gerald locklin r.i.p.

gerald locklin was a popular professor at long beach state & a prolific poet/short story writer/memoirist.  he died of COVID-19 on sunday at the age of 79.  i am a long-time admirer of his plain speak stripped down poetry.  he was a great friend & champion of another poet of plain speak stripped down poetry, charles bukowski.  i bought locklin's collection of poems/short prose pieces in memory of bukowski, charles bukowski: a sure bet [water row press; 1995] on a family trip to sweden many years ago in an english language bookstore in the university town of uppsala.  i must've read that funny, sweet, invigorating book about a 100 times before i loaned it to my poetic brother-from-another-mother jonathan hayes who asked me if i was okay with him in turn passing the book to another poet friend who then will pass it along to another poet friend, & on & on.  such sharing of books should be the ideal life of tomes.  at any rate, the sharing of locklin's buk memories is in concert with the generosity, humor, friendship & life found within locklin's own writings.  watch this short film of gerald locklin reading some of his ekphrastic poems.  you'll dig him too.