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The Velvet Underground and Charles

March 11, 2013, 8:58 am
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My friend Charles sent me some photographs he took a little while back.  I was listening to The Velvet Underground on Pandora when I opened his email.  Venus in Furs should have been playing but I think it was Neil Young's Sugar Mountain instead.  So much for serendipity, but it was a pleasant surprise getting his photos anyway.

Contact Charles if you like the photos:  ctalkoff@yahoo.com

JB
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Bukowski Preaching the Gospel

March 11, 2013, 6:21 pm
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Ole opens with a quote by Charles Bukowski:  "Poetry is dying on the vine like a whore on the end stool on a Monday night."  His poem "Watchdog" is the mag's first poetic statement.  The poem is unattributed and missing the last line.  My copy has "Buk" and "that" written in in pencil.  Possibly by Blazek.  Maybe not.  In any case, the annotations were totally unnecessary.  The poem could be by nobody but Bukowski.  The voice is unmistakably his from the first line.  Buk is the Cerebrus that guards the pages of Ole.  You had to pass his sniff test.  He could smell the stench of artifice the minute it wafted into the bar.  Along with Blazek he was the Ole's critical doorman:.  To enter you must "first of all cancel all your subscription to the Kenyon Review and come here to Ole where you have to squint at what you read and laugh because we can't spell or punctuate."

That line comes from his "A Rambling Essay on Poetics and the Bleeding Life Written While Drinking a Six-Pack (Tall)," which, for my money, is the most important piece in all of Ole.  This is Ole's defining manifesto, of which there were many.  For example, Issue Two, which ends with "A Rambling Essay" also has an incredible introduction by Blazek, Blazek's "A Proposal" and several book reviews, which lay out loud and clear the Ole ethos.   Blazek holds his own and holds down the fort alongside Bukowski.

But throughout the eight issues of Ole, there is the voice and formidable presence of Bukowski.  His poems speak for themselves (and for Ole) but reading through Ole, particularly Issue Two and the Godzilla Issue, what struck me was Bukowski's critical voice.  With "A Rambling Essay," he stands tall as Ole's leading theoretician.  The six-pack of talls was a mandatory part of the stance.  The drunken prophet preaching his crazy wisdom to the initiated.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, it is no mistake that Bukowski takes on Zukofsky as theoretician in his review of A Test of Poetry in The Godzilla Issue as well as standing toe to toe with Allen Ginsberg, the most famous poet in the world.

Bukowski was the genius of the Ole crowd.

JB
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The Latest from Division Leap and the Greatest from Renegade Press

March 26, 2013, 7:20 am
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Division Leap recently released an e-mail catalog dedicated to d.a. levy and the Cleveland Scene.  The list is small but all the real precious stuff, like gold and drugs, are measured in ounces anyway.  See the list here:  http://www.divisionleap.com/akd52/images/pdfs/dalevy.pdf.

They also released another catalog on artists books:  http://www.divisionleap.com/akd52/images/pdfs/artistsbooks.pdf. 

Check them out.
In order to celebrate the latest from Divison Leap, here is a catalogue from Ole #2, attempting to place the output of Renegade Press in amber.  Thankfully, levy’s publications have proven to be the essence of quicksilver, or maybe a Silver Cesspool.

AN INCOMPLETE RENEGADE PRESS CATALOGUE

KING LORD, QUEEN FREAK – ed sanders $2
FAREWELL THE FLOATING CUNT – d.a levy $2
PARENTHETICAL POPPIES – Russell salamon $1
SUBWAYS – dave rasey 50 cents
SELECTED POEMS  -- Judson crews 50 cents
THE BLOODLETTING – allan katzman $1
OBJECTS 2 – russell atkins 50 cents
SELECTED POEMS  -- kent taylor $1
WHO IS DEAD? – Irene schramm
MORE WITHDRAWED OR LESS – d.a. levy $1
THE VULNERABLE ISLAND – carol berge 50 cents
DREAMS AT THE TEA TABLE – geo rbt beck $1
BRUSHED POEMS & A LITTLE PUTSCH  -- richard allen morris 50 cents
VARIATIONS ON FLIP – d.a. levy o.p
FRAGMENTS OF A SHATTERED MIRROR – d.a. levy
ALEATORY LETTERS -- kent taylor $1.50
POEMS OF THE GLASS --  margaret randall $1
CORNPONETONEPOEM – carl heckman 50 cents
PHENOMENA -- russell atkins $1
PURGATORY & CAROUSELS – jay billera $1.50

JB
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"mag? what?": Douglas Blazek on Bulletin From Nothing

March 27, 2013, 8:47 am
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Charlie Plymell designed the cover to OLE #7:  The Godzilla Review Issue, so Blazek should have had some idea what he was getting into when he received the Plymell printed issues of Bulletin From Nothing by Beach and Pelieu.  Yet Blaz was completely befuddled . . . and delighted.  As for the question of "mags? what?", Gwen Allen has safely categorized Bulletin From Nothing as an artist magazine in an effort to safely harness the Bulletin’s frenzied energy into the all-consuming, always running gallery and museum market.  Not to worry, the Bulletin has been stuffed and mounted and is now over $300 an issue.  As for Blazek’s plea for a reprint, step right into the Studio and take a peek.  The men and women are still ALL NUDE:  http://realitystudio.org/bibliographic-bunker/bulletin-from-nothing/

From OLE #7
BULLETIN FROM NOTHING #1    $1.50                     all frm:  Beach Texts &
BULLETIN FROM NOTHING #2    $1.00                     Documents / c/o City Lights
LIFE BEGINS WITH LOVE                                98 cents               Books / S.F.

