A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s In the course of my research, Robert Duncan’s friends, without exception, granted me a share in the generosity, goodwill, and love for life that so char- acterized his being. Two people made a special eff ort to help me understand Robert Duncan’s “dailiness,” and their insights were key factors in the making of this book. Jess Collins agreed that it was an appropriate time for a biography of Duncan to be written, and he welcomed me into his life for a little bit over a de cade, allowing me to experience the rituals of house hold that he had shared with Duncan. Barbara Jones and her family in Bakersfi eld, California, extended me great hospitality. Barbara’s memories of her brother as a child and of their life in the San Joaquin Valley were in all ways illuminating. Th eir insights were key factors in the making of this book. Th is book was also made possible through the ongoing tireless support of my husband, Th omas Evans. His own studies of Jess, Duncan, and the West Coast assemblage artists contributed at every turn to the thoroughness of this book. His companionship allows me to live in a house hold as rich as Jess and Duncan’s. I am grateful to Robert Duncan’s friends, family, students and acquaintances: Gerald Ackerman, Robert Adamson, the late Virginia Admiral, Charles Alexander, the late Donald Allen, Michael Anania, Bruce Andrews, Norman Austin, Todd Baron, Dawn Michelle Baude, Tosh Berman, Charles Bern- stein, Robert Bertholf, the late Robin Blaser, Richard Blevins, George Bower- ing, the late Stan Brakhage, the late David Bromige, the late James Brough- ton, the late Norman O. Brown, Leo Brumm, David Burton, the late Hilde Burton, Pauline Butling, Reed Bye, Don Byrd, Janine Canan, Brian Caraher, xxiii Larry Casalino, Tom Clark, Norma Cole, Jack Collom, Julia Connor, Wil- liam Corbett, Cheryl Creatrix, Penelope Highton Creeley, the late Robert Creeley, Frank Davey, Michael Davidson, the late Fielding Dawson, the late Alberto de Lacerda, Diane di Prima, Paul Dolan, Jennifer Dorn, Chris Ed- wards, Edward Eigner, Lewis Ellingham, Ekbert Faas, the late Lillian Fabilli Osborne, Mary Fabilli, Larry Fagin, Alice Fahs, Mimi Fahs, John Felstiner, Jack Foley, Raymond Foye, Michael Franco, David Franks, Stephen Fred- man, Susan Friedland, Susan Gardner, Philip Garrison, Karl Gartung, Al- bert Gelpi, Paula Giannini, David Gitin, Albert Glover, Robert Glück, Carl Grundberg, the late Th om Gunn, Linda Hamalian, Mitch Harris, Bobbie Louise Hawkins, Lyn Hejinian, Patricia Hill, Maria Hindmarch, Ida Hodes, Robert Hogg, Eric Homberger, David Howard, Joyce Jenkins, Pierre Joris, Rodger Kamenetz, Robert Kelly, Carolyn Kemp, the late Gladys Ken- nard, Kevin Killian, Sean Killian, Anne Kingsbury, R. B. Kitaj, Michael Kronebusch, Joanne Kyger, the late Jackson Mac Low, David Matlin, John Matthias, Bernadette Mayer, Tolbert McCarroll, Michael McClure, the late Marjorie McKee, Duncan McNaughton, William McPheron, David Meltzer, Peter Michelson, Noreen Norton, Alice Notley, the late Liam O’Gallagher, Pauline Oliveros, Michael Palmer, Louis Patler, Ian Patterson, Bob Perelman, Larry Price, Ilya Prokopoff , the late Stephen Prokopoff , Od- yssia Quadrani, George Quasha, Susan Quasha, Jed Rasula, Tom Raworth, Leslie Reagan, Peter Riley, Judith Roche, Steven Rodefer, Bob Rose, Diane Rothenberg, Jerome Rothenberg, Michael Rumaker, Edward Sanders, Tom Savage, David Schaff , Harris Schiff , Alvin Schwartz, the late Armand Schw- erner, Robert Sheldon, Aaron Shurin, Ron Silliman, Joseph Simas, Joel Singer, Mary Margaret Sloan, George Stanley, Chuck Stein, Tony Stoneburner, David Levi Strauss, William Sylvester, John Taggart, Susan Th ackrey, John Tranter, Christopher Wagstaff , Fred