Tag Archives: Cid Corman

Loujon Press

Jon and Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb. Photographer unknown.

In the Fall of 1961, Jon and Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb published the first issue of their avant-garde poetry and prose magazine, The Outsider. Handset and letterpress printed, the journal straddled the line between traditional books and modern works of art, and the journal made an outsized impact on the literary world, shining a light on the talents of Beat Generation, Black Mountain and other avant-garde and counterculture poets, writers, and artists of the era.

In all, Loujon Press published three issues of The Outsider (one a double issue), and two books each by poet Charles Bukowski and novelist Henry Miller. These publications received at least as much praise for their quality as physical artifacts as they did for the poems and prose that made up their editorial matter. It seems like a small catalogue, but the remarkable artistry, craftsmanship, and pioneering spirit have earned the press a much larger place in history.

As art writer Nathan Martin commented, “Loujon operated during a particular moment in the history of artistic publishing in America … and remains a distinctive and compelling entity at the intersection of fine-press publishing, counterculture literature, and the French Quarter from which it emerged.”


Loujon Press Checklist:

1. The Outsider, Vol. 1, No. 1, edited by Jon Edgar Webb
New Orleans: Loujon Press, Fall 1961
First edition, side-stapled and bound into printed and photo-illustrated wrappers, 6” x 9”, 101 pages, 3100 copies, letterpress printed with handset type on a C&P handpress by Jon and Louise Webb. Associate Editor: Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb; Advisory Editors: Marvin Bell, Margaret Randall, Jory Sherman, Edwin Morgan, Melville Hardiment, Sinclair Beiles; Consultant: Walter Lowenfels; illustrations: F. Salantrie.

  1. Ephemera:
        1. Prospectus. 5.75” x 17.75” sheet folded once to make four pages, lists contributors and includes order form.
  • Offprints:
      1. Corso, Gregory. “The American Way” [offprint of page 9] [1]
      2. Bukowski, Charles. “A Charles Bukowski Album” [offprint of pages 47-54] (Krumhansl 6)
      3. Miller, Henry. Letters To Lowenfels. [offprint of pages 63-66] [2] (Shifreen & Jackson A140)
      4. Burroughs, William S. Operation Soft Machine. [offprint of pages 73-77] [3]
      5. McClure, Michael. Spontaneous Hymn To Kundalini [offprint of page 46] [4]
  • Contents:
    1. Edson, Russell. “Editorial” – 1:1, 3
    2. Webb, Jon Edgar. “The Editor’s Bit: Public Square” – 1:1, 4
    3. Beiles, Sinclair. “Metabolic C Movies” – 1:1, 5
    4. Gordon, Stuart. “Metabolic C Movies” – 1:1, 5
    5. Corso, Gregory. “The American Way” – 1:1, 9
    6. Webb, Jr., Jon Edgar. “A Peek Over The Wall” – 1:1, 15
    7. Giudici, Ann. untitled [“Be careful when you step…”] – 1:1, 17
    8. Giudici, Ann. untitled [“I was a child…”] – 1:1, 17
    9. Giudici, Ann. untitled [“Can you pause and stay…”] – 1:1, 18
    10. Di Prima, Diane. “Lord Jim” – 1:1, 19
    11. Grant, John. “On The Dot” – 1:1, 20
    12. Haines, Paul. “…Had Spent Laughing” – 1:1, 23
    13. Snyder, Gary. “Xrist” – 1:1, 24
    14. Turnbull, Gael. “A Hill” – 1:1, 25
    15. Olson, Charles. untitled [“Borne down by…”] – 1:1, 26
    16. Dorn, Edward. “Like A Message On Sunday” – 1:1, 27
    17. Ginsberg, Allen. “The End (to Kaddish)” – 1:1, 28
    18. Orlovsky, Peter. “Snale Poem” – 1:1, 29
    19. Hughes, Langston. “Doorknobs” – 1:1, 30
    20. Martinez, Juan. “Work Song” – 1:1, 31
    21. Sorrentino, Gilbert. “Ave Atque Vale” – 1:1, 35
    22. Lowenfels, Walter. “Good-Bye Jargon, Elegy for a Small Press” – 1:1, 36
    23. Lowenfels, Walter. “Welcome Home to Cubby” – 1:1, 37
    24. Corman, Cid. “Post Mortem” – 1:1, 38
    25. Corman, Cid. “Sempre D’amore” – 1:1, 38
    26. Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. “Underwear” – 1:1, 39
    27. Bremser, Ray. “On Prevalence” – 1:1, 42
    28. Randall, Margaret. “Series of Seven” – 1:1, 43
    29. Brand, Millen. “Swinging Off Swamp Creek” – 1:1, 44
    30. Creeley, Robert. “The End of the Day” – 1:1, 45
    31. Creeley, Robert. “Mind’s Heart” – 1:1, 45
    32. Creeley, Robert. “The Bird” – 1:1, 45
    33. McClure, Mike. “Spontaneous Hymn to Kundalini” – 1:1, 46
    34. Bukowski, Charles. “Hooray Say The Roses” – 1:1, 48
    35. Bukowski, Charles. “Pay Your Rent or Get Out” – 1:1, 48
    36. Bukowski, Charles. “Shoes” – 1:1, 49
    37. Bukowski, Charles. “I Am With the Roots of Flowers” – 1:1, 50
    38. Bukowski, Charles. “Go With the Rockets & the Blondes” – 1:1, 51
    39. Bukowski, Charles. “A Real Thing, a Good Woman” – 1:1, 51
    40. Bukowski, Charles. “To a High Class Whore I Refused” – 1:1, 52
    41. Bukowski, Charles. “Old Man, Dead in a Room” – 1:1, 52
    42. Bukowski, Charles. “Love in a Back Room on the Row” – 1:1, 53
    43. Bukowski, Charles. “Nothing Subtle” – 1:1, 53
    44. Bukowski, Charles. “And Then: Age” – 1:1, 53
    45. Sward, Robert. “Momma–, Mountain” – 1:1, 55
    46. Ristau, Harland. “M’sippi Town” – 1:1, 56
    47. Wilson, Colin. “Some Comments On The Beats & Angries” – 1:1, 57
    48. Sherman, Jory. “Dear Liz” – 1:1, 60
    49. Hedley, Leslie Woolf. “Naked In My Century” – 1:1, 62
    50. Miller, Henry. “Letters To Lowenfels” – 1:1, 62
    51. Jones, LeRoi. “The Southpaw” – 1:1, 67
    52. Jones, LeRoi. “Bo Peep” – 1:1, 67
    53. Jones, LeRoi. “X” – 1:1, 67
    54. Jones, LeRoi. “Boswell” – 1:1, 68
    55. Jones, LeRoi. “Dr. Jive” – 1:1, 68
    56. Bell, Marvin. “Portrait of a Skeleton” – 1:1, 69
    57. Bell, Marvin. “Winter Poem” – 1:1, 69
    58. Epstein, Lester. “Demonstrate Your Culture…” – 1:1, 70
    59. Epstein, Lester. “Moment” – 1:1, 71
    60. Epstein, Lester. “Cold Coffee” – 1:1, 71
    61. Zahn, Curtis. “Reprimand For A Compromised Love-Object” – 1:1, 72
    62. Burroughs, William S. “Operation Soft Machine” – 1:1, 74
    63. Kaja. “from: The Emerald City, For Gregory Corso” – 1:1, 78
    64. Crews, Judson. “Rel Bore Speng Lule” – 1:1, 79
    65. Crews, Judson. “Pastoral” – 1:1, 79
    66. Thompson, Tracy. “Stranger” – 1:1, 79
    67. Carroll, Paul. “What Did Your Face Look Like…” – 1:1, 80
    68. Oden, G. C. “Lay Your Head Here” – 1:1, 81
    69. May, James Boyer. “The Salutary Snare, for Colin Wilson” – 1:1, 82
    70. Schleifer, Marc D. “Here & There, for Marian’s Show” – 1:1, 82
    71. Pfisterer III, Frederick. “Dolorous Somewhere Behind” – 1:1, 83
    72. Frumkin, Gene. “The Fat Pigeon” – 1:1, 84
    73. Williams, Jonathan. “The Big House, For Sherwood Anderson” – 1:1, 84
    74. Corrington, William. “Hard Man” – 1:1, 85
    75. Boyle, Kay. “Print from a Lucite Block” – 1:1, 85
    76. Blackburn, Paul. “Death Watch: Veille D’hiver” – 1:1, 86
    77. Eshleman, Clayton. “Red Shoes (from Songs For Exile)” – 1:1, 86
    78. Kupferberg, Tuli. “Great” – 1:1,87
    79. Moraff, Barbara. “A Little Spur” – 1:1, 88
    80. Abrams, Sam. “Bodies Only” – 1:1, 88
    81. McGuire, Terence. “Mid-Morning” – 1:1, 88