frm reading these 3 bks (mags? what?) i am convinced that they originated the word “turn on” -- the electric mattress that played ‘toot’ to the cockroache’s red laugh!!  if these are not available anymore i hope to hell that somebody reprints them because they are invaluable, esp for the collages -- all of the fantastic -- galactic embraces with Creative Mammoths – a Batman’s “POW is an aborted double bubble bubble compared to these mag!  they are TURN-ON – they possess secret wires that connect in electrical hard-on ecstasy to yr skull the instant you slip a copy in yr hands.  there is a chick who has a G.I. Joe bayonet for a cock & 2 grenades for balls.  there are the 2 musclel men fags one saying:  “Back off, sir!  You can’t approach this ship” & the other replying:  “I’m the test pilot, airman!  And don’t fire that thing at me again!”  neither of them have pulled up their jockey shorts yet.  there is the collage of a hunk of steak looking like sea shore boulders & in the center, on the sand, emerging frm a shell or clam or an inner tube are a nude man & a nude woman.  the meat has a butcher’s knife stuck in it.  these 3 mags (books? what?) are guaranteed to make you slam doors, throw light bulbs at yr postman, tie a pink bikini on yr Beagle -- they are guaranteed to make you see black acrobat spiders mazing thru the yellow veins of the Sun’s Bat Drool!  they are guaranteed to make you buy a shot gun loaded w/LSD & shoot Jonathan Swift as he walks between the crack in the sidewalks & unscrews air caps on 1928 Rolls Royce Limousines.  they are guaranteed to . . . HELL!  do I have to go thru all this fantasy just to avoid using the word “GREAT”?! 

JB
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Let the Man Talk: The Beacham Show at Boo-Hooray: Are You Listening?

April 7, 2013, 9:25 am
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I have been talking about and talking up Jon Beacham for years.  It is not really necessary on my part.  As this interview (with Joshua Beckman) for Guernica Magazine proves, he can do just fine for himself.  See http://www.brooklynrail.org/2013/02/books/joshua-beckman-and-jon-beacham-with-erika-anderson.  It is a fantastic interview which revolves around their collaboration project Porch Light but spins off into interesting directions from there.  The interview gives one of the best articulations I have seen to date of Beacham’s philosophy of printing and art.  I laugh writing that, as Jon would tell me I am full of shit.  Philosophy!  Art!  The Art of Printing!  Jon wrestles with such things in his conversation and in his work.  I have been reading Douglas Blazek’s OLE very closely of late and you see that same low tolerance for bullshit with Blazek.  Blaz wrote in an introduction to OLE, “To hell with artiness and pretentiousness.”  That could be Jon talking. 

But fortunately or unfortunately the bullshit is true.  Like Blazek, Jon is “arty” and his work is pretentious if that means his work is steeped in literary and artistic history.  If it means that Jon knows what he is doing (and not doing) and knows who he is and what his work is about.  Blazek and Bukowski were pretentious for sure.  The difference between Beacham and the leisure poets that Blazek and the Meat School hate so much is that Beacham talks the talk and walks the walk.  See http://thebrotherinelysium.com/.  His work is a way of life, not a lifestyle.  The reference here is to Burroughs and Junkie.  Beacham’s work is quite simply the axis around which his life revolves.  Everything feeds back into it.  Everything relates to it.  Beacham, like Burroughs in Junkie, is paranoid and obsessed. 

If Jon can speak for himself, his work speaks volumes as well.  I think the Boo-Hooray show will bear this out.  See http://www.boo-hooray.com/thebrotherinelysium/.  The art gallery is a forum that allows Jon’s work to express itself in the courtly environment of the market.  I would prefer hearing Jon riff or blow at the bookstore in Beacon or in a loft or in a print shop but that is another matter I will address later.  What the show at Boo-Hooray suggests this that there is an audience out there that is receptive to listening to Jon and the work.  I certainly hope so because talking to Jon over the past five to six years and listening to the work which I have been lucky to obtain (which is the time period covered by the show) has been some of the most insightful and rewarding conversations I have had.

JB
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Crossing Streams

May 4, 2013, 6:51 pm
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Jason Davis has come through yet again and sent me a ton of images of Mimeo Revolution classics that were not feature in Secret Location.

From Jason:

LONG DONGS, edited by d.a. levy
Cleveland: 7 Flowers Press, 1966
First edition, stapled sheets tipped into printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8.5″, 30 pages, 300 copies, letterpress and mimeograph, cover art by Beorna, contributors: Joe Nickell, Steve Richmond, Douglas Blazek. (T&H P-77; DenBoer A1)

"This is Blazek's first book appearance (A1 in DenBoer's Blazek bibliography even though I suppose it's an anthology of sorts). While it's not the first published intersection of Blazek and levy (Blazek appeared in the M Quarterly #2, and #4 in 1965 and they appeared together in multiple mags together that year including Blitz#2, Border Vol.1, No.3,Gooseberry Vol.1, No.2, Input 5, and more; levy also appeared in Ole 2 in the same year), it's the first non-periodical appearance for Blazek, a milestone, and one wrought by levy... long dongs indeed..."

levy and Blazek cross streams here and like in Ghostbusters such a merger is powerful stuff.  The results could literally destroy the universe.  Long Dongs is described as a Blazek stopper.  It is a wonder that such categories actually exist.  Yet there is a Blazek bibliography so there are Blazek collectors.  The experience of reading through Ole tells me that this is as it should be.  Blazek, like Sanders and Berrigan, is a mimeo icon.  Likewise Long Dongs is a mimeo classic.

