Tag Archives: Denise Levertov

little magazines

The Floating Bear

THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 24, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones (New York, September-October 1962)

The subtitle “A Newsletter” is the key to The Floating Bear’s chief contribution to literature of the 1960’s; it was a newsletter, a speedy line of communication between experimental poets. Diane di Prima, in the introduction to the reprint edition of Floating Bear, recalls Charles Olson’s tribute to the magazine: “The last time I saw Charles Olson in Gloucester, one of the things he talked about was how valuable the Bear had been to him in its early years because of the fact that he could get new work out that fast. He was very involved in speed, in communication. We got manuscripts from him pretty regularly in the early days of the Bear, and we’d usually get them into the very next issue. That meant that his work, his thoughts, would be in the hands of a few hundred writers within two or three weeks. It was like writing a letter to a bunch of friends.”

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little magazines

CALL IT BIG TABLE

BIG TABLE, No. 1, edited by Irving Rosenthal and Paul Carrol.

“Big Table was launched in Spring 1959 following the suppression of the Winter 1958 issue of The Chicago Review. An exposé in the Chicago Daily News revealed editors Irving Rosenthal’s and Paul Carroll’s plans to publish work by William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and other Beat writers, and the administration quashed the magazine…”

— from A Secret Location on the Lower East Side

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Big Table

“Big Table was launched in Spring 1959 following the suppression of the Winter 1958 issue of The Chicago Review. An exposé in the Chicago Daily News revealed editors Irving Rosenthal’s and Paul Carroll’s plans to publish work by William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and other Beat writers, and the administration quashed the magazine.

Rosenthal and Carroll, along with other Chicago Review editors, resigned and with the suppressed material started Big Table. The first issue was edited by Rosenthal and Carroll, though Carroll had to withdraw his name in order to avoid being fired by Loyola University where he was employed. This issue contained work by Jack Kerouac (who named the magazine in a telegram: “CALL IT BIG TABLE”), Edward Dahlberg, and Burroughs (a section from Naked Lunch), and was summarily impounded by the US Post Office.

The lawsuit was unsuccessful and Big Table continued through 1960 and five issues. Rosenthal left the magazine after the first issue and Carroll stayed on as editor for the duration, publishing such writers and artists as Paul Bowles, Antonin Artaud, Leon Golub, John Logan, Robert Duncan, Denise Levertov, Robert Fulton, Harry Callahan, Douglas Woolf, Aaron Siskind, Paul Blackburn, Franz Kline, Diane di Prima, and Gregory Corso.”

— from A Secret Location on the Lower East Side

1. BIG TABLE, No. 1, edited by Irving Rosenthal and Paul Carroll
Chicago: Big Table, Spring 1959
First edition, sewn signatures bound in printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 158 pages, printed by The Profile Press of New York.

  • Contents:
    1. Irving Rosenthal – “Editorial”
      Jack Kerouac – “Old Angel Midnight”
      Edward Dahlberg – “Further Sorrow of Priapus”
      Edward Dahlberg – “The Garment of Ra”
      William S. Burroughs – “Ten Episodes from Naked Lunch”
      Gregory Corso – “Power, for Allen Ginsberg”
      Gregory Corso – “Army”
      Gregory Corso – “Police”

2. BIG TABLE, No. 2, edited by Paul Carroll
Chicago: Big Table, Summer 1959
First edition, sewn signatures bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 124 pages. Cover art by Leon Golub.

  • Contents:
    1. John D. Keefauver – “The Daring Old Maid on the Flying Trapeze”
      Serge Essenin – “The Tramp’s Confession”
      Lawrence Alloway – “Heroes & Monsters & Mothers”
      Leon Golub – “Plate: Horseman”
      Leon Golub – “Plate: Burnt Man”
      Allen Ginsberg – “Kaddish”
      John Logan – “Fire”
      Antonin Artaud – Three Exhortations”
      Alan Ansen – “Anyone Who Can Pick Up a Frying Pan Owns Death”
      Paul Bowles – “Burroughs in Tangier”
      William S. Burroughs – “In Quest of Yage”
      Gael Turnbull – “The Priests of Paris”
      Brother Antoninus – “Zone of Death”
      Andre Breton – “Despair”
      Leon Golub – “Plate: Birth VII”
      Leon Golub – “Plate: Orestes”
      Edward Dahlberg – “Because I Was Flesh”
      Paul Blackburn – “The Signals”
      Margarita Liberaki – “Wedding”
      Leon Golub – “Plate: Abraham Lincoln”
      Leon Golub – “Plate: Columnar Head”
      Lawrence Ferlinghetti – “The Great Chinese Dragon”

3. BIG TABLE, Vol. 1, No. 3, edited by Paul Carroll
Chicago: Big Table, 1959
First edition, sewn signatures bound in printed and photo-illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 120 pages. Cover photograph by Aaron Siskind.

  • Contents:
    1. Allen Ginsberg – “Kaddish”
      John Rechy – “The Fabulous Wedding of Miss Destiny”
      Robert Duncan – “Evocation”
      John Ashbery – “How much longer will I be able to inhabit the Divine Sepulcher”
      John Ashbery – “April Fool’s Day”
      Aaron Siskin – “Terrors & Pleasures of Levitation: four plates”
      Edward Dahlberg – “Because I was Flesh”
      Robert Creeley – “The Way”
      James Wright – “A Whisper to the Ghost who woke Me”
      Paul Carroll – “Father”
      Norman Mailer – “Quick & Expensive Comment on the Talent in the Room”
      Paul Blackburn – “Banyalbufar”
      Edward Dorn – “The Air of June Sings”
      Renee Riese Hubert – “Sizes”
      Peter Orlovsky – “First Poem”
      Lawrence Ferlinghetti – “Her”
      Jean Genet – “The Beggars of Barcelona”

4. BIG TABLE, Vol. 1, No. 4, edited by Paul Carroll
Chicago: Big Table, Spring 1960
First edition, sewn signatures bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 144 pages. Cover art by Robert Fulton.

  • Contents:
    1. William S. Burroughs – “But is all Back Seat of Dreaming”
      Richard G. Stern – “Two Talking”
      John Ashbery – “Europe”
      Douglas Woolf – “Wall to Wall”
      Franz Kline – “Plate: Mister”
      John Logan – “from Monologues of The Son of Saul”
      Robert Creeley – “The Awakening, for Charles Olson”
      Robert Creeley – “The Wife”
      Robert Creeley – “The Memory”
    2. Robert Creeley – “The Snow”
      Harold Norse – “I Am in the Hub of the Fiery Force”
      Harold Norse – “The Fire Sermon”
      James Wright – “Snow Storm in the Mid-West”
      James Wright – “A Young One in a Garden”
      Lawrence Ferlinghetti – “New York – Albany”
      Paul Blackburn – “The Idiot”
      Paul Blackburn – “Homage to the Spirit”
      Frank O’Hara – “Les Luths”
      Frank O’Hara – “Joe’s Jacket”
      Robert Duncan – “Four Pictures of the Real Universe”
      Denise Levertov – “The Rainwalkers”
      Gregory Corso – “Rembrandt – Self Portrait”
      Gregory Corso – “Emily Dickenson”
      Gregory Corso – “Walk”
      Kenneth Koch – “Lunch”
      Allen Ginsberg – “Message”
      William Hunt – Song from the End of the Earth”
      Michael McClure – “Two Poems from a Small Secret Book”
      Bill Berkson – “Poem”
      Paul Carroll – “34′-23′-35′”
      Diane Di Prima – [untitled] “I am a woman and my poems…”
      Philip Lamantia – “Still Poem 8”
      Philip Lamantia – “Cool Apocalypse”
      David Meltzer – “from Notes for a History”
      Gary Snyder – “The Manichaeans”
      Leroi Jones – “For Hettie in her Fifth Month”
      Charles Olson – “Maximus, to Gloucester, Sunday, July 19”
      Robert Creeley – “Olson & Others”
      Allen Ginsberg – “Notes on Young Poets”
      Paul Blackburn – “Writing for the Ear”
      Paul Carroll – “Five Poets in their Skins”

5. BIG TABLE, Vol. 2, No. 5, edited by Paul Carroll
Chicago: Big Table, 1960
First edition, sewn signatures bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 128 pages. Cover art by Harry Callahan.

