{"id":5098,"date":"2013-02-17T13:13:09","date_gmt":"2013-02-17T18:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/?p=5098"},"modified":"2016-04-04T11:07:14","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:07:14","slug":"three-not-poems-by-stephen-schneck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/2013\/02\/three-not-poems-by-stephen-schneck.html","title":{"rendered":"Three &#8216;Not Poems&#8217; by Stephen Schneck"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div id=\"attachment_5108\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/NIGHTCLERK-STEPHEN-SCHNECK\/dp\/B000HAA864\/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&#038;ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1360774458&#038;sr=1-2&#038;keywords=the+nightclerk+by+stephen+schneck\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5108\" data-attachment-id=\"5108\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/2013\/02\/three-not-poems-by-stephen-schneck.html\/the-nightclerk-grove200\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/THE-NIGHTCLERK-GROVE200.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"200,279\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"THE NIGHTCLERK (GROVE)(200)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Grove Press [1965]&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/THE-NIGHTCLERK-GROVE200.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/THE-NIGHTCLERK-GROVE200.jpg\" alt=\"&#039;The Nightclerk&#039; by Stephen Schneck [Grove Press, 1965]\" width=\"200\" height=\"279\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5108\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5108\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><BR>Grove Press [1965]<\/p><\/div><div id=\"attachment_5202\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/cdn.realitystudio.org\/images\/people\/jan_herman\/publisher\/san-francisco-earthquake\/san-francisco-earthquake.01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5202\" data-attachment-id=\"5202\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/2013\/02\/three-not-poems-by-stephen-schneck.html\/san-francisco-earthquake200\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/san-francisco-earthquake200-e1361123496560.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"150,232\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"san-francisco-earthquake(200)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;BR&gt; Cover collage by N.O. Mustill&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/san-francisco-earthquake200-e1361123496560.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/san-francisco-earthquake200-e1361123496560.jpg\" alt=\"The San Francisco EARTHQUAKE [Fall Issue 1967, Vol. 1, No. 1]\" width=\"150\" height=\"232\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5202\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5202\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><BR> Collage by N.O. Mustill [1966]<\/p><\/div> I remember meeting Stephen Schneck in San Francisco at City Lights Bookstore, where I was clerking at the time. He had published <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/NIGHTCLERK-STEPHEN-SCHNECK\/dp\/B000HAA864\/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&#038;ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1360774458&#038;sr=1-2&#038;keywords=the+nightclerk+by+stephen+schneck\"><em>The Nightclerk<\/em><\/a>, which won the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Prix_Formentor\">International Formentor Prize<\/a>, and I was starting a &#8220;little&#8221; magazine. He offered three &#8220;Not Poems&#8221; for <a href=\"http:\/\/cdn.realitystudio.org\/images\/people\/jan_herman\/publisher\/san-francisco-earthquake\/san-francisco-earthquake.01.jpg\">the first issue<\/a>. His novel, translated into 12 languages but banned in Australia, was about the erotic fantasies of a corpulent hotel nightclerk. (Orson Welles wanted to film it; didn&#8217;t happen.) So Schneck&#8217;s offer felt like a great piece of luck. Not in the same league as getting William Burroughs&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.textfiles.com\/politics\/wordauth\">&#8220;Word Authority More Habit Forming Than Heroin&#8221;<\/a> for the same issue, but still a sweet little coup. I didn&#8217;t have any contact with Schneck after that. He seemed to disappear. I knew he wrote for the San Francisco improv troupe The Committee and for <em>Ramparts<\/em> and <em>Mother Jones,<\/em> as well as screenplays for offbeat flicks (all of which is mentioned in his Los Angeles Times <a href=\"http:\/\/articles.latimes.com\/1996-12-08\/local\/me-7202_1_stephen-schneck\">obituary<\/a>). What I didn&#8217;t know was that he went on to write for mainstream TV shows, like &#8220;All in the Family,&#8221; &#8220;Archie Bunker&#8217;s Place,&#8221; &#8220;Cheers,&#8221; and &#8220;In the Heat of the Night.&#8221; Which reminds me that Burroughs did a guest spot on &#8220;Saturday Night Live.&#8221; Nothing&#8217;s sacred.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5097\" style=\"width: 570px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Schneck-SFoEQ1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5097\" data-attachment-id=\"5097\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/2013\/02\/three-not-poems-by-stephen-schneck.html\/schneck-sfoeq1560\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Schneck-SFoEQ1560.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"560,404\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Schneck-SFoEQ#1(560)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;BR&gt; Three &amp;#8220;Not Poems&amp;#8221; by Stephen Schneck, author of &amp;#8220;The Nightclerk&amp;#8221; [SFoEQ#1, 1967]&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Schneck-SFoEQ1560.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Schneck-SFoEQ1560.jpg\" alt title=\"Three &quot;Not Poems&quot; by Stephen Schneck, author of &quot;The Nightclerk&quot; CLICK TO ENLARGE.\" width=\"560\" height=\"404\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5097\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Schneck-SFoEQ1560.jpg 560w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Schneck-SFoEQ1560-300x216.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5097\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><BR> Three &#8220;Not Poems&#8221; by Stephen Schneck [SFoEQ#1, 1967] <a href=\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Schneck-SFoEQ1.jpg\">Click to enlarge.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I remember meeting Stephen Schneck in San Francisco at City Lights Bookstore, where I was clerking at the time. He had published The Nightclerk, which won the International Formentor Prize, and I was starting a &#8220;little&#8221; magazine. He offered three &#8220;Not Poems&#8221; for the first issue. His novel, translated into 12 languages but banned in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5098","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-literature","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbvgEs-1ke","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5098"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21110,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5098\/revisions\/21110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}