Kenneth Patchen

Kenneth Patchen: Reads With Jazz In Canada

by Mark Corroto
October 7, 2004

Funny how poet Kenneth Patchen's message is even more poignant today, two generations down the road. His antiwar pacifism was eclipsed by the overindulgent “beat generation" poets, who claimed him as a father, then quickly chose to become his prodigal sons. His message of love, blurred by their self-obsession, has come around again. Patchen's words for a troubled cold war world are suitable in these post-9/11 unsettled times.

Patchen's poetry and prose has always had a strong following ...