Coastlines

Mel Weisburd was the original editor for Coastlines, which he co-founded with friend and associate editor Gene Frumkin in 1955. Both were students of Thomas McGrath at Los Angeles State College. Under the leadership of Weisburd and others, Coastlines published successfully for almost a decade, featuring poetry by politically-committed poets as well as essays (including Weisburd's "Lysergic Acid and the Creative Experience" essay, as well as his critique of Lawrence Lipton, "The Merchant of Venice"), editorials, and updates on local literary events.

This invitation is to one of the many live poetry readings that Weisburd helped to host in the 1950s and 1960s. Typically held as fundraisers for Coastlines, these events were a lively experience, often including jazz music and hosted at the hillside homes of Coastlines supporters. Weisburd used a reel-to-reel recorder to capture and document these remarkable performances, preserving for us the opportunity to witness the 1950s Los Angeles poetry scene.