Literary L.A.: Expanded From the Original Classic and Featuring the Coffeehouse Scene Then and Now (Paperback)

~ Lionel Rolfe (Author) "THE CALIFORNIA BOHEMIAN movement, under whose shadow I like to think my life has mostly been led, is basically a journalistic one that, like its..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The expanded Third Edition. Beyond L.A.'s self-promotional glitter is a hotbed of writers, bohemians, mad poets, exiles and refugees from every form of oppression - and this book tells their stories. The new additions include • bohemian and apocalyptic streams in L.A. writing • the thriving coffeehouse scene, including the new L.A. poets • additional chapters by John Ahouse and Julia Stein

Among the transients, literary gypsies, bohemians and writers in imposed or self-imposed exile are Oscar Zeta Acosta, Charles Bukowski, Henry Miller, Ken Kesey, Carey McWilliams, Charles Lummis, Jacob Zeitlin, Louis Adamic, Nathanel West, Robinson Jeffers, Malcolm Lowry, Thomas and Henrich Mann, Upton Sinclair, John Steinbeck, Aldous Huxley, Jack London, Theodore Dreiser, and many others

About the Author

Lionel Rolfe, a journlist and author, grew up in L.A. in the European style: his mother, the late pianist Yaltah Menuhin, hosted a salon for musicians and other creative artists-in-exile. He lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: California Classics Books (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879395223
• ISBN-13: 978-1879395220
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,086,998 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lionel Rolfe's "Literary L.A.", April 18, 2002

By A Customer

By Paul Lappen, Dead Trees Review

Based on a series of newspaper pieces written in the late 1970s, this book profiles some of the people who made Los Angeles' bohemian culture in the 20th century. Many people think that San Francisco, with the Beat Generation, was the "center" of bohemian living, but the City of Angels had quite a thriving culture of its own.

It all grew out of the coffeehouse scene, where a constantly changing group of poets, literary gypsies, writers in exile (real or self-imposed) and others, would get together and weave pieces of the literary tapestry of Los Angeles. Rolfe profiles the famous, and not so famous, including Theodore Dreiser, Charles Bukowski, Henry Miller, John Steinbeck, Aldous Huxley and the Mann brothers (Thomas and Heinrich). There is also a piece on Upton Sinclair's 1934 campaign for Governor of California. Running on the Socialist Party ticket, he received 45 percent of the vote despite a major smear campaign against him.

As part of a musical family (the virtuoso violinist Yehudi Menuhin was an uncle), Rolfe grew up in a household that offered a place to go for musicians and other artists-in-exile. This book was not written as some piece of dry literary history, it was written by someone who was there and lived through that era, and has spent much of his life writing about it.

As a lifelong voracious reader, I very much appreciated Rolfe's putting a person and life to the names I have seen on book covers my whole life. Anyone with an interest in 20th century American literature will enjoy this book. I think I'll visit my local library and see how many of these authors are in the stacks. Meantime, this book is highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book!, November 12, 2005

By	Patricia (Burbank, California) - See all my reviews

I really love this book. I have the original smaller version from 1981, published by Chronicle Books. This first edition is featured in a separate section on Amazon with two reviews--and I'm shocked at the hostility of both reviewers, who seem to think there was and is no literary accomplishment in Los Angeles. The expanded third edition, as shown here, is much more appreciated, given the good reviews it has received. It's fascinating to read about talented people like Huxley, Thomas Mann, Jack London, Jack Kerouac, Somerset Maugham, etc....and how living and working in Los Angeles influenced their careers and personal lives. These bohemians-in-exile were free-thinkers, ahead of their time while living creative lives in and around Hollywood. Read this book if you're interested in the literary tradition of Los Angeles. You'll especially like it if you're an Aldous Huxley fan.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Personal journey worth a look, October 23, 2002

By	"bpkennedy3" (Pasadena CA) - See all my reviews

Lionel Rolfe's book is a delightful meandering journey through the past and present of LA literature. At first glimpse, it's not constructed along the lines of an argument. That's because it is not, by Rolfe's own admission, an academic treatise. But after a good read, one finds that a consistent message does come through. And argument or not, it's a great book to curl up with because it gives readers a chance to revel in the past.

As one of its most important themes, the book outlines several strains of the Bohemian movement as expressed in Los Angeles. Stressing that Bohemians came from a variety of political backgrounds, Rolfe nonetheless shows the radical strains informing their activities. He also laments that these days, there's not much going on that could be considered truly radical in LA literature, a loss he traces in part to the decline of the coffee house.

Literary LA also gives a geographical tour of many of the sites around the city which feature connections to past literary greats. Who knew that Monrovia and Pasadena housed some of America's greatest writers, let alone a small house off an alley in Hollywood where Jack London MAY have slept?

Maybe the best chapter is the one on Bukowski. Here Rolfe talks about spending time with the great poet, and here the book gets most gritty. And delicious.

If you have an interest in LA literature (and if Rolfe is right, more American literature than you think is Los Angeles-connected) you need to buy this book.