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{{Short description|American poet and memoirist (1945–2024)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}
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| birth_name = Nelson Innis Cherry
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1945|7|1}}
| birth_name = Nelson Innis Cherry
| birth_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1945}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|3|19|1945|7|1}}
| birth_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], US
| death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.
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| occupation = Writer, poet
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| partner = Jesus Guinto Cabrera
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| alma_mater = [[California State University, Los Angeles]]
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'''Neeli Cherkovski''' (born '''Nelson Cherry'''; July 1, 1945) is an American poet and memoirist, who has resided since 1975 in San Francisco.
'''Neeli Cherkovski''' (born '''Nelson Innis Cherry'''; July 1, 1945 – March 19, 2024) was an American poet and memoirist, who resided from 1975 onwards in San Francisco.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Born Nelson Innis Cherry to a Jewish family in [[Santa Monica, California]], on July 1, 1945, Cherkovski grew up in [[San Bernardino, California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://citylights.com/events/neeli-cherkovski/|title=Neeli Cherkovski|date=February 2024|website=citylights.com|publisher=Lithic Press|access-date=March 20, 2024|quote="Neeli Cherkovski (born Nelson Innis Cherry; July 1, 1945)..."}}</ref><ref name = Rosenwald>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/29/books/neeli-cherkovski-dead.html|title = Neeli Cherkovski, Poet Who Chronicled the Beat Generation, Dies at 78|last = Rosenwald|first = Michael S.|date = March 29, 2024|accessdate = March 29, 2024|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|url-access = limited}}</ref> The surname Cherkovski was his family's original name, which his paternal grandfather changed to Cherry after immigrating to the United States.<ref name = Rosenwald/>
Born in [[Santa Monica, California]], Cherkovski grew up in [[San Bernardino, California]]. In the 1970s he was a political consultant in the Riverside area, who came to San Francisco to work on the staff of then-State Senator [[George Moscone]]. Cherkovski has written biographies of [[Lawrence Ferlinghetti]], and [[Charles Bukowski]],<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-06-12/magazine/tm-7019_1_veterans-day ''Los Angeles Times''.]</ref> with whom he co-edited the Los Angeles zine ''[[Laugh Literary and Man the Humping Guns]].''.<ref>[http://rlcrow.com/services/authors/cherkovski.htm R.L. Crow Publications.]</ref> Cherkovski produced the first San Francisco Poetry Festival, and in the early-1990s helped to found Café Arts Month, a yearly event celebrating San Francisco's [[café culture]].

Cherkovski was educated at [[California State University, Los Angeles]], and briefly attended [[Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion|Hebrew Union College]].<ref name = Rosenwald/> In the 1970s, he was a political consultant in the Riverside area, who came to San Francisco to work on the staff of then-State Senator [[George Moscone]].<ref name = Rosenwald/> Cherkovski wrote biographies of [[Lawrence Ferlinghetti]], and [[Charles Bukowski]],<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-12-tm-7019-story.html ''Los Angeles Times''.]</ref> with whom he co-edited the Los Angeles magazine ''[[Laugh Literary and Man the Humping Guns]]''.<ref>[http://rlcrow.com/services/authors/cherkovski.htm R.L. Crow Publications.]</ref> Cherkovski produced the first San Francisco Poetry Festival, and in the early 1990s helped to found Café Arts Month, a yearly event celebrating San Francisco's [[café culture]].


Poetry critic [[Gerald Nicosia]] said of Cherkovski: "...in the end, what stamps Cherkovski’s poetry as unique is its unbounded [[Lyric poetry|lyricism]], a lyrical gift easily greater than that of any other poet of his generation."<ref>Nicosia, Gerald (May 8, 2005) [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/08/RVG02CI0F91.DTL "Fear not, Ferlinghetti."] ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref>
Poetry critic [[Gerald Nicosia]] said of Cherkovski: "...in the end, what stamps Cherkovski’s poetry as unique is its unbounded [[Lyric poetry|lyricism]], a lyrical gift easily greater than that of any other poet of his generation."<ref>Nicosia, Gerald (May 8, 2005) [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/08/RVG02CI0F91.DTL "Fear not, Ferlinghetti."] ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref>


