GEORGE STERLING - Revision history

Ccarlsson: Protected "GEORGE STERLING": finished essay [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

2009-01-11T08:03:26Z

Protected "GEORGE STERLING": finished essay [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

← Older revision	Revision as of 01:03, 11 January 2009
(No difference)

Ccarlsson: PC and protected

2009-01-11T08:03:04Z

PC and protected

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:03, 11 January 2009
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			'''<font face = Papyrus> <font color = maroon> <font size = 4>Historical Essay</font></font> </font>'''

			''by Jim Fisher''

	[[Image:litersf1$george-sterling-portrait.jpg]]		[[Image:litersf1$george-sterling-portrait.jpg]]

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	A recent tour of local bookstores, including several regional collections, turned up a single out-of-print play at a price only curators would consider. It is an interesting position: to have become, in the words of Kevin Starr, "tragically passé," yet to have the few books you did publish sell at prices that rival your most successful contemporaries. For a person who was compared to Spenser, Milton and Keats during his lifetime, the hype is not all that surprising.		A recent tour of local bookstores, including several regional collections, turned up a single out-of-print play at a price only curators would consider. It is an interesting position: to have become, in the words of Kevin Starr, "tragically passé," yet to have the few books you did publish sell at prices that rival your most successful contemporaries. For a person who was compared to Spenser, Milton and Keats during his lifetime, the hype is not all that surprising.

	Despite his modest poetic talent, Sterling was a truly charismatic figure, able to charm artists and patrons alike. This, combined with backing by [[The Wickedest Man in San Francisco: Ambrose Bierce \| Ambrose Bierce]], a manic ambition, and (it didn't hurt) a classical aquiline profile, quickly established him as a poet of great promise. Nicknamed "The Greek" by his friend [[JACK LONDON \| Jack London]], he frequently appeared decorated with laurels at the [[The Bohemian Oligarchy \| Bohemian Club]]'s yearly Russian River festivals christened 'Midsummer Jinks' for which he was soon composing grove plays, including ''The Triumph of Bohemia'' and ''A Forest Play''. It was these plays that were later anthologized, becoming the novelty pieces now occasionally found in city bookstores at appropriately decadent prices.		Despite his modest poetic talent, Sterling was a truly charismatic figure, able to charm artists and patrons alike. This, combined with backing by [[The Wickedest Man in San Francisco: Ambrose Bierce \| Ambrose Bierce]], a manic ambition, and (it didn't hurt) a classical aquiline profile, quickly established him as a poet of great promise. Nicknamed "The Greek" by his friend [[JACK LONDON \| Jack London]], he frequently appeared decorated with laurels at the [[The Bohemian Oligarchy \| Bohemian Club]]'s yearly Russian River festivals -- christened 'Midsummer Jinks' -- for which he was soon composing grove plays, including ''The Triumph of Bohemia'' and ''A Forest Play''. It was these plays that were later anthologized, becoming the novelty pieces now occasionally found in city bookstores at appropriately decadent prices.

	Virtually every literary circle in the Bay Area between 1895 and 1925 could count Sterling a member, if not a congregating force. The Piedmont crowd, which included Jimmy Hopper, Jack London, Jim Whitaker, Blanche Partington, Xavier Martinez and Austin Lewis, knew the Sterlings' villa as their most popular meeting site. After Sterling and his wife Carolyn moved to Carmel in 1905— initially to escape the social distractions of the city—the artists and writers followed. By 1907 a colony had formed, with Sterling again playing host, his plans for writing vanishing in favor of seaside abalone hunts and evenings of performance, recitation and consumption. An austere Upton Sinclair, who joined the colony in 1909 expecting to find an industrious group of fellow socialists, was so taken aback by what he deemed dissipation that he left after three months.		Virtually every literary circle in the Bay Area between 1895 and 1925 could count Sterling a member, if not a congregating force. The Piedmont crowd, which included Jimmy Hopper, Jack London, Jim Whitaker, Blanche Partington, Xavier Martinez and Austin Lewis, knew the Sterlings' villa as their most popular meeting site. After Sterling and his wife Carolyn moved to Carmel in 1905— initially to escape the social distractions of the city—the artists and writers followed. By 1907 a colony had formed, with Sterling again playing host, his plans for writing vanishing in favor of seaside abalone hunts and evenings of performance, recitation and consumption. An austere Upton Sinclair, who joined the colony in 1909 expecting to find an industrious group of fellow socialists, was so taken aback by what he deemed dissipation that he left after three months.
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	'' San Francisco's isolation might give rise to a splendid originality, but it could also lead to narcissism and a self-justifying tolerance for the third-rate the soothing critical climate, as well as the sunshine, was in danger of filling up San Francisco with poseurs, unchallenged by circumstances of discernment. Bohemia often concealed a colossal idleness. ''(Starr, p.260)		'' San Francisco's isolation might give rise to a splendid originality, but it could also lead to narcissism and a self-justifying tolerance for the third-rate the soothing critical climate, as well as the sunshine, was in danger of filling up San Francisco with poseurs, unchallenged by circumstances of discernment. Bohemia often concealed a colossal idleness. ''(Starr, p.260)

