Jack Foley (poet)
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Jack Foley is an American poet living in Oakland, California.
[edit] Biography
Jack Foley is an innovative, widely-published San Francisco poet and critic. Foley is well-known throughout the Bay Area and elsewhere for his spoken-word performances -- performances which often involve "choruses" (multi-voiced pieces) presented jointly with his wife, Adelle. Foley's work has been described by Heaven Bone magazine as "evolving from the linguistic musical tradition of the original S.F. 'Beat' poet/performers and extending that eye, ear and voice of penetrating clarity into a modern mythology." Poet Dana Gioia called Foley's poetry "that rare commodity -- genuinely avant-garde poetry...experimental poetry with depth and intelligence as well as intensity." James Broughton described Foley's choral pieces as "androgynous."
Since 1988, Foley has hosted a show of interviews and poetry presentations on Berkeley radio station KPFA. "Foley's Books," a review column, appears regularly in the Gazebo section of the online magazine, The Alsop Review. Foley is also a contributing editor of the Berkeley journal, Poetry Flash. His poetry books, all of which feature accompanying CDs or cassette tapes, include Letters/Lights -- Words for Adelle, Gershwin, Adrift (nominated for a BABRA award), Exiles, and (with Ivan Arguelles) New Poetry from California: Dead/Requiem. His Greatest Hits: 1974-2003 appeared from Pudding House Press -- a by-invitation-only series.
Two companion volumes of Foley's essays and interviews appeared from Pantograph Press: O Powerful Western Star and Foley's Books: California Rebels, Beats, and Radicals. O Powerful Western Star, which has the distinction of being the only book of critical essays to include a CD on which the author performs some of the work in the book, received the Artists Embassy Literary/Cultural Award 1998-2000. Foley is also the editor of The "Fallen Western Star" Wars, a compilation of responses to Dana Gioia's controversial essay, "Fallen Western Star" and the translator of a selection of songs by the French songwriter, Georges Brassens. Foley's play, The Boy, the Girl, and the Piece of Chocolate, was made into a film by Alabama filmmaker Wayne Sides in 2006.
[edit] Works
- O Powerful Western Star -- Poetry & Art in California (Pantograph Press) 2000;
- Foley's Books -- California Rebels, Beats & Radicals (Pantograph Press) 2000;
- Dead/Requiem (Pantograph Press) with Ivan Arguelles 1998;
- Exiles (Pantograph Press) 1996;
- Adrift (Pantograph Press) 1993;
- Gershwin - Poems (Norton Coker Press) 1991;
- Letters/Lights -- Words for Adelle (Mother's Hen) 1987
