Jack Foley : Legendary Bay Area KPFA Poetry Radio Host Passes Away

I didn't immediately post the article because family via email requested not to announce his passing to give them time to grieve since they cannot answer emails or phone.
As shared by his son, Sean Foley, in a recent statement: "It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my father, poet/writer/radio personality Jack Foley earlier this week. He was 85. I greatly appreciate those who respected my and my family’s wishes to not publicly announce the news of his death earlier to allow us time to grieve and to begin the process of getting his affairs in order. Plans for a memorial service will be announced in the near future."

Jack Foley whom I consider a friend and poetry mentor sent me via email on November 3, 2025 a selfie of himself and a poem on “what is this light, face of an old man”. I was going to ask his permission if I could paint a portrait of him using his selfie photo.

On November 9, I received by email along with 94 of his poetry friends that his partner Sangye “found him late in the night after he had passed.” Ouch!

I told friends that I don’t need to enroll in Poetry classes and workshops because Jack emailed once or three times a week his newly written poems, his topics on his KPFA radio show, backgrounds of poets and their poetry, history of poetry organisations and events, historic photos of Ginsberg’s City Lights, vaudeville acts, old theater shows, song lyrics, sample songs, his late wife Adelle’s haikus, jokes. Jack was always kind, generous, friendly when it came to Poetry. I came to know Jack through Mary Marsha Casoly, editor of Poetry journal Fresh Bread in Palo Alto.
They say in real estate what matters is location, location: i.e My poem “May is in Love with the Invisible” is on left side, Jack’s poem on the right side(don’t remember his title); also my poem “The Letterist” was published on left side, while his wife Adelle was on the right side. So he noticed me because my poem was published on the left of his poem. I think I made a calligraphic poster of Jack as MVP, Most Valuable Poet , and also a bookmark for Adelle.. Ever since, he had sent me copies of his books, and included me as his friend together with his poets friends. On December 2018, the San Francisco Public Library honored Al Young legacy as CA Poet Laureate, Jack was host for the event. He also gathered poems for Al; I was surprised he included me in a chapbook along with 24 other poets; I researched all 24 poets were award winning and have books. I’m a STEM major so writing poetry was for fun and don’t have published poetry book yet(A poetry book is soon to come out.) I presented Al Young , once my teacher in a workshop,with a handcalligraphed framed poster and a bookmark. Jack said, “They’re all award winning poets but they don’t do calligraphy like you do!”. Yeah.

Jack was married to Adelle & had a son Sean, but when Adelle died, he had a partner Sangye Land, daughter of a poet.

Jack was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Berkeley Poetry Festival, and Jack Foley Day in Berkeley, California and the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.

On November 25, 2025 Jovelyn Richards , partner of Jack at KPFA radio show, requested all Jack’s friends and admirers to call in to pay a tribute to Jack’s memory; I was able to honor Jack with a short tribute, how nice, kind, generous and poetic he was. Jack felt Death was closing on him, he wrote a poem :

HOW AM I HOW I AM

at 85 still
dealing with the fact
that—though I have
many friends—
many of my “lifelong
friends”
no longer exist.
my life goes on:
theirs does not.
you don’t exactly
get used to death
but it becomes a factor
in your dailiness.
ah, yes,
another leaf fallen,
another candle out,
another connection
lost,
another voice silenced
that might have loved,
criticized, argued intelligently,
discussed world affairs,
complained about sex,
talked about children,
comforted you—
someone for whom
you might have done
the same.
they’re gone,
nothing
to be done
about it.
though my legs
are failing me—
exercises help—
I seem to be
in no immediate danger
of “transitioning”
to that “better place,”
that nulwhere,
some people speak of.
I wish to know
what I have done
in this life only.
I gather my works
around me
like comforting wings
and offer them
to those whose love,
affection, even
bitterness, envy, hatred
remain
in breath’s beloved circumstance.
Breath. Death.

for Robin A. Nicolas, who asked me.

Shajil Anthru, Editor, Litterateur Redefining World, Chairman, K M Anthru Foundation and Real Magazine Productions said, “Jack was a foundational figure in the literary community, closely associated with Litterateur Redefining World magazine, the K M Anthru Foundation, and Real Magazine Productions since their inception.“ Shajil is publishing a book “Lantern Walking Ahead, For Jack Foley Still Illuminating the World”. Twenty poets submitted their tributes to Jack; the author of this article is one of them(see photo section for cover), released on December 10, 2025.

For friends, admirers, poets, listeners of his radio poetry show below are links to know him better.

https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/jack-foley-a-rich-chapter-in-bay-area-poetry-scene-2334686.php

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/obituary-jack-foley-poet-21192819.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Foley_(poet)