	Although there were certainly ~~exceptions~~ - Mary Austin for example, continued to produce plays, anthropological studies, and novels until late in ~~life~~ - individuals of the period had a tendency to concentrate on the social aspects of being writers and artists to the detriment of their work.		Although there were certainly exceptions--Mary Austin for example, continued to produce plays, anthropological studies, and novels until late in life-- individuals of the period had a tendency to concentrate on the social aspects of being writers and artists to the detriment of their work.

	At [[Provincial Italian Cuisines: San Francisco Conserves Italian Heritage \| Coppa]]'s, the bohemian rendezvous on the famed Montgomery Block in San Francisco, Sterling's lines, "the blue-eyed vampire, sated at her feast / Smiles bloodily against the leprous moon" were inscribed on the wall-length mural, his name beside such immortals as Dante, Goethe and Rabelais. In the same restaurant, writer Isabel Fraser is said to have mounted a ladder and been christened "Queen of Bohemia" to the applause of the assembled "Coppans."		At [[Provincial Italian Cuisines: San Francisco Conserves Italian Heritage \| Coppa]]'s, the bohemian rendezvous on the famed Montgomery Block in San Francisco, Sterling's lines, "the blue-eyed vampire, sated at her feast / Smiles bloodily against the leprous moon" were inscribed on the wall-length mural, his name beside such immortals as Dante, Goethe and Rabelais. In the same restaurant, writer Isabel Fraser is said to have mounted a ladder and been christened "Queen of Bohemia" to the applause of the assembled "Coppans."
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	Although he may have fallen short of his poetic goals, Sterling was by all reports sincere in his efforts to represent a regional identity. In a young city "ever unsure of its exact relationship to the great world," (Starr, p.254) he was willing to risk a dynamic aesthetic role. That one was due is perhaps no better demonstrated than by how readily, if precipitously, the community claimed him as their own and glorified his accomplishments.		Although he may have fallen short of his poetic goals, Sterling was by all reports sincere in his efforts to represent a regional identity. In a young city "ever unsure of its exact relationship to the great world," (Starr, p.254) he was willing to risk a dynamic aesthetic role. That one was due is perhaps no better demonstrated than by how readily, if precipitously, the community claimed him as their own and glorified his accomplishments.

	~~''--Jim Fisher ''~~

	'''FURTHER READING: '''		'''FURTHER READING: '''

Ccarlsson at 23:52, 23 August 2008

2008-08-23T23:52:22Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:52, 23 August 2008
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	Garnett, Porter. ''The Bohemian Jinks, A Treatise''. San Francisco, 1908.		Garnett, Porter. ''The Bohemian Jinks, A Treatise''. San Francisco, 1908.

	Gullette, Alan. ~~[http://www.creative.net/~alang/lit/sterling.shtml~~ ''A George Sterling Page''].		Gullette, Alan. ''A George Sterling Page''.

	Saunders, Richard. ''Ambrose Bierce: The Making of a Misanthrope''. Chronicle Books, 1985.		Saunders, Richard. ''Ambrose Bierce: The Making of a Misanthrope''. Chronicle Books, 1985.

Ccarlsson at 23:50, 23 August 2008

2008-08-23T23:50:04Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:50, 23 August 2008
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	Though once hailed by Ambrose Bierce as the future "poet of the skies, prophet of the suns," the San Francisco poet George Sterling is no longer read, even locally. Yet among California writers and poets, a peculiar affection still remains for the original Poet Laureate of San Francisco, despite his being remembered more for his personality than for his verse.		Though once hailed by Ambrose Bierce as the future "poet of the skies, prophet of the suns," the San Francisco poet George Sterling is no longer read, even locally. Yet among California writers and poets, a peculiar affection still remains for the original Poet Laureate of San Francisco, despite his being remembered more for his personality than for his verse.