  • Contents:
    1. Douglas Woolf – “Stand Still”
      Frank O’Hara – “Naptha”
      Edward Dahlberg – “Because I was Flesh”
      Frederick Tristan – “The Bread Tree”
      Frederick Tristan – “The Whole Sea is yet to Come”
      Robert Duncan – “Apprehensions”
      Paul Bowles – “He of the Assembly”
      Kenneth Koch – “Farms’ Thoughts”
      John Rechy – “Between two Lions”
      Bill Berkson – “Poem for Frank O’Hara”
      Pablo Neruda – “Lone Gentleman” (trans. Clayton Eshleman)
      Pablo Neruda – “Death” (trans. Clayton Eshleman)
      John Updike – “Archangel”
      John Ashbery – “Night”
    2. John Ashbery – “A Last Word”
      Harold Rosenberg – “from Arshile Gorky”
      David Meltzer – “Rain Poem”
      David Meltzer – “Heroes: Zap, the Zen Monk”
      Alain Robbe-Grillet – “Scene”
      John Schultz – “Witness”

Online Resources:

From a Secret Location – Big Table

Reality Studio – Big Table

References Consulted:

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

Pocket Poets Series

>> return to CITY LIGHTS main page >>

This index collects the books published as part of The Pocket Poets Series

1. Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. PICTURES OF THE GONE WORLD
a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: City Lights Pocket Bookshop, November 1955
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers with printed wrap-around label tipped on, 5″ x 6″, 44 pages, 500 copies, letterpress printed by David Ruff. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 1.
(Cook 1)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: City Lights Pocket Bookshop, 1955
Hardcover in cloth-bound boards with printed label tipped on, 5.25″ x 6.25″, 44 pages, 25 copies, letterpress printed by David Ruff, bound by the Cardoza bindery. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 1.
(Cook 1)

Note: from the rear cover: “Pictures of the Gone World is the first volume in the Pocket Poets Series, in which it is planned to make available, in inexpensive form, work by such well known poets as e.e. cummings, Kenneth Patchen, Kenneth Rexroth, and William Carlos Williams, as well as poetry by younger less known writers who are also doing significant work in the modern idiom, whether it be ‘in the American grain’ or against it.”

2. Rexroth, Kenneth (translator). THIRTY SPANISH POEMS OF LOVE AND EXILE
a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: City Lights Pocket Bookshop, 1956
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers with printed wrap-around label tipped on, 4.75″ x 6″, 40 pages, 950 copies, letterpress printed. Designed by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Published as The Pocket Poets Series,  No 2.
(Cook 2)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: City Lights Pocket Bookshop, 1956
Hardcover in cloth-bound boards with printed label tipped on, 5″ x 6.25″, 40 pages, 50 numbered and signed copies, letterpress printed. Designed by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Published as The Pocket Poets Series,  No 2.
(Cook 2)

3. Patchen, Kenneth. POEMS OF HUMOR & PROTEST
a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: City Lights Pocket Bookshop, July 1956
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers with printed wrap-around label tipped on, 5″ x 6″, 48 pages, 1000 copies, letterpress printed by Villiers Publications in London. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 3
(Cook 3)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: City Lights Pocket Bookshop, 1956
Hardcover in cloth-bound boards with printed label tipped on, 5.25″ x 6.25″, 48 pages, 25 copies, letterpress printed by Villiers Publications in London, bound by the Cardoza Bindery. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 3
(Cook 3)

Note: this collection gathers 32 short poems from seven of Patchen’s earlier books, published during the 1940s and early 1950s.

4. Ginsberg, Allen. HOWL AND OTHER POEMS
First edition:
San Francisco: City Lights Pocket Bookshop, October 1956
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers with printed wrap-around label tipped on, 5″ x 6″, 44 pages, 1000 copies, letterpress printed at Villiers Publications in London. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 4
(Cook 4)

Note: The first printing lists Lucien Carr’s name on the dedication page. Later printings do not list his name, removed at his request. The hand-pasted wraparound paper label is only present on the first and second printings.

Ginsberg first read part of the poem at the Six Gallery reading on October 7, 1955. The second printing of Howl and Other Poems was seized by the U.S. Customs Office and shortly afterwards Ferlinghetti and Shigeyoshi Murao, manager of City Lights Bookshop, were arrested for selling and publishing obscene literature. Defended by the ACLU, the case was highly publicized and covered by established publications such as Time and Life, adding to the attention of this small press and Howl. Judge Clayton Horn found the book to be not obscene and this landmark decision helped launch City Lights and Ginsberg’s poems into the public arena.

5. Ponsot, Marie. TRUE MINDS
First edition:
San Francisco: City Lights Pocket Bookshop, January 1957
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers with printed wrap-around label tipped on, 5″ x 6″, 32 pages, 500 copies, letterpress printed at Villiers Publications in London. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 5
(Cook 5)

Note: the title of this collection of love poems was taken from Shakespeare’s 116th Sonnet. It would be 24 years later when she would publish her second volume of poems and borrow the title from the next line of the sonnet: “Avoid Impediment”.

6. Levertov, Denise. HERE AND NOW
First edition:
San Francisco: City Lights Pocket Bookshop, January 1957
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers with printed wrap-around label tipped on, 5″ x 6″, 32 pages, 500 copies, letterpress printed at Villiers Publications in London. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 6
(Cook 6)

7. Williams, William Carlos. KORA IN HELL: IMPROVISATIONS
First edition:
San Francisco: City Lights Books, August 1957
Sewn and bound in printed wrappers, 5″ x 6.25″, 84 pages, 1500 copies, letterpress printed at Villiers Publications in London. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 7
(Cook 7)

Note: from the rear cover: “William Carlos Williams, at 74, has some claim to be called Poet Laureate of America, being the author of almost forty books, and having won most of the important poetry awards in this country. He is a man known for his enthusiasms, a constant defender of poets and poetry.”

