San Francisco Renaissance

The San Francisco Renaissance is a name for the work of a group of poets in San Francisco in the 1950s and '60s. This poetry made San Francisco famous in the 1950s as a place where new writing was happening. The "renaissance," or "re-birth," was not one thing. It describes the coming together of many different groups and individuals.
A poetry reading at the Six Gallery on October 13, 1955 was the first public event. It was organized by older poet Kenneth Rexroth. During this reading, five poets—Allen Ginsberg, Philip Lamantia, Michael McClure, Gary Snyder, and Philip Whalen-read their work. The most exciting was Ginsberg's reading of his long poem "Howl". This is called the beginning of Beat poetry. But other kinds of poetry—like those connected to the Black Mountain School—were also part of the San Francisco Renaissance.
Other poets who are part of the Renaissance are Robert Duncan, Robert Creeley, Jack Spicer, Joanne Kyger, Robin Blaser, and William Everson.
After the 1960s, the Renaissance continued in the poetry of Robert Hass, Robert Pinsky, Denise Levertov, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Victor Hernández, Ron Silliman, Leslie Scalapino, and Lyn Hejinian.