Beatdom Books is proud to announce that today, on October 7, 2025, it will publish A Remarkable Collection of Angels: A History of the 6 Gallery Reading — the first full-length scholarly book devoted to the landmark 1955 event that sparked the San Francisco Renaissance and changed the course of American literature.
Timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of that legendary night, the book explores what literary historians regard as a defining moment for both the Beat Generation and modern poetry.
About the Book
A Remarkable Collection of Angels – A History of the 6 Gallery Reading by David S. Wills
For decades, the 6 Gallery reading has existed as a kind of mythic origin story in Beat history. It has long provided a thrilling glimpse into the birth of a movement — but it has also been heavily romanticized, and often inaccurately told. A Remarkable Collection of Angels aims to separate legend from reality.
Drawing on years of archival research and previously overlooked materials, literary historian David S. Wills reconstructs the true story of the 20th century’s most consequential poetry reading. He cross-references obscure contemporaneous documents, examines conflicting personal accounts, and builds an accurate narrative of how this single event came to define an era.
The book not only recounts the reading itself but also traces the history of the building that hosted it and the galleries that existed within those walls. It reveals how poets, artists, and hipsters converged in just the right place at just the right time for a night that would change literary history.
Most famously, it was at the 6 Gallery reading that Allen Ginsberg first performed his poem “Howl.” Yet this was only one legacy of the evening. Every poet on stage would go on to shape a vital countercultural movement that influenced generations of writers worldwide. For decades, the event has been referenced in countless books — but until now, the full story has never been told.
About the Author
David S. Wills is a scholar of modern American literature, a noted editor, and an occasional lecturer. His previous works include books on William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Hunter S. Thompson. Originally from Scotland, Wills now lives in Cambodia.
Availability
Release date: October 7, 2025
Note: The book will be distributed through major retailers worldwide shortly after release.