2. The Outsider, Vol. 1, No. 2, edited by Jon Edgar Webb
New Orleans: Loujon Press, Summer 1962
First edition, side-stapled and bound into printed and photo-illustrated wrappers, 6” x 9”, 112 pages, 3100 copies, letterpress printed on a 8″ x 12″ C&P new series motorized press by Jon and Louise Webb. Associate Editor: Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb; illustrations: Ben Tibbs, Frank Salantrie, Malcolm Paul Newman.

  • Offprints:
      1. Burroughs, William S. Wilt Caught In Time. [offprint of pages 3-4] [4]
      2. Miller, Henry. The Henry Miller To Lowenfels Letters. [offprint of pages 73-80] 2 (Shifreen & Jackson A140)
  • Contents:
    1. Burroughs, William S. “Wilt Caught In Time” – 1:2, 3
    2. Masters, R. E. L. “Editorial” – 1:2, 5
    3. Webb, Jon Edgar. “The Editor’s Bit” – 1:2, 6
    4. Bukowski, Charles. “Sick Leave” – 1:2, 7
    5. Johnson, Kay. “from: The Fourth Hour” – 1:2, 8
    6. Oppenheimer, Joel. “A Long Way” – 1:2, 10
    7. Oppenheimer, Joel. “The Present” – 1:2, 11
    8. Nemerov, Howard. “The Iron Characters” – 1:2, 13
    9. Edson, Russell. “There Was” – 1:2, 14
    10. Eigner, Larry. untitled [“the sky cross the desert…”] – 1:2, 15
    11. Eigner, Larry. untitled [“visiting yesterday…”] – 1:2, 16
    12. Eigner, Larry. untitled [“An easy death…”] – 1:2, 17
    13. Eigner, Larry. untitled [“all these cripples…”] – 1:2, 18
    14. Eigner, Larry. untitled [“that’s odd…”] – 1:2, 19
    15. Dorn, Edward. “The Argument Is” – 1:2, 20
    16. Corso, Gregory. “Poems From Berlin, First Week’s
    17. Impression” – 1:2, 21
    18. Bremser, Ray. “On The Nature” – 1:2, 24
    19. Mayes, Richard. “Lament” – 1:2, 28
    20. Johnson, Kay. “Poems From Paris” – 1:2, 29
    21. Frumkin, Gene. “The Poet On His Lunch Hour” – 1:2, 34
    22. Morgan, Edwin. “Jean Genet: A Legend, To Be Legible” – 1:2, 35
    23. Hollo, Anselm. “They Fatted The Calf” – 1:2, 40
    24. Stoloff, Carolyn. “Something Diseased” – 1:2, 42
    25. Jacobson, David B. “Lecture” – 1:2, 42
    26. Bukowski, Charles. “To A Lady Who Believes Me Dead” – 1:2, 43
    27. Johnson, Kay. “Quick, Someone’s Coming” – 1:2, 44
    28. Webb, Jon Edgar. “Suddenly Over” – 1:2, 45
    29. Major, Clarence. “Dream In Ruins” – 1:2, 45
    30. Field, Edward. “Ah, Linger A While, Thou Art So Fair” – 1:2, 46
    31. Mason, Mason Jordan. “Mysterious As Any Woman Be” – 1:2, 47
    32. Hazard, Geoffrey. “The Dubliner” – 1:2, 47
    33. Moraff, Barbara. “Dear Solomon” – 1:2, 48
    34. Musial, Frank. “Room” – 1:2, 48
    35. Giudici, Ann. “Remember?” – 1:2, 49
    36. Oden, G. C. “Low Calvary” – 1:2, 49
    37. Bell, Marvin. “Pipecleaner, For Thin Dorothy” – 1:2, 50
    38. Kaja. “from: The Emerald City, For Gregory Corso” – 1:2, 50
    39. Genet, Jean. “from: Le Pecheur Du Suquet” – 1:2, 52
    40. Purdy, A. W. “Love Poem” – 1:2, 53
    41. Madaio, Louise. “The Wine Is Red (from Black Olives)” – 1:2, 55
    42. McGrath, Thomas. “from: Letter To An Imaginary Friend” – 1:2, 59
    43. Corrington, William. “Surreal For Lorca” – 1:2, 61
    44. Williams, Jonathan. “The Anchorite” – 1:2, 62
    45. Lowenfels, Walter. “Editorial” – 1:2, 64
    46. Lamantia, [Philip]. “Last Days Of San Francisco” – 1:2, 66
    47. Kerouac, Jack. “Sept. 19, 1961 Poem” – 1:2, 68
    48. Margoshes, Dave. “Denise Levertov” – 1:2, 71
    49. Margolis, William J. “from: The Mendicant Notebook, Vi (For Maxine)” – 1:2, 72
    50. Miller, Henry. “The Henry Miller To Lowenfels Letters” – 1:2, 73
    51. Finlay, Ian Hamilton. “Art Student” – 1:2, 81
    52. Tagliabue, John. “Now And Then In The Fluorescence A Slight Jerking Motion” – 1:2, 82
    53. Tagliabue, John. “’I Got Important Contacts’ Willy Loman Says” – 1:2, 82
    54. Tagliabue, John. “Side Show / U.S.A.” – 1:2, 83
    55. Tagliabue, John. “Those Mysterious Events That Stir Us” – 1:2, 83
    56. Tagliabue, John. “Tall Blonde Girl And Ballet Dancer – 1:2, 83
    57. Patchen, Kenneth. “letter to the editor and untitled paintings” – 1:2, 84
    58. Micheline, Jack. “Street Call New Orleans” – 1:2, 94
    59. Allen, Richard B. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 97
    60. Borenstein, Larry. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 103
    61. Jaffee, Allan & Sandra. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 103
    62. Russell, Bill. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 104
    63. Hentoff, Nat. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 104
    64. Wilson, John S. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 107
    65. Sperling, Jr., Godfrey. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 107
    66. Hobson, Wilder. “Oldest of the Living Old” – 1:2, 107
    67. Giudici, Ann. “Didn’t He Ramble, For Steve Angrum” – 1:2, 111