JB
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levy As Folk Art

May 4, 2013, 7:12 pm
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THE MARRAHWANNA QUARTERLY, Vol. 1, No. 1

Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1964
First edition, stapled sheets with printed cover, 150 copies, letterpress. Contributors include: Russell Salamon: V (AFTER PYNCHON), John Keys: PRESCOTT VIA HUDSON, d.a. levy: SHIPENSBURG, Roberta E. Badger: PLEASE, Margaret Randall: THE BROKEN GLASS BEGINS TO WHOLE ITSELF, Marvin Malone: THE PROFESSIONAL, Ann: FALL, J. Cornillon: POEM, Dave Rasey: MIDWESTERN MANIFESTO, Erik Kiviat: [UNTITLED POEM], d.a. levy [print]: YOU MURDERERS WITH YOUR INDIFFERENCE, Allen Katzman: THE TRANSGRESSION, George R. Beck: TWO BROTHERS, Judson Crews: MEDICAL SCIENCE, Pat Crayton: [untitled print] (Lowell B2, T&H P-38)

Is it an insult to d.a. levy to think of his printing efforts in terms of folk art?  Why should that thought come to me?  Is levy a naive artist?  Does his youth imply a certain immaturity?  A lack of sophistication?  A lack of talent?  I do not think so.  Nobody says this of Ed Sanders or Ted Berrigan.  Fuck You, a magazine of the arts and C:  A Journal of Poetry are now viewed as high art.  They are bought, sold and displayed in New York galleries.  Is it because levy is from Cleveland and outside of the art capital of the world?  Maybe it is more accurate to view levy as outsider art, like that of Henry Darger.  levy as obsessive.  His printing the product of madness and compulsion.  Can all the publications of the Mimeo Revolution be viewed in the same terms?   

JB
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Polluted Lake Series

May 4, 2013, 7:18 pm
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Atkins, Russell. DISTANT THE SOUND, Polluted Lake Series, No. 1
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers, 4.25" x 6", 12 pages, letterpress. (T&H P-43)

Cook, Geoffrey. “WOUND...”, Polluted Lake Series, No. 2
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers, 2" x 5", 16 pages, letterpress. (T&H P-44)

Albrecht, Erik. “OH4286AW...”, Polluted Lake Series, No. 3
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers, 5" x 4.5", 12 pages, letterpress, cover art by Dave Williams. (T&H P-45)

Taylor, Kent. “MIST...”, Polluted Lake Series, No. 4
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers, 5.5" x 4.5", 12 pages, letterpress. (T&H P-46)

Salamon, Russell. CONFLICT IN SONATA FORM, Polluted Lake Series, No. 5
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers, 5.5" x 4.5", 12 pages, letterpress. (T&H P-47)

levy, d.a. "ASTER F..., Polluted Lake Series, No. 6
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers, 5.5" x 4.5", 12 pages, letterpress. (T&H P-48)

Morgan, Edwin. SCOTCH MIST, Polluted Lake Series, No. 7
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers, 5.5" x 2", 16 pages, letterpress. (T&H P-49)

Houedard, Dom Sylvester. VIENNA CIRCLES, Polluted Lake Series, No. 8
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers, 5.5" x 2.5", 12 pages, letterpress. (T&H P-50)

Dogin, Sam. SHIT TARGET, Polluted Lake Series, No. 9
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled wrappers made from wallpaper, 6" x 8.75", 2 pages, photocopy. (T&H P-51)

Cornillon, Susan Koppelman. SUSAN UNDER JOHN, Polluted Lake Series, No. 10
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers made from wallpaper, 5" x 3.5", 12 pages, letterpress. (T&H P-52)

Denis, Alan [pseud. d.a. levy]. SLEEP, FOR SAINT RONALD JUMP, Polluted Lake Series, No. 11
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled printed wrappers, 8 pages, 4.5" x 2", letterpress. (see Lowell B3, T&H P-53)

dagmaR. SHADOWS OVER LAKE ERIE, Polluted Lake Series, No. 12
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled wrappers made from wallpaper, 4.75" x 4", 8 pages, letterpress and mimeograph. (T&H P-54)

Reference: Kent Taylor and Alan Horvath's Bibliographies (Kirpan Press, 2006, 2008)

JB
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Marketing Blitz

May 5, 2013, 7:49 am
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"Scarce, with OCLC showing only two institutional holdings."  So touts a rare book dealer in marketing Blitz, a mimeo mag out of La Grande, Oregon from 1964-1966, edited by Mel Buffington and Bobby Watson.  I am not going to lie, information on Blitz is scarce.  According to Christopher Harter's Index, there were three  issues.  From what I can gather the magazine initiated out of a university campus like so many mimeos of the period.  In this case, the campus in question is Eastern Oregon University.

I have been collecting for over 20 years and I must admit that bookseller references to the OCLC always confuse me.  What does the above reference to two institutional holdings mean?  It does not refer to Blitz #1 or #2 as those issues are in multiple institutions. It must mean the complete run.  The University of Colorado - Boulder and University of Wisconsin - Madison have the run.  Most other institutions do not even acknowledge the existence of Blitz #3.  Strangely, Utah State has just Blitz #3, in its Charles Potts Collection.

Blitz #1 and #2 have Bukowski appearances so they will never be impossible to obtain.  By 1964-1965, Bukowski was already collectible, so I am sure issues are sitting around in personal libraries, to say nothing of the almost 20 institutions that have Blitz #1 and/or Blitz #2.  Furthermore, Allen Ginsberg and da levy appear in Blitz #2.  Again two highly collectible poets.  Collectors and institutions were following Ginberg's every move by 1965.

Clearly Blitz #3 is the "scarce" issue, with a possible shift in editorship as Jan Kepley becomes involved.  If a complete run is in only two institutional holdings, then say so.  Do not imply that Blitz #1 and Blitz #2 are completely off the radar of institutions and collectors.  True rarity is a truly rare thing.  As it should be.

