Nine Generations

FEINBERG - Jacob N. Feinberg passed away on August 23, 2006 in Northern Westchester Hospital at the age of 61. Mr. Feinberg was born in Yonkers, NY, son of Leo Feinberg, a Yonkers builder, and Min Feinberg, who was active in Jewish social causes there. He attended Lincoln High School. He received his bachelor's degree from Temple University and his Masters in Business Administration from Michigan State University. Mr. Feinberg used his business skills, love for dogs, and creativity to found Northwind Kennels in Bedford NY. Mr. Feinberg also bred an award winning line of Samoyed dogs. He bred many champion dogs, including ?Star? his long time friend and winner of three Best of Shows at the World Dog Show and two Best of Breeds at Westminster Kennel Club. He was president of the Samoyed Club of America and won an award of merit for his contribution to the breed of samoyeds. Mr. Feinberg also wrote two books and one play, Strictly Personal that he produced off-Broadway. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis Feinberg, his two daughters, Shayna and Mindy, his son Larry, his daughter-in-law, Jennifer, his granddaughter, Neale, his brother, Ed Feinberg, and sister, Joan Schleimer. He was well loved. Memorial Service to be held at Bet Torah Synagogue, 60 Smith Avenue, Mt. Kisco, NY on Friday, August 25, 2006 at 11 AM. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial donations to B'nai B'rith Emergency Relief Fund or samoyedrescue.org.⁴

A private memorial will be held for poet Frances Jaffer, who died January 20 at her San Francisco home after a long illness. She was 78.

Ms. Jaffer was born in Hartford, CT., and graduated from Castilleja School and Stanford University.

Her published works include "Any Time Now" (1979), "She Talks to Herself in the Language of an Educated Woman" (1981), and "Alternate Endings" (1985).

A Chronicle review of the latter volume described her as "one of a number of feminist poets whose questions about language remain largely unanswered but rigorously investigated."

She served as an editor of HOWever, a major journal of innovative women's writing. She was especially interested in the work of such female poets as HD and Marianne Moore.

She is survived by her husband, poet Mark Linenthal, the former director of the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University. She is also survived by her three sons, Lincoln Pain of Richmond, Duncan Pain of Tennessee, and Louis Pain of Portland, Ore.; her stepson, Peter Linenthal of San Francisco; and her granddaughter, Celeste Amara Pain.

Memorial contributions are requested for a poetry prize in her name to be awarded by the Poetry Center at San Francisco State, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA. 94132.

Edition: FINAL. Page: A19.⁵

Mark Linenthal's bad luck was to be shot down over Germany on his first mission during World War II. His good luck was to be sent to a POW camp with an excellent library of American and English literature in paperback.

By the time he came out, he'd read every book there and knew his life's direction. He came to Stanford University, where he earned his doctorate in English, then got hired to teach freshman composition at what was then called San Francisco State College. That was the start of 38 years on the faculty as a professor of English and creative writing.

Mr. Linenthal died last Saturday after a long illness in his adopted hometown of San Francisco. He was 88.

"He was a liberal. He was good. He had good vibes," said Beat poet Michael McClure.

Mark Linenthal Jr., was born in Boston on Nov. 12, 1921. He attended Harvard, where he was a classmate and friend of Norman Mailer. Mr. Linenthal had been drafted, and after earning his bachelor's degree in political science, he joined the Army Air Forces.

He was navigator on a B-24 Liberator, known as the "flying boxcar," when it was shot down Sept. 22, 1944, on its way back from bombing an aircraft factory in Munich. He parachuted into a field and was taken to Stalag Luft I, where he remained until the camp was liberated by the Russians.

Upon his return from the war, Mr. Linenthal married Alice Adams, a Radcliffe student whom he'd met on a double date. In San Francisco, where they settled, the Linenthals became part of a burgeoning literary scene. Adams went on to become well known for her collections of short stories and novels, most prominently "Superior Women" and "After the War."

Mr. Linenthal's genre became poetry. "Mark was an excellent poet, but he wasn't flashy," said poet and colleague Kathleen Fraser. "He was a quietly developing poet."

He joined the faculty at S.F. State in 1954, the year the Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives at the college was founded. He served as its director from 1966 to 1972.

"Mark was the director during a period when there was a lot of turmoil at San Francisco State," said Steve Dickison, director of the Poetry Center. "He supported student rights and had a big influence on the younger people."

Mr. Linenthal testified on behalf of Allen Ginsberg during his obscenity trial after publication of "Howl."

"He used to say that 'Howl' changed the expectations of what a poem could be," said Peter Linenthal, only child of Mr. Linenthal and Adams, who were divorced in the late 1950s.

Not long after, Mr. Linenthal married one of his students, Frances Pain, who became a feminist scholar and poet who published under the name Frances Jaffer.

In a videotaped oral history made when Mr. Linenthal was 80, he said, "I was a spectacular teacher. I had a captive audience and I turned them into my community. I always told my students, 'You don't have to believe what I'm saying, but you have to take it seriously.' "

Inspired by jazz saxophonist Lester Young, Mr. Linenthal took up the instrument at age 52 and would play at his parties. He also loved guns and hunting for ducks and deer.

He published two books of poetry, "Growing Light," published in 1979, and "The Man I Am Watching," published in 1987.

Pain, Mr. Linenthal's wife of nearly 40 years, died in 1998. Survivors include his son Peter of San Francisco; and stepsons Lincoln Pain, Duncan Pain of Los Angeles, and Louis Pain of Vancouver, Wash.

A celebration of Mr. Linenthal's life is planned for January. Donations may be made to the Poetry Center at San Francisco State, 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA 94132, or the magazine Poetry Flash in Berkeley.

Author: Sam Whiting.¹