Uncle Rene'

Albert "Rene" Ricard was born in Boston in 1946. He had a tramatic childhood growing up in New Bedford, Mass. At sixteen he ran away to Boston and quickly became involved in the literary life of the city, which included the poets John Broderick, John Wieners and Steven Jonas. By the age of eighteen, Ricard had moved to New York City and had become part of Andy Warhol’s "Factory." He appeared in the Warhol film classics Kitchen and Chelsea Girls. "Since the early 70s, Ricard has been America's most controversial arbiter of taste, contributing his work to the most influential literary and art magazines in Amercia and abroad. [In December of 1981, he published the first major article on Jean-Michel Basquiat entitled "The Radiant Child" for Artforum magazine.] Also an obscure and enigmatic figure, Ricard has often destroyed his own works, making his existing art a valuable testament to a tumultuous personality. His first book of poems, Rene Ricard, published by the DIA Foundation in 1979, was followed ten years later by God With Revolver (Hanuman Books). Trusty Sarcophagus Co. marks the poet's first publication conjoinging literary and visual material."