A Remarkable Collection of Angels

A History of the 6 Gallery Reading

By: David S. Wills

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Paperback | 6 October 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
486 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 13.97 x 2.74

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The 6 Gallery reading of October 7, 1955, changed the world. On that night, a group of mostly unknown poets gathered on a small stage in a strange art gallery and read avant-garde poetry to a bohemian audience. Most famously, Allen Ginsberg gave the first reading of "Howl" but other poetic careers were born that night. In fact, that one poetry reading is often said to have birthed the San Francisco Renaissance and launched the Beat Generation into the public consciousness, which makes it all the more unusual that until now no one has ever really known what happened...

Despite its incontestable importance, the 6 Gallery reading has never been written about at length. It has for 70 years existed as an almost mythical, unknowable event. Many hundreds of books and articles have made reference to it as a pivotal moment in American literature, yet few have been able to provide any real detail and what little information does exist is almost entirely false. A Remarkable Collection of Angels intends to fix that. It is the first book dedicated to investigating the 6 Gallery reading, tracing the history of the building and the art galleries that inhabited it, while weaving together the stories of the men and women who forged an arts scene so vibrant that it resulted in this almost impossibly consequential night.

Industry Reviews

"the definitive history [...] groundbreaking and deeply researched" -- The Allen Ginsberg Project

"This new account, at over 450 pages and with a vast array of facts, is a most welcome addition to the library of books about the Beats. It synthesizes and it moves the story forward.[...] Is A Remarkable Collection of Angels the definitive book on the subject? For now it is!" -- Jonah Raskin, author of American Scream: Allen Ginsberg's Howl and the Making of the Beat Generation

"It's been some considerable time since I enjoyed a Beat Generation history as much as David S. Wills' A Remarkable Gathering Of Angels." -- Simon Warner, author of Text and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll: The Beats and Rock Culture

"I think it is one of the best books to ever come out of Beat Studies." -- Kurt Hemmer, author of Encyclopedia of Beat Literature

"Wills' book is valuable on three levels. He presents a readable history of the San Francisco art and poetry scene following WW II, coverage of the October 7th reading, and profiles on the poets assembled. Secondly, he compiles an impressive and useful set of endnotes and a valuable bibliography of dozens of sources. Finally, Wills offers an intelligent analysis and dismantling of the many myths and legends of the reading." -- Don Heneghan for Beat Scene

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