Editing Ina Coolbrith (section)

==Earthquake and fire==
[[File:Songs from the Golden Gate.jpg|thumb|left|''Songs from the Golden Gate'' (1895)]]
By February 1906, Coolbrith's health was showing signs of deterioration. She was often sick in bed with rheumatism, and hard-pressed to continue her work at the Bohemian Club.<ref name=George/> Still, in March 1906 she gave a lengthy reading to the Pacific Coast Woman's Press Association entitled "Some Women Poets of America." Coolbrith, third vice president and life member of the club, briefly discussed the most prominent early American women poets but focused more fully on ones that became known in the second half of the 19th century, reciting example verse, and critically evaluating the work.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Club Life |url=https://archive.org/stream/clublife04calirich#page/n228/mode/1up |date=March 1906 |title=P.C.W.P.A |volume=4 |number=7 |page=7}}</ref> 

A month later, disaster struck in the form of the calamitous fire that followed the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|great San Francisco earthquake]] in April 1906: Coolbrith's home at 1604 Taylor Street burned to the ground. Directly after the earthquake but before fire threatened, Coolbrith had left her house carrying a pet cat, thinking she would soon return. Her student boarder Robert Norman and her companion Josephine Zeller<ref>Leider, 1991, p. 217.</ref> were unable to carry more than another cat, a few small bundles of letters and Coolbrith's scrapbook. Immediately after he spotted heavy smoke from across the bay, Joaquin Miller took the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco in order to assist Coolbrith in saving her valuables from the approaching fire, but was prevented from doing so by soldiers who had orders to use deadly force against looters.<ref name=George/> In the blaze, Coolbrith lost 3,000 books including priceless signed first editions, artwork by Keith, many personal letters from famous people such as Whittier, Clemens, [[George Meredith]] and, worst of all, her nearly complete [[manuscript]] that was part autobiography and part history of California's early literary scene.

{{quote box|quote="Were I to write what I know, the book would be too sensational to print, but were I to write what I think proper, it would be too dull to read."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;—Ina Coolbrith, on the absence of an autobiography<ref name=Spaulding/>|width=25%|align=right}}
Coolbrith never resumed the work of writing the history,<ref name=CATE/> as she was unable to balance its revelatory autobiographical truth with the scandal that would then ensue. In her life, there were rumors that she had accepted men such as Harte, Stoddard, Clemens and Miller as occasional lovers—a book discussing these liaisons was one she considered too controversial.<ref name=Spaulding/>

Coolbrith spent a few years in temporary residences while friends rallied to raise money to build a house for her. From New York, Coolbrith's old associate Mark Twain sent three autographed photographs of himself that sold for $10 apiece—he was subsequently convinced to sit for 17 more studio photographs to add further to the fund.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.twainquotes.com/Bradley/bradley.html |title=Mark Twain—An Appreciation of His Pioneer Writings on Fasting and Health (Part I) |last=James |first=George Wharton |author-link=George Wharton James |date=May 1919 |work=Physical Culture |publisher=Twainquotes.com |access-date=March 21, 2010}}</ref> In February 1907, the San Jose Women's Club hosted an event called "Ina Coolbrith Day" to promote interest in legislating a state pension for Coolbrith, and in a book project being put forward by the Spinners' Club. In June 1907, the Spinners' Club printed a book entitled ''The Spinners' book of fiction''<ref>{{cite book |author=Spinners' Club |url=https://archive.org/details/spinnersbookfic00clubgoog |title=The Spinners' Book of Fiction |publisher=Spinners' Club |year=1907}}</ref> whose proceeds were to be given to Coolbrith. [[Frank Norris]], [[Mary Hallock Foote]] and [[Mary Hunter Austin]] were among the authors who contributed stories. The poet [[George Sterling]], a friend from the Bohemian Club, submitted an introductory poem, and Bohemian [[Maynard Dixon]] was among the illustrators. The driving force behind the effort was [[Gertrude Atherton]], a writer who saw in Coolbrith a connection to California's literary origins. When the book failed to produce sufficient funding, Atherton added enough from her own pocket to start construction. 

A new house was built for Coolbrith at 1067 Broadway on Russian Hill.<ref name=JackLondons/><ref>Leider, 1991, p. 218.</ref> Settled there, she resumed hosting salons. In 1910, she received a trust fund from Atherton.<ref>Leider, 1991, p. 219.</ref> During 1910–1914, with money from Atherton and a discreet grant from her Bohemian friends,<ref name=Herny31>Herny, 2008, p. 31.</ref> Coolbrith spent time going between residences in [[New York City]] and San Francisco, writing poetry.<ref name=George/> In four winters, she wrote more poetry than in the preceding 25 years.<ref name=Herny31/>