8. Corso, Gregory. GASOLINE
First edition:
San Francisco: City Lights Books, February 1958
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 5″ x 6.25″, 48 pages, 1500 copies, letterpress printed by the Pinchpenny Press in Berkeley. Introduction by Allen Ginsberg. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 8
(Cook 8)

9. Prévert, Jacques. SELECTIONS FROM PAROLES
First edition:
San Francisco: City Lights Books, July 1958
Sewn and bound in printed wrappers, 5″ x 6.5″, 72 pages, 1500 copies, letterpress printed at Villiers Publications in London. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 9
(Cook 10)

Note: from the rear cover: “In the years immediately following World War II, Jacques Prévert spoke more directly to and for the French who had come of age under the Occupation than any other contemporary poet, if enormous success of Paroles is any indication. First published in 1946, it was almost immediately reprinted, and by 1952 there were 200,000 copies in print.”

10. Duncan, Robert. SELECTED POEMS
First edition:
San Francisco: City Lights Books, January 1959
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 5″ x 6.25″, 80 pages, 1500 copies, letterpress printed at Villiers Publications in London. Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 10
(Cook 14)

Note: Selected Poems gathers poems written between 1942 and 1950. From the publisher’s statement: “In making this selection from his first four books, together with certain other poems of the same period, Duncan feels he has given his work as a whole a focus that amounts to a new definition of his poetic intent.”

11. Rothenberg, Jerome (translator). NEW YOUNG GERMAN POETS
First edition:
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1959
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 11
(Cook 16)

Note: This collection, edited and translated by Jerome Rothenberg, introduces ten German poets who were born between the First World War and the first years of the Nazi rise to power. The collection includes the first English appearances of Paul Celan, Ingeborg Bachmann and Gunter Grass.

12. Parra, Nicanor. ANTI-POEMS
First edition:
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1960
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 12

Note: These poems are taken from Parra’s Poemas y Antipoemas originally published in 1954. This is the first appearance in English, translated by painter and critic Jorge Elliott.

13. Patchen, Kenneth. THE LOVE POEMS OF KENNETH PATCHEN
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1961
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 13





14. Ginsberg, Allen. KADDISH AND OTHER POEMS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1961
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 14

Note: This is the long anticipated volume of poems following the highly successful Howl and Other Poems. It presents the long title poem on the death of his mother and fifteen other poems. Kaddish is the name of the Hebrew prayer for the dead.

15. Nichols, Robert. SLOW NEWSREEL OF MAN RIDING TRAIN
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1962
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 15

16. Hollo, Anselm (translator). RED CATS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1962
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 16

Note: In his introduction Hollo writes, “In the middle 50’s a number of Soviet writers started what became known as ‘The Thaw’: a movement towards freedom and personal literary and critical expression…” Yevgeni Yevtushenko and Andrei Voznesensky were in their twenties at the time Red Cats was published.

17. Lowry, Malcolm. SELECTED POEMS OF MALCOLM LOWRY
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1962
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 17

Note: from the back cover: “This is the first comprehensive collection of Lowry’s poetry, including most of those strange Mexican verses closely related to his novel, Under the Volcano.
Edited by Lowry’s good friend, Earle Birney, with the assistance of the author’s widow, this book brings into perspective the many poems from various periods which have appeared in magazines, as well as others never before published.”

18. Ginsberg, Allen. REALITY SANDWICHES, 1953-1960
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1963
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 18

Note: Reality Sandwiches collects poems written by Ginsberg between 1953 and 1960, thus presenting his early work prior to his groundbreaking poem Howl in 1956

19. O’Hara, Frank. LUNCH POEMS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1964
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 19

20. Lamantia, Philip. SELECTED POEMS, 1943-1966
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1967
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 20

Note: this volume collects poems of his youth, travels and time in San Francisco: Revelations of a Surreal Youth (1943-1945), Trance Ports (1948-1961), and Secret Freedom (1963-1966).

21. Kaufman, Bob. GOLDEN SARDINE
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1967
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 21

22. Pommy-Vega, Janine. POEMS TO FERNANDO
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1968
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 22

23. Ginsberg, Allen. PLANET NEWS, 1961-1967
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1968
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 23

24. Upton, Charles. PANIC GRASS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1968
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 24

25. Picasso, Pablo. HUNK OF SKIN
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1968
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 25

26. Bly, Robert. THE TEETH-MOTHER NAKED AT LAST
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1970
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 26

27. di Prima, Diane. REVOLUTIONARY LETTERS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1971
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 27

Note: Revolutionary Letters was published in a number of earlier versions by underground presses. The first City Lights edition collects letters 1-43 and other poems. Later printings include additional letters.

28. Kerouac, Jack. SCATTERED POEMS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1971
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 28

Note: Scattered Poems is a collection of poems published posthumously and compiled by Ann Charters, one of Kerouac’s earliest biographers. The poems included were written as early as 1945. The cover is a reproduction of a photograph of Kerouac
taken by William S. Burroughs in Tangier in 1957.

29. Voznesensky, Andri. DOGALYPSE: SAN FRANCISCO POETRY READING
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1972
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 29

30. Ginsberg, Allen. THE FALL OF AMERICA: POEMS OF THESE STATES, 1965-1971
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1972
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 30

Note: this collection continues Ginsberg’s chronicle of travels across America. He dedicates the volume to Whitman and includes on the dedication page a long quote from Whitman’s Democratic Vistas,
1871. Barry Miles, Ginsberg’s biographer, relates that Ginsberg was living near Kenneth Patchen on Telegraph Hill. Patchen introduced Ginsberg to the Dos Passos translation of Blaise Cendrars’ Trans-Siberian Voyage, which served as a model for Ginsberg’s travelogue-style work, The Fall of America.

31. Winslow, Pete. A DAISY IN THE MEMORY OF A SHARK
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1973
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 31

32. Norse, Harold. HOTEL NIRVANA
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1974
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 32

33. Waldman, Anne. FAST SPEAKING WOMAN
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1975
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 33

34. Hirschman, Jack. LYRIPOL
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1976
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 34

35. Ginsberg, Allen. MIND BREATHS: POEMS 1972-1977
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1977
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 35

Note: This collection presents poems written by Ginsberg from 1972 to 1977. Ginsberg dedicated this volume to Chögyum Trungpa, the poet and philosopher who named Ginsberg the “Lion of Dharma” in 1972.

36. Brecht, Stefan. POEMS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1978
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 36

Note: A collection of poems by the son of German playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht . It was privately published two years earlier by the poet. The cover photograph is by Arthur Tress.

