Photo courtesy of Brenda Knight

Copyright Allen Ginsberg/Fahey Klein Gallery

Born in Long Beach, California in 1934, Joanne Kyger’s writing has been in print since she was five years old.  At that young age, she dictated a poem to her teacher, who had it printed in the school newspaper.  In high school, she was in charge of the feature page of her school paper, chronicling interesting and unusual people in and around Santa Barbara.

In college, Joanne studied poetry and philosophy before moving to San Francisco in 1957.  There she met the Beats, including Gary Snyder, who she would later marry in Japan.  While in San Francisco, Joanne began studying Zen Buddhism, a practice she would continue throughout her life.  In 1960, she moved to Japan and married Gary Snyder, partly to appease his sponsor in Japan, Ruth Fuller Sasaki, as she would not let them live together unless they were married (Knight 198).

Joanne remained in Japan until 1964, a period recorded in her book Japan and India Journals: 1960-1964.  An excerpt of this work is

included below.  Her writing from this time is a priceless mix of everyday recordings and her own observations about her life and the world as she sees it.  This attention to small detail and specific images, reminiscent of haiku, became a trademark of her poetry.

After returning to San Francisco, Joanne began focusing on her poetry in earnest, publishing two books in six years, giving poetry readings, including one at the Berkeley Poetry Conference.  Her marriage to Gary ended during this time and Joanne settled on land she purchased with Jack Boyce outside of Bolinas.  Like her ex-husband, Joanne preferred to be closer to nature and lived on the property for seven years.

In 1975, Joanne joined Anne Waldman, Allen Ginsberg, and others at the Naropa Institute to form the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics.  While at Naropa, she met two people who would become central I her later life: Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who introduced her to Tibetan Buddhism, and Donald Guravich, who has shared her household in Bolinas since her return (199).

Buddhism is a driving force in Joanne’s life, as it was for many of the Beat writers, as it offered a sense of place and peace that was missing in many of their lives.  Her writing is an excellent example of the combination of Buddhist principles and Beat lifestyle.  The combination of beautiful images and soulful ideas make her work hauntingly beautiful and unrefined.

For more information on Joanne Kyger, check out these source materials.
 

Written by: 
Margaret Helwig

Last updated: 22 July 2005