Clearly Meant, the poetry reading & interview series, is back! Today we welcome local poet & teacher Clive Matson. Join us as Clive reads his poetry, then sits for a friendly interview with host Glenn Ingersoll; a discussion follows in which everyone is encouraged to participate.
Clive Matson grew up in SoCal, but in the early 1960s found artistic community in New York’s Lower East Side with Allen Ginsberg, Diane di Prima, and others, living out the deep passions that run through us all. Matson taught creative writing at UCB Extension during the 70s. His books include Let the Crazy Child Write! and Mainline to the Heart. During a recent backpacking trip to the Sierras, Matson was shocked by snowless peaks and haze from wildfires, prompting his epic poem Hello, Paradise. Paradise, Goodbye, which will be out soon from New Generation Beat Publications. Matson’s awards include the Josephine Miles from PEN Oakland and a Lifetime Achievement in Poetry from the Berkeley Poetry Festival.
A free chapbook of Clive Matson poems will be available for pick up at each branch a month before the reading.
Clearly Meant began in 2015. Chapbooks of all past guest poets are available at Claremont. The readings have been videotaped, and can be viewed on the Berkeley Public Library YouTube channel.