3. The Outsider, Volume 1, Number 3, edited by Jon Edgar Webb
New Orleans: Loujon Press, Spring 1963
First edition, side-stapled and bound into printed and photo-illustrated wrappers, 6” x 9”, 138 pages, 2100 copies, letterpress printed by Jon and Louise Webb. . Associate Editor: Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb; illustrations: Jackson Hensley, Ben Tibbs, Frank Salantrie.

  • Offprints:
      1. Miller, Henry. The Henry Miller To Lowenfels Letters. [offprint of pages 79-85] [5]
  • Contents:
    1. Webb, Jon Edgar. “Editorial: The Editor’s Bit” – 1:3, 0
      Patchen, Miriam. “Letters to the editors” – 1:3, 2
      Patchen, Kenneth. “Editorial” – 1:3, 3
      Johnson, Kay. “The White Room” – 1:3, 7
      Snyder, Gary. “Some Square Comes” – 1:3, 15
      Snyder, Gary. “Madly Whirling Downhill” – 1:3, 15
      Kearns, Lionel. “Stress-Axis Poems” – 1:3, 16
      Creeley, Robert. “More On Kearns” – 1:3, 20
      Woolf, Douglas. “Visitation” – 1:3, 22
      McClure, Michael. ” -Three Mad Sonnets (from 13 Mad Sonnets)” – 1:3, 29
      Sward, Robert. “Donna Is Her Name” – 1:3, 31
      Sward, Robert. “Museum” – 1:3, 32
      Sward, Robert. “Mr Attis & Lady C” – 1:3, 31
      Burroughs, William. “Take It To Cut City – U.S.A.” – 1:3, 35
      Boyd, Sue Abbott. “Journey” – 1:3, 40
      Boyd, Sue Abbott. “The Following Morning” – 1:3, 40
      Weeks, Robert Lewis. “Grand Opening” – 1:3, 41
      Layton, Irving. “On Re-Reading The Beats” – 1:3, 42
      Genet, Jean. “A Colloquy (from Le Pecheur Du Suquet)” – 1:3, 44
      Fisher, Roy. “Chirico” – 1:3, 46
      Fisher, Roy. “Something Unmade” – 1:3, 47
      Webb, Jon Edgar. “The Girl There” – 1:3, 49
      Wakowski, Diane. “The First Day” – 1:3, 54
      Norse, Harold. “The Pine Cone” 1:3, 55
      Solomon, Carl. “The Madman In The Looking Glass” – 1:3, 56
      Cuscaden, R. R. “Charles Bukowski: Poet In A Ruined Landscape” – 1:3, 62
      Corrington, William. “Charles Bukowski: Three Poems” – 1:3, 66
      Bukowski, Charles. “The Tragedy Of The Leaves” – 1:3, 67
      Bukowski, Charles. “The Priest And The Matador” – 1:3, 68
      Bukowski, Charles. “Old Man, Dead In A Room” – 1:3, 71
      Bukowski, Charles. “The House” – 1:3, 72
      Bukowski, Charles. “Event” – 1:3, 73
      Bukowski, Charles. “Dinner, Rain & Transport” – 1:3, 74
      Bukowski, Charles. “Letters to the editors” – 1:3, 77
      Miller, Henry. “The Henry Miller Lowenfels Letters” – 1:3, 79
      Eigner, Larry. “Then:” – 1:3, 86
      Corrington, William. “Communion (from Prayers For Mass In The Vernacular)” – 1:3, 87
      Jouffroy, Alain. “Fatherland” – 1:3, 88
      Hollo, Anselm. “Thalidomide” – 1:3, 90
      Moraff, Barbara. “Two For Syd” – 1:3, 97
      Motley, Willard. “The Burial” – 1:3, 98
      Miller, Raeburn. “The Drowned Boy” – 1:3, 101
      Rubin, Larry. “Etiquette For Americans” – 1:3, 102
      Neish, Alex. “Review: Naked Lunch” – 1:3, 104
      Charters, Samuel B. “Jazz In New Orleans: 1899 To 1957” – 1:3, 109
      Borenstein, E. L. “Jazz In New Orleans: 1957 To 1963” – 1:3, 117