37. Orlovsky, Peter. CLEAN ASSHOLE POEMS & SMILING VEGETABLE SONGS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1978
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 37

38. Antler [Brad Burdick]. FACTORY
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1980
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 38

39. Lamantia, Philip. BECOMING VISIBLE
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1981
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 39

40. Ginsberg, Allen. PLUTONIAN ODE: POEMS 1977-1980
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1982
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 40

41. Pasolini, Pier Paolo. ROMAN POEMS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1986
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 41

42. NINE DUTCH POETS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1982
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 42

43. Cardenal, Ernesto. FROM NICARAGUA WITH LOVE
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1986
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 43

44. Porta, Antonio. KISSES FROM ANOTHER DREAM
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1987
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 44

45. Cornford, Adam. ANIMATIONS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1988
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 45

46. LaLoca [Pamala Karol]. ADVENTURES ON THE ISLE OF ADOLESCENCE
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1989
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 46

47. Mayakovsky, Vladimir. LISTEN
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1991
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 47

48. Kerouac, Jack. POEMS ALL SIZES
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1992
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 48

49. Zamora, Daisy. RIVERBED OF MEMORY
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1992
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 49

50. Murillo, Rosario. ANGEL IN THE DELUGE
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1993
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 50

51. Kerouac, Jack. SCRIPTURES OF THE GOLDEN ETERNITY
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1994
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 51

52. Blanco, Alberto. DAWN OF THE SENSES
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1995
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 52

53. Cortázar, Julio. SAVE TWILIGHT
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1997
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 53

54. Campana, Dino. ORPHIC SONGS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1998
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 54

55. Hirschman, Jack. FRONT LINES
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2002
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 55

56. Mehmedinovic, Semezdin. NINE ALEXANDRIAS
San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2003
Published as The Pocket Poets Series, No. 56

The Floating Bear

The subtitle “A Newsletter” is the key to The Floating Bear’s chief contribution to literature of the 1960’s; it was a newsletter, a speedy line of communication between experimental poets. Diane di Prima, in the introduction to the reprint edition of The Floating Bear, recalls Charles Olson’s tribute to the magazine: “The last time I saw Charles Olson in Gloucester, one of the things he talked about was how valuable the Bear had been to him in its early years because of the fact that he could get new work out that fast. He was very involved in speed, in communication. We got manuscripts from him pretty regularly in the early days of the Bear, and we’d usually get them into the very next issue. That meant that his work, his thoughts, would be in the hands of a few hundred writers within two or three weeks. It was like writing a letter to a bunch of friends.”

One is apt to think of a literary newsletter as a device for talking about poetry but not as a means for transmitting the poem itself; in Floating Bear most of the space was given over to primary work. The first twenty-five issues (up to the point when LeRoi Jones resigned as co-editor) were published over a two year period and comprised 284 pages of poetry, creative prose, and comment. Among the more frequent contributors to Floating Bear during those first two years were Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, Frank O’Hara, Joel Oppenheimer, William Burroughs, Ed Dorn, A.B. Spellman, and George Stanley, as well as editors Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones.

After 1963, Floating Bear’s function as a swift communicator among poets seems to have diminished (Nos. 29 to 37 appeared over a period of five years). Size and frequency varied widely: No. 27 had 36 pages and included a 19-page section of poems by Philip Whalen; the following numbers had 16 pages and included work by eight authors. The range of contributors widened somewhat during this time, perhaps because a number of guest editors assumed partial responsibility for the magazine’s contents. Billy Linich, Alan Marlowe, Kirby Doyle, John Wieners, and Bill Berkson each appeared on the masthead as guest editor for one of the magazine’s last dozen issues. One last issue (No. 38) appeared in 1971 as a joint issue with Intrepid (its No. 20), and was edited entirely by Diane di Prima.

Floating Bear was supported solely by contributors; it was never offered for sale. Circulation ranged from 117 to 1250 copies over its eight-year span.

– Peter Martin, “An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Little Magazines”, Tri Quarterly 43, Fall 1976.

1. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 1, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York City: The Floating Bear, February 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 8 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Michael McClure – “The Smile Shall Not Be More Mutable than the Final Extinction of Meat. The Smile with Teeth Sunk in Lower Lip”
      Charles Olson – “All My Life I’ve Heard about Many”
      Charles Olson – “A Note on the Above”
      Max Finstein – “Regional Piece”
      Robin Blaser – “Ode for Museums, All of Them!”
      Robin Blaser – “The Flame”
      Robin Blaser – “A Story after Blake”

2. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 2, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York City: The Floating Bear, February 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 8 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Frank O’Hara – “Now That I Am in Madrid and Can Think”
      Frank O’Hara – “Song”
      Frank O’Hara – “Cohasset”
      Frank O’Hara – “Beer for Breakfast”
      Steve Jonas – “No Saints in Three Acts”
      Steve Jonas – “Quest”
      Robert Creeley – “A Quick Graph”
      LeRoi Jones – “Revue”
      The Editors – “Notice”

3. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 3, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York City: The Floating Bear, March 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Ed Dorn – “The Landscape Below”

4. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 4, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York City: The Floating Bear, March 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 8 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Fielding Dawson – “Oblivion Calling: Daily News”
      Fielding Dawson – “Oblivion Calling: The Dog People”
      Fielding Dawson – “Oblivion Calling: King of Crystal”
      Tony Weinberger – “For Sylvia”
      Tony Weinberger – “A Wildflower”
      Tony Weinberger – “My Beloved/ The Bee Tree/ The Whore”
      Joel Oppenheimer – “A Grace for Painters”
      Joel Oppenheimer – “Statement for Patterson Society”
      Barbara Guest – “What Am I Going to Do after the King and Queen of Nepal”
      William Mcnaughton – “Footnote to Creeley’s Graph”
      The Editors – “Notice”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “Fielding Dawson went to Black Mountain College as a painter, but after he studied with Kline a few months he decided to give up painting, although he still drew a lot. He drew the original emblem for LeRoi’s Totem Press, and he became a prose writer.”

5. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 5, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York City: The Floating Bear, April 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 8 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. John Thomas – “Nine Stages of a Journey from Caledonia to Harpers Ferry”
      John Thomas – “My Bird”
      LeRoi Jones – [Letter to Diane di Prima]
      William Burroughs – “Out Show Window and We’re Proud of It”
      William Burroughs – [Letter to Allen Ginsberg]
      Aquarian [Joel Oppenheimer] – “New Flick in Town”
      The Editors – “Notice”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “‘Aquarian; is always Joel Oppenheimer.”

6. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 6, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York City: The Floating Bear, April 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. George Stanley – “1” (“One bird called White…”)
      George Stanley – “2” (“I thought you were savage…”)
      George Stanley – “3” (“At dawn the mosquitoes…”)
      George Stanley – “4” (“What graceless guy…”)
      George Stanley – “5” (“The old train goes…”)
      George Stanley – “6” (“When he asked me…”)
      George Stanley – “7” (“A ball hurted…)
      George Stanley – “8” (“Flit in, little fairy…”)
      George Stanley – “9” (“That sense of indefinite longing…”)
      George Stanley – “10” (“I’m not satisfied with them…”)
      George Stanley – “White Matches”
      George Stanley – “12” (“Simple Simon…”)
      LeRoi Jones – “A Note on the 12 Poems”
      Stan Persky – “Larry Davis Cowboy Poem”
      Stan Persky – “Siege Poem”
      Koenig [LeRoi Jones] – “Note”
      Robert Creeley – “Edward Dorn in the News”
      [Diane] di Prima – [untitled] “arthur machen, what he has hold of…”
      Koenig [LeRoi Jones] – “Note”
      Robert Creeley – “’Statement’ for Patterson Society”
      The Editors – “Notice”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “George Stanley was in New York for a while in 1961. He was a part of Jack Spicer’s very tight circle. Jack had printed a lot of books and a magazine called J, and no copies of his things were allowed to go East. Jack felt the East Coast was Babylon. When George returned to San Francisco he went through a very bad period because Jack and the whole circle ostracized him for having gone to New York and having been published there. They said it was prostitution.”

7. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 7, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York City: The Floating Bear, May 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Bill Berkson – “’……’ Times”
      Bill Berkson – “How It Goes”
      Bill Berkson – “Hinterland”
      Bill Berkson – “Never”
      Bill Berkson – “You and Me”
      Bill Berkson – “Saturday Afternoon”
      Charles Olson – “Grammar – ‘A Book’”
      The Editors – “Notices”

8. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 8, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York City: The Floating Bear, May 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. A.B. Spellman – “Zapata and The Landlord, for Allen Dulles”
      A.B. Spellman – “The Joel Blues, After and For Him”
      anonymous – “Last Will and Testament of an Urban Herbalist and Agrostologist”
      Joel Oppenheimer – “17-18 April, 1961”
      Ed Dorn – “New York, New York”
      The Editors – “Notice”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “April 17-18, 1961 was the Bay of Pigs fiasco.”

9. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 9, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, June 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. LeRoi Jones – “from The System of Dante’s Hell”
      William Burroughs – “Routine: Roosevelt after Inauguration”
      Philip Whalen – “Itchy”
      unattributed – “Slave Song, 18th Cent.”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “This slave song and the prayer [in issue No. 15] both came from a book on the history of American Negro music that LeRoi was reading then.”

10. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 10, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, June 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 16 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. John Wieners – “On January 20th the Snows Began to Melt”
      John Wieners – “You Can’t Kill These Machines”
      John Wieners – “Long Nook”
      John Wieners – [untitled] “And it would be good to stop…”
      John Wieners – “Ode to the Instrument” [Black Mountain, Spring 1955]
      John Wieners – “Ode to the Instrument”
      John Wieners – “Exchange of the Lady’s Handmaids”
      John Wieners – “Objects from Route 70”
      John Wieners – “Message”
      John Wieners – “Play Land’s Aftermath”
      John Wieners – “Second Flight Across Country”
      John Wieners – “After Meditations, for F O’H”
      John Wieners – “That Old Gang of Mine”

11. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 11, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, July 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 10 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Charles Olson – “A Plausible Entry for, like, Man”
      Gil [Sorrentino] – [Letter to LeRoi Jones]
      Peter Hartman – “The Masai ***”
      James VI [King of England] – “from Reulis and Cautelis to be Observit and Eschewit in Scottis Poesie”
      Robert Kelly – “Letter to the Bear. Re: Rome”
      Denise Levertov – “An Argument. (In response to Trobar #2 and Kelly’s ‘Notes on the Poetry of the Deep Image’)”
      Larry Eigner – “Blabbermouth”
      Fred Herko – [Theater Reviews]
      The Editors – “Notices”

12. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 12, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, August 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. John Ashbery – “The Lozenges”
      John Ashbery – “The Suspended Life”
      John Ashbery – “To the Same Degree”
      John Ashbery – “The Ascetic Sensualists”
      A.B. Spellman – “Nocturne for Eric”
      Carl Solomon – “The Bughouse”
      Carl Solomon – “I Was a Communist Youth”
      Carl Solomon – “The Entrance of the Grand Gladiola”
      The Editors – “Notices”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “Allen Ginsberg dedicated ‘Howl’ to Carl Solomon.”

13. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 13, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, September 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. A.B. Spellman – “The Beautiful Day”
      A.B. Spellman – “The Second Beautiful Day”
      A.B. Spellman – “The Beautiful Day, III”
      A.B. Spellman – “The Beautiful Day, IV”
      A.B. Spellman – “The Beautiful Day, V”
      A.B. Spellman – “The Beautiful Day VI”
      A.B. Spellman – “The Beautiful Day VII”
      Joe Early – “Les Enfants du Paradis”
      David Ossman – “Comments on Montage”
      Steve Jonas – “Altar”
      John Thomas – “Alba”
      John Thomas – “Memo for Coffeehouse Psychologists”
      Fielding Dawson – “The Turn of the Wheel”
      The Editors – “Notices”

14. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 14, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, October 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 14 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Michael McClure – “!The Feast!, for Ornette Coleman”
      Philip Whalen – “Goodbye & Hello, Again 6:II:60”

Note: an announcement concerning the arrest of the editors was sent out separately and with some copies of No. 14.

15. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 15, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, November 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Bruce Boyd – “Canticles for the Hours: Prime”
      Bruce Boyd – “Thread”
      Bruce Boyd – “1.” (“because it wasn’t sugar…”)
      Bruce Boyd – “2.” (“well, old honey, back to the hard sound…”)
      Bruce Boyd – “3.” (“or say that it is not love…”)
      Allen Ginsberg – “History of the Jewish Socialist Party in America”
      author unknown – “Early South Carolina Gullah Prayer”
      Frank O’Hara – “For the Chinese New Year & for Bill Berkson”
      Joseph Lesueur – [Theater Reviews]
      The Editors – “Notices”

16. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 16, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, December 1961
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. George Stanley – [untitled] “They would force scrunched…”
      George Stanley – [untitled] “The sailors in their ship…”
      George Stanley – [untitled] “Myriads now fly down…”
      Dave Ossman and Martin Green – “A Film Form: Outline for a Filmscript”
      Charles Olson – “To Empty the Mind”
      Ron Loewinsohn – “The World of the Lie”
      Ron Loewinsohn – “The Mendacity of Windows”
      Ron Loewinsohn – “The Mendacity of Radio”
      Ron Loewinsohn – “The Mendacity of Sculpture”
      Ron Loewinsohn – “Coda: As Far as the Pass”
      Ron Loewinsohn – [untitled] “On the way back from Chicago (September, ’56)…”
      Marian Zazeela – “The Guggenheim Exhibition of Abstract Expressionists and Imagists (to Dec. 31)”
      Alan Marlowe – “Review”
      G. Sorrentino – “Rollins’ Return”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “Marian Zazeela’s review of the Guggenheim exhibit caused a lot of commotion. After that point a lot of the New York painters who had been helping us with the Bear wouldn’t give us any more money because she suggested that Robert Motherwell was copying from his wife Helen Frankenthaler. Motherwell got very mad at us and wrote me a very nasty postcard.”

17. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 17, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, January 1962
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Joel Oppenheimer – “A Treatise”
      Hubert Selby, Jr. – “September 24, 1961, A Floating Bear Special”
      Charles Olson – “The Americans”
      Paul Metcalf – “Darlington, South Carolina”
      Max Finstein – “Song”
      Max Finstein – “The Trial”
      Max Finstein – “The Merger”
      Jerry Benjamin – [Theatre Review]
      Fred Herko – “Paul Taylor–A History”
      The Editors – “Notices”

18. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 18, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, February 1962
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. David Meltzer – “Poem to H.P. Lovecraft”
      David Meltzer – “The Struggle / Poems for the Muse”
      David Meltzer – “Heroes: 7 / The Comics”
      Mike Strong – “After”
      Mike Strong – “Overture”
      Mike Strong – “Mornings”
      LeRoi Jones – “Footnote to a Pretentious Book”
      Charles Olson – “In the Face of the Chinese View of the City”
      Joseph Lesueur – “Random Thoughts about Recent Plays, On and Off Broadway”
      George Brecht – “Statement for James Goldsworthy”
      John King [LeRoi Jones] – “Rejoinder: Concerning the Reviews by Miss Zazeela and Mr. Marlowe in FB 16”
      Frank Buck [pseud.; not Identified] – “Consumer’s Guide”

19. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 19, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, March 1962
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Robert Duncan – “Night Scenes”
      Jonathan Williams – “We Take the Golden Road, to Samar, Kansas…”
      Stuart Perkoff – [untitled] “the Christian philo…”
      Stuart Perkoff – “2.” (“we step & and do not step…”)
      Stuart Perkoff – “3.” (“the river was warm, but not warm enough…”)
      Stuart Perkoff – “Three Prayers”
      Stuart Perkoff – “The Swing”
      Gertrude “Ma” Rainey – “Sissy Blues”
      Diane di Prima – “December, 1961”
      LeRoi Jones – “James Waring and Dance Company”
      Edwin Denby – [Letter to the Editors]
      The Editors – “Notices”

20. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 20, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, May 1962
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. The Editors [LeRoi Jones] – “Hello, Ma I Glad I Win!”
      Bertolt Brecht – “A Letter to His Fascist Friend Arnolt Bronnen in the Summer of 1923”
      Paul Blackburn – “The Cronopios in America–1.”
      J. Williams – “Best Reading List”
      Ed Dorn – “A Wild Blue, Yonder”
      Ed Dorn – “Time Blonde”
      Ed Dorn – “In My Youth I Was a Tireless Dancer”
      Ed Dorn – “The Song Is Ended”
      Ed Dorn – “The Poet Lectures Famous Potatoes”
      Ed Dorn – “Nose from Newswhere”
      Diane di Prima – “from Whale Honey”

21. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 21, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, August 1962
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Frank O’Hara – “Mary Desti’s Ass”
      Frank O’Hara – “St. Paul and All That”
      Charles Olson – “A Work”
      Norman Solomon – “A Passion Play. 1.”
      Norman Solomon – “962”
      Peter Orlovsky and Allen Ginsberg – “Our Dear Friend Charles”
      Aquarian [Joel Oppenheimer] – “Best Reading List”
      Diane di Prima – “A Concert of Dance–Judson Memorial Church, Friday, 6 July 1962”
      The Editors – “Notices”

22. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 22, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, August 1962
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. David Shapiro – “Lament”
      David Shapiro – “The Bluebird”
      David Shapiro – “The Storm”
      David Shapiro – “Canticle as Grieving”
      David Shapiro – “Poem”
      Yu Suwa – “A Poem, 1961-1962”
      LeRoi Jones – “The Politics of Rich Painters”
      Gary Snyder – “The Curse”
      Joseph Lesueur – “Rotten Apple”
      Steve Jonas – “Green”
      Steve Jonas – “Sub Voce”
      George Stanley – “The Italian”
      Abe Harvard [Peter Hartman] – “In Quest of Ugendun”
      Diane Wakoski – [Letter to the Editors]
      The Editors – “Notices”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “David Shapiro was 16 years old. For his age his stuff was brilliant, and people in Frank O’Hara’s crowd were interested in him. He was a very funny person when I met him because all his 16-year-old, adolescent, New Jersey personality was there on the surface, in spite of the fact that he could make these very far-out images. He kept calling me Miss di Prima and Frank Mr. O’Hara, and Frank finally got very embarrassed about it.”

23. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 23, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, September 1962
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Kirby Doyle – “from The Happiness Bastard”
      Diane di Prima – “Careers: A Naturalistic Tragedy”
      Frank Lima – “Pudgy”
      James Waring – [Letter to The Floating Bear]
      Anton Webern [Peter Hartman?] – [Letter to the Editors]
      Miles Campion [LeRoi Jones?] – [Letter to the Editors]
      The Editors – “Notices”

24. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 24, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
New York: The Floating Bear, September-October 1962
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 12 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. William S. Burroughs – “Spain & 42 St.”
      William S. Burroughs – “Dead Whistle Stop Already End”
      William S. Burroughs – “Where Flesh Circulates”
      Paul C. Metcalf – “In This Corner: Charles Olson”
      Soren Agenoux – “A Movie Review”
      Johannes Koenig [LeRoi Jones] – “Names & Bodies (Notes)”
      Soren Agenoux – “12 Leçons de Ténèbres”
      George Montgomery – [untitled] “Lemons on barber poles…”
      The Editors – “Notices”

25. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 25, edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones
Topanga: The Floating Bear, November 1962-March 1963
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 8 pages plus Auerhahn advertisement flyer, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Lew Welch – “Voice from Rat Flat!”
      Richard Baker – “Struggle”
      Richard Baker – “Beer”
      Dale Landers – “III Of a Growth Of”
      Robert Creeley – “The Skeleton”
      A.B. Spellman – “Baltimore Oriole, for M.R.”
      A.B. Spellman – “A Home Brew”
      The Editors – “Thank Yous”
      [Advertisement for Auerhahn Press]

26. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 26, guest-edited by Billy Linich
New York: The Floating Bear, October 1963
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 10 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. [George Herms] – [untitled] “Wet floor feet faster than wine…”
      [George Herms] – “Tap City Easter Circus Report”
      Michael Katz – “4 Short Stories for Passover”
      John [Wieners] – [untitled] “Mary Butts, inhabit her Ashe family of Rings…”
      Mary Butts – [untitled] “Until they came to the world’s end…”
      John [Daley?] – [Letter to Billy Linich]
      George Brecht – [Note to Billy Linich]
      Kirby Doyle – “Moon Poem, for Jarry Heiserman”
      Ray Johnson – [Letters to Various Persons]
      Ray Johnson – “Where Is the Palace? Iodine.”
      Duke Mantee [LeRoi Jones] – “Voices from the Art World (or, Bright Sayings)”
      The Editors – “Notices”
      [Diane di Prima] – “This Is a Very Strong Appeal for Funds”

27. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 27, edited by Diane di Prima
New York: The Floating Bear, November 1963
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 34 pages, mimeograph printed.

  • Contents:
    1. Philip Whalen – “The Art of Literature”
      Philip Whalen – “The Saturday Visitations”
      Philip Whalen – “Sunday Afternoon Dinner Fung Loy Restaurant San Francisco”
      Philip Whalen – “Hello to All the Folks Back Home”
      Philip Whalen – “The Art of Literature, 2nd Part”
      Philip Whalen – “Heigho, Nobody’s at Home”
      Philip Whalen – “Ignorantaccio”
      Philip Whalen – “The Art of Literature, #3, A Total Explanation, for Dr. A.”
      Philip Whalen – [untitled] “without gills or lungs or brain…”
      Philip Whalen – “Saturday 15:IX:62”
      Philip Whalen – “Fillmore Hob Nob Carburetor”
      Philip Whalen – “The Art of Literature, Part 4th”
      Philip Whalen – “The Gallery, Mill Valley”
      Philip Whalen – “Applegravy”
      Philip Whalen – “The Professor Comes to Call”
      Philip Whalen – “The Art of Literature, Concluded”
      Philip Whalen – “How We Live the More Abundant Life in America”
      Aquarian [Joel Oppenheimer] – “R I P”
      Ray Johnson – “Review by Ray Johnson (in the Style of Floating Bear)”
      Alan Marlowe – [Theatre Review]
      [Michael Rumaker?] – “Wieners & Stein at Judson”
      Michael Rumaker – “The Island, by Robert Creeley” [book review]
      John Wieners – “The Reporters, A Review by John Wieners”
      John Daley – “Billy Linich’s Party”
      [Author Unknown] – “Mss. Found in the Debris at the Living Theatre: The Journal of an IRS Agent”
      Alan Marlowe and Diane di Prima – [Announcement for the New Choreographers Company]
      The Editors – [Notices]
      Ray Johnson – [Letter to the Floating Bear]

28. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 28, edited by Diane di Prima
New York: The Floating Bear, December 1963
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 16 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by Al Leslie.