Cherkovski is the author of ''Whitman's Wild Children'', a collection of essays about twelve poets he has known: [[Michael McClure]], [[Charles Bukowski]], [[John Wieners]], [[James Broughton]], [[Philip Lamantia]], [[Bob Kaufman]], [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[William Everson]], [[Gregory Corso]], [[Harold Norse]], [[Jack Micheline]], and [[Lawrence Ferlinghetti]]. This book combines biography, personal stories, and poetry analyses.
Cherkovski was the author of ''Whitman's Wild Children'', a collection of essays about twelve poets he had known: [[Michael McClure]], Bukowski, [[John Wieners]], [[James Broughton]], [[Philip Lamantia]], [[Bob Kaufman]], [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[William Everson (poet)|William Everson]], [[Gregory Corso]], [[Harold Norse]], [[Jack Micheline]], and Ferlinghetti. This book combines biography, personal stories, and poetry analyses.

Cherkovski was a writer-in-residence at the [[New College of California]] in San Francisco.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}} He taught literature and philosophy there until the school closed in 2008. His body of poetry includes ''Animal'', ''Elegy for Bob Kaufman'' and ''Leaning Against Time'', for which he was awarded the 15th Annual [[PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award]] in 2005. In 2017, he was awarded the Jack Mueller Poetry Prize by Lithic Press. Cherkovski's papers are housed at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. He continued to write poems up until the end of his life.<ref name = Rosenwald/>


Cherkovski died from a heart attack at a hospital in San Francisco on March 19, 2024, at the age of 78.<ref name = Rosenwald/><ref>[https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/longtime-san-francisco-poet-beatnik-dies-19283714.php Longtime San Francisco poet and beatnik dies] San Francisco Chronicle</ref> At the time of his death, he was in a relationship with Jesus Guinto Cabrera.<ref name = Rosenwald/>
Cherkovski was a writer-in-residence at the [[New College of California]] in San Francisco.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}} He taught literature and philosophy there until the school closed in 2008. His body of poetry includes ''Animal'', ''Elegy for Bob Kaufman'' and ''Leaning Against Time'', for which he was awarded the 15th Annual [[PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award]] in 2005. [http://www.lithicpress.com/index.php/jack-mueller-poetry-festival In 2017 he was awarded the Jack Mueller Poetry Prize by Lithic Press.] Cherkovski's papers are housed at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
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* ''Manila Poems'' (Bottle of Smoke Press, 2013)
* ''Manila Poems'' (Bottle of Smoke Press, 2013)
* ''Elegy for My Beat Generation'' (Lithic Press, 2018)
* ''Elegy for My Beat Generation'' (Lithic Press, 2018)
* ''In the Odes'' (Magra Books, 2018)
* ''Coolidge & Cherkovski: In Conversation'' (Lithic Press, 2020)
* {{cite book |last=Cherkovski |first=Neeli |title=Selected Poems 1959-2022 |date=May 2024 |isbn=978-1-946583-31-4}} <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-08 |title=Alive Beyond Life |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/alive-beyond-life/ |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[https://twitter.com/neelicherkovski Twitter]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130127184344/http://neelicherkovski.net/ www.neelicherkovski.net own website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130127184344/http://neelicherkovski.net/ www.neelicherkovski.net own website]
*{{IMDb name|1689544}}
*{{IMDb name|1689544}}
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*[http://www.beatdom.com/?p=529 Interview with Cherkovski.]
*[http://www.beatdom.com/?p=529 Interview with Cherkovski.]


{{American Book Awards (2020-2039)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherkovski, Neeli}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherkovski, Neeli}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2024 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American poets]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American poets]]
[[Category:American Book Award winners]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ poets]]
[[Category:American male poets]]
[[Category:American male poets]]
[[Category:American poets]]
[[Category:Beat Generation writers]]
[[Category:Beat Generation writers]]
[[Category:California State University, Los Angeles alumni]]
[[Category:Jewish American poets]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from California]]
[[Category:New College of California]]
[[Category:New College of California]]
[[Category:PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award winners]]
[[Category:PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award winners]]
[[Category:People from San Bernardino, California]]
[[Category:Writers from San Francisco]]
[[Category:Writers from Santa Monica, California]]

Latest revision as of 21:11, 24 September 2024

Neeli Cherkovski
Born
Nelson Innis Cherry

(1945-07-01)July 1, 1945
DiedMarch 19, 2024(2024-03-19) (aged 78)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Alma materCalifornia State University, Los Angeles
Occupation(s)Writer, poet
PartnerJesus Guinto Cabrera

Neeli Cherkovski (born Nelson Innis Cherry; July 1, 1945 – March 19, 2024) was an American poet and memoirist, who resided from 1975 onwards in San Francisco.