4. Bukowski, Charles. It Catches My Heart In Its Hands / New & Selected Poems 1955-1963
New Orleans: Loujon Press, October 1963
First edition, sewn signatures in printed wraparound jacket, designed and printed by Jon Edgar Webb and Louise Webb, introduction by William Corrington, illustration by Frank Salantrie, dedicated to “Gypsy Lou” Webb, 7.5” x 10”, 102 pages, 777 copies, letterpress printed, published as Gypsy Lou Series #1.
(Dorbin A5)

  1. Ephemera:
      1. Publication announcement: 5” x 10.25”, with Miller quote (Shifreen & Jackson B145)
  • Contents:
    1. “The Tragedy Of The Leaves”, “I Cannot Stand Tears”, “Shoes”, “A Real Thing, A Good Woman”, “To The Whore Who Took My Poems”, “Worm”, “The State Of World Affairs From A 3rd Floor Window”, “The Japanese Wife”, “For Marilyn M.”, “The Life Of Borodin”, “Winter Comes In A Lot Of Places In August”, “No Charge”, “Truth’s A Hell Of A Word”, “The Sun Wields Mercy”, “A Literary Romance”, “Reprieve And Admixture”, “Conversation In A Cheap Room”, “Letter From The North”, “Okay, But Later”, “A Minor Impulse To Complain”, “The Dog”, “Nothing Subtle”, “The Twins”, “The Day It Rained At The Los Angeles County Museum”, “2 P.M. Beer”, “Hooray Say The Roses”, “The Sunday Artist”, “Old Poet”, “To A High Class Whore I Refused”, “Dinner, Rain And Transport”, “Poem For These 4”, “Regard Me”, “I Am With The Roots Of Flowers”, “The Race”, “Vegas”, “Pay Your Rent Or Get Out”, “Love Is A Piece Of Paper Torn To Bits”, “The House”, “I Wait In The White Rain”, “The Kings Are Gone”, “It Is Not Much”, “Side Of The Sun”, “The Talkers”, “A Pleasant Afternoon In Bed”, “9 Rings”, “Blasted”, “A Song For Sadists With A Place To Sit Down”, “The Priest And The Matador”, “Love And Fame And Death”, “My Father”, “People Come Thru…”, “The Gift”, “The Bird”, “The Singular Self”, “Counsel”, “The Ox”, “Wrong Number”, “Sundays Kill More Men Than Bombs”, “A Farewell Thing While Breathing”, “A Rat Rises”, “A 350 Dollar Horse And A Hundred Dollar Whore”, “Bull”, “I Write This Upon The Last Drink’s Hammer”, “The Virgins Of Christmas”, “I Think Of Hemingway”, “Old Man, Dead In A Room”

5. Bukowski, Charles. Crucifix In A Deathhand / New Poems 1963-65
New York: Lyle Stuart, April 1965
First edition, sewn signatures in printed wraparound jacket, designed and printed by Jon Edgar Webb and Louise Webb, etchings by Noel Rockmore, dedicated to Marina Louise Bukowski, 8.5” x 12.25”, 102 pages, 3100 copies, letterpress printed, published as Gypsy Lou Series #2.
(Dorbin A6)

  1. Ephemera:
      1. Publication announcement: 5.25” x 10”, with Miller quote (Shifreen & Jackson B164)
      2. Order form: 5” x 8.25”
  • Contents:
    1. “Sound Down the Street”, “I Think of Mice Cooling It”, “Butterfly”, “Sing to Gods or Kangaroos”, “View from the Screen”, “Not with Boldness”, “Crucifix in a Deathhand”, “When the Berry Bush Dies I’ll Swim Down the Green River with My Hair on Fire”, “Mother and Son”, “Sunflower”, “Grass”, “Fuzz”, “Seahorse”, “A Report upon the Consumption of Myself”, “No Lady Godiva”, “The Workers”, “Beans with Garlic”, “Mama”, “Machineguns, Towers and Timeclocks”, “Good Morning, Brother, How Are You?”, “Something for the Touts, the Nuns, the Grocery Clerks and You”, “The Loss, The Loss, The Loss”, “Sway with Me”, “Lack of Almost Everything”, “No Argument”, “No. 6”, “This”, “Don’t Come Round but if You Do”, “Startled Into Life like Fire”, “Stew”, “Qp”, “Lilies in My Brain”, “Itch, Come and Gone”, “I Am Dead but I Know the Dead Are Not Like This”, “Swept Away in Orangepeel And Whistle Yowl”, “At the End of Feet The Blackbird Walks”, “Let Them Go”, “Like a Violet in the Snow”, “All I Ask Is a Faint Chance”, “Letter from Too Far”, “See this Flower!”, “Pansies”, “I Was Born to Hustle Roses Down the Avenues of the Dead”, “Farewell, Foolish Objects”, “Man in the Sun”, “I Kneel”, “The Swans Walk my Brain in April it Rains”, “The Girls on Sunset Blvd.”, “Woman”, “Confession for those Who Do Not Breathe at Funerals”, “Like All The Years Wasted”, “They, all of Them, Know”, “A Nice Day”.

