The New York Poets Theatre was an influential theatre company active in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

in the 1960s. It was founded in October 1961 by

James Waring James Waring (November 1, 1922 - December 2, 1975) was a dancer, choreographer, costume designer, theatre director, playwright, poet, and visual artist, based in New York City from 1949 until his death in 1975. He was a prolific choreographer and ...

, LeRoi Jones, Alan Marlowe,

Fred Herko Frederick Charles "Freddie" Herko (February 23, 1936 – October 27, 1964) was an American artist, musician, actor, dancer, choreographer and teacher. Early life Born in New York City, Herko's father was a diner manager and his mother was a ...

and

Diane di Prima Diane di Prima (August 6, 1934October 25, 2020) was an American poet, known for her association with the Beat movement. She was also an artist, prose writer, and teacher. Her magnum opus is widely considered to be ''Loba'', a collection of poem ...

. It staged only one-act plays by poets. The first wave of productions was staged at the Off-Bowery Theatre, behind an art gallery located at 84 East 10 St. in the East Village, As di Prima describes it, the space was a "large, dark, back room with a stage and little else. . the back room had minimal stage lighting and very little heat." Productions included di Prima's ''The Discontent of the Russian Prince'', written for herself and Fred Herko, and ''The Pillow'' by

Michael McClure Michael McClure (October 20, 1932 – May 4, 2020) was an American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets (including Allen Ginsberg) who read at the famous ...

. From February to May 1964 a second series of productions was staged at the New Bowery Theatre on St. Mark's Place off Third Avenue, which was more of a "real theatre . . with hanging sign, and a stoop, entry and lobby and seats and a proscenium stage." Productions included ''Loves Labor, an eclogue'' by

Frank O'Hara Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966) was an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O'Hara became prominent in New York City's art world. O'Hara is regarded as a leading figure i ...

, ''Three Travelers Watch a Sunrise'' by

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

, and di Prima's own ''Murder Cake''.

References

;Bibliography *di Prima, Diane. ''Recollections of My Life as A Woman: The New York Years''. Penguin, New York 2002. *Knight, Brenda, ed. ''Women of the Beat Generation''. Conari Press, Berkeley 1996. Beat Generation {{poetry-stub Defunct Theatre companies in New York City