Cal State Long Beach poet Gerald Locklin prepares to retire

There are certain people whom you can’t imagine Long Beach without. Kelvin Anderson of VIP Records is one; how would I have gotten through high school without my Eric B. & Rakim fix? Cal Worthington, the car dealer, is another; many of us grew up on his advertisements–or bought one of his cars. (He was open ’til midnight; he’d see us there.)

The poet and Cal State Long Beach Professor Gerald Locklin–who arrived here in 1965, brandishing the world’s first English degree from the University of Arizona–is definitely another such treasure.

As reported by Press-Telegram editorialist John Canalis–another former CSULB classmate of mine, and now an instructor there himself–the great bard is getting ready to retire from the classroom this month, though he’ll remain associated with the university.

I discovered Locklin in the early ’90s when I was at CSULB–and the Press-Telegram–myself, though I never took a class from him. In his clear, unsparing prose, it’s easy to see the man who knew Charles Bukowski, and who schooled singer-songwriter Dave Alvin in the ’70s.

Now, the question is what’ll we do when he’s no longer teaching class upon class of Cal State students? It’s a sad question.

Tags: 4th & Broadway, cal state long beach, Cal Worthington, California, Charles Bukowski, Dave Alvin, Eric B. & Rakim, Gerald Locklin, john canalis, Kelvin Anderson, Long Beach, Southern California, The District Weekly, Theo Douglas, tony marsh, VIP Records, Worthington Ford