Crowded by beauty : the life and Zen of poet Philip Whalen / David Schneider.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schneider, David, 1951- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Beats (Persons).

Poets, American--20th century.

Poets, American.

Zen Buddhists.

Whalen, Philip.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (351 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oakland, California : University of California Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Philip Whalen was an American poet, Zen Buddhist, and key figure in the literary and artistic scene that unfolded in San Francisco in the 1950's and '60's. When the Beat writers came West, Whalen became a revered, much-loved member of the group. Erudite, shy, and profoundly spiritual, his presence not only moved his immediate circle of Beat cohorts, but his powerful, startling, innovative work would come to impact American poetry to the present day. Drawing on Whalen's journals and personal correspondence-particularly with Ginsberg, Kerouac, Snyder, Kyger, Welch, and McClure -David Schneider shows how deeply bonded these intimates were, supporting one another in their art and their spiritual paths. Schneider, himself an ordained priest, provides an insider's view of Whalen's struggles and breakthroughs in his thirty years as a Zen monk. When Whalen died in 2002 as the retired Abbot of the Hartford Street Zen Center, his own teacher referred to him as a patriarch of the Western lineage of Buddhism. Crowded by Beauty chronicles the course of Whalen's life, focusing on his unique, eccentric, humorous, and literary-religious practice.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Brief Chronology

1. Reflection in Friends

2. Banjo Eyes: Whalen and Ginsberg

3. Buddha Red Ears: Whalen and Kerouac

4. Kalyanamitra: Whalen and Snyder

5. Your Heart Is Fine: Whalen and Kyger

6. Hail Thee Who Play: Whalen and McClure

7. Early: 1923-1943

8. Forced Association: Army Life, 1943-1946

9. Reed's Fine College: 1946-1951

10. Solvitur Ambulando: 1959-1971

11. Japan, Bolinas, Japan, Bolinas: 1965-1971

12. New Years: Whalen and Baker, Zen Center

13. An Order to Love: Ordination

14. Rope of Sand: Santa Fe and Dharma Transmission

15. RSVP: Hartford Street, Decline and Death

Acknowledgments

Notes

Primary Sources

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

OCLC:

910237744