by John F. Crawford?
Nattily dressed San Francisco poet Andrew Hoyem? finished his half of the January 18th Caltech student assembly with a reading of his macabre and powerful poem, "The Litter," a recounting of his dream visit to the House of Death. For his performance he shed his customary outgoingness. There was quiet and respect in the student audience.
The second reader was ruddy-faced Richard Brautigan, wearing a floppy Stetson hat, an old vest, adorned from head to toe with two necklaces, a San Francisco dog tag, and Italian studded shoes. By the time he had read "My nose is growing old this year," a lament on his future prospects as a lover, he had found a habitation among Caltech students.
Andrew and Richard stayed on campus for ten days living in the guest suite at Ricketts house. At first it was sort of a mutual zoo, the poets peeking at the students from behind moats and bars -— with neither group being sure which were the bipeds and which the quadropeds. After the first shock, the students and poets tried to get used to each other.
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When Richard walked by a stunned campus-tour-guide, the student was heard to exclaim, "Oh, he can't be a Tecker! We're more normal than that!"
A few students followed these pied pipers from the beginning; more were attracted as they stayed on. The poets visited the humanities division secretaries with schemes for the salvation of the Institute or themselves. They sought for girls and for classes with whom to share experiences and — ultimately -— tried to find the tools of science and the scientists. At times they were awed and discomfitted by teaching, science, and the power of technology.
But, by the end, a kind of symmetry was gained. At the last coffee hour some 50 students assembled to hear the poets read. Richard and Andrew were happy; they had just met Richard Feynman? and discussed his passion for beautiful formulae with him. And Andrew had met a lovely blonde girl. Richard, from behind his flaxen moustache, remarked sagely, "Don't wash that hand, Andrew, it has been shaken by a Nobel Prizewinner and a Girl."
Engineering and Science
30(5)February 1967: 26
Online Source: http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/263/01/poets.pdf
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