Wah, Keith Waldrop, Rosmarie Waldrop, Anne Waldman, Lewis Warsh, Barrett Watten, Heloise Wilson, the late Keith Wilson, Robert A. Wilson, Paul Zukofsky. To my peers who assisted me with this project: James Boaden, Lee Ann Brown, Miles Champion, Stephen Cope, Tim Davis, Benjamin Friedlander, Michael Friedman, Peter Gizzi, Devin John- ston, Daniel Kane, James Maynard, Ben Mazer, Peter O’Leary, Kristin Prevallet, Patrick Pritchett, Tae- Wol Stanley, Brandon Stosuy, Stacy Szy- maszek, Elizabeth Willis. To the libraries and librarians who assisted me in my research: xxiv • A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s Michael Basinski, James Maynard, and Susan Michel at the Poetry/Rare Books Collection at the State University of New York at Buff alo; Anthony Bliss at the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley; Jeanne Sommers at Kent State University; Rutherford Witthus and Melissa Watterworth at the Dodds Collection at the University of Connecticut, Storrs; John Skarstad at the University of California, Davis; Bradley West- brook at the University of California, San Diego; Ken Hooper at Bakersfi eld High School; Barry Bunch at the University of Kansas, Lawrence; Angie Kindig at the University of Notre Dame Archives; Tom Hyry and Patricia Willis at the Yale University Beinecke Library; F. Jason Torre at Stony Brook University, State University of New York; Tony Power at Simon Fraser Uni- versity; New Directions Publishers, which granted me access to its Robert Duncan author fi les. To my research assistants and students: Joshua Baldwin, J. P. Craig, Alan Felsenthal, Geoff rey Gatza, Whit Grif- fi n, Kaplan Page Harris, Evan Kennedy, Paul Klinger, Mark Molnar, Mi- chael Nicoloff , Albert Onello, Annette Roberts, Christian Roess, Clelia Scalia, Ken Walker, John Wieja, Amy Wright. Th anks to the Naropa stu- dents who attended my 1998 graduate seminar on Robert Duncan, accom- panying me on a journey through many of Duncan’s favorite books and of- fering rigorous insights into all of his work: Jennifer Asteris, Jeff Carmack, John Chinworth, the late kari edwards, Yoko Eishima, Derek Fenner, Ryan Gallager, Christopher Luna, Amy McCarrel, Jeni Olin, Dylan Patterson, Cedar Sigo, Lisa Trank, Saskia Wolsak. To my teachers: Th is work is the result of my studies with the late John Clarke and the late Robert Creeley. Th e seeds of this work (and my Duncan- related research eff orts) were sown by the late Harvey Brown, editor of Frontier Press. I would also like to thank Edward Sanders, whose lecture on Olsonian book- length research projects, given at the Naropa Institute during the summer of 1997, inspired me to continue my studies of Robert Duncan’s work and to write this biography. Th is book would not exist without his encouragement and friendship. To my editors and the estate of Robert Duncan: Mary Margaret Sloan and Christopher Wagstaff of the Jess Collins Trust were committed to making this book a reality and helped me to clear many hurdles along the way. University of California Press editor Linda Norton A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s • xxv took an interest in this book when it was still in its preliminary stages. Laura Cerruti and Rachel Berchten saw the manuscript through its many draft s. My copy editor, Adrienne Harris, worked closely with me for nearly a year to arrive at the fi nal manuscript. To my family: And fi nally, much gratitude to my parents, Mary Jane and Joseph Jarnot, who welcomed me home during my many research trips to Buff alo, New York. *** Chapters of this book appeared in Abacus, Blaze, Boxkite, the Chicago Review, Drunken Boat, Fascicle, Jacket, No, the Poetry Project Newsletter, and Xanthippe. xxvi • A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s.