About John Curl

email: jcurl@red-coral.net

Bio

I’m a mixture of Irish-Catholic, English-Protestant, Romanian-Austrian Jew, and Neanderthal. I was born and mostly raised in Manhattan, and some in New Jersey. I received a degree in literature from New York City College. I have an extraordinary daughter, and I’ve lived in the Bay Area since 1971. I have published fiction, poetry, essays and history in numerous magazines and periodicals. I’m a long time member of PEN Oakland,  the Revolutionary Poets Brigade, and the Berkeley Indigenous Peoples Day Committee. At the same time, I’ve mostly made a living doing custom woodworking.

Publishing History

Fiction: The Outlaws of Maroon (Homeward Press 2019) The Co-op Conspiracy (Homeward Press, 2014)

History : Indigenous Peoples Day: Handbook for Activists & Documentary History (IPD Press, 2017) For All The People, (PM Press, 2009, 2013) History of Work Cooperation in America, (Homeward Press, 1980) History of Collectivity in the Bay Area, (Homeward Press, 1982)

Translation: Ancient American Poets (Bilingual Press, 2005) Ancient, lyrics by John Curl, music by Tania Leon (2008)

Memoir: Memories of Drop City: The First Hippie Commune of the 1960s and the Summer of Love, (iUniverse, 2006).

Poetry : Yoga Sutras of Fidel Castro (Homeward Press, 2014) Revolutionary Alchemy (Homeward Press, 2013) Scorched Birth (Beatitude Press, 2004) Columbus in the Bay of Pigs, (Homeward Press/Inkworks, 1988, 1991) Decade: The 1990s, (Mother’s Hen, 1987) Tidal News, (Homeward Press, 1982) Cosmic Athletics, (Poetry for the People, 1980); Ride the Wind, (Poetry for the People, 1979); The San Francisco General Strike, (Cloud House, 1978); Insurrection/Resurrection, (Working Peoples Artists, 1975, with photos by Ken Light and graphics by Bruce Kaiper); Commu 1 (1971); Change/ Tears (1967)

Anthologies, Magazines & Periodicals: Overthrowing Capitalism (Vols 1, 2, 3, 4); The Border Crossed Us; Fighting Words; Rise: An Anthology of Power & Unity; Oakland Out Loud, Words Upon The Waters, Central Park , Poetry USA, Transatlantic Review, Amerus, Third Rail, El Corno Emplumado, Blake Times, The Unrealist, Soup, What is Real?, Peace Or Perish, Left Curve, Sparks of Fire, Merlyn Gorky, Clay Drum, Love Lights, Pulse of the People, THE, Toward Revolutionary Art, Haight-Ashbury Literary Quarterly, Anthology of East Bay Poets, Foolkiller, Poetalk, Radical America, Indigenous Currents, The Circle, Ball, Grassroots, Co-op News, East Bay Express, Berkeley Action, Berkeley Literary Review, Outlet, Oxygen, Terrain, Grist, Challenge, InnerSpace, Quixote, Mile High Underground, Collective Directory, Poetry Flash, Grassroots, The Black Panther. (Representative selection)

Online Zines: Savoy, San Francisco Salvo, The Boa, Asphyxia, Aware, Curiosity’s Escape, Downcast and Dejected on a Cloudy Day, Gopher, Idling, Psychozoan, Richmond Review, Real Poetic, Sparks, Butterfly Jubilee, Thunder Sandwich, Thought Monkeys, The Shallow End, think-ink.net. (Representative selection)

Videos: Wall Poems; O Columbia; Nezahualcoyotl; Songs of Dzitbalché; Sacred Hymns of Pachacuti; The Heights of Hungry Coyote, Star Rover Productions, 1990 ( Bay Area Cable Excellence Award, Best Docudrama of the Year, 2nd place); The Columbus Invasion, Collision Course Productions, 1991

Play: The Trial of Christopher Columbus produced by The PEN Oakland Writers Theater, 2009; The Conquest of America performed by the Nature Theater of San Francisco, 1982.

Weekly radio show: Poetry for the People, KPOO San Francisco, 1979-1980.

Poetry Tour: Poets of the Golden Gate Poetry Tour (sponsored by Cloud House), 1983.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

email: jcurl@red-coral.net

ABOUT ME

I was born and mostly raised in Manhattan, and some in New Jersey. I received a BA in comparative literature from New York City College in 1965. I have an extraordinary daughter, and I’ve lived in the Bay Area since 1971, where I mostly made a living doing custom woodworking. I talk more about myself in FAMILY ANECDOTES

POETRY CHAPBOOKS:
Yoga Sutras of Fidel Castro (Homeward Press, 2013)
Revolutionary Alchemy (Homeward Press, 2012)
Scorched Birth (Beatitudes Press, 2004)
Columbus in the Bay of Pigs, (Homeward Press/Inkworks, 1988, 1991)
Decade: The 1990s, (Mother’s Hen, 1987)
Tidal News, (Homeward Press, 1982)
Cosmic Athletics, (Poetry for the People, 1980)
Ride the Wind, (Poetry for the People, 1979)
The San Francisco General Strike, (Cloud House, 1978)
Insurrection/Resurrection, (Working Peoples Artists, 1975, with photos by Ken Light and graphics by Bruce Kaiper)
Commu 1 (Gnosis Press, 1971)
Change/ Tears (Drop City, 1967).

FICTION:
The Outlaws of Maroon (Homeward Press, 2019)
The Co-op Conspiracy (Homeward Press, 2014).

HISTORY:
Indigenous Peoples Day (IPD Press, 2017)
For All The People: Uncovering the Hidden History of Cooperation, Cooperative Movements, and Communalism, with intro by Ishmael Reed, (PM Press, 2009, 2012)
History of Collectivity in the Bay Area, (Homeward Press, 1982)
History of Work Cooperation in America, (Homeward Press, 1980).

TRANSLATION:
Ancient American Poets: Maya, Inca and Aztec poets.(Bilingual Press, Arizona State University, 2005; revised edition, Homeward Press, 2021)
Ancients (libretto), 2009. Composed by Tania Leon for two sopranos, flute, clarinet, percussion, viola and cello. Translations and transliterations of Pachacutec poems.

MEMOIR:
Memories of Drop City (iUniverse, 2008).

PLAY:
The Trial of Christopher Columbus, performed by PEN Writers Theater, Berkeley and Oakland, 2009; The Conquest of America performed by the Nature Theater of San Francisco, 1982.

VIDEOS:
Rainbow Weather, 2020
Wheel In A Wheel, 2020
The President’s Demon, 2020
The San Francisco General Strike, 2020
Shelter In Place, 2020
Cloud Castles, 2020
The Heights of Hungry Coyote (Star Rover Productions, 1990)
(BACE Award, Best Docudrama of the Year, 2nd place),
The Columbus Invasion (Collision Course Productions, 1991)