6. Miller, Henry. Order And Chaos Chez Hans Reichel
Tucson: Loujon Press, December 1966
First edition, perfect bound in printed wraparound jacket in printed slipcase, leather editions bound by the Schuberth Bookbindery of San Francisco, introductory statement by Karl Shapiro, introduction by Lawrence Durrell, photograph of Miller by Ina Paulandre tipped in, 9” x 9.75”, 87 pages, 1425 copies, letterpress printed, published as Gypsy Lou Series #3.
(Shifreen & Jackson A157a-g)

  1. Variant Issues:
      1. Crimson Oasis limited issue: 26 lettered copies signed, quarter leather binding (Shifreen & Jackson A157a)
      2. Blue Oasis limited issue: 99 copies signed, quarter leather binding (Shifreen & Jackson A157b)
      3. Cork issue: 1399 copies (Shifreen & Jackson A157c)
      4. Orange Oasis limited issue: 3 copies (Shifreen & Jackson A157d)
      5. Black Oasis limited issue: 11 copies lettered using letters to spell HENRY MILLER, quarter leather binding, bound in postcard from Miller to Jon Webb (Shifreen & Jackson A157e)
      6. Green Oasis limited issue: 11 copies lettered using letters to spell HENRY MILLER, quarter leather binding (Shifreen & Jackson A157f)
      7. Cork issue: 26 lettered copies (Shifreen & Jackson A157g)
  1. Ephemera:
      1. Publication announcement: 20” x 26” featuring a photograph of Miller and his bicycle (Shifreen & Jackson B181)
      2. Award announcement: 8.5” x 10”, printed in brown ink, TDC [Type Director’s Club] awards for typography, type direction, and design (see Shifreen & Jackson A157c)
      3. Award announcement: 8.5” x 9”, same as above but printed in blue ink and with slightly different text

7. The Outsider, Vol. 2, No. 4/5, edited by Jon Edgar Webb
New Orleans: Loujon Press, Winter 1968-69
First edition, issued in both wrappers and hardcover in printed dust-wrapper and photo-illustrated paper wrappers, 7.25” x 10.25”, 200 pages, 500 copies. Associate Editor: Louise “Gypsy Lou” Webb, illustrations: Ben Tibbs, Frank Salantrie, Kelsie Harder. Laid into this edition is “a sprig of flora from within a mile of Geronimo’s grave”, picked by Gypsy Lou and sealed in wax paper with letterpress printed partial wrap-around band.