JB
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AMERICAN BOOK REVIEW

May 9, 2013, 3:26 pm
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MIMEO MIMEO #8 CURATORS' CHOICE

May 9, 2013, 6:59 pm
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Mimeo Mimeo #8, The Curators’ Choice Issue, went to press today with essays by: Steve Clay; Wendy Burk; Tony White; Brian Cassidy; Thurston Moore; J.A. Lee; Michelle Strizever; Adam Davis; Michael Basinski; Joseph Newland; Alastair Johnston; Tate Shaw; Michael Kasper; Steve Woodall; Molly Schwartzberg; Nancy Kuhl; James Maynard; and Various Authors from Utah. http://mimeomimeo.blogspot.com/
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The Marrahwanna Quarterly

May 19, 2013, 11:14 am
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THE MARRAHWANNA QUARTERLY, Vol. 1, No. 1
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1964
First edition, stapled sheets with printed cover, 150 copies, letterpress. Contributors include: Russell Salamon: V (AFTER PYNCHON), John Keys: PRESCOTT VIA HUDSON, d.a. levy: SHIPENSBURG, Roberta E. Badger: PLEASE, Margaret Randall: THE BROKEN GLASS BEGINS TO WHOLE ITSELF, Marvin Malone: THE PROFESSIONAL, Ann: FALL, J. Cornillon: POEM, Dave Rasey: MIDWESTERN MANIFESTO, Erik Kiviat: [UNTITLED POEM], d.a. levy [print]: YOU MURDERERS WITH YOUR INDIFFERENCE, Allen Katzman: THE TRANSGRESSION, George R. Beck: TWO BROTHERS, Judson Crews: MEDICAL SCIENCE, Pat Crayton: [untitled print] (Lowell B2, T&H P-38)


THE MARRAHWANNA QUARTERLY, Vol. 1, No. 2 

Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1964-5
First edition, stapled sheets with printed cover, 150 copies, letterpress. Contributors include: Tuli Kupferberg: [untitled poem], D. Blazek: [untitled poem], R. Blossom: [untitled poem], John Cornillon: THE FELLAHEEN PRICK TO D.A. LEVY, d.a. levy [disguised as (e)y(e)]: SHIT POEM FOR THE MYSTERIOUS ANNBURGHERS, Szabo: JERK OFF POEM, Marguerite Harris: METAPHYSIC, Kent Taylor: A GRANDFATHER’S SPEECHES, Katherine Wasil: [untitled print], Steve Richmond: SOFT RAIN, D. Blazek: [untitled poem], S. Richmond: [untitled poem], d.a. levy: SATORI WHILE PRAYING IN THE BATHROOM, Marguerite Harris: [untitled poem], cuz: [untitled print], Kent Taylor [untitled print] (Lowell B2, T&H P-42)



THE MARRAHWANNA QUARTERLY, Vol. 1, No. 3 
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled sheets with printed cover, 200 copies, letterpress. Contributors include: Ferguson [print]: VEGETABLE DOOR, Grace Butcher: [2 untitled poems], Russell Salamon: [untitled poem], W.E. Wyatt: TANKA, Jeff A. Cook: THE UGLIEST MAN, Joe Nickell: HOT, George Bowering: THE SIMILE, Ferguson [print]: THE NEW DANCE. (Lowell B2, T&H P-55)


THE MARRAHWANNAH QUARTERLY, Vol. 1, No. 4
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1965
First edition, stapled sheets with printed cover, 200 copies, letterpress cover, mimeograph. Contributors include: Charles Bukowski short story: THE HELL OF IT IS..., E.K.Albrecht: MONDAY MORNING COFFEE • HAIKU, Thom Szuter: THREE POEMS, d.a.levy: FRAGMENT FROM THE NOTEBOOKS..., Gonzalo Arango: NADAIST MANIFESTO, Freda Norton: IN VACANT ROOMS... • CONSECRATED • WHERE HAS SHE GONE?, Roger Sauls: THREE POEMS FROM THE ASYLUM, Douglas Blazek: PROSE POEM ON WHY SHOUT? • MIND IF I PUT IT STAIGHT FOR ONCE? • A GIANT "S" AND A BOLT OF LIGHTENING, Art Rosh: TWO POEMS. (Lowell B2, T&H P-56)


THE MARY JANE QUARTERLY, Vol. 2, No. 1
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1966
First edition, stapled sheets with printed cover, 200 copies, letterpress cover, mimeograph. Issue dedicated to Guru Ronald Jump, imprisoned for poverty. Book review by levy (?) of Charles Bukowski’s Confessions of a Man Insane Enough to Live with Beasts. Contributors include: Kent Taylor: MAY 6, 1965 • NOVEMBER 18, 1965 • AUGUST 22,1965, Diane Wakoski: DISCREPANCIES, Robert Lowry: THE MIDWAY STOP, Sergio Mondragón: CONTACTO DE LOS DEDOS • RIESGO, Margaret Randall: PREPARATION OF THE AUDIENCE • RETRATO, Joe “Ace” Walker: SCHIZOPHRENIA, John Mongomery: A GENESIS FOR MODERNS • FOR CAROL • THE COLORATURA NOTE, Grace Butcher:THE FLATS • CAVE, John Harriman: THE HASHHISH POEMS, d.a.levy editorial: HATE RAYS, A SORT OF SWAN SONG OR A LETTER TO TOMORROW FROM THE CLEVELAND MERRY-GO-ROUND • FRAGMENTS FROM THE NOTEBOOKS... • PEYOTE ONVOCATION (FOR THE GREEN FOX HIDDEN IN THE EYE), Carl Larsen: FRACTIONS OF LIGHT..., George Montgomery: SATURDAY NIGHT PRAYER, Bremser, levy, Larsen. (Lowell B2, T&H P-83)


