Fire Destroys Great Northwest Bookstore, Beat Poet's Apartment

The fire in Portland is reported here; the plight of the poet Walt Curtis is described here:

Curtis, whose 1977 autobiographical work Mala Noche stood as the basis for Gus Van Sant’s first film of the same name, had recently moved into a basement apartment in the building, and survived the fire without physical injury. But the loss of Curtis’ personal belongings has devastated the renowned Beat poet.