Tag Archives: Richard Leck

Sat. May 9th: A Memorial Reading for Richard Leck

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Good friend and fellow Blacksmith for Literary Progress Karen Lillis has organized a special memorial reading for our departed friend Richard Lick here in New York City on May 9th. Do stop by the Bowery Poetry Club for the event. Full details are below…

Words Like Kudzu Press will host a memorial reading for Richard Leck at the Bowery Poetry Club on Saturday, May 9th from 2:00pm-3:30pm. It will be called “Praise Day Reading for Richard Leck.” Admission will be free. Several writers will read from Richard’s poems and excerpts from his memoir, “Jumped, Fell, or Was Pushed.” Come celebrate Richard’s humor, his life, and his words.

Free giveaways: Richard Leck’s poetry chapbook, Memory Hair, and
copies of Go Metric No. 22, with an excerpt from Richard’s memoirs.

Readers:

Richard Leck Laid to Rest

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This weekend, I was informed by Karen Lillis that all of her efforts on behalf of Richard Leck finally paid off. The good sir was laid to rest on Friday in Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island. New York City did indeed pick up the tab for the funeral and after enough prodding, the Veteran’s Administration agreed to to give him a dignified military funeral.

The Village Voice followed up with a nice postscript about Richard. Their quote of Richard’s poem “Residents” sums up the man nicely. I’ll leave it at that.

Rest in peace old boy.

Help Richard Leck Get a Proper Burial

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As I wrote a few weeks back, poet Richard Leck, whom I had the good fortune to meet at this year’s Small Press Fair in New York City, passed away on December 19th.

Unfortunately, Richard had no next of kin and had become estranged from the rest of his family. Because of this, Richard’s friends Karen Lillis and Frances Winn have not been able to claim his personal effects and arrange for a proper burial. This means Richard’s body has been sitting in the city morgue since December 19th and is likely to be buried at Potter’s Field, the notorious city-run cemetery for the forgotten. Karen has been working especially hard to try and convince someone to claim Richard’s body so he will not wind up at Potter’s Field, most notably the Veterans Administration. Even though Richard did serve in the Army, the Veterans Administration refused to claim him and flatly denied paying for a burial. By law, all veterans are entitled to a military burial, but there a exceptions and technicalities that often require a judgment call by the Veterans Administration.

It seemed that Richard was destined for Potter’s Field until The Village Voice became involved after being contacted by Karen. Voice writer Graham Rayman jumped on the case, writing this article, and contacting the Medical Examiner’s office, who agreed to hold Richard’s body for an additional two weeks in order to give Karen and Frances more time to obtain approval for his release.

Things kept snowballing from there. Someone showed the Voice article to the Mayor’s Office of Veterans’Affairs, who have agreed to look into the case and see if Richard is eligible to be buried in a national veterans cemetery with the city picking up the bill.

Needless to say, this is a big IF. So if you are a New Yorker, and would like to help, please write to the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs and ask them to arrange a proper burial for Richard. You can do so using this online form. Let them know you had read The Village Voice story about Richard and would like him to receive a proper military burial. Hopefully, with enough messages from local citizens, Richard won’t become a resident of Potter’s Field.

In Memorium: Richard Leck (1933-2008)

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I was really saddened to learn this past week that new friend Richard Leck passed away on December 19th. I had only met Richard once, at this year’s Small Press Fair in New York City where he shared a table with myself and the rest of the Blacksmiths for Literary Progress. He was one of those guys that you instantly label as a “character.” Richard was a funny bastard, with a real dry, offbeat sense of humor. He spent the afternoon quoting old W.C. Fields jokes, telling tales of Greenwich Village in the 1960s, and generally keeping us entertained. Richard couldn’t make the first day of the book fair (Saturday), so he failed to meet his biggest fan. As the show was closing down, a gentleman came up to the table in the final minutes. Quietly perusing some of the titles we had on display, he picked up a copy of Richard’s “Memory Hair.” He flipped to the poem “Empty” and read it to himself. Then he looked at me and said, “This man is a wonderful poet, you tell him I said so.” After handing over his $5, he left without saying another word.

Sadly, “Memory Hair” is his only chapbook of poetry. You can buy a copy of it by contacting Words Like Kudzu press. And his friend Karen Lillis has posted a bit more about Richard’s life here.

Here is my favorite poem by Richard, “Experience.” I think it sums up his style (and sense of humor) perfectly.

Don’t try
to catch the drops.
The drops
will find you.
And attach themselves
to you.
And engulf you.
And inundate you.
You can’t
wash off drops.
You’ll just
be adding
other drops.
They will just
intermingle
until you drop.