Force as an administration specialist and was honorably discharged in
1976. In 1978, Griffin relocated to Los Angeles from San Francisco with a scholarship to
attend the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Workshop. Griffin's awards for his work on stage
and on camera include a Dramalogue Award and a Kari Award.
In 1982, Griffin became involved with poetry when he began attending open poetry readings
at the Water Espresso Gallery in Hollywood. During this time he became active in the punk
scene as a poet and performance artist, appearing at various Southern California venues such
as The Lhasa Club, Anti-Club, X=Art, Al's Bar, Safari Sam's and Club Lingerie. In the
mid-1980s, Griffin became directly involved in DIY publishing as a staff member of
Shattersheet, and in 1988 he established Rose of Sharon Press with
the publication of
Sharktalk by Doug Knott. In 1989 Griffin
was named Best Performance Poet by Wanda Coleman in the
LA
Weekly
.
In addition to a deep level of involvement in the community through writing, publishing,
performing, and hosting poetry events, Griffin extensively collected the publications,
artwork, and related ephemera of Los Angeles poets. These materials relate to Venice West,
the Los Angeles Beat poetry scene named after the café owned and operated by Stuart Z.
Perkoff from 1958-1962, and the Denver, Colorado Beat scene to where many Venice West Beats
migrated. He also collected materials related to influential poets such as d.a. levy, Kurt
Schwitters, Jack Micheline, Tony Scibella, and Charles Bukowski. With Alan Kaufman, Griffin
edited
The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (1999).
In 1985, Griffin and fellow poets Michael Lane Bruner, Doug Knott, and Mike M. Mollett
formed The Lost Tribe. From 1985-1988 and in 1992, the group performed poetry in
choreographed routines both locally and on tour. In 1989, the group underwent a
philosophical shift and transformed, joined by Scott Wannberg (and occasionally Bobbo Staron
and Ellyn Maybe), into The Carma Bums, a traveling improvisational performance group. The
Carma Bums performed until 2009. From 1995-1996, Griffin and punk musician-poets Iris Berry
and Pleasant Gehman formed White Trash Apocalypse, in Gehman's words, "a spoken word
tour…treated…like a rock'n'roll tour," which toured the United States and Canada. In 2010,
Griffin went on tour with The Poetry Bomb, a decommissioned bomb purchased by Griffin and
filled with poetry at readings throughout the country, intending to "foster
disagreements…the cornerstone of our democratic system." Since 2007 Griffin has performed
with the punk-jazz improvisational group The Lofty Canaanites, composed primarily of members
of Saccharine Trust.
Griffin studied film acting and cold reading with Jeremiah Comey and performance technique
with Scot Kelman. From 2005 to 2013, Griffin taught film acting and cold reading at the
American Film Institute, and since 2012, Griffin has taught film acting and cold reading for
Jeremiah Comey. Since 2010, Griffin has served on the curatorial board for Beyond Baroque,
and in 2011 Griffin was the first recipient of Beyond Baroque's Distinguished Service
Award.
Griffin continues to live and work in Los Angeles. He is married to Lorraine Perrotta, a
librarian and veteran member of The L.A. Mudpeople. Griffin has a son, Spencer, from a
previous marriage to Sharon Grish.
The S.A. Griffin collection of underground poetry, Scott Wannberg, and The Carma Bums
ranges from circa 1950 to 2015. The collection includes writings by Griffin in manuscript
and published form; an extensive collection of books, largely related to the Venice West and
Denver Beat poetry scene, as well as other Beat and Meat School poetry; zines and magazines,
which are both poetry and punk related and largely published in the greater Los Angeles
area; and manuscripts of authors Griffin published or befriended. The collection also
includes clippings and ephemera Griffin collected related to Southern California's punk
scenes and poetry communities. Correspondence in the collection relates to Griffin's poetry
work and involvement in the mail art community. The collection also contains files related
to poetry readings and performances given by Griffin's poetry groups such as The Carma Bums
which include flyers, road books, and audiovisual recordings. Materials related to Griffin's
acting career include materials on the Act Fast 5 strike, scripts, and audiovisual
recordings. The collection includes Griffin's art collection, featuring art by Griffin, Tony
Scibella, Charles Bukowski, Earl Newman, and many others. Memorabilia in the collection
includes American flag remnants from d.a. levy's grave, memorial programs, and t-shirts from
bookstores and bands. The collection also includes the papers of Scott Wannberg, which range
from circa 1969 to 2014. Bequeathed to Griffin, Wannberg's papers include Wannberg's
manuscript writings and book collection, correspondence, memorabilia, and artwork.
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- 1. Writings by Griffin
- 2. Writings collected by Griffin
- 3.Correspondence
- 4. Performance files
- 5. Acting career materials
- 6. Artwork
- 7. Memorabilia
- 8. Scott Wannberg papers
- Collection of Underground, Alternative, and Extremist Literature, 1900-1990 (Collection 50). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- John Fante papers, ca. 1925-2000 (Collection 1832). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Christopher Felver photographs, 1980-2011 (Collection 1759). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Alexandra Garrett papers and records of the Beyond Baroque Foundation, 1965-1991 (Collection 1615). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Judith Hoffberg artists and mail art files (Collection 1763). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Allan H. Kurtzman collection of material on beat writers and artists, circa 1950-1989 (Collection 362). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Lawrence Lipton papers, 1940-1965 (Collection 819). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Philomene Long papers, circa 1974-1993 (Collection 519). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- John Martin papers, 1966-1981 (Collection 1267). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Stuart Z. Perkoff papers, circa 1952-1974 (Collection 1573). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Kenneth Rexroth papers, 1853-1986 (bulk 1950-1975) (Collection 175). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Darby Romeo collection of zines, 1987- (Collection 1746). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
The 2016 additions include monographs and serials by Griffin and collected by Griffin.
These can be found in boxes 331 to 345. The additions also include materials that were
interfiled in the following series and subseries: correspondence, subject files (chiefly
photographs), performance files (chiefly photographs), art (photographs and collages by Tony
Scibella, Justice Howard, and Dennis Olanzo Callwood), writings about Griffin (a clipping),
acting files (photographs), and memorabilia (chiefly photographs and a DVD).