	A recent tour of local bookstores, including several regional collections, turned up a single out-of-print play at a price only curators would consider. It is an interesting position: to have become, in the words of Kevin Starr, "tragically ~~passe~~," yet to have the few books you did publish sell at prices that rival your most successful contemporaries. For a person who was compared to Spenser, Milton and Keats during his lifetime, the hype is not all that surprising.		A recent tour of local bookstores, including several regional collections, turned up a single out-of-print play at a price only curators would consider. It is an interesting position: to have become, in the words of Kevin Starr, "tragically passé," yet to have the few books you did publish sell at prices that rival your most successful contemporaries. For a person who was compared to Spenser, Milton and Keats during his lifetime, the hype is not all that surprising.

	Despite his modest poetic talent, Sterling was a truly charismatic figure, able to charm artists and patrons alike. This, combined with backing by [[The Wickedest Man in San Francisco: Ambrose Bierce \| Ambrose Bierce]], a manic ambition, and (it didn't hurt) a classical aquiline profile, quickly established him as a poet of great promise. Nicknamed "The Greek" by his friend [[JACK LONDON \| Jack London]], he frequently appeared decorated with laurels at the [[The Bohemian Oligarchy \| Bohemian Club]]'s yearly Russian River festivals christened 'Midsummer Jinks' for which he was soon composing grove plays, including ''The Triumph of Bohemia'' and ''A Forest Play''. It was these plays that were later anthologized, becoming the novelty pieces now occasionally found in city bookstores at appropriately decadent prices.		Despite his modest poetic talent, Sterling was a truly charismatic figure, able to charm artists and patrons alike. This, combined with backing by [[The Wickedest Man in San Francisco: Ambrose Bierce \| Ambrose Bierce]], a manic ambition, and (it didn't hurt) a classical aquiline profile, quickly established him as a poet of great promise. Nicknamed "The Greek" by his friend [[JACK LONDON \| Jack London]], he frequently appeared decorated with laurels at the [[The Bohemian Oligarchy \| Bohemian Club]]'s yearly Russian River festivals christened 'Midsummer Jinks' for which he was soon composing grove plays, including ''The Triumph of Bohemia'' and ''A Forest Play''. It was these plays that were later anthologized, becoming the novelty pieces now occasionally found in city bookstores at appropriately decadent prices.

	Virtually every literary circle in the Bay Area between 1895 and 1925 could count Sterling a member, if not a congregating force. The Piedmont crowd, which included Jimmy Hopper, Jack London, Jim Whitaker, Blanche Partington, Xavier Martinez and Austin Lewis, knew the Sterlings' villa as their most popular meeting site. After Sterling and his wife Carolyn moved to Carmel in ~~1905 -~~ initially to escape the social distractions of the ~~city - the~~ artists and writers followed. By 1907 a colony had formed, with Sterling again playing host, his plans for writing vanishing in favor of seaside abalone hunts and evenings of performance, recitation and consumption. An austere Upton Sinclair, who joined the colony in 1909 expecting to find an industrious group of fellow socialists, was so taken aback by what he deemed dissipation that he left after three months.		Virtually every literary circle in the Bay Area between 1895 and 1925 could count Sterling a member, if not a congregating force. The Piedmont crowd, which included Jimmy Hopper, Jack London, Jim Whitaker, Blanche Partington, Xavier Martinez and Austin Lewis, knew the Sterlings' villa as their most popular meeting site. After Sterling and his wife Carolyn moved to Carmel in 1905— initially to escape the social distractions of the city—the artists and writers followed. By 1907 a colony had formed, with Sterling again playing host, his plans for writing vanishing in favor of seaside abalone hunts and evenings of performance, recitation and consumption. An austere Upton Sinclair, who joined the colony in 1909 expecting to find an industrious group of fellow socialists, was so taken aback by what he deemed dissipation that he left after three months.

