9 NE Ohio Forepoets: Patchen

Continuing a series I abandoned in April, I now finish with five Ohio Forepoets, those no longer with us bodily, but remaining in our hearts and heads, where their words reverberate.

Part 4

Kenneth Patchen (1911-1972)  

Five things you may not know about Patchen

·       *He was born in Niles, Ohio which has renamed the street he lived on “Patchen Way”

·       *In his teens, he worked in the steel mills. His “The Orange Bears” is about steel workers.

·       *You can hear his poems set to music by the Claudia quintet here

·       *Twelve of his outstanding posters or what he called “painted poems” are viewable here

·       *There is a very clear reading of his long poem, “The Journal of Albion Moonlight” here

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