The family of Diane di Prima will host a tribute to the late San Francisco Poet Laureate on August 6, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Castro Theater, 429 Castro Street in San Francisco. The event is free and open to the public.
The program will feature video of the poetry readings of Diane di Prima, live jazz piano by Alexander Marlowe, screenings of the short documentary film ‘The Poetry Deal,’ readings by poets laureate Kim Shuck and Tongo Eisen-Martin, actor Peter Coyote, poet Cedar Sigo, actor Amber Tamblyn, and a performance from members of the comedy troupe Culture Clash along with Diane di Prima’s husband, children, grandchildren and great grandchild.
Diane di Prima was a poet, activist, and teacher, well-respected by her literary peers, and widely regarded as one of the finest writers of her generation. She was the author of more than 40 books of poetry and prose, translated into 20 languages.
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The tribute will celebrate the life and work of this influential poet, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 86. It will bring together a diverse group of artists, thinkers and friends who have been inspired by di Prima’s work. It will include interpretations of her poetry, musical performances, and personal reflections on her legacy.
Renowned Latino comedy troupe Culture Clash had a special relationship with Diane as did a number of the participating artists spanning generations, ethnicities and disciplines. Tamblyn was one of di Prima’s students and an avid supporter, Coyote was a longtime friend and political ally and Sigo was a friend and colleague.
Dominique di Prima, Diane’s middle daughter, will serve as emcee for the program. Dominique has risen to fame as a television and radio broadcaster and activist. Bay Area hip hop fans will remember her from KRON-TV’s “Home Turf” or from the interstitial clip of her radio show on Tupac’s “Makaveli” album.
Alexander Marlowe, Diane di Prima’s eldest son is a respected producer and jazz pianist who has toured with soul legend Bobby Womack and produced tracks for Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs n Harmony and Money B of Digital Underground. He will accompany Diane’s recorded readings with live music as he often did when she performed on stage.
Diane’s brother Frank will share memories of the poet. Her daughter, Jeanne di Prima, and son, Rudi, will perform poetry and her husband, Sheppard Powell, will offer personal and literary reflections.
“This tribute to our Mom, Diane di Prima, has been some time in the making, as the pandemic prevented us from hosting a live event at the time of her passing.” said Marlowe, one of Diane’s five children.
“Her work continues to inspire new generations of poets and activists. We hope this event will serve as a celebration of her life, and her contributions to the city and the world.”
Diane di Prima was a poet, playwright, activist, Buddhist, feminist pioneer and author of more than four dozen volumes of poetry, prose and plays. She almost singlehandedly added a strong womanist voice to the Beat writers movement.
Famously published by City Lights legend Larry Ferlinghetti, Diane was a founder of the New York Village Beats and the San Francisco North Beach writers scene. Author of the powerful Revolutionary Letters, di Prima was a lifelong activist both on the page and in the streets reading and fundraising for countless causes, festivals, benefits and protests.
An incredibly versatile writer with volumes ranging from the early poetry of “This Kind of Bird Flies Backwards” to the prose of “Dinners and Nightmares” to the epic verse of her long form poem “Loba” to the steamy pages of “Memoirs of a Beatnik” to her hundreds of beautiful love poems, haikus, abstract plays as well as writings on spirituality, anarchy and alchemy.
She edited the newspaper The Floating Bear with Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) and was co-founder of the New York Poets Theatre and founder of the Poets Press. She has been awarded the National Poetry Association’s Lifetime Service Award and the Fred Cody Award for Lifetime Achievement.