  1. Ephemera:
      1. Order form: 5” x 8.25”
  • Contents:
    1. Kaprow, Allan. “Moving, A Happening” – 2:4/5, 0
      Goodger-Hill, Trevor. “Editorial” – 2:4/5, 1
      Plymell, Charles. “In Kansas” – 2:4/5, 2
      Taylor, David. “Panda” – 2:4/5, 3
      Edson, Russell. “The Toy Maker” – 2:4/5, 19
      Edson, Russell. “The Cult” – 2:4/5, 19
      Perchik, Simon. untitled [“He Wants To Know…”] – 2:4/5, 20
      Perchik, Simon. untitled [“The Kids Were First…”] – 2:4/5, 20
      Major, Clarence. “Weak Dynamite” – 2:4/5, 22
      Wantling, William. “That Night” – 2:4/5, 24
      Bartlett, Elizabeth. “The Walnut Tree” – 2:4/5, 26
      Greenberg, Alvin. “Taking A Stand” – 2:4/5, 27
      Severy, Bruce. “How We Do Things” – 2:4/5, 28
      Severy, Bruce. “Mud” – 2:4/5, 28
      Severy, Bruce. “From 400 Yards” – 2:4/5, 28
      Goodger-Hill, Trevor. “A Personal History” – 2:4/5, 30
      Creighton, John. “Green Hides, Lines To A Pale Lady” – 2:4/5, 32
      Eigner, Larry. untitled [“March The Route…”] – 2:4/5, 35
      Eigner, Larry. untitled [“The Great American Ballot-Box…”] – 2:4/5, 36
      Bukowski, Charles. “Kaakaa & Other Imolations” – 2:4/5, 37
      Bukowski, Charles. “Beef Tongue, for J.T.” – 2:4/5, 39
      Bukowski, Charles. “Like A Flyswatter” – 2:4/5, 41
      Bukowski, Charles. “The Last Round” – 2:4/5, 42
      Di Prima, Diane. “From: Spring and Autumn Annals: A Celebration for Freddie” – 2:4/5, 45
      Levertov, Denise. “Late June 1968” – 2:4/5, 51
      Levertov, Denise. “Not to Have” – 2:4/5, 51
      Durrell, Lawrence. “?” – 2:4/5, 52
      Mccord, Howard. “Descent into Birth” – 2:4/5, 53
      Meltzer, David. “This is a Nation of Keepers Who Had No Time to Become Gods” – 2:4/5, 54
      Cooperman, Stanley. “New York: February, 1968” – 2:4/5, 55
      Cooperman, Stanley. “Cappelbaum’s Halloween” – 2:4/5, 56
      Katz, Steve. “One Kind of Tune” – 2:4/5, 58
      Katz, Steve. “& A More Similar Tune” – 2:4/5, 58
      Randall, Margaret. “Erongaricuaro, for My Friends at the Molino” – 2:4/5, 59
      Wright, Jay. “Pastel” – 2:4/5, 60
      Morris, Richard. “Foreword to Keslie Artwork” – 2:4/5, 61
      Harder, Kelsie. untitled [“Cartoons”] – 2:4/5, 61
      Hamburger, Michael. “Travelling” – 2:4/5, 77
      Stoloff, Carolyn. “Wind and the Earth” – 2:4/5, 79
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“It Came on Me…”] – 2:4/5, 80
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“An Old House…”] – 2:4/5, 80
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Oh It Wasn’t So Much…”] – 2:4/5, 81
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Too Many Years Pass…”] – 2:4/5, 82
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Leaving This Clumsy Town…”] – 2:4/5, 82
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Could I Believe…”] – 2:4/5, 83
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Heaped Between The Letters The Postcards…”] – 2:4/5, 83
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“The Madness Is Power And What…”] – 2:4/5, 83
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“I Spoke To Jenny…”] – 2:4/5, 84
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Legendary Men In The Forest…”] – 2:4/5, 84
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“And When They Killed Him…”] – 2:4/5, 84
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Finding New Bones…”] – 2:4/5, 85
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Some Jerk With Baltic-Brained…”] – 2:4/5, 86
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“This Tender Minute…”] – 2:4/5, 86
      Grapes, Marcus J. untitled [“Some Of Us…”] – 2:4/5, 87
      Haines, John. “Under The Barracks” – 2:4/5, 88
      Haines, John. “In The Styrofoam Mountains” – 2:4/5, 88
      Haines, John. “From The Rooftops” – 2:4/5, 89
      Kelly, Robert. “Landing Cod (From The Common Shore)” – 2:4/5, 90
      Gast, David K. “Teresa” – 2:4/5, 93
      Patchen, Miriam. untitled [“Letter To The Editors”] – 2:4/5, 94
      Sandberg, David. untitled [“Please Do Not Ring Or Knock…”] – 2:4/5, 96
      Thomas, Norman. untitled [“If You Visit Patchen…”] – 2:4/5, 97
      Antoninus, Brother. untitled [“Word Of The Outsider’s Homage…”] – 2:4/5, 98
      Ginsberg, Allen. untitled [“I Met Kenneth Patchen At City Lights…”] – 2:4/5, 99
      May, James Boyer. untitled [“Kenneth Patchen’s Physical Presence…”] – 2:4/5, 100
      Norse, Harold. untitled [“He Is Part Of Youth…”] – 2:4/5, 105
      Brand, Millen. untitled [“I Used To Know Kenneth In The Village…”] – 2:4/5, 106
      Macdiarmid, Hugh. untitled [“I Have Been To The United States…”] – 2:4/5, 108
      Glover, David. untitled [“I Recall The First Thing I Ever Read…”] – 2:4/5, 109
      Rexroth, Kenneth. untitled [“Kenneth Patchen Is One Of…”] – 2:4/5, 112
      Corrington, John William. untitled [“I Still Remember…”] – 2:4/5, 113
      Porter, Bern. untitled [“Kenneth’s Monumental…”] – 2:4/5, 116
      Detro, Gene. “Interview: Patchen Interviewed” – 2:4/5, 117
      Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. untitled [“Kenneth Patchen & E.E. Cummings…”] – 2:4/5, 129
      Yates, Peter. untitled [“Know Him, This Man…”] – 2:4/5, 129
      Meltzer, David. untitled [“Here Is A Man Speaking…”] – 2:4/5, 130
      Young, Lafe. untitled [“Now, Nostalgically, I Realize…”] – 2:4/5, 131
      Conroy, Jack. untitled [“Since My Friend Webb…”] – 2:4/5, 132
      Eckman, Frederick. untitled [“A Decade Ago In A Review…”] – 2:4/5, 133
      Miller, Henry. untitled [“The First Thing One Would Remark…”] – 2:4/5, 134
      Blazek, Douglas. “A Few Small Things” – 2:4/5, 138
      Enslin, Ted. untitled [“As If It Were My Eye…”] – 2:4/5, 139
      Purdy, Al. “The Jackhammer Syndrome” – 2:4/5, 140
      Shelton, Richard. “The Crossing” – 2:4/5, 142
      Shelton, Richard. “& The Scars Will Be Covered” – 2:4/5, 143
      Wild, Peter. “Engine” – 2:4/5, 144
      Wild, Peter. “Snake Skin” – 2:4/5, 144
      Wild, Peter. “Saturday Afternoon On Sugar Loaf Mtn” – 2:4/5, 145
      Miller, Brown. “The Dark Oval” – 2:4/5, 146
      Duberstein, Helen. “Joke” – 2:4/5, 147
      Flaherty, Douglas. “Mrs. Godkin’s Son” – 2:4/5, 148
      Wilson, Keith. “All The Vanished Faces” – 2:4/5, 149
      Wilson, Keith. “The Wind Dragon in Spring” – 2:4/5, 150
      Holland, Barbara A. “Dust-Devil Man” – 2:4/5, 151
      Fowler, Gene. “The Natural History of Woman” – 2:4/5, 152
      Frumkin, Gene. “Poem for Childhood” – 2:4/5, 157
      levy, d.a. “For The Pigs, Rats & Adorable other Beasts of Saintly Cleveland, O” – 2:4/5, 157a
      Merton, Thomas. “Tibud Maclay” – 2:4/5, 158
      Bly, Robert. “Blown-Up German Fortifications Near Collioure” – 2:4/5, 159
      Norse, Harold. “Return to Pompeii” – 2:4/5, 160
      Gardien, Kent. “Poem Based on a List by Luis Bunel” – 2:4/5, 161
      Higgins, Dick. “Four Degrees” – 2:4/5, 164
      Antin, David. “Sociology” – 2:4/5, 166
      Hollo, Anselm. “Bouzouki Music” – 2:4/5, 168
      Krauss, Ruth. “Drunk Boat” – 2:4/5, 169
      Kryss, T.L. “Circus” – 2:4/5, 170
      Kryss, T.L. “The Withered Lemming of the River” – 2:4/5, 170
      Dowden, George. “Morning Song for My Girl by the Sea” – 2:4/5, 171
      Brown, Michael. “The Seventh Month” – 2:4/5, 172
      Kandel, Lenore. “Muir Beach Mythology / September” – 2:4/5, 173
      Perchik, Simon. “Four Photo-Poems” – 2:4/5, 174
      Shustak, Larence. untitled photography – 2:4/5, 175
      Knowles, Allison. “Journal of the Identical Lunch” – 2:4/5, 182
      Williams, Emmett. untitled [“North is this Way…”] – 2:4/5, 184
      Mac Low, Jackson. untitled [“Peace of Resembling…”] – 2:4/5, 186
      Johnson, Kay. “The Emerald City, For Gregory Corso” – 2:4/5, 188
      Cocteau, Jean. “Creation Before Life” – 2:4/5, 190
      Johnson, Ray. “Face Collage” – 2:4/5, 192
      Hansen, Al. “Gat” – 2:4/5, 193

8. Miller, Henry. INSOMNIA OR THE DEVIL AT LARGE
Albuquerque, Loujon Press, 1970
First edition, portfolio case with photo-illustrated sliding lid and housing 12 printed reproductions of Miller watercolors and a spiral bound book, 7 separate issues planned but far fewer were reportedly produced, published as Gypsy Lou Series #4.
(Shifreen & Jackson A175a-h)

