Joanne Kyger, trailblazing Beat poet, dies at 82 Joanne Kyger, a leading poet of the San Francisco Renaissance and a rare female voice of the male-dominated Beat generation, has died. Ms. Kyger, who lived in Bolinas, died Wednesday, Bay Area poet and collaborator Michael Rothenberg wrote on Facebook. “Joanne Kyger was a trailblazer, fearless and full of insight,” said City Lights publisher Elaine Katzenberger. Ms.