	Photographs of the period were very often group shots, with Sterling and his entourage sporting clubs, Greek gowns, and other fanciful costumes; or fantasy portraits, such as one of the critic Porter Garnett, naked except for artificial horns and a goatee, squatting on a hillside at one of the Bohemian Jinks. Although there is strong possibility that "[Sterling] had portraits taken of himself in the nude or near-nude, striking classical stances," (Starr, p.277) the closest we have is Sterling in a grove of redwoods, posing before two oversize paintings of himself in a toga, his hand on a bust of William Shakespeare.		Photographs of the period were very often group shots, with Sterling and his entourage sporting clubs, Greek gowns, and other fanciful costumes; or fantasy portraits, such as one of the critic Porter Garnett, naked except for artificial horns and a goatee, squatting on a hillside at one of the Bohemian Jinks. Although there is strong possibility that "[Sterling] had portraits taken of himself in the nude or near-nude, striking classical stances," (Starr, p.277) the closest we have is Sterling in a grove of redwoods, posing before two oversize paintings of himself in a toga, his hand on a bust of William Shakespeare.
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	Garnett, Porter. ''The Bohemian Jinks, A Treatise''. San Francisco, 1908.		Garnett, Porter. ''The Bohemian Jinks, A Treatise''. San Francisco, 1908.

	Gullette, Alan. ~~''A George Sterling Page''. (~~http://www.creative.net/~alang/lit/sterling.~~sht)~~		Gullette, Alan. [http://www.creative.net/~alang/lit/sterling.shtml ''A George Sterling Page''].

	Saunders, Richard. ''Ambrose Bierce: The Making of a Misanthrope''. Chronicle Books, 1985.		Saunders, Richard. ''Ambrose Bierce: The Making of a Misanthrope''. Chronicle Books, 1985.

Ccarlsson: fixed categories

2008-07-28T02:56:29Z

fixed categories

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:56, 27 July 2008
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	It wasn't that George Sterling was fundamentally misguided, or that his enthusiastic group of followers lacked sustainable talents, but the enchantment of California, and especially San Francisco, seemed to tempt artists into premature self-congratulation. As Kevin Starr observes:		It wasn't that George Sterling was fundamentally misguided, or that his enthusiastic group of followers lacked sustainable talents, but the enchantment of California, and especially San Francisco, seemed to tempt artists into premature self-congratulation. As Kevin Starr observes:

	'' San Francisco's isolation might give rise to a splendid originality, but it could also lead to narcissism and a self-justifying tolerance for the third-rate the soothing critical climate, as well as the sunshine, was in danger of filling up San Francisco with poseurs, unchallenged by circumstances of discernment. Bohemia often concealed a colossal ~~idleness~~ ''(Starr, p.260)		'' San Francisco's isolation might give rise to a splendid originality, but it could also lead to narcissism and a self-justifying tolerance for the third-rate the soothing critical climate, as well as the sunshine, was in danger of filling up San Francisco with poseurs, unchallenged by circumstances of discernment. Bohemia often concealed a colossal idleness. ''(Starr, p.260)

	Although there were certainly exceptions - Mary Austin for example, continued to produce plays, anthropological studies, and novels until late in life - individuals of the period had a tendency to concentrate on the social aspects of being writers and artists to the detriment of their work.		Although there were certainly exceptions - Mary Austin for example, continued to produce plays, anthropological studies, and novels until late in life - individuals of the period had a tendency to concentrate on the social aspects of being writers and artists to the detriment of their work.
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	[[category:Literary San Francisco]][[category:~~1895-1925~~]][[category:Famous ~~Characters~~]]		[[category:Literary San Francisco]][[category:1890s]][[category:Famous characters]] [[category:1900s]] [[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]]

Lisaruth at 20:11, 27 June 2008

2008-06-27T20:11:44Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:11, 27 June 2008
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	[[Failed Poet Tries His Hand at Gunslinging: BLACK BART \|Prev. Document]] [[MARK TWAIN \|Next Document]]		[[Failed Poet Tries His Hand at Gunslinging: BLACK BART \|Prev. Document]] [[MARK TWAIN \|Next Document]]


			[[category:Literary San Francisco]][[category:1895-1925]][[category:Famous Characters]]

Lisaruth: fix broken links, add categories, photo credit

2008-06-27T20:08:42Z

fix broken links, add categories, photo credit

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:08, 27 June 2008
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	'''George Sterling prepares for the performance of The Triumph of Bohemia at the Bohemian Grove, Sonoma County, c. 1907'''		'''George Sterling prepares for the performance of The Triumph of Bohemia at the Bohemian Grove, Sonoma County, c. 1907'''

			''photo: City Lights Books, San Francisco, CA''