  1. Variant Issues:
      1. Issue A: 12 copies, with 12 prints plus an original watercolor and book all signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175a)
      2. Issue B: 26 lettered copies, with 12 prints inscribed to the buyer and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175b)
      3. Issue C: 192 copies [planned but likely that no more than 10 were published], with 12 prints and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175c)
      4. Issue D: 192 copies [planned but likely that no more than 10 were published], with 9 of 12 prints and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175d)
      5. Issue E: 192 copies [planned but likely that no more than 10 were published], with 6 of 12 prints and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175e)
      6. Issue F: 192 copies [planned but likely that no more than 65 were published], with 3 of 12 prints and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175f)
      7. Issue G: 192 copies [planned but later increased to 385], with 12 prints unsigned and the book signed by Miller (Shifreen & Jackson A175g)
      8. Economy Issue: 199 copies, with 12 prints and the book without the box (Shifreen & Jackson A175h)
  1. Ephemera:
      1. Publication announcement: 19” x 25” (Shifreen & Jackson B213)

Notes:
[1] Though not present in Robert Wilson’s Corso bibliography, this offprint has been examined.
[2] According to a Ken Lopez catalog entry, his copy of the Miller offprint is seven unbound leaves printed on both sides from volumes 1 and 2 of The Outsider and published in a set of 200 in 1963. However, Shifreen & Jackson describe the sets as 13 unbound leaves printed on rectos only.
[3] Listed in Michael McClure’s own online bibliography and confirmed by Denise Enck of Empty Mirror Books, though not present in any printed bibliography to date.
[4] First reference to the Burroughs offprints appear in Jon Edgar Webb: The Editor’s Bit and Obit by Nicky Drumbolis and are further discussed in Signatures, also by Nicky Drumbolis. Subsequent research turns up no extant copies and in later correspondence with Drumbolis, he adds, “In my Signatures study, I infer that the Burroughs piece ‘Operation Soft Machine/Cut’ may have been issued, based on layout; acknowledging further, that no copy had been recorded by Maynard and Miles.”
[5] While the existence of this offprint and another containing the full set of Miller letters from the first 3 issues of The Outsider are noted in Jon Edgar Webb: The Editor’s Bit and Obit, no evidence of these offprints has been identified.


References consulted

Dorbin, Sanford. A Bibliography of Charles Bukowski
Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1969

Drumbolis, Nicky. Jon Edgar Webb: The Editor’s Bit & Obit
Toronto: ECS, 1993

Drumbolis, Nicky. Signatures
Toronto: Letters, n.d.

Krumhansl, Aaron. A Descriptive Bibliography of The Primary Publications of Charles Bukowski
Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1999

Maynard, Joe and Barry Miles. William S. Burroughs: A Bibliography, 1953-73
Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1978

Shifreen, Lawrence J. and Roger Jackson. Henry Miller: A Bibliography of Primary Sources
Ann Arbor: Roger Jackson, 1993

Wilson, Robert. A Bibliography of Works By Gregory Corso 1954-1965
New York: The Phoenix Bookshop, 1966

The Divers Press Checklist

>> return to THE DIVERS PRESS main page >>

A. Books published by The Divers Press:

1. Blackburn, Paul. PROENSA
First edition:
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, June 1953
Hand-sewn and bound into illustrated wrappers, 56 pages, 7.25″ x 11″, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. (Woodward A18)

In the Divers Press Prospectus, Robert Creeley writes, “Proensa is a bilingual edition of the work of seven Troubadours (including Piere Vidal, Sordello, and Bertran de Born). So far as we know, it is the only book of its kind now available. The re-creation of a past time is never very simple, or as Blackburn wrote: ‘Pride, interest, self-love were all sins then. Today they have been transformed into virtues… All this means a problem in poetic craft, if one is so perverse as to attempt translation of medieval languages.’ Blackburn’s attempt succeeds in giving us poetry, not a trot.”

2. Creeley, Robert. THE KIND OF ACT OF
First edition:
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, May 1953
Hand-sewn and bound into illustrated wrappers, 6.25” x 7.25”, 24 pages, 250 copies, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. Cover by René Laubiès. (Novik A2)

In the Divers Press Prospectus, Robert Creeley writes, “The Kind of Act of is a collection of those poems written since the publication of Le Fou. I don’t know that they are better or worse, etc., but they came out of a time which was difficult, and needed statement of a kind which could hold both myself and them. The forms are, for the most part, tighter, i.e., more condensed.”

3. Eigner, Larry. FROM THE SUSTAINING AIR
First edition:
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, July 1953
Hand-sewn and bound into illustrated wrappers, 6.75” x 9”, 16 pages, 250 copies, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. Cover by René Laubiès. (Wyatt A2)

An excerpt from a letter to Robert Creeley from William Carlos Williams upon receiving Eigner’s FROM THE SUSTAINING AIR: “Eigner’s book is charming. I haven’t got such a relaxed feeling from anything in years. There is no tension whatever, but a feeling of eternity. It is hard to say how he achieved this in the world today. As far as I can see it comes from a perfect ear… Let me see anything he writes, it is contagious…”

4. Olson, Charles. MAYAN LETTERS
First edition:
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, January 1954
Sewn and perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 92 pages, 6.5″ x 8.5″, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. Preface by Robert Creeley. Contains 17 letters from Charles Olson to Robert Creeley written between February 18 and July 1, 1951. (Butterick & Glover A9)

In the Divers Press Prospectus, Robert Creeley writes, “Mayan Letters… is an altogether rare instance of culture morphology at work. It insists on the full complex of attentions involved, and proves no art can sustain itself free of a basic human contact. Which comments belie, perhaps, the intensely human character of the letters themselves.”

5. Layton, Irving. IN THE MIDST OF MY FEVER
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, February 1954
(Bennett & Polson A6)

6. Creeley, Robert. THE GOLD DIGGERS
First edition:
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, February 1954
Sewn and perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 144 pages, 5” x 6.75”, 500 copies, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. Cover by René Laubiès. (Novik A4)

7. Seymour-Smith, Martin. ALL DEVILS FADING
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, Spring 1954

8. Macklin, H.P. A HANDBOOK OF FANCY PIGEONS
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, May 1954

9. Kitasono, Katsué. BLACK RAIN: POEMS & DRAWINGS
First edition:
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, August 1954


10. Creeley, Robert. A SNARLING GARLAND OF XMAS VERSES
First edition:
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, 1954
100 copies, published anonymously (Novik A5)

11. Woolf, Douglas. THE HYPOCRITIC DAYS
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, January 1955

12. Blackburn, Paul. THE DISSOLVING FABRIC
First edition:
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, March 1955
Sewn and perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 24 pages, 6.5” x 8”, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. Cover by Dan Rice with silkscreen reporduction by Arthur Okamura. (Woodward A1)