  • Contents:
    1. Mary Caroline Richards – “Christmas Sonnet”
      Mary Caroline Richards – “To My New Goat”
      Gregory Corso – “I Dream in Daytime”
      Jack Smith – “Normal Love”
      LeRoi Jones – “In Wyoming Territory (a Title)”
      LeRoi Jones – “In Wyoming Territory (a Veil)”
      LeRoi Jones – “In Wyoming Territory (a Story.”
      LeRoi Jones – “In Wyoming Territory (Music of”
      LeRoi Jones – “In Wyoming Territory (Dance/Like/”
      Edward Field – “Chopin”
      John Wieners – “Journal of the First Night”
      Frank O’Hara – “Pistachio Tree at Château Noir”

29. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 29, edited by Diane di Prima
New York: The Floating Bear, March 1964
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 20 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by George Herms.

  • Contents:
    1. Robert Grosseteste – “On Light or the Beginning of Forms”
      James Waring – [untitled] “Seen anywhere can art avalanche…”
      Julian Beck – “Acrostic for the Community of Poets and Joel Oppenheimer”
      John Thomas – “Some Books”
      Frank O’Hara – “Adventures in Living”
      Gerard Malanga – “Rollerskate”
      Gerard Malanga – “A Magic Realist Painting, for Alan Marlowe”
      John Herbert Mcdowell – “Special to the Floating Bear”
      Morton Feldman – [Letter to the Floating Bear]
      [Gilbert] Sorrentino – “Signal: A New Magazine”
      Fielding Dawson – “I Confess”
      James Waring – “Art Chronicle”
      The Editors – “Notices”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “Jerry Malanga wrote ‘Rollerskate’ as a tribute to Freddie Herko after Freddie’s death. I don’t know if the film it refers to was ever made.”

30. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 30, edited by Diane di Prima
New York: The Floating Bear, November 1964
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 20 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by Jeanne Marlowe.

  • Contents:
    1. Ruth Krauss – “As I Passed the Andy Auto Body Works”
      Alan Marlowe – “A Play”
      author unknown [Peter Abelard?] – “Medieval Latin Song” (trans. Diane di Prima)
      Ferencz Mcnaughton [pseud.?] – “May Meeting with C. Goy”
      Carl Solomon – “Pilgrim State Hospital”
      anon., As Told To Hubert Selby, Jr. – “My Return to Pilgrim State”
      Herbert Huncke – [untitled] “I could not believe we had anything…”
      Gilbert Sorrentino – “For the Floating Bear: Prose of Our Time”
      Allan Kaprow – “from the Construction of Boston”
      James Waring – [Letter to the Floating Bear]
      Alex Katz – [Letter to the Editors]
      Howard Schulman – “Jan Muller (1922-58) at the Guggenheim thru 2/25/62”
      Anne Wilson – “October ‘26 Rauschenberg”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “The cover of Number 30 was done by my daughter Jeannie who was six and a half years old at that time.”

31. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 31, guest-edited by Alan Marlowe
New York City: The Floating Bear, June 1965
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 16 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by Jess Collins.

  • Contents:
    1. author unknown – “Great Prajna Paramita Sutra” (trans. by Shenryu Suzuki)
      John Wieners – “Procrastination”
      John Wieners – “Procrastination”
      John Wieners – “Procrastination”
      John Wieners – “Night Boat to Cairo”
      John Wieners – “The Mole Proposes Solitude”
      John Wieners – “Song Lyric for ‘Shoot the President’”
      Robert Duncan – “Notes from A Reading at the Poetry Center, San Francisco, March 1, 1959”
      The Editors – “Editors Notes”

32. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 32, guest-edited by Kirby Doyle
Kerhonkson: The Floating Bear, February 1966
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 16 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by Robert Branaman.

  • Contents:
    1. Michael McClure – “Cupid’s Grin”
      John Keats – “A Fragment to Fanny”
      Thomas Chatterton – “Last Verses”
      Sharon Morrill – [untitled] “Body dying of chemical injecto…”
      Thomas Traherne – “from The Centuries”
      Yvonne Rainer – “Some Thoughts on Improvisation”
      Kirby Doyle – “Some Notes Toward a Text for the Unyielding Kings of the New Undead”
      Allen Ginsberg – “Psalm IV”
      Diane di Prima – “Buddhist New Year Song”
      Sheri Martinelli – “Duties of a Lady Female”
      Clive Matson – “The Good-Bye Scene”
      The Editors – “Notes”
      The Editors – [Advertisement for the Poets Press]

33. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 33, guest-edited by John Wieners
Brooklyn: The Floating Bear, February 1967
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 36 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by Paolo Lionni.

  • Contents:
    1. [John Wieners] – “Our Unborn Child”
      John Broderick – “My Flowers…” [illustration]
      Jack Spicer – “The Bridge Game”
      Jack Spicer – “Lives of the Philosophers: Diogenes”
      Deedee Doyle [Sharon Morill] – [untitled illustration]
      B. O’Driscoll [Bobby Driscoll] – “Sunday”
      John Wieners – “The Drug Addict’s Dilemma: An Answer to America”
      Sanders Russell – “Two Poems”
      Philip Lamantia – “For Real”
      John Reed – “Three Poems”
      Kirby Doyle – “A Valo Poem”
      David Rattray – [untitled] “If only I could…”
      Edward Freeman – “Prints and Prisons”
      David Posner – “In Memory of a Friend”
      Allen De Loach – “The A Train”
      Bob Hartman – “This is the Flip Side of the Record”
      Robert Grenier – “A Race”
      Charles Doria – “from Christine’s Version”
      Stephen Jonas – “Subway Haiku”
      Alan Marlowe – [untitled] “Lady cat is missing…”
      Irving Rosenthal – “The Mouse King”
      Lewis Lipschitz – [untitled] “When I See the small fish…”
      Howard Schulman – [untitled] “When you breathe on me…”
      Elizabeth Sutherland – “B’s Blues”
      Joan Gilbert – [untitled] “this is the beginning of our end…”
      Jeanne Phillips – [untitled] “today we have the good witch…”
      Jeanne Phillips – “Observations”
      Jan Balas – [untitled] “I know its Thursday…”
      Jan Balas – “Meth Madness after Many Days”
      Diane di Prima – “Song for My Spooks”
      Diane di Prima – “First Snow, Kerhonkson, for Alan”
      Shreela Ray – [untitled] “I saw myself in abyss-green…”
      Shiela Plant – “Term Paper for 8 Year Old”
      Shiela Plant – “Autobiography”
      Shiela Plant – “Adamancy”
      Madeline Davis – “To Ronny”
      Janine Pommey – “On Train to Holland, 12-29-65”
      Janine Pommey – “October, 65, Ibiza Spain”
      Janine Pommey – “Paris 9-64, to Alex:”
      Janine Pommey – “Spring, Paris 65, to Fernando:”
      Janine Pommey – “Two Line Poems Written in Paris ‘65”
      The Editors – “Notices”

34. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 34, edited by Diane di Prima
Brooklyn: The Floating Bear, October 1967
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 28 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by Michael Bowen.