THE MARIJUANA QUARTERLY, Vol. 2, No. 2
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1966
First edition, stapled sheets with printed cover, 200 copies, letterpress cover, mimeograph. This issue is dedicated to John Sinclair. Contributors include: Ray Bremser: A SELECTION OF POEMS OF MADNESS, Allen Katzman: POEMS FROM OKLAHOMA, Rolla Rieder: GENISIS: A SURREALIST LINE SEQUENCE • FOR GENE FOWLER, D.R.Wagner: LETTER NO.16... • THE OLD UP THE RIVER... , Irene Schram: E TRAIN • FROM UNDER THOSE GRAVE BLOCKS • I DREAM OF HORSES • HOLD , d.a.levy: EDITORIAL WRITTEN ON THE ‘DAY OF THE KIF LION’ • SITTING ON A BENCH NEAR TSQUARE , Richard Barker: ON OUR WAY TO MEXICO • FOR KEN KESEY... , Bill Wyatt: THOUGHTS ON HAN SHAN • ANOTHER WINTER, John Cornillon: untitled (“HARD COLD TAR...”) • POEM WRITTEN BY A POET..., Jacob Leed: THROUGH THE DOOR • untitled (“WHITE MOON, WHITE SNOW...”), rjs: untitled (“CHILDREN WAKE UP...”) • untitled (“MY FRIEND SAYS...”), George Montgomery: UPON SEEING SONNY AND CHER, Russell Atkins: FRONT PAGE • SPYRYTUAL, Barbara Holland: THE HOUSE OF ICE, Matt Shulman: untitled (“I AWAITED HIS ARRIVAL...”), Allen Planz: POOR WHITE, Kitty Estrella: UNTITLED POEM, Aurelia Ford: MABEL MOCKINGPOOCH. (Lowell B2, T&H P-84)


THE MARIHUANA QUARTERLY, Vol. 2, No. 3
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1966
First edition, stapled sheets with printed cover, 200 copies, letterpress cover, mimeorgraph. This issue is dedicated to Big Leonard “who recently discorporated & went to heaven...”. Contributors include: maRa, Carl Woideck, Thom Szuter, Kent & Joan Taylor, The Albrechts, Joe Walker, and d.a. levy:A CONCRETE POEM PROJECT #1, Bill Bisset: untitled (“TH MYSTERY OF SPACE DEEPENS...”), E.R. Baxter: LISTEN RIVER, David Sandberg, Steve Ferguson: POEM FROM STEVE, Donald Thomas, Al Dimenstein: I GOT THE HAPPINESS BLUES, D.R. Wagner: MAN CAUSED BY VIRUSES, Sid Rufus, Walter Lowenfels: A PASSAGE FROM A COMING BOOK, George Montgomery: INVOLVEMENT, Alex Gildzen: SUMMER SUNDAY IN KENT, Brother James: LINES, Lady Char: SOCIETY, W.E. Wyatt:HASH DYNASTY, d.a. levy: RECTAL EYE VISION • LINES FOR LADY JANE, Don Thomas. (Lowell B2, T&H P-85)


THE MARIJUANA QUARTERLY, Vol. 2, No. 4
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1966
First edition, stapled sheets with printed cover, mimeograph, contributors include: Allen Ginsberg: A GLASS OF AYAHUASCA, D.r. Wagner: CHAPTER CXLIV, T.L. Kryss [untitled], Roger Sauls: WEED, Tristan Corbiere: OH, THAT? • GUITAR • TO MY MOUSE-COLORED MARE, Rene Char: from LEAVES OF HYPNOS, Carl Woideck: YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS, C.J. Torrance: DEATH SONG OF THE ASSASSIN, d.a. levy: additional sections for THE NORTH AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, Malcolm Hall: NOTES FOR A FUTURE SUICIDE, rjs: 8/18/1966 letter addressed to “local draft board”:LETTER #7. (Lowell B2, T&H P-86)


THE MARRAHWANNAH QUARTERLY, Vol. 3, No. 1

Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1967
First edition, stapled sheets, contributors include Kent Taylor: 11/30/66, d a levy: THE BROTHERHOOD OF BHANG • (ANOTHER FRAGMENT FROM THE DESTROYED JOURNAL 1965), T.L. Kryss: ABSENT LIGHT • TO CHARLES BUKOWSKI, David W. Harris: DOG HOWL FOR ME, Allen Ginsberg: May 26, 1960, Douglas Blazek: A PRIMER ON OPEN SKULL PRESSOLOGY, Joel Marc Deutsch: EYES - FOR KENT TAYLOR • LETTER OF INTRODUCTION • JUST CHECKING • I • MORNING SONG, 2 YRS LATER, Eugene Jolas: DAEMMERSPUK • I INTERVIEW LENIN • RIMBAUD AND THE CHAUFFEUR •PANOPTICON • AUSTRALIA • INCANTATIONS • HYMN • MOUNTAIN WORDS • PSALM • VINEYARD IN THE SUN, Brown Miller: DEATH & SUPER-DEATH, Dave Cunliffe: PEACE THERAPY WORKINGS,Steve Ferguson: POEM. (Lowell B2, T&H P-125)



THE KIF QUART-O or THE MAR*AHHHH-WANNNAH QUARTERLY, Vol. 3, No. 2
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1967
First edition, stapled sheets, cover silkscreen by T.L. Kryss, contributors include: E.R. Baxter, Kent Taylor: ATRO-CITY • A CALL TO ARMS • CLEAR AND COLD • EAST TO CLEVELAND • I FEEL LIKE SEVEN DAYS • 9-4-66 • ROAD LAND, George Dowden, David W. Harris, D.r. Wagner, Carl Woideck, d.a. levy: NOTES / VARIATIONS ON A SHORT POEM. (Lowell B2, T&H P-126)


