Clive Matson

Clive Matson fell in with the Beats as a young poet in New York City in the early 1960s, mentored by Allen Ginsberg, Diane di Prima, and Herbert Huncke and influenced by John Wieners, Michael McClure, and Alden Van Buskirk. Developing a deeply personal connection with the Beat Aesthetic, he became immersed in the stream of passionate intensity. His first book of poetry, Mainline to the Heart, was published in 1966 by Diane di Prima and Amiri Baraka's Poets Press.

Matson is author of nine volumes of poetry and the writer's manual Let the Crazy Child Write! (New World Library, 1998). He holds an MFA in Poetry from Columbia University and has taught creative writing workshops since 1978. His method, rooted in accessing the creative unconscious, led the East Bay Express to name him Best Writing Teacher, 2006.

His most recent book, an epic poem titled Hello, Paradise. Paradise, Goodbye (New Generation Beat Publications, 2025) exploring the challenges of climate disruption, first premiered at the European Beat Studies Network Conference in Paris in 2017. He is a recognized Lifetime Honor Beat Poet Laureate of the National Beat Poetry Foundation and the founder of WordSwell literary journal.