"LET US THROW OUT THE WORD MAN! ... The word MAN is not romantic enough!" Chronology 1932 - Born in Mary sv ille , Kansas. 1955 - Read s "For t h e Death of 100 Whale s" and t h ree ot her poems at the Si x Gallery reading. 1956 - Publi sh es first collection of poetry Passage, included in New American Poetry 1945-1960. 1959 - Publishes Hymns of s t. Geryon , inclu ding the drug exploration poem, "Peyote Poem." 1963 - Publishes Meat Science Essays. Life Sketch 1965 - Publi sh es controver sial play The Beard . McClure began as a wildly experimental poet who achieved early fame t h roug h his participation in t he Six Gallery 1965 - Bob Dylan reads McClure 's "Poisoned Wheat" on stage. reading and went on to become a staple of the Bay Area poetry scene where h e is now best known for hi s stag ed 1966 - Appears on U.S.A. Poetry reciting from Ghost Tantras to readings , often with musical accompaniment. McClure ch ose lion s at San Franci s co Zoo. "For The Death of 100 Whales" as one of h is four poems at the Six Gallery reading , marking the beginning of a career 1967 - Participates in "Great Human Be-In" fe stival in Sa n in political activism , whic h later fueled anti-war poems. He Franci s co. experimented with drugs, as a way to explore t he boundaries between humanity and ot her life form s - what he called the 1972 - Cover s United Nations Environmental Conference in "visceral under soul" - and langu ag e, replacing words with Stockholm, Sweden, for Rolling Stone. guttural utterances as a way to speak to t he muscles and tis s ues rather t han to t h e ear and mind. His most 1977 - Teac hes as associate profe ss or at California College extravagant exercise took place at the Sa n Francisco Zoo, of t he Art s. where he roared pas sag es from h is Ghost Tantras at real , living lion s. McClure continued h is exploration across 1982 - Accept s associate fellow sh ip at Pierson College , Yale forms of poetry , essay s, plays , novels , and journalism , University . eventually trading lion garb for buttoned s hirts and tamer performances wit h his entry into academic life . 1991 - Collabor ates wit h Ray Manzarek on Love Lion. .