By Scott Wannberg
Edited by RD Armstrong Scott Wannberg was born in Santa Monica in February of 1953. A big man with an even bigger presence, he attended Venice High School and then went on to receive his master’s degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University. He was a poet’s poet and a human’s human who spent his life working as a sales clerk and book buyer for independent bookstores, most notably Dutton’s Books in Brentwood, where he held court and worked the stacks for almost 25 years. His book Nomads of Oblivion (Lummox Press) made the Los Angeles Times' bestseller list in 2000, and in the late 90s, Los Angeles Magazine named him one of the “Top 100 Coolest People” in L.A. In 2008, he relocated to Florence, Oregon, where he died too soon at the age of 58 in August of 2011.Special thanks to S.A. Griffin for Scott's bio (above) and other permissions and info.
This book concern's itself with Scott's involvement with an obscure outpost located in the far reaches of his sphere of influence...namely the Lummox Press. It chronicles Scott's involvement with all things Lummox: the Lummox Journal, including his interview; the two Little Red Books of his poetry (Equal Opportunity Sledgehammer and Nomads of Oblivion), and his contributions to Eyes Like Mingus (Little Red Book #9), Last Call (Anthology of poets influenced by Bukowski), and The Colorado River Song sequence (about Scott's mother's passing). Scott was named "Lummox of the Year" in 1999 and a drawing was commissioned to artist and long-time Lummox friend Michael Paul. This same drawing appears on the cover of the book. He was actively a part of Lummox for 10 years. Also included are remembrances by several of his friends...Doug Knott, Lynn Bronstein, Steve Goldman, Dona Mary Dirlam, Hank Beukema and Victor Infante. Scott was the kind of guy who made a good impression on those receptive to that sort of thing. He delighted in playing with language, linking metaphors together that quite often seemed unlikely and impossible but, in the end, worked out as if by magic! For a sampling of Scott's work, go here. Or listen to Scott read a poem here. To see other Scott related Merchandise, go here. A poem from the book as read by its author, Hank Beukema.