Philip Whalen (1923-2002)

A selective list of online literary criticism for Philip Whalen, favoring signed articles by recognized scholars, articles published in reviewed sources, and web sites that adhere to the MLA Guidelines for Web Pages

main page | 20th-century literature | 20th-century poetry | San Francisco Renaissance

Introduction & literary criticism

"Philip Whalen (1923-2002)." Poetry Foundation. Ed. Catherine Halley. Good, encyclopedia-type introduction to Whalen's themes and techniques, with a biography and samples of his poems.

Berrigan, Anselm. "Transmissions: on Philip Whalen's Overtime." Jacket 11 (April 2000)

Bouchard, Daniel. "An Hour with Philip Whalen." Poet Daniel Bouchard writes about a recent visit to Whalen. Jacket 11 (April 2000)

Christensen, Paul. "To Hunt for Words Under the Stones." Christensen discusses Philip Whalen's poetry in the context of the American tradition of Williams, Olsen, and Oppen. Jacket 11 (April 2000)

Clark, Tom. A review of Overtime: Selected Poems, edited by Michael Rothenberg, introduction by Leslie Scalapino, (Penguin, 1999). Jacket 7. Another review, by Keith Kumasen Abbott. The Beat Review 2, 1 (Jan. 2008)

Fischer, Norman. A review of Philip Whalen's Overtime: Selected Poems. Jacket 11 (April 2000)

Nichols, Travis. "How Do You Like Your World? The Zen of Philip Whalen." Poetry Foundation.

Hrebeniak, Michael. "In Memoriam Philip Whalen," Jacket 18 (Aug. 2002)

Schneider, Tensho David. "Looking Things Up With Philip Whalen." Schneider writes about hanging out with Whalen (1981). Jacket 11 (April 2000)

Smith, Dale. Introduction to a special Philip Whalen feature. "The essays presented in this feature vary, moving between critical evaluations within modernism (Paul Christensen), a proposal for a study of Whalen in context of American letters (Tom Devaney) and reviews of Overtime (Anselm Berrigan and Lewis MacAdams). David Schneider's recollection and Bill Berkson's brief memoir/ letter present personal accounts, while David Meltzer's engaging interview gathers the history that gives personal and cultural contexts to nearly half a century's poetic achievements." Jacket 11 (April 2000)

Smith, Dale. "Reading Philip Whalen." Jacket 5 (1998)

Suiter, John. An essay about John Suiter's Poets on the Peaks: Gary Snyder, Philip Whalem & Jack Kerouac in the North Cascades, "Gary Snyder on Crater Mountain, 1952, " by Noel V. Bourasaw. Skagit River Journal

Suiter, John. A web site for John Suiter's Poets on the Peaks: Gary Snyder, Philip Whalem & Jack Kerouac in the North Cascades, provides excerpts from the book, some photos, and information about purchasing it

Welch, Lew. "Whalen's Poetry Swings Like Jazz." A review of Whalen's On Bear's Head. San Francisco Chronicle, June 22, 1969

Philip Whalen's obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle, June 27, 2002

Tom Raworth has collected tributes and memories of Philip Whalen at his web site

On U of Calif. Berkeley's acquisition of Philip Whalen's twenty-years worth of personal papers and personal library. Press release

San Francisco Renaissance

Fields, Rick. How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America (Shambhala Publications). Publisher's web site

The history of Circle magazine, an experimental San Francisco publication started in 1944

Hayward, Michael. The publishing history of Beat writers, MA thesis (1991)

Details on the reading "6 Poets at 6 Gallery" in San Francisco, 1955

Book Collecting: Beat Literature, article by a book collector, Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD

main page | 20th-century literature | 20th-century poetry | San Francisco Renaissance

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