SECRET GARDEN

The Secret Garden is a re-issue of a long out of print collection of Jewish Kabbalistic writings from Hellenistic times through the seventeenth century. Since its publication in the '70s much scholarly and popular writing has whetted the appetite for authentic Kabbalistic texts, but few have been forthcoming. In addition to well-known works such as The Sephir Yetzirah, the anthology includes texts by Moses Cordovero, Isaac Luria, and Chaim Vital, Luria's well-known disciple. David Meltzer's anthology was gathered for and by important poets of the "San Francisco Renaissance:" Meltzer himself, Robert Duncan, Diane DiPrima, Jack Hirschman et al-for whom the Kabbalistic tradition has been an abiding inspiration. It is an important document of the period.

David Meltzer David Meltzer (born February 17, 1937) is an American poet and musician of the Beat Generation and San Francisco Renaissance, including people such as Jack Spicer and Robert Duncan. From 1980 through 2007, Meltzer was a Poetics Core Faculty member of the now-defunct New College of California originally founded by Duncan.He is the author of more than 50 books of poetry and prose. 2005 saw the publication of David's Copy: The Selected Poems of David Meltzer (edited by Michael Rothenberg, with an introduction by Jerome Rothenberg) which provides a current overview of Meltzer's work.Other recent books of poetry are No Eyes: Lester Young, (Black Sparrow, 2000), and Arrows: Selected Poetry, 1957-1992 (Black Sparrow Press, 1994).David Meltzer has also long been involved in the Kabbalah as a uniquely committed social, hermeneutic, and personal practice.To read more about Meltzer's life, work, and upcoming events, visit his personal website www.meltzerville.com