13. Duncan, Robert. CAESAR’S GATE: POEMS 1949–1950
a. First edition, regular copies:
Palma de Mallorca: Divers Press, September 1955
Sewn and perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 24 pages, 6.75” x 8.75”, 200 copies, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. Illustrated by Jess Collins. (Bertholf A8a)

b. First edition, numbered copies:
Palma de Mallorca: Divers Press, September 1955
Sewn and perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 24 pages, 6.75” x 8.75”, 10 copies, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. Illustrated by Jess Collins. (Bertholf A8b)

c. First edition, lettered copies:
Palma de Mallorca: Divers Press, September 1955
Sewn and perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 24 pages, 6.75” x 8.75”, 3 copies, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. Illustrated by Jess Collins. (Bertholf A8c)


B. Books designed and printed by The Divers Press:

1. Olson, Charles. IN COLD HELL, IN THICKET
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, February 1953
Sewn and perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 62 pages, 7” x 8.5”, 500 copies, hand-set and printed by Mossén Alcover. Published as Origin 8 (Winter 1953) as part of the first series of Cid Corman’s long-running magazine. (Butterick & Glover A7)

2. Corman, Cid. THE PRECISIONS
New York: Sparrow Press, March 1955

3. Layton, Irving. THE BLUE PROPELLER
Montreal: Contact Press, 1955


C. The Divers Press ephemera:

1. PROSPECTUS OF THE DIVERS PRESS
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, 1953
Single sheet measuring 13.75″ x 6″ folded twice to make a 6-page booklet, letterpress printed by Mossén Alcover. (Novik 101)

Note by Creeley: “Printing is cheap in Mallorca, and for a small press like our own it means freedom from commercial pressures. It means, too, that we can design our books in a way that we want, since they are handset and made with an almost forgotten sense of craft. Above all, it is our chance to print what we actually like and believe in.” Creeley goes on to list several titles, the first four from the press, noting prices and distributors.

2. NEW BOOKS CATALOG
Palma de Mallorca: The Divers Press, Spring 1954
Single sheet measuring 4.75″ x 11.5″ folded twice to make a 6-page booklet, letterpress printed by Mossén Alcover.

Lists multiple forthcoming and previously published books by The Divers Press and includes names and addresses of distributors including Black Mountain College and Raymond Souster in Toronto.

3. CAESAR’S GATE PROSPECTUS
Black Mountain: Black Mountain College, 1955
Single sheet measuring 4.25″ x 6.25″, letterpress printed.

Text from Robert Duncan and Jess Collins holograph noting the various issues, limitations, and prices of the forthcoming book.


References consulted:

Bennett, Joy and James Polson. IRVING LAYTON: A BIBLIOGRAPHY 1935-1977
Montreal: Concordia University Libraries, 1979

Bertholf, Robert J. ROBERT DUNCAN: A DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY
Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1986

Butterick, George F. and Albert Glover. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS BY CHARLES OLSON
New York: The Phoenix Book Shop, 1967

Clay, Steven and Rodney Phillips. A SECRET LOCATION ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE: Adventures in Writing, 1960-1980
New York: New York Public Library / Granary Books, 1998

Novik, Mary. ROBERT CREELEY, AN INVENTORY 1945-1970
Kent: The Kent State University Press, 1973

Woodward, Kathleet. DOCUMENTS FOR NEW POERTY II: PAUL BLACKBURN: A CHECKLIST
San Diego: Archive for New Poetry, 1980

Wyatt, Andrea. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS BY LARRY EIGNER, 1937-1969
Berkeley: Oyez, 1970

The Divers Press

Prospectus of The Divers Press. Palma de Mallorca, 1953

Divers Press Checklist


[excerpt from Steve Clay and Rodney Phillips’ A SECRET LOCATION ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE. Granary Books, 1998]

Raising pigeons and chickens on a farm in Littleton, New Hampshire, Robert Creeley heard, through “a fluke of airwaves,” poet Cid Corman’s weekly radio program from Boston, “This Is Poetry.” Inspired, Creeley read on the program during a weekend in 1950 when he was showing chickens at the Boston poultry show. And so began a network of literary friendships that inspired a generation of poets (“A knows B, B knows C, and there begins to be increasing focus. And I think that we were curiously lucky that that focus was not literally a question of whether we were all living together or not.”). Galvanized, Creeley tried unsuccessfully to start his own little magazine, but ended up giving Cid Corman at Origin much of the material he had collected, including work by Denise Levertov, Paul Blackburn, and Charles Olson, to whom the first issue of Origin was devoted.

Against this background it is not surprising that Creeley, called “The Figure of Outward” by Olson, whom he met through Corman, would himself venture forth as a publisher in 1953 with Martin Seymour-Smith’s All Devils Fading. In addition to two volumes by Paul Blackburn and one each by Larry Eigner and Robert Duncan, in 1954 Creeley issued a volume of poems by Canadian poet Irving Layton and Japanese poet Katué Kitasono’s self-translated poems, Black Rain. The last volume he published, in 1955, was American novelist Douglas Woolf’s “painful rite of passage,” The Hypocritic Days. Creeley published his own The Kind of Act of in 1953 and A Snarling Garland of Xmas Verses and The Gold Diggers, both in 1954. In 1982, Creeley wistfully remembered the serious, edgy nature of the press: “I don’t recall that the Divers Press paid anybody anything—it was my first wife’s modest income that kept any of it going—and so our choices had to be limited to writers as existentially defined as ourselves.”

“What I felt was the purpose of the press has much to do with my initial sense of [The Black Mountain Review] also. For me, and the other writers who came to be involved, it was a place defined by our own activity and accomplished altogether by ourselves—a place wherein we might make evident what we, as writers, had found to be significant, both for ourselves and for that world—no doubt often vague to us indeed—we hoped our writing might enter… there had to be both a press and a magazine absolutely specific to one’s own commitments and possibilities. Nothing short of that was good enough.”

— Robert Creeley, Introduction to the AMS Press reprint (1969) of The Black Mountain Review

— Steve Clay and Rodney Phillips in A SECRET LOCATION ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE (Granary Books, 1998)