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Painters and Poets Together: The Folder Story

Masquerade

Kite Flying Party

Hartigan, Rivers, and O'Hara

"Meditations in an Emergency"

Painters Pay Tribute to Frank O'Hara

Continued Interest in the New York School

Painters and Poets Collaborate

An Explosion of Magazines

Biographies

Selected Bibliography

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Imagination: The 2006 Syracuse Symposium

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An Explosion of Magazines

Not likely to be embraced by (and not seeking the approval of) the editorial boards of the academic literary quarterlies, the New York School of painters and poets collaborated on a number of little magazines that featured graphics, poetry, and prose intended largely for circulation among the avant-garde artists’ community. Featuring the work of graphic and literary iconoclasts John Ashbery, Kenward Elmslie, Jane Freilicher, Barbara Guest, Kenneth Koch, Frank O’Hara, Larry Rivers, and James Schuyler, Locus Solus and Art and Literature (both printed in France in the early to mid-1960s) were the most substantial and formal of the little magazines.

At the other end of the spectrum, and almost entirely limited in their subscriptions to their contributors, C: A Journal of Poetry, Floating Bear, Measure, and Yugen were among the avalanche of hastily produced and graphically unsophisticated publications issued during the late 1950s and through the mid-1970s. Distributed through such legendary venues as the Phoenix Book Shop, these and other products of the “mimeo explosion” (such as Adventures in Poetry, the Boston Eagle, Broadway, the Harris Review, World, and Z) were, at least in part, supported by the Poetry Project of St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery.

	C: A Journal of Poetry was published in New York City by Lorenz Gude beginning in May of 1963. The general editor was Ted Berrigan. It usually appeared monthly or bimonthly but was also released seasonally. Number thirteen of volume two is displayed. This was edited by Ron Padgett and incorporated cover art by Joe Brainard.
C Comics was published in New York City by Lorenz Gude beginning in 1964. Joe Brainard was the editor and did nearly all the drawings. The cover of number two (undated) proclaims it “A Boke Press publication.”
	Nadada was published in August of 1964 (number one) and October 1965 (number two) in New York City. The publisher and editor was Timothy Baum; Gerard Malanga is listed as “Editorial Associate.” Number one featured “Contemporary American Poets.”
Semi-Colon began in 1954 and was published irregularly by the Tibor de Nagy Gallery in New York City. It was edited by John Bernard Myers. The issues are undated; number three of volume one is displayed.
	Measure was published between 1957 and 1962, with publication suspended from 1959 to 1961. The place of publication varied: number one was published in Boston; number two was published in San Francisco; and number three was released in Milton, Massachusetts. The editor was John Wieners. Number one from the summer of 1957 is displayed.
Yugen, edited by LeRoi Jones and Hettie Cohen, was published (quarterly, but irregularly) in New York City from 1958 to 1962 and was printed by Troubador Press. According to the editors, “Yugen means elegance, beauty, grace, transcendence of these things, and also nothing at all.” The first issue, which was copyrighted in 1958, is displayed.
	The Floating Bear: A Newsletter was published in New York City between 1961 and 1969. Diane di Prima was the editor and published thirty-seven “monthly” volumes during those eight years. The Christmas 1963 issue with the cover by Al Leslie is displayed.
Art and Literature, “an international Review” was published quarterly in Lausanne, Switzerland, by the Société anonyme d’éditions littéraires et artistiques from 1964 to 1967. The editorial board included John Ashbery. Number one from March of 1964 is displayed.
	Z was published by Z Press in Calais, Vermont, from 1974 to 1977. There were six numbers, which were distinguished from one another by the placement of an additional Z in the title. It was edited by Kenward Elmslie and “published via The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church In-The-Bowery,” in New York City. ZZZ (or number three), copyrighted in 1974, is displayed.
Long Hair Magazine was published in 1965 by Lovebooks Ltd. in London, England, with only one issue (number one of volume one). The editor is listed as “Miles,” with Ted Berrigan cited as the “New York Editor.”
	Locus Solus began publication with number one in the winter of 1961 and ended with number five in 1962. Only one hundred copies were copyrighted by Locus Solus Press in Lans-en-Vercours (Isère), France. It was printed by Graficas Miramar, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The editors were John Ashbery, Kenneth Koch, Harry Matthews, and James Schuyler. Number one, edited by James Schuyler, is displayed.

The Hasty Papers was edited and published in New York City by Alfred Leslie in 1960 as “A one-shot review.” The table of contents is enlarged and reproduced above.

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