Poetry. "Music is another of Coolidge's grammars, which is to say that music provides the rules--structure, the division of time, and the organization of pitch--that underpin the work. There are playful allusions and riffings: 'Monk that took the blues on upon the surpassing swing/ but doesn't understand when someone puts them back in a bag.' Jazz with Schoenburg & Cage inflections: 'The orange piano turns lemon to the players of trained values.' Witty and polysonic"--Susan Smith Nash.

Author City: Petaluma, CA USA

Clark Coolidge (b. February 26, 1939) is an American poet born in Providence, Rhode Island. Often associated with the Language School, his experience as a Jazz drummer and interest in a wide array of subjects--including caves, geology, bebop, weather, Salvador Dali, Jack Kerouac, and movies--often finds correspondence in his work. Coolidge grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and has lived, among other places, in Manhattan, Cambridge (MA), San Francisco, Rome (Italy), and the Berkshire Hills. He currently lives in Petaluma, California.