Neeli Cherkovski (July 1, 1945–March 19, 2024) was an American poet and memoirist. Born Nelson Cherry, he grew up in Los Angeles, where as a teen he began publishing poems and was befriended by Charles Bukowski, with whom he edited the poetry zine Laugh Literary and Man the Humping Guns. In the 1970s, he was a political consultant in the Riverside area, moving to San Francisco in 1974 to work for then-State Senator George Moscone. In San Francisco, he came out as gay, reclaimed his family's historical name, and became a major figure in the North Beach literary community. In the 1990s, he became a writer-in-residence at the New College of California, teaching literature and philosophy there until it closed in 2008.The author of numerous collections of poetry, Cherkovski also wrote the first biographies of Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1979) and Charles Bukowski (1991), as well as Whitman's Wild Children (1988), a collection of his memoirs of 12 Beat Generation poets. He co-edited books, including Anthology of L.A. Poets (1972) and The Collected Poems of Bob Kaufman (2019). His collection Leaning Against Time won the 15th Annual PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award in 2005. In 2017, he was awarded the Jack Mueller Poetry Prize by Lithic Press, which published his 400-page, career-spanning Selected Poems 1959–2022 in 2024. Cherkovski is also the subject of the documentary film, It's Nice to Be with You Always (2020). He lived in San Francisco with Jesse Cabrera, his partner of 40 years.

Praise for Neeli Cherkovski's The Portrait Gallery Called Existence:"The Portrait Gallery Called Existence is a catalog of reading experiences as much as it is a masterfully rendered set of addresses — Neeli Cherkovski's lifelong apprenticeship to poetry culminating in a wry, searching, reclaiming set of poems that adjust form subtly in relation to the poet's experience of the work and person he's circling back around through each pass. These poems are edged by hand and ear with a care categories such as biography and autobiography can't catch, and their beauty—of which there is a great well—is bound up with a moving sharpness of utterance that stands profoundly against harm."—Anselm Berrigan, author of Don't Forget to Love Me"During an era when poets were dangerous to know and destroyed their bodies pursuing their art, Neeli Cherkovski stayed observant. From first encounters to final conversations, The Portrait Gallery Called Existence revives voices of American literary consciousness: Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg, di Prima, Coleman, Kaufman. I was one of countless crazy teenagers who learned something foundational from these poets, and I'm glad to revisit them by way of Cherkovski's insight. Existence offers a syllabus for autodidacts and misfit readers, traces the poet's literary and family lineages, and redistricts America according to its artistic brilliance. Cherkovski reveals the life that poetry shapes for us—a life that's not so evident these days. By simply holding this book you keep San Francisco from disappearing."—Evan Kennedy, author of Metamorphoses: City Lights Spotlight Series No. 22"Neeli Cherkovski was a natural born poet. With every portal open to everything and each moment, he breathed poesy from the moment of his birth to his passing. For this last collection, as if to summarize his entire life, he curated a portraiture exhibition of his poetic, creative and biological 'family' including his own self-portrait. Here, we see his lineage and the vision ever so clearly."—Yuko Otomo, author of In Delacroix's GardenPraise for Neeli Cherkovski:"He was everything you could hope for in a classic West Coast poet, including seemingly unconcerned with anything in life more than with the line, the rhythm, the poem."—Joshua Bodwell, Zyzzyva"[S]omeone who knew virtually all of the important West Coast Beats and learned from them firsthand . . ."—allenginsberg.org"Age permeates these poems. It is the impetus to a compressed music that searches the heart of thought, turning feelings and impressions upside down, in order to move, or should I say, dance on."—Paul Vangelisti, editor, LA Exile: A Guide to Los Angeles Writing 1932-1998

Neeli Cherkovski (July 1, 1945–March 19, 2024) was an American poet and memoirist. Born Nelson Cherry, he grew up in Los Angeles, where as a teen he began publishing poems and was befriended by Charles Bukowski, with whom he edited the poetry zine Laugh Literary and Man the Humping Guns. In the 1970s, he was a political consultant in the Riverside area, moving to San Francisco in 1974 to work for then-State Senator George Moscone. In San Francisco, he came out as gay, reclaimed his family's historical name, and became a major figure in the North Beach literary community. In the 1990s, he became a writer-in-residence at the New College of California, teaching literature and philosophy there until it closed in 2008.The author of numerous collections of poetry, Cherkovski also wrote the first biographies of Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1979) and Charles Bukowski (1991), as well as Whitman's Wild Children (1988), a collection of his memoirs of 12 Beat Generation poets. He co-edited books, including Anthology of L.A. Poets (1972) and The Collected Poems of Bob Kaufman (2019). His collection Leaning Against Time won the 15th Annual PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award in 2005. In 2017, he was awarded the Jack Mueller Poetry Prize by Lithic Press, which published his 400-page, career-spanning Selected Poems 1959–2022 in 2024. Cherkovski is also the subject of the documentary film, It's Nice to Be with You Always (2020). He lived in San Francisco with Jesse Cabrera, his partner of 40 years.

Praise for Neeli Cherkovski's The Portrait Gallery Called Existence:"The Portrait Gallery Called Existence is a catalog of reading experiences as much as it is a masterfully rendered set of addresses — Neeli Cherkovski's lifelong apprenticeship to poetry culminating in a wry, searching, reclaiming set of poems that adjust form subtly in relation to the poet's experience of the work and person he's circling back around through each pass. These poems are edged by hand and ear with a care categories such as biography and autobiography can't catch, and their beauty—of which there is a great well—is bound up with a moving sharpness of utterance that stands profoundly against harm."—Anselm Berrigan, author of Don't Forget to Love Me"During an era when poets were dangerous to know and destroyed their bodies pursuing their art, Neeli Cherkovski stayed observant. From first encounters to final conversations, The Portrait Gallery Called Existence revives voices of American literary consciousness: Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg, di Prima, Coleman, Kaufman. I was one of countless crazy teenagers who learned something foundational from these poets, and I'm glad to revisit them by way of Cherkovski's insight. Existence offers a syllabus for autodidacts and misfit readers, traces the poet's literary and family lineages, and redistricts America according to its artistic brilliance. Cherkovski reveals the life that poetry shapes for us—a life that's not so evident these days. By simply holding this book you keep San Francisco from disappearing."—Evan Kennedy, author of Metamorphoses: City Lights Spotlight Series No. 22"Neeli Cherkovski was a natural born poet. With every portal open to everything and each moment, he breathed poesy from the moment of his birth to his passing. For this last collection, as if to summarize his entire life, he curated a portraiture exhibition of his poetic, creative and biological 'family' including his own self-portrait. Here, we see his lineage and the vision ever so clearly."—Yuko Otomo, author of In Delacroix's GardenPraise for Neeli Cherkovski:"He was everything you could hope for in a classic West Coast poet, including seemingly unconcerned with anything in life more than with the line, the rhythm, the poem."—Joshua Bodwell, Zyzzyva"[S]omeone who knew virtually all of the important West Coast Beats and learned from them firsthand . . ."—allenginsberg.org"Age permeates these poems. It is the impetus to a compressed music that searches the heart of thought, turning feelings and impressions upside down, in order to move, or should I say, dance on."—Paul Vangelisti, editor, LA Exile: A Guide to Los Angeles Writing 1932-1998