Steve Richmond (1 Viewer)

[bospress.net]

Hi,
I just spoke with Ben Pleasants. He has an interview with Steve Richmond in the upcomming Beat Scene. Some interesting talk of the old days with Bukowski. Things that were taken out of "Spinning Off Bukowski". Steve is apparently in very very poor health (as he has been for a long time now). I read the interview and it is well worth the price of the magazine. I think that Kevin Ring is on this forum (although, if so, he never posts!)


Bill

 

[nymark]

Steve Richmond looks terrible in "Born Into This." And he's clearly nuts, as well.

Beat Scene is a great publication. I assume everyone here is familiar with it. If not, you are in for a treat. Roses at your feet, Kevin.

 

[poptop]

Three Feet Tall

Steve Richmond looks terrible in "Born Into This." And he's clearly nuts, as well.

Hi Nymark,

Just curious why you feel Steve is nuts. The Bukowski-shrinking story?

Poptop

 

[the only good poet]

the beatscene was my first source of info on b. the tribute issues were/are a joy. i'm looking forward to the pleasants/richmond interview. thanks, bill!

i've seen the trailer for born and it did strike me how pale and gaunt steve richmond looked, but i put that down to not having seen a photo in a long time. another reminder of our mortality! sorry to hear.

 

[cirerita]

I interviewed him in his Santa Monica house back in 2001. I wouldn't say he was "nuts", but he was certainly out-of-the-ordinary, if you know what I mean. Sometimes, he was scary. He began talking about B and then would ramble on and on about a million things and then, all of a sudden, he would say:
-Hey, you wanna see something great?
-Yeah, sure

And he would lift up his shirt and show me a lot of scars while telling me another long, weird story.

Nuts? Don't think so, but definitely quite uncommon :D

btw, he allowed me to videotape the interview, so I have this mini-DV tape somewhere in my "vaults". I've never seen the tape, though. Sometimes I think, "hey, man, let's have some fun and watch that tape", but I've never come around...

 

[Rekrab]

Richmond is a great poet in my opinion. Unconventional, yes. Underrated. People pay too much attention to his biography, his circumstances and not enough to all those fine poems. But what do I know? Sorry to hear of his health problems.

 

[poptop]

Speechless in Sedona

I interviewed him in his Santa Monica...

Sounds uncommon indeed.

You and your out-of-the ordinary treasures...
Glad you have them to pull the literary rabbits out of your hat.

Thanks for the info on Steve.

 

[ROC]

pity about his sad rants on Amazon.com though...
and I quote...

"The molding of a great hard drinking poet into a pansy waist, January 28, 1999
Reviewer: A reader
Publisher Martin has to rejoice at this collection which grants Martin his first scorpian like inroads into the grisel of a super strong american poet of us people AND BY NOTHING MORE COMPLICATED THAN INSECT POISON PUSHES BUKOWSKI TOWARD THE FINAL KAHLIL GIBRAN KIND OF WEAK SPIRITUAL LOVE GROPING OF SLIMEY SLOBBER POESY BUK ENDS UP WRITING HIS LAST DAYS AROUND THESE PARTS.Martin of course doesn't drink and believes he knows best when it concerns bukowski poem form, wording, syntax, etc. FOR EXAMPLEMartin tired of reading Bukowski wording such as "he said." and EDITED IN: "he retorted."Would Buk ever write "he retorted."NO NO NEVER. Martin hides behind Bukowski's levis by publishing Buk poems which grossly lie about various literary artists MARTIN RESENTS. MARTIN the dedicated christian scientist and BUKOWSKI the dedicated diogenes-like dunken poet work together about as well as fire and water make do in partnership.And this is why Bukowski's Black Sparrow collections are crammed with vicious murderous attacks against various peers and creative art makers/risk takers---risking a Bukowski barrage of proven fatal power result at times (see WILD BILL WANTLING).OF COURSE, John Martin wsn't all bad news for Charles Bukowski. He made the poet rich!"a rich man has as much chance of going to heaven as a camel has of passing through the eye of a needle" JChrist"

wow... what a knucklehead!

 

[the only good poet]

Richmond is a great poet in my opinion. Unconventional, yes. Underrated. People pay too much attention to his biography, his circumstances and not enough to all those fine poems. But what do I know? Sorry to hear of his health problems.

well said.

i should like to read his stuff. i love the title "hitler painted roses." wonderful. i hear the "santa monica poems" is a stronger collection.

 

[cirerita]

B put him down in "300 poems" (re. his gagaku poems) and "A most serious fellow".

 

[the only good poet]

"300 poems" i knew about, but "a most serious fellow" i didn't. where can i read that poem, pls? i've now read pleasant's "visceral b" and he says some things about sr but also about b himself - inferences about nazi sympathies...i thought the evidence a little thin on the ground myself, and a bit annoying but, then - the bit about b having a tear in his eye over those youngsters collecting for neo-nazis...what's that all about?

 

[Rekrab]

The Amazon rant doesn't strike me as all that sad. Over the top, and bitter, but it makes sense. Thanks for pointing it out, Buk on a Bike. I hadn't seen that one, but I've seen another somewhere. I think there's some truth to Steve's claim that Martin has sweetened and softened Bukowski for the masses. Those of us who read all of Buk know the raw side, but you wouldn't necessarily pick that up from the BSP collections alone, especially the later collections.

 

[the only good poet]

i've now read pleasant's "visceral b" and he makes some inferences about nazi sympathies...

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/04/11/225116.php

i really enjoyed the book.

 

[cirerita]

"300 poems" i knew about, but "a most serious fellow" i didn't. where can i read that poem, pls?

the copy I have is from the manuscript collection held at Tucson.

 

[the only good poet]

I think there's some truth to Steve's claim that Martin has sweetened and softened Bukowski for the masses. Those of us who read all of Buk know the raw side, but you wouldn't necessarily pick that up from the BSP collections alone, especially the later collections.

yes, i experienced the disparity on encountering the early home recordings after being familiar with the BSP collections. i believe the writing became less anarchic as the possiblity of the readership grew...

the copy I have is from the manuscript collection held at Tucson.

tucson is a bit far to hop on a bus. any chance of posting it? :D

pity about his sad rants on Amazon.com though...
and I quote...
wow... what a knucklehead!

it's easier to quote...

 

[cirerita]

tucson is a bit far to hop on a bus. any chance of posting it? :D

that wouldn't make Richmond happy ;)