	Though once hailed by Ambrose Bierce as the future "poet of the skies, prophet of the suns," the San Francisco poet George Sterling is no longer read, even locally. Yet among California writers and poets, a peculiar affection still remains for the original Poet Laureate of San Francisco, despite his being remembered more for his personality than for his verse.		Though once hailed by Ambrose Bierce as the future "poet of the skies, prophet of the suns," the San Francisco poet George Sterling is no longer read, even locally. Yet among California writers and poets, a peculiar affection still remains for the original Poet Laureate of San Francisco, despite his being remembered more for his personality than for his verse.
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	A recent tour of local bookstores, including several regional collections, turned up a single out-of-print play at a price only curators would consider. It is an interesting position: to have become, in the words of Kevin Starr, "tragically passe," yet to have the few books you did publish sell at prices that rival your most successful contemporaries. For a person who was compared to Spenser, Milton and Keats during his lifetime, the hype is not all that surprising.		A recent tour of local bookstores, including several regional collections, turned up a single out-of-print play at a price only curators would consider. It is an interesting position: to have become, in the words of Kevin Starr, "tragically passe," yet to have the few books you did publish sell at prices that rival your most successful contemporaries. For a person who was compared to Spenser, Milton and Keats during his lifetime, the hype is not all that surprising.

	Despite his modest poetic talent, Sterling was a truly charismatic figure, able to charm artists and patrons alike. This, combined with backing by [[The Wickedest Man in San Francisco: Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Bierce]], a manic ambition, and (it didn't hurt) a classical aquiline profile, quickly established him as a poet of great promise. Nicknamed "The Greek" by his friend [[JACK LONDON Jack London]], he frequently appeared decorated with laurels at the [[The Bohemian Oligarchy Bohemian Club]]'s yearly Russian River festivals christened 'Midsummer Jinks' for which he was soon composing grove plays, including ''The Triumph of Bohemia'' and ''A Forest Play''. It was these plays that were later anthologized, becoming the novelty pieces now occasionally found in city bookstores at appropriately decadent prices.		Despite his modest poetic talent, Sterling was a truly charismatic figure, able to charm artists and patrons alike. This, combined with backing by [[The Wickedest Man in San Francisco: Ambrose Bierce \| Ambrose Bierce]], a manic ambition, and (it didn't hurt) a classical aquiline profile, quickly established him as a poet of great promise. Nicknamed "The Greek" by his friend [[JACK LONDON \| Jack London]], he frequently appeared decorated with laurels at the [[The Bohemian Oligarchy \| Bohemian Club]]'s yearly Russian River festivals christened 'Midsummer Jinks' for which he was soon composing grove plays, including ''The Triumph of Bohemia'' and ''A Forest Play''. It was these plays that were later anthologized, becoming the novelty pieces now occasionally found in city bookstores at appropriately decadent prices.

	Virtually every literary circle in the Bay Area between 1895 and 1925 could count Sterling a member, if not a congregating force. The Piedmont crowd, which included Jimmy Hopper, Jack London, Jim Whitaker, Blanche Partington, Xavier Martinez and Austin Lewis, knew the Sterlings' villa as their most popular meeting site. After Sterling and his wife Carolyn moved to Carmel in 1905 initially to escape the social distractions of the city the artists and writers followed. By 1907 a colony had formed, with Sterling again playing host, his plans for writing vanishing in favor of seaside abalone hunts and evenings of performance, recitation and consumption. An austere Upton Sinclair, who joined the colony in 1909 expecting to find an industrious group of fellow socialists, was so taken aback by what he deemed dissipation that he left after three months.		Virtually every literary circle in the Bay Area between 1895 and 1925 could count Sterling a member, if not a congregating force. The Piedmont crowd, which included Jimmy Hopper, Jack London, Jim Whitaker, Blanche Partington, Xavier Martinez and Austin Lewis, knew the Sterlings' villa as their most popular meeting site. After Sterling and his wife Carolyn moved to Carmel in 1905 - initially to escape the social distractions of the city - the artists and writers followed. By 1907 a colony had formed, with Sterling again playing host, his plans for writing vanishing in favor of seaside abalone hunts and evenings of performance, recitation and consumption. An austere Upton Sinclair, who joined the colony in 1909 expecting to find an industrious group of fellow socialists, was so taken aback by what he deemed dissipation that he left after three months.

