"So it was that on a bright and gusty spring day, I walked with James Waring, John Herbert McDowell, LeRoi Jones and Alan Marlowe to a notary's office, to complete the first steps in the process of founding the New York Poets Theatre. We were, the five of us, the founding members, and looking back I find it significant that Freddie wasn't there. [...]

What had happened was that Alan, living with Freddie and observing all of our lives, had realized that he was sitting atop a mother lode of unexploited, mostly untapped creativity (us), and saw how he could cash in on it. To do him justice, I believe he thought we could all cash in on it, at least that was his plan, and to do so we needed to incorporate as a non-profit organization.

So there we were, walking down the street in the windy sunshine in our trench coats, an envelope of papers in Alan's hand. There was Jimmy, tall and spectral with his pale face and long pointy nose, in his black trenchcoat (showers were threatening, though the sky was clear); and John Herbert, perky and determined, with his sandy hair consisting almost entirely of cowlicks and  and his owlish glasses; there was LeRoi moving softly, almost invisible, joking with John; and Alan very modish, in a well-cut raincoat that shouted "designer." He had put on one of his many suits for the occasion, and was, I am sure, more nervous at finding himself among so many of us than he was at the pending paperwork and government proceedings--which. however mild and unthreatening they may actually be, had made all of us vaguely suspicious and paranoid. Alan had already named himself President of the Corporation-to-Be. [...]

Plan was, we were going to make a theatre happen. One in which John's music, Jimmy's choreography and plays, Freddie's dances, my own and LeRoi's plays, all would have a place. Alan would direct and manage the fundraising (he had been a gay hustler in Europe, and demimonde/society personality in New York, and seemed to know some of the ropes)." -- Diane di Prima. Recollections of My Life as a Woman: The New York Years. New York: Viking, 2001.