Scott Wannberg (February 20, 1953 – August 19, 2011) was an American poet. His work was considered one of the anchors in the Los Angeles poetry scene.
As a poet he wrote in freeform and was influenced by
beat poetry
The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatione ...
.
He worked as a clerk at
Vroman's Bookstore
Vroman's Bookstore is reportedly the oldest and largest independent bookstore in Southern California.
The store hosts over 400 free community events a year including children's storytimes, trivia nights, craft classes, bake-offs, and launch par ...
on the
Third Street Promenade, and at
Dutton's Brentwood. Wannberg was a founding member of the traveling poet troupe known as the ''Carma Bums''.
His works include ''Nomads of Oblivion'', ''Strange Movie Full of Death'', and ''Tomorrow Is Another Song''.
He died of a
heart attack on August 19, 2011, at the age of 58.
Early life
Scott Wannberg was born in
Santa Monica, CA
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
on February 12, 1953.
He grew up in near
Venice beach, and, in high school, was the film critic for the Venice High School newspaper.
He studied
creative writing at
San Francisco State University, and his influences were the members of the 1950s Beat scene, including
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation.
Of French-Canadian a ...
and
Gregory Corso.
Works
His poetry was published in numerous literary journals and in the collections S''trange Movie Full of Death'' (2009) and the forthcoming T''omorrow is Another Song'' (Sept. 30), both from
Viggo Mortensen’s
Perceval Press
Perceval Press is actor/artist Viggo Mortensen's publishing company, established in 2002 with partner Pilar Perez. Based in Santa Monica, California, the press specializes in books of art, critical writing, and poetry.
History
Mortensen started ...
.
Wannberg was also a member of the poetry troop Carma Bums, a group of poets that performed throughout the
American Southwest and
Canada until 2009.
Actor
Ed Harris stated "His poetry can be political, polemical, personal, provocative, and it shies away from cheap alliteration...his work is contemporary and timeless, brave and honest, and fun as hell to read."
Bibliography
* ''The Electric Yes Indeed!'' 1989.
* ''Harvey Keitel, Harvey Keitel, Harvey Keitel.'' 2005.
* ''Tomorrow is Another Song.'' Perceval Press, 2011.
* ''Strange Movie Full of Death.'' Perceval Press, 2012.
* ''The Official Language of Yes.'' Perceval Press, 2015.
* ''Scott Wannberg: The Lummox Years - 1996 to 2006.'' Perceval Press, 2015.
* ''Harvey Korman, Harvey Korman, Harvey Korman.'' Spartan Press, 2017. with John Dorsey & S.A. Griffin.
Death
Scott Wannberg died of a heart attack at his home in
Florence, OR on August 19, 2011.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wannberg, Scott
1953 births
2011 deaths
20th-century American male writers
Writers from Los Angeles
American male poets
Writers from Santa Monica, California
20th-century American poets
21st-century American poets