It was Spring, 2015 when I last talked about Diane di Prima. I was at the Beat Museum in San Francisco and the gentleman working there told me her health wasn’t doing so well. I have no other update than that.

Diane di Prima broke into the “Boys club” of the beat poets and although many don’t know her name nor her influence, she remains one of my favorites. I found an eloquently written article from “The Heroine Collection” and can’t imagine saying it better.  Please check it out here.

From my 2012 Series:

‘I think the poet is the last person who is still speaking the truth when no one else dares to. I think the poet is the first person to begin the shaping and visioning of the new forms and the new consciousness when no one else has begun to sense it; I think these are two of the most essential human functions’ -Diane Di Prima

I recently fell in love with the Women of the Beat Generation. I was curious, after hearing so much about Jack Kerouac, Allan Ginsberg, Charles Bukowski and the rest, I wondered, “Where is the news about the women who were with them? It couldn’t have been completely a Men’s Word-Love Club!”

I discovered while the still best known Beat Poets are men, there are a number of women who not only wrote and lived that era, but women who are still actively creating today.

Diane Di Prima is one of those women. She has been dubbed “Poet Priestess” and “Poet Activist” and “Beat Babe” but those feel condescending to me. After all, her creativity has been present for her entire lifetime. She founded New York Poets Theatre & the Poets Press, she has written plays and poetry and is now the Poet Laureate of San Francisco.

 

Julie has participated in the A to Z Blog Challenge for several years and is thrilled to be back, once again with Literary Grannies. Follow here throughout April for blog posts featuring women of literary history along with a daily writing prompt that reflects each featured writer.

Julie Jordan Scott is the Creative Life Midwife: a writing coach who specializes in inspiring artistic rebirth for those who may have forgotten the pure joy of the creative process. She offers individual creativity coaching as well as creating individualized programs for businesses and groups in the form of workshops, webinars and more. Contact her at 661.444.2735 for immediate assistance with facilitation, speaking or experiencing an enriched life no