Feature

            Lenore Kandel existed at the very heart of the Beat movement, but I'll bet you've never heard of her. Her work was (and is) among the very best and most daring of American poetry, but you would not have been able to find a single book by her in most major bookstores for the last thirty years. In 1966, she became infamous after her book of poetry celebrating the divine nature of sexuality, The Love Book, was confiscated and banned for obscenity during the longest trial in San Francisco history. Even so, to  most people, if they've heard of her at all, she is  generally known as "Gary Snyder's ex-girlfriend" or as the character, Ramona Swartz, in Kerouac's novel Big Sur. Several years after the The Love Book incident, she and her husband, Hell's Angel Bill Fritsch, were involved in a serious motorcycle accident that crushed much of Kandel's spine and left her permanently disabled. It was after this accident that Kandel faded into almost complete obscurity for over thirty years. It does seem, however, that she has been writing all along and that there are people who think that it is imperative that the world hear Kandel's voice once again.

            Joe Pachinko of Superstition Street Press republished The Love Book this fall and hopes to publish a collection of Kandel's work which would include The Love Book and a later book of poetry, Word Alchemy, in their entirety, as well as a selection of Kandel's newer work this coming Spring. Pachinko is greatly enamored of Kandel's work and has been attempting to republish much of it since 1993. Kandel, while hesitant at first, now seems to be increasingly willing to have more of her work published. When I interviewed Pachinko for this issue, he called  her, "the Thelonious Monk of poetry", referring both to the genius quality of her poetry as well as the influence jazz seems to have had on the rhythms and textures of her writing. Hopefully, Pachinko's efforts will result in Kandel finally receiving the recognition she has been so long  denied.

            Lenore Kandel is the essence and reason for The Divine Animal. The very title was taken from a line in Kandel's poem, "Hard Core Love", and the intense and celebratory spirit of  Kandel's erotic writing is not only the backbone of this journal, but a resounding influence in my own writing. To better understand the extent and depth of Kandel's work, you would be well advised to read John Yates' criticism of Kandel's poetry. 

            My hope is that if you have read Kandel before, you will be freshly amazed by her incredible vivacity. If you have not previously read her, then I believe you have just discovered one of the best poets you will ever have the privilege to read.