	Photographs of the period were very often group shots, with Sterling and his entourage sporting clubs, Greek gowns, and other fanciful costumes; or fantasy portraits, such as one of the critic Porter Garnett, naked except for artificial horns and a goatee, squatting on a hillside at one of the Bohemian Jinks. Although there is strong possibility that "[Sterling] had portraits taken of himself in the nude or near-nude, striking classical stances," (Starr, p.277) the closest we have is Sterling in a grove of redwoods, posing before two oversize paintings of himself in a toga, his hand on a bust of William Shakespeare.		Photographs of the period were very often group shots, with Sterling and his entourage sporting clubs, Greek gowns, and other fanciful costumes; or fantasy portraits, such as one of the critic Porter Garnett, naked except for artificial horns and a goatee, squatting on a hillside at one of the Bohemian Jinks. Although there is strong possibility that "[Sterling] had portraits taken of himself in the nude or near-nude, striking classical stances," (Starr, p.277) the closest we have is Sterling in a grove of redwoods, posing before two oversize paintings of himself in a toga, his hand on a bust of William Shakespeare.
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	'' San Francisco's isolation might give rise to a splendid originality, but it could also lead to narcissism and a self-justifying tolerance for the third-rate the soothing critical climate, as well as the sunshine, was in danger of filling up San Francisco with poseurs, unchallenged by circumstances of discernment. Bohemia often concealed a colossal idleness ''(Starr, p.260)		'' San Francisco's isolation might give rise to a splendid originality, but it could also lead to narcissism and a self-justifying tolerance for the third-rate the soothing critical climate, as well as the sunshine, was in danger of filling up San Francisco with poseurs, unchallenged by circumstances of discernment. Bohemia often concealed a colossal idleness ''(Starr, p.260)

	Although there were certainly ~~exceptionsMary~~ Austin for example, continued to produce plays, anthropological studies, and novels until late in life individuals of the period had a tendency to concentrate on the social aspects of being writers and artists to the detriment of their work.		Although there were certainly exceptions - Mary Austin for example, continued to produce plays, anthropological studies, and novels until late in life - individuals of the period had a tendency to concentrate on the social aspects of being writers and artists to the detriment of their work.

	At [[Provincial Italian Cuisines: San Francisco Conserves Italian Heritage Coppa]]'s, the bohemian rendezvous on the famed Montgomery Block in San Francisco, Sterling's lines, "the blue-eyed vampire, sated at her feast / Smiles bloodily against the leprous moon" were inscribed on the wall-length mural, his name beside such immortals as Dante, Goethe and Rabelais. In the same restaurant, writer Isabel Fraser is said to have mounted a ladder and been christened "Queen of Bohemia" to the applause of the assembled "Coppans."		At [[Provincial Italian Cuisines: San Francisco Conserves Italian Heritage \| Coppa]]'s, the bohemian rendezvous on the famed Montgomery Block in San Francisco, Sterling's lines, "the blue-eyed vampire, sated at her feast / Smiles bloodily against the leprous moon" were inscribed on the wall-length mural, his name beside such immortals as Dante, Goethe and Rabelais. In the same restaurant, writer Isabel Fraser is said to have mounted a ladder and been christened "Queen of Bohemia" to the applause of the assembled "Coppans."

	In time, one could find the names, quotes or sketches of most notable local artists on the wall alongside the acknowledged masters. One quote was by Nora May French, a flamboyant journalist and poet, who once remarked famously over lunch, "I have an idea that all sensible people will ultimately be damned." It turned out to be a prophetic statement. One year after the 1906 earthquake destroyed Coppa's and its ambitious mural, Nora May French swallowed poison at Carmel-by-the-Sea, beginning a trend of self-destruction among the bohemian generation.		In time, one could find the names, quotes or sketches of most notable local artists on the wall alongside the acknowledged masters. One quote was by Nora May French, a flamboyant journalist and poet, who once remarked famously over lunch, "I have an idea that all sensible people will ultimately be damned." It turned out to be a prophetic statement. One year after the 1906 earthquake destroyed Coppa's and its ambitious mural, Nora May French swallowed poison at Carmel-by-the-Sea, beginning a trend of self-destruction among the bohemian generation.
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	Although he may have fallen short of his poetic goals, Sterling was by all reports sincere in his efforts to represent a regional identity. In a young city "ever unsure of its exact relationship to the great world," (Starr, p.254) he was willing to risk a dynamic aesthetic role. That one was due is perhaps no better demonstrated than by how readily, if precipitously, the community claimed him as their own and glorified his accomplishments.		Although he may have fallen short of his poetic goals, Sterling was by all reports sincere in his efforts to represent a regional identity. In a young city "ever unsure of its exact relationship to the great world," (Starr, p.254) he was willing to risk a dynamic aesthetic role. That one was due is perhaps no better demonstrated than by how readily, if precipitously, the community claimed him as their own and glorified his accomplishments.

