A poet and activist, Kenneth Rexroth is a central figure in the San Francisco literary renaissance. But his nature and love poetry have left their mark on several generations of modern poets, from Beats to Denise Levertov, Carolyn Forché, and Jessica Hagedorn. A complex person, Rexroth was a self-taught man of great knowledge, a consummate storyteller, a man who could be thoroughly charming one day and who could take your head off the next. In the definitive and only biography, Linda Hamalian explores Rexroth's life and work in all their depth.