Michael Rothenberg
Michael Rothenberg (1951-2022) was a poet, artist, songwriter, editor and environmentalist. In 1989, he began Big Bridge Press, which published works by Jim Harrison, Allen Ginsberg and Philip Whalen, among others. Big Bridge Magazine, the webzine started in 1997, was among the earliest online literary journals. Michael also helped create Poets in Need, a group providing emergency funds to poets in crisis. In 2011, he co-founded 100 Thousand Poets for Change with Terri Carrion, a global...See more
Michael Rothenberg (1951-2022) was a poet, artist, songwriter, editor and environmentalist. In 1989, he began Big Bridge Press, which published works by Jim Harrison, Allen Ginsberg and Philip Whalen, among others. Big Bridge Magazine, the webzine started in 1997, was among the earliest online literary journals. Michael also helped create Poets in Need, a group providing emergency funds to poets in crisis. In 2011, he co-founded 100 Thousand Poets for Change with Terri Carrion, a global movement focused on issues of peace, justice and sustainability. They also went on to establish the 'Read A Poem To A Child' initiative. Rothenberg published over 20 books of poetry, most recently In Memory of A Banyan Tree, Poems of the Outside World, 1985-2020 (Lost Horse Press) I Murdered Elvis, (Alien Buddha Press) The Pillars (Quaranzine Press) and Drawing the Shade (Dos Madres Press). His editorial work includes several volumes in the Penguin Poets series: Overtime by Philip Whalen and As Ever by Joanne Kyger. He was also editor of The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen published by Wesleyan University Press. Rothenberg recorded two spoken word CDs in collaboration with prominent musicians. He was Florida State University Libraries Poet in Residence; the FSU Special Collections and Archives now house his personal papers. Rothenberg died of lung cancer on November 21, 2022. See less