	''~~Jim~~ Fisher ''		''--Jim Fisher ''

	'''FURTHER READING: '''		'''FURTHER READING: '''
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	Walker, Franklin. ''The Seacoast of Bohemia, an Account of Early Carmel''. San Francisco, 1966.		Walker, Franklin. ''The Seacoast of Bohemia, an Account of Early Carmel''. San Francisco, 1966.

	~~Contributors to this page include:~~

	~~''City Lights Books,San Francisco,CA - Publisher or Photographer ''~~

	~~Fisher,Jim - Writer~~

	[[Failed Poet Tries His Hand at Gunslinging: BLACK BART \|Prev. Document]] [[MARK TWAIN \|Next Document]]		[[Failed Poet Tries His Hand at Gunslinging: BLACK BART \|Prev. Document]] [[MARK TWAIN \|Next Document]]

Admin: 1 revision(s)

2007-10-07T22:05:49Z

1 revision(s)

← Older revision	Revision as of 15:05, 7 October 2007
(No difference)

Unknown user at 00:00, 15 January 2001

2001-01-15T00:00:00Z

New page

[[Image:litersf1$george-sterling-portrait.jpg]]

'''George Sterling prepares for the performance of The Triumph of Bohemia at the Bohemian Grove, Sonoma County, c. 1907'''

Though once hailed by Ambrose Bierce as the future "poet of the skies, prophet of the suns," the San Francisco poet George Sterling is no longer read, even locally. Yet among California writers and poets, a peculiar affection still remains for the original Poet Laureate of San Francisco, despite his being remembered more for his personality than for his verse.

A recent tour of local bookstores, including several regional collections, turned up a single out-of-print play at a price only curators would consider. It is an interesting position: to have become, in the words of Kevin Starr, "tragically passe," yet to have the few books you did publish sell at prices that rival your most successful contemporaries. For a person who was compared to Spenser, Milton and Keats during his lifetime, the hype is not all that surprising.

Despite his modest poetic talent, Sterling was a truly charismatic figure, able to charm artists and patrons alike. This, combined with backing by [[The Wickedest Man in San Francisco: Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Bierce]], a manic ambition, and (it didn't hurt) a classical aquiline profile, quickly established him as a poet of great promise. Nicknamed "The Greek" by his friend [[JACK LONDON Jack London]], he frequently appeared decorated with laurels at the [[The Bohemian Oligarchy Bohemian Club]]'s yearly Russian River festivals christened 'Midsummer Jinks' for which he was soon composing grove plays, including ''The Triumph of Bohemia'' and ''A Forest Play''. It was these plays that were later anthologized, becoming the novelty pieces now occasionally found in city bookstores at appropriately decadent prices.

Virtually every literary circle in the Bay Area between 1895 and 1925 could count Sterling a member, if not a congregating force. The Piedmont crowd, which included Jimmy Hopper, Jack London, Jim Whitaker, Blanche Partington, Xavier Martinez and Austin Lewis, knew the Sterlings' villa as their most popular meeting site. After Sterling and his wife Carolyn moved to Carmel in 1905 initially to escape the social distractions of the city the artists and writers followed. By 1907 a colony had formed, with Sterling again playing host, his plans for writing vanishing in favor of seaside abalone hunts and evenings of performance, recitation and consumption. An austere Upton Sinclair, who joined the colony in 1909 expecting to find an industrious group of fellow socialists, was so taken aback by what he deemed dissipation that he left after three months.

Photographs of the period were very often group shots, with Sterling and his entourage sporting clubs, Greek gowns, and other fanciful costumes; or fantasy portraits, such as one of the critic Porter Garnett, naked except for artificial horns and a goatee, squatting on a hillside at one of the Bohemian Jinks. Although there is strong possibility that "[Sterling] had portraits taken of himself in the nude or near-nude, striking classical stances," (Starr, p.277) the closest we have is Sterling in a grove of redwoods, posing before two oversize paintings of himself in a toga, his hand on a bust of William Shakespeare.

It was arguably this flirtation with symbolic roles that gave the bohemians, and George Sterling in particular, their contemporary attraction. Unfortunately, the bohemians themselves were not always up to the symbolic roles they elected to assume. After the identities were hastily affirmed by a community impatient to recognize its great minds, many artists came to believe the illusion of their audience, with the predictable relaxation of output.

