Diane di Prima was an American poet and a prominent figure associated with the Beat Generation. Her work is characterized by a raw honesty and a strong social conscience, often exploring themes of freedom, spirituality, and societal injustice. Di Prima approached poetry as a living, breathing entity with the power to impact the world around her. Her distinctive voice and commitment to social and personal liberation shine through her evocative verse.
Expanded 50th anniversary edition of the City Lights classic of eco-feminist-Zen Beat poetry, featuring fifteen new poems. Simultaneously released with Diane di Prima's Spring and Autumn Annals on the one-year anniversary of her passing.
Lyrical and unforgettable, part elegy and part memoir, we present a previously unpublished masterpiece from the Beat Generation icon. Simultaneously released with an expanded edition of di Prima's classic Revolutionary Letters on the one-year anniversary of her passing.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Diane di Prima's haiku and the founding of LOVƎ Press, this collection features her 32 evocative poems alongside 36 woodcuts by Herms from the original 1967 edition. The book also includes an insightful essay by curator Sarah C. Bancroft, titled "On Making Haiku," which explores the art and significance of this poetic form. This unique edition honors both the visual and literary aspects of di Prima's work, making it a significant addition for poetry enthusiasts.
Recollections of My Life as a Woman was wonderful for me personally to be able to reminisce again about old friends, McClure, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Ferlinghetti, among others. This is a must-read for women, poets, and people looking for a way to define their life's work. A romp of a read! I loved it. --Dennis Hopper
Dinners and Nightmares is a highly experimental collage of genres, including plays, conversations, interior monologues, free verse, and lists, a postmodern text long before that term become mainstreamed. It remains a powerful testament to the complications and triumphs of Beat bohemia for women.Publisher Last Gasp proud to bring back this early Beat classic Diane di Prima has long been recognized as one of the strongest voice of her generation, and one of the few women who was able to break through the male-dominated beatnik scene. Her poetic portrayal of lowlife Bohemians and revolutionary mentalities shatter the conservative myths of the Fifties and lay bare the emerging sexual experimentation that would shape the Sixties.
Exploring the theme of feminine reintegration, this visionary epic presents the completed work of Loba, which initially captivated readers in 1978. Drawing parallels to Allen Ginsberg's Howl, it delves into the wilderness of human experience through the archetype of the wolf goddess, symbolizing ultimate self-acceptance. The new material enriches the narrative, inviting readers to engage with its profound insights into identity and empowerment.
Long regarded as an underground classic for its gritty and unabashedly erotic portrayal of the Beat years, Memoirs of a Beatnik is a moving account of a powerful woman artist coming of age sensually and intellectually in a movement dominated by a small confederacy of men, many of whom she lived with and loved. Filled with anecdotes about her adventures in New York City, Diane di Prima's memoir shows her learning to "raise her rebellion into art," and making her way toward literary success. Memoirs of a Beatnik offers a fascinating narrative about the courage and triumphs of the imagination.