Biography

[edit]

Born Nelson Innis Cherry to a Jewish family in Santa Monica, California, on July 1, 1945, Cherkovski grew up in San Bernardino, California.[1][2] The surname Cherkovski was his family's original name, which his paternal grandfather changed to Cherry after immigrating to the United States.[2]

Cherkovski was educated at California State University, Los Angeles, and briefly attended Hebrew Union College.[2] In the 1970s, he was a political consultant in the Riverside area, who came to San Francisco to work on the staff of then-State Senator George Moscone.[2] Cherkovski wrote biographies of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Charles Bukowski,[3] with whom he co-edited the Los Angeles magazine Laugh Literary and Man the Humping Guns.[4] Cherkovski produced the first San Francisco Poetry Festival, and in the early 1990s helped to found Café Arts Month, a yearly event celebrating San Francisco's café culture.

Poetry critic Gerald Nicosia said of Cherkovski: "...in the end, what stamps Cherkovski’s poetry as unique is its unbounded lyricism, a lyrical gift easily greater than that of any other poet of his generation."[5]

Cherkovski was the author of Whitman's Wild Children, a collection of essays about twelve poets he had known: Michael McClure, Bukowski, John Wieners, James Broughton, Philip Lamantia, Bob Kaufman, Allen Ginsberg, William Everson, Gregory Corso, Harold Norse, Jack Micheline, and Ferlinghetti. This book combines biography, personal stories, and poetry analyses.

Cherkovski was a writer-in-residence at the New College of California in San Francisco.[citation needed] He taught literature and philosophy there until the school closed in 2008. His body of poetry includes Animal, Elegy for Bob Kaufman and Leaning Against Time, for which he was awarded the 15th Annual PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award in 2005. In 2017, he was awarded the Jack Mueller Poetry Prize by Lithic Press. Cherkovski's papers are housed at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. He continued to write poems up until the end of his life.[2]

Cherkovski died from a heart attack at a hospital in San Francisco on March 19, 2024, at the age of 78.[2][6] At the time of his death, he was in a relationship with Jesus Guinto Cabrera.[2]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Don't Make a Move (Tecumseh Press, 1974)
  • The Waters Reborn (Red Hill Press, 1975)
  • Public Notice (Beatitude, 1975)
  • Ferlinghetti, a biography (DoubleDay, 1979)
  • Love Proof (Green Light Press, 1980)
  • Juggler Within (Harwood Alley Monographs, 1983)
  • Clear Wind (Avant Books, 1984)
  • Whitman's Wild Children (Lapis Press, 1989)
  • Hank: The Life of Charles Bukowski (Random House, 1991)
  • Animal (Pantograph Press, 1996)
  • Elegy for Bob Kaufman (Sun Dog Press, 1996)
  • Leaning Against Time (R.L. Crow Publications, 2004)
  • Naming the Nameless (Sore Dove Press, 2004)
  • From the Canyon Outward (R.L. Crow Publications, 2009)]
  • From the Middle Woods (New Native Press, 2011)
  • Manila Poems (Bottle of Smoke Press, 2013)
  • Elegy for My Beat Generation (Lithic Press, 2018)
  • In the Odes (Magra Books, 2018)
  • Coolidge & Cherkovski: In Conversation (Lithic Press, 2020)
  • Cherkovski, Neeli (May 2024). Selected Poems 1959-2022. ISBN 978-1-946583-31-4. [7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Neeli Cherkovski". citylights.com. Lithic Press. February 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024. Neeli Cherkovski (born Nelson Innis Cherry; July 1, 1945)...
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rosenwald, Michael S. (March 29, 2024). "Neeli Cherkovski, Poet Who Chronicled the Beat Generation, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  3. ^ Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ R.L. Crow Publications.
  5. ^ Nicosia, Gerald (May 8, 2005) "Fear not, Ferlinghetti." San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. ^ Longtime San Francisco poet and beatnik dies San Francisco Chronicle
  7. ^ "Alive Beyond Life". Los Angeles Review of Books. August 8, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
[edit]