(1912–1994)

(Full name William Oliver Everson; also known as Brother Antoninus) American poet.

Called the “Beat Friar” by his fellow poets, Everson used religious themes in his poetry, and this set his work apart from that of the rest of the Beats, even though he shared the movement’s search for enlightenment and understanding. Deep religious feelings and the inner conflict that arose from his choice to live as a celibate monk infuse his poetry with a unique, often shocking tension that captured the imagination of his fellow San Francisco artists.

Biographical Information

Born September 10, 1912, in Sacramento, California, to Norwegian immigrant Louis Waldemar Everson and German-Irish farm girl Francelia Maria Herber, Everson was the second of three children. His mother was reared as a Catholic but she reared her children as Christian Scientists. Like his father, Everson declared himself agnostic as an adolescent...