Subject: [Staff-l] Remembering Michael McClure, beloved CCA faculty member
From: Presidents Office <[email-masked]>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Date: Fri, 8 May 2020 09:28:26 -0700
List-Id: All-Staff mailing list <staff-l.lists.cca.edu>

Dear CCA Community,

It is with great sadness that I write to share that Michael McClure, a
longtime CCA faculty member, passed away on Monday, May 4, at age 87.
Michael died at home in Oakland from complications related to a stroke he
suffered last spring.

Michael was a beloved fixture at CCA for many years and he was a profound
influence on generations of students and faculty colleagues. He joined the
faculty in 1963 and taught here for 43 years until 2006, then the
longest-tenured professor at the school. He received an honorary doctorate
from CCA in 2005.

In 1955, at age 22, Michael gave his first public poetry reading at the
legendary Six Gallery event in San Francisco, where Allen Ginsberg first
read Howl. The reading is often cited as marking the birth of the Beat
Generation and the emergence of the San Francisco Renaissance.

His 60-plus-year career as a poet, playwright, and songwriter leaves
indelible marks in both the literary and popular culture worlds. Once
referred to by the Los Angeles Times as “the role model for Jim Morrison,”
Michael wrote numerous collections of poetry, eight books of plays, and
four collections of essays, in addition to accumulating many prestigious
awards and honors throughout his career. An obituary for Michael
<https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/michael-mcclure-famed-beat-poet-who-helped-launch-the-sf-renaissance-dead-at-87>
appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle this week.

When I arrived at CCA more than twenty years ago, Michael was one of the
first to welcome me. He remained a generous friend and advisor to me
throughout the years we worked together and we stayed in close touch after
his retirement from teaching. On behalf of the college, I extend my deepest
condolences to Michael’s wife Amy, his daughter Jane and her family, and
his many treasured colleagues and friends in the CCA community and beyond.

A memorial service is being planned for the fall, and we will follow up
with information when we know more.

Sincerely,

Stephen Beal, President
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