THE MARRAHWANNAH QUARTERLY, Vol. 3, No. 3
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1967
First edition, stapled sheets, 200 copies, hand-painted cover, mimeograph. The concrete issue. Dedicated to “poet, publisher, martyr: r.j.s.” Contributors include: bp nichol: STATEMENT • OH... • MULTILIGUA • MOVIE BILL • HOMAGE TO EDMUND BERGLER, d.a. levy: WHY CONCRETE? • EMERGENCY CITY ORDINANCE • SOLAR SWASTIKA • VISUALIZED PRAYER FOR THE AMERICAN GOD #6, T.L. Kryss: MONSOOOOOOOOOON • I WISH I CD PLAYTHE BEAUTIFUL INSTRUMENT • BERT MILLER..., D.W. Harris: SIDE 10 • LIEBESTOD, Russell Atkins: A STORM SHALL BREAK, Adam Kadmon: EYE..., E.S. Harmon: A LETTRE FROM, Allen Ginsberg: CENSORSHIP OF LANGUAGE..., Bill Bissett: SUN... • MY LADY..., E.R. Baxter: HORE ON THIS PAGE..., rjs: LINES FROM A LAZY CONCRETE POET, J.D. Kuch: POME TO PETER ORLOVSKY. Bob Cobbing: WAN..., D.R. Wagner: PHANTON BEAVER FINDS MATE • SHAKING IT UP WITH WILL • LET’S ALL SING...,Ivo Vroom: BELGIAN, Mara: [untitled]. (Lowell B2, T&H P-127)


THE MARRAHWANNAH QUARTERLY, Vol. 3, No. 4
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1967
First edition, stapled wrappers, cover silkscreen by T.L. Kryss. Contributors include: d.a. levy section: COMMENTS ON THE ACID SCENE BY D.A. LEVY 1967. (Lowell B2, T&H P-128)


THE MARRAHWANNAH QUARTERLY, Vol. 4, No. 1
Cleveland: Renegade Press, Winter 1967-1968
First edition, stapled sheets glued into printed wrappers. Contributors include: T.L.Kryss:WHEN YOU GO TO SAN FRANCISCO • MOONLIGHT • WINTER RAIN AND PURPLE RAINBOW, Rolla Rieder: CREDIBILITY GAPOSIS • PLEASE DO NOT THROW... • COME-ON • ILLUSION, W.Y. Evans-Wentz: excerpt from TIBETAN YOGA & SECRET DOCTRINES, George Montgomery: TRIP, rjs: [untitled], levy: TANTRIC STROBE, THE SAUNDARYAKAHARI OR FLOOD OF BEAUTY, Jiri Valoch:TWO INTERLINGUISTIC POEMS. (Lowell B2, T&H P-162)


THE MARRAHWANNAH QUARTERLY, Vol. 4, No. 2
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1967-1968
First edition, stapled sheets, 200 copies. Contributors include: Don Thomas, Baxter, rjs. (Lowell B2, T&H P-163)

Special Thanks to Jason Davis

JB
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Don't Bogart That Joint

May 19, 2013, 12:21 pm
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Issue One of levy's legendary Quarterly.  One of the pleasures of sharing your stash is allowing others get a contact high.  Thanks to Hayes for the connection.

JB
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The Silver Cesspool

May 19, 2013, 1:40 pm
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THE SILVER CESSPOOL, Vol. 1, Contemporary American Haikus & Prints, edited by d.a. levy
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1963
First edition, stapled wrappers, 100 copies, letterpress, prints and cover art by Lester Czaban Jr. Contributors include: Jau Billera, Lester Czaban Jr., Russell Salamon, Kent Taylor. levy haikus: FAUSTIAN • IN VAN GOGH I VIEW • LOVE • MOMUMENT TO DEATH • EDGEWATER PARK • BALBOA PARK. (Lowell B1, T&H P-08)



THE SILVER CESSPOOL, Vol. 2, edited by d.a. levy
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1964
First edition, stapled wrappers, 100 copies, letterpress. Contributors include Russell Atkins, Jau Billera, Russell Salamon, Irene Schramm, Adelaide Simon, Kent Taylor], levy poem: THE RIVER. (Lowell B1, T&H P-34)


THE SILVER CESSPOOL, Vol. 3, edited by d.a. levy
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1964
First edition, stapled wrappers, 100 copies, letterpress. Contributors include Kent Taylor, Irene Schramm, Russell Atkins, Russell Salamon, Adelaide Simon. Levy poetry: AUTUMN LEAVES (FOR SUSAN) • TO CLEVELAND ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF A POET (FOR HADASSAH). (Lowell B1, T&H P-35)


THE SILVER CESSPOOL, Vol. 4, edited by d.a. levy
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1964
First edition, stapled wrappers, 100 copies, letterpress. Contributors include Judson Crews, Kirby Congdon, James D. Callahan, Rondald Caplan, Keith Davie, Lewis Turco, L.S. Torgoff. Rear-cover levy print: A NIGHT AT UXMAL, levy poem: POLLOCK. (Lowell B1, T&H P-36)



THE SILVER CESSPOOL, Vol. 5, edited by d.a. levy
Cleveland: Renegade Press, 1964
First edition, stapled wrappers, 100 copies, letterpress. Contributors include Ted Berrigan, Will Inman, Adelaide Simon, Kent Taylor. (Lowell B1, T&H P-37)

A Shout Out to Jason Davis.