It wasn't that George Sterling was fundamentally misguided, or that his enthusiastic group of followers lacked sustainable talents, but the enchantment of California, and especially San Francisco, seemed to tempt artists into premature self-congratulation. As Kevin Starr observes:

'' San Francisco's isolation might give rise to a splendid originality, but it could also lead to narcissism and a self-justifying tolerance for the third-rate the soothing critical climate, as well as the sunshine, was in danger of filling up San Francisco with poseurs, unchallenged by circumstances of discernment. Bohemia often concealed a colossal idleness ''(Starr, p.260)

Although there were certainly exceptionsMary Austin for example, continued to produce plays, anthropological studies, and novels until late in life individuals of the period had a tendency to concentrate on the social aspects of being writers and artists to the detriment of their work.

At [[Provincial Italian Cuisines: San Francisco Conserves Italian Heritage Coppa]]'s, the bohemian rendezvous on the famed Montgomery Block in San Francisco, Sterling's lines, "the blue-eyed vampire, sated at her feast / Smiles bloodily against the leprous moon" were inscribed on the wall-length mural, his name beside such immortals as Dante, Goethe and Rabelais. In the same restaurant, writer Isabel Fraser is said to have mounted a ladder and been christened "Queen of Bohemia" to the applause of the assembled "Coppans."

In time, one could find the names, quotes or sketches of most notable local artists on the wall alongside the acknowledged masters. One quote was by Nora May French, a flamboyant journalist and poet, who once remarked famously over lunch, "I have an idea that all sensible people will ultimately be damned." It turned out to be a prophetic statement. One year after the 1906 earthquake destroyed Coppa's and its ambitious mural, Nora May French swallowed poison at Carmel-by-the-Sea, beginning a trend of self-destruction among the bohemian generation.

Sterling himself was the culmination of the trend, and his suicide by ingestion of cyanide in 1926 was perhaps the archetypal response to the city's turn-of-the-century bohemianism. As the unofficial Poet Laureate of San Francisco, Sterling was visible, social, yet discreetly dissolute. To many he embodied the heart of the Bay Area literary scene, and his death, the final and most publicized suicide associated with the San Francisco art scene, lent a grim legitimacy to the fate of his precursors, including: Nora May French (cyanide, 1907); Jack London (morphine, 1916); Carolyn Sterling (cyanide, 1918); David Lezinsky (gunshot, 1921); Richard Reaf (poison, 1922); and Herman Sheffauer (defenestration, 1926).

Nonetheless, in San Francisco today, the myth of Sterling still survives. In Golden Gate Park, the city maintains a George Sterling Glade. And Robinson Jeffers, the great Californian poet who took up residence in Carmel after the colony disbanded, called Sterling "the sweetest voice of the iron age," composing a memorial poem and prose retrospective on his death. For William Everson, another influential California poet, Sterling possessed something of "the accessibility of a saint," arguing that "despite the record, one ventures to believe him a truly beautiful spirit." (Everson, 63-4)

Although he may have fallen short of his poetic goals, Sterling was by all reports sincere in his efforts to represent a regional identity. In a young city "ever unsure of its exact relationship to the great world," (Starr, p.254) he was willing to risk a dynamic aesthetic role. That one was due is perhaps no better demonstrated than by how readily, if precipitously, the community claimed him as their own and glorified his accomplishments.

''Jim Fisher ''

'''FURTHER READING: '''

Everson, William. ''Archetype West''. Oyez Press, 1976.

Ferlinghetti, Lawrence and Nancy Peters. ''Literary San Francisco''. Harper and Row, 1980.

Garnett, Porter. ''The Bohemian Jinks, A Treatise''. San Francisco, 1908.

Gullette, Alan. ''A George Sterling Page''. (http://www.creative.net/~alang/lit/sterling.sht)

Saunders, Richard. ''Ambrose Bierce: The Making of a Misanthrope''. Chronicle Books, 1985.

Starr, Kevin. ''Americans and the California Dream 1850-1915''. Oxford University Press, 1973.

Walker, Franklin. ''The Seacoast of Bohemia, an Account of Early Carmel''. San Francisco, 1966.

Contributors to this page include:

''City Lights Books,San Francisco,CA - Publisher or Photographer ''

Fisher,Jim - Writer

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