Philip Whalen has managed to espouse the religious principles of Zen Buddhism without renouncing the world around him, retaining a humorous, whimsical balance in his poems, and mixing the pleasures of California life with contemplation in such a way as to persuade readers that the flesh and spirit may be enjoyed together in the fulfillment of one's life. He enjoyed his first creative achievement under the fertile impetus of the Beat years, when he was ally and confidant of the major figures of the Beat Generation and the writers who are now considered the force behind the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance. Although a member of both groups of writers in the formal sense of technique and thematic interests, he is best identified as one-third of the Reed College triumvirate of poets, Gary Snyder, Lew Welch, and Whalen, all of whom brought a compelling style of writing to the...