JB
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HELP A BROTHER HELP HIS MOTHER

May 23, 2013, 3:25 pm
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Poets and publishers, CJ Martin and Julia Drescher, are two of many currently experiencing the aftershocks of last week’s tornado that ripped through Oklahoma and Texas.
Martin and his partner, Julia Drescher, are asking for your help as they assist CJ’s mom, who is uninsured and suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the storm, and as they put together a memorial for CJ’s father and grandmother, who were killed in the storm.
Please consider sending your support to CJ Martin and Julia Drescher’s family via this link: Tornado victims’ family in need of your help.

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Green Isle In The Sea

May 25, 2013, 10:00 am
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I had high hopes for this one.  I expected to be transported to secluded wonderlands far away from the tourist heavy Secret Location.  A world of mimeo travelers:  "He did not think of himself as a tourist; he was a traveler. The difference is partly one of time, he would explain. Whereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler, belonging no more to one place than to the next, moves slowly, over periods of years, from one part of the earth to another."  I was hoping for travelogues from those who lived the Mimeo Revolution, for whom the little mag was a way of life.

Instead of Burroughsian junkies of the word, there are too many talking assholes.  The best part of Green Isle in the Sea is its account of the worst aspects of the little magazine scene.  The bureaucracy of COSMEP and CCLM.  The committees, the grant applications, the conferences.  The backstabbing and the hand wringing.  The biting of the hand that offers the handout.  Many of the publishers in Green Isle lived for the little mag but by the late 1960s onward the mimeographer threatened to become the bureaucrat.  The little mag has nothing to do with earning a living.  The magazine ends when the publisher is left creatively and financially bankrupt.  It is ultimately a form of potlatch.  

Many people, including Phillips and Clay, argue that the Mimeo Revolution died with the election of Ronald Reagan and the massive cuts to government funding of the arts.  I would argue that the Mimeo Revolution sold out the minute it took what little money was available in the first place.  I would place the highwater mark at 1965, when a quarter of the little mags were actually mimeographed, before the little mag bureaucracy existed, when little mag directories were actually a part of the magazines themselves like in My Own Mag and OLE not separately published phonebooks, before the NEA encouraged poets to stop typing stencils and start filling in applications, when a magazine publisher had to put his/her own money where the breath originated in the first place, before Ed Sanders got on the cover of LIFE and broke the story of mimeo as lifestyle.

Green Isle in the Sea is subtitled "An Informal History of the Alternative Press, 1960-1985," but it seems to me that for many of that period's magazines there was far too much obsession with forms.

JB
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Little Magazines: The Product of a Wasted Life

May 26, 2013, 7:50 am
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Once an interviewer asked, “It says in Contemporary Southern Poetry that you are a prolific poet.  What causes you to write so many poems?”  My answer:  “I have suffered.  I was an introvert in the Tampa public school system.”
My torment as an alien in an extroverted school system began my urge to edit a little magazine.  I wanted a tangible revenge on a society whose values I despised.
                                                                                    Duane Locke
                                                                                    Editor University of Tampa Poetry Review

Sounds like Duane was stuffed in a locker or two back in the day when he was working on the yearbook staff.  Not sure if this is the best reason to start a little mag but, sadly, it is a common one.  Duane’s tangible revenge is subjecting readers, such as myself, to his “600 poems in over 400 different little magazines, a number of anthologies, and 12 small press books of poetry.”  That was the count back in 1986, I am sure he is still churning out his Lovesongs as a cure to his boyhood torments.

Until Jason Davis sent me a cover image of Duane’s review, I knew nothing about it, but the mimeo format caught my eye.  It is strange to see a university publication come in the form of a true mimeo production.  Strange enough that I will have to keep a look out for these early mimeographed issues to see what he was doing back then.  To hear, Duane tell it, the magazine did not get much support from the university.  Duane got a paycheck from the University of Tampa, but oh, the cost, the cost.  “I do not want anything around to remind of my servitude and sentence.  I have already started inking out all except ‘Poetry Review.’”  For an introverted guy, Duane is quite vocal in airing his grievances.  The University did not shut him down and some form of his little mag ran in the cultural backwater of the Sunshine State from 1962 til seemingly forever, which makes me think he must not have been publishing anything that interesting.  But what do I know?

Mr. Happy Face himself has appeared in some interesting places.  Blazek printed him in OLE.  He did not stand out in the OLEs I read, but Blazek saw something in him, which is a vote in his favor as far as I am concerned.  Referring to Harter’s index, Duane appeared in Grist, Mimeo, Black Sun, The Wormwood Review, Poets at Le Metro, Ghost Dance, Zahir, Blitz, Moonstones, The Goodly Co., Software, Dream Sheet and Avalanche.  I have not read a single one of these mags.  I find this as proof of the depth and diversity of mimeo publications.  Just when you think you have a grip on the scene, a whole new world opens up. 

Green Isle in the Sea documents some of this world.  I must say that for the most part I could give two shits about the magazines Green Isle featured but the essays are fascinating.  I really enjoyed it and learned quite a bit.  Track down a copy pronto.  I have scanned some of Duane’s essay for you to enjoy.  It is too good to miss.  I hope this teaser encourages you to buy Green Isle.  The Bobby McFerrin of the mimeo world is great company on a pleasant Sunday morning.  All sunshine and rainbows.  “At the University of Florida, the leading literary scholars came to see me and begged me not to go to the University of Tampa, saying that I would waste my life at such a place.  At the time, I did not fully understand what the phrase waste your life meant, but now that I have wasted my life by teaching at the University of Tampa, I understand the phrase fully.”  Now I prefer the bouquet of FUCK YOUs from Fuck You , a magazine of the art to the University of Tampa Poetry Review any day of the week, but Duane’s essay in the Green Isle is every bit as sweet smelling in its raising of the stink finger to the University of Tampa.  A classic.  Highly recommended.  I love this guy.  Maybe we can snort some Zoloft together.  “The effects of snorting Zoloft are painful and severe.  If snorted not only does it taste bad, but it also causes severe pain in the nostrils, sinus cavity, ear, and head.”  Good times!!!


JB
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She Works Hard for the Money

May 27, 2013, 5:34 am
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Work it, girl!!  You gotta love Carol Berge, the hardest working woman in the mimeo biz.  Like Tina Turner.    Here is a flyer that accompanied Center 11 in 1978.  For $100, Carol would "sleep in your house, sit by your fire, and sell my books."  A full set of Center 1-11 would only cost you an extra $75 on top of the fee to watch Carol sleep.  Just weeks ago you could watch Tilda Swinton sleep for free!  But Carol sleeps with such flair.  The $75 was a bargain because by 1986 full sets of  thirteen issues were $350.  And issue 4 was a facsimile!!!  Not even a set of true first printings.  Carol did not sell herself cheap.

In Center 11, Carol proudly announced the receipt of a $3500 grant to print that issue and the next one (she received a NEA/CCLM grant of "only" $850 for Center 10, down from her previous grant of $1500), but that did not prevent her from reminding her contributors that they were "expected to buy a copy of the magazine.  As suggested in new coda.  Any ms. received which gives evidence that writer has not read #11 will be returned posthaste without comment."  I guess contributor had to send Carol there $3.00 and a nicely typed book report.  WITH A CLEARLY ARTICULATED TOPIC SENTENCE!!!!  SSAE, of course.

So big deal, Carol wants contributors to buy the mag.  Well, Issue 10 had 125 contributors.  At $3 a head, that is a cool $375.  So she could buy herself a full set of her own mag and have $25 left over to pay her contributors, because Carol always paid her contributors.  I thought it was a generally accepted rule of the little magazine world that contributors got a free copy.  You know, a little something for the effort.  Big hitter the Lama.  Maybe not, but Carol's plan makes it look like she is running a pyramid scheme or something.  Gotta give her credit, she is always hustling.

Carol is the first to suggest that she is doing you a solid.  "If any CENTER contributor wants such a set, I will sell for $20, less if you are low on funds; you can always resell to a school or library in your area for $50 when you need money."  Rule number one of book collecting:  It is not an investment strategy.  Take that $350 investment for a run of Center in 1986.  That is about $750 in 2013.  That is a nice chunk of change for a run of a little magazine, especially considering that I just pulled together a complete set of Center, with the supplement of December 1983, for about $225.  So in 1986, you lost money investing in Carol.

I am clearly making fun of Berge and her magazine which is not really fair.  In fact, Center is a remarkable mag for printing purely fiction in a mimeo-type format.  Fiction usually gets the shaft in the mimeo world, but all this hustling surrounding Center seems to me to indicative of the weaknesses of the little magazine scene of the 1970s.  The committees, the organizations, and the grants made the little magazine a business.  (I know, it always was, my beloved Fuck You, a magazine of the arts is the ultimate example of that.  But correct me if I am wrong, but Sanders financed that business himself and even better he made it a truly successful underground multi-media organization.  I still like to think that the early mimeographers were purists.  Berman is Love is Art is God.  It is one of many lies that gets me through the day.)  A really unprofitable one, mind you, but like collecting cans for the returns, a business nonetheless.  And did all these committees and organizations really bring people together??  It seems like it created a lot of competition and an unofficial tax structure on little mag editors and contributors.  Besides Carol's cover required to pass the velvet rope of her mag, I would suspect that there were fees and dues for all these committees and organizations not to mention all the time, money and effort it takes to fill out all the forms and applications for these grants.  Pursuing grants is a full time job, believe me I live near Washington DC.  I think that the little magazine world took their eyes off the prize of publishing a little mag by going after all that low hanging fruit.  Maybe the Reagan Years did not destroy the little magazine at all as usually suggested but instead got rid of all but the true believers.  What does not kill you makes you stronger.

JB
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Hot Times in the City

May 27, 2013, 4:41 pm
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Gary Lenhart, Michael Scholnick, and Greg Master received a grant from the CCLM in order to finance the final issue of Mag City, which was dedicated to Edwin Denby.  Gets me thinking if there is a relation between government funds and the format of a little magazine.  Mag City changed format after receiving the grant, going for what I would suspect the editors felt was a more professional look.  I wonder if grant money standardized magazine formats.  Was there a little magazine out there that received a grant and used that money to complicate or experiment with the magazine format.  Like if Mag City would have gone all Aspen or Semina after receiving the cash flow.  I am not aware of that happening but it may have.

Ironically it seems to me that lack of funds forces magazine editors to get creative with their formats.  Berman would be a case in point.  Ted Berrigan is another.  The fourth issue of C A Journal of Poetry was also an Edwin Denby issue and that issue, printed with what I would suspect was minimal funding, is far more interesting than the Mag City special issue.  Berrigan could not produce a magazine like Locus Solus because he did not have the means (This is an assumption on my part.  Locus Solus looks more expensive, maybe that is just because it looks French.)  The use of mimeo and silkscreening created not a standard little mag but an art object.  Of course, it helps that Andy Warhol was involved.  The C edition of Denby strikes me as much more of a celebration of Denby, more in the spirit of things, than Mag City's slicker edition.

I would have preferred if Lenhart and company would have continued with their standard format for the Denby issue.  That format links back to Berrigan and C and would provide a cool historical backdrop.  I guess it could be argued that Mag City, and United Artists, Rocky Ledge or any number of third generation New York School magazines are just derivative Cs but I for one love that format.  And it seems to me that Berrigan's signature look came about from the necessity of doing things cheaply.  Yet working within those constraints generated a design of considerable richness.  A look that influenced legions of little magazines that followed after it.

JB
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May 28, 2013, 12:35 pm
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