  • Contents:
    1. Jack Spicer – “The Day Five Thousand Fish Died in the Charles River”
      Jack Spicer – “Poem, by a Computer at Mit, Which Was Fed the Elements of English Grammar, and Directed to Produce Sentences”
      Keith Wilson – “Graves Registry XII, Body at Sea”
      Keith Wilson – “Graves Registry XIV, Sea Songs for Women”
      Gary Snyder – [untitled] “Could she see the whole real world…”
      Gary Snyder – “The Coyote Breath”
      Emily Bronte – “Cold in the Earth”
      Stuart Perkoff – [untitled] “what a city is…”
      Rajkamal Chowdhury – “The Cycle or the Yoni-chakra (a Tantric Song)”
      Lorenzo Thomas – “Poem in Lieu of the Marriage of Andrew Zolem”
      Arcane School, N.Y.C. – “Zodiac”
      George Stanley – [untitled] “I thought and thought…”
      George Stanley – [untitled] “the past (as if in parenthesis)…”
      Bertolt Brecht – “Of Poor B. B.” (trans. Jack Collom)
      Frank O’Hara – “Dérangé sur un Pont de l’Adour”
      Frank O’Hara – “Hôtel Particulier”
      Johannes Koenig [LeRoi Jones] – “The Structure of the Academy Is: Against, the Street, or, Versus.”
      Yukio Matsuda – “The Landing” (trans. Syunichi Niikura)
      Yu Suwa – “Jacob’s Ladder” (trans. Syunichi Niikura)
      Atsushi Sekiguci – “New Year Greeting” (trans. Syunichi Niikura)
      Philip Lamantia – “Rest in Peace”
      Jack Kerouac – “How to Meditate”
      Jack Kerouac – “Hitch Hiker”
      David W. Mckain – “Street Corner Song”
      David W. Mckain – “Special Eye”
      David W. Mckain – “Newark Black Survival Committee Press Conference”
      The Editors – “Notices”

35. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 35, edited by Diane di Prima
New York: The Floating Bear, April 1968
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 26 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by John Reed.

  • Contents:
    1. Philip Lamantia – “Inscription for the Vanishing Republic”
      Philip Lamantia – “Orphic Poem”
      Philip Lamantia – “The Call”
      Philip Lamantia – “Politics Poem”
      Philip Lamantia – “Lava”
      Philip Lamantia – “Cool Apocalypse”
      Philip Lamantia – “Visions”
      Philip Lamantia – [untitled] “That I burned by the screech owl castle…”
      Steve Jonas – “A Poem for Tony Sherrod”
      John Thomas – “The Empty Blues”
      Lenore Kandel – “Junk/Angel”
      LeRoi Jones – “Indians”
      LeRoi Jones – “A Traffic of Love”
      LeRoi Jones – “Old Men’s Feet”
      LeRoi Jones – “Nick Charles Meets the Wolf-Man”
      LeRoi Jones – “West of Dodge”
      Michael Rumaker – “The Island, by Robert Creeley” [book review]
      Michael Rumaker – “WFME Interview with Night Editor of Newark Evening News”
      The Editors – “Notices of All Kinds”

36. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 36, guest-edited by Bill Berkson
New York City: The Floating Bear, January-July 1969
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 40 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by Ray Johnson.

  • Contents:
    1. Larry Fagin, Bill Berkson, and Ron Padgett – “Beautiful Music”
      Larry Fagin, Bill Berkson, and Ron Padgett – “Dog Salt”
      Larry Fagin, Bill Berkson, and Ron Padgett – “The Secret of Jane Bowles”
      Max Ernst – “From”
      Michael Brownstein – “Driving Through Belgium”
      Michael Brownstein – “The Shining Hand”
      Michael Brownstein – “Woman Walking Slowly Downstairs and Waving”
      Anne Waldman – “Be Happy O Sad World Be Happy”
      Anne Waldman – “Bright Side”
      Tom Clark – “Where I Live”
      Clark Coolidge – “Nothing at Newbegins”
      Clark Coolidge – “Noun Adder”
      Blaise Cendrars – “Dorypha” (trans. Ron Padgett)
      Bill Berkson – “Forked Dah”
      Bill Berkson – “Stanky”
      David Shapiro – “For the Princess Hello”
      Diane di Prima – “Stone Take”
      Kenneth Koch – “I Am from Argentina”
      John Thorpe – “Shaman’s Pain”
      John Thorpe – “When”
      John Thorpe – “Dust Eater”
      Ron Padgett – “Movable Basketballs”
      Lewis Warsh – “Opening the Day”
      John Ashbery – “Upper Silesia”
      The Editors – “Readables”

37. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER, No. 37, edited by Diane di Prima
New York City: The Floating Bear, March-July 1969
First edition, corner-stapled sheets, 8.5” x 11”, 24 pages, mimeograph printed. Cover art by Wallace Berman.

  • Contents:
    1. Lenore Kandel – “Hymn to Maitreya in America”
      LeRoi Jones – “What the Arts Need Now”
      Kirby Doyle – “An Unfinished Letter, Amir id-Emaid”
      Kirby Doyle – [untitled] “The belly of the moon…”
      Kirby Doyle – [untitled] “Again the butterfly visits me…”
      Kirby Doyle – [untitled] “I came to the top of this…”
      Kirby Doyle – “Upon Jail”
      Kirby Doyle – “-1- the Alchemist”
      Kirby Doyle – “-2- the Angel”
      Kirby Doyle – “-3- the Singer”
      Kirby Doyle – “-4- the Fallen”
      Kirby Doyle – “-5- the Risen”
      Gary Snyder – “Buddhism & The Coming Revolution”
      Victor Hernandez Cruz – “Poem for the Empire”
      Victor Hernandez Cruz – “Third World”
      Diane di Prima – “Canticle of St. Joan, for Robert Duncan”
      Michael McClure – “Tear Gas”
      Janine Pommy-Vega – “Poem for David”
      Janine Pommy-Vega – “Poem to Pitt/ If That Is Your Name…..”
      Tao Te Ching – “from Tao Te Ching” (trans. Paul Carus)
      Dave Cunliffe and Tina Morris – “Invocation”
      Freewheelin’ Frank [Frank Reynolds] – “’The Hymn’ to ‘Lucifer’”

According to Diane di Prima in notes to Laurence McGilvery’s facsimile edition of The Floating Bear, “The poem by Freewheelin’ Frank [Frank Reynolds] came out of a book that was done here in San Francisco. It was issued as a portfolio and ws the last printing effort of the Free City people; they had been doing a free publishing thing. They did Brautigan’s Please Plant This Book, poems printed on packets of seeds. They also did a dittoed version of Kirby Doyle’s Angelfaint, which he wouldn’t let them release because it had too many typographical errors in it. One thousand copies of it are probably still in Irving Rosenthal’s basement, without covers. Frank’s book was beautifully printed, all on separate sheets in about four colors. Freewheelin’ Frank’s name somehow didn’t get on this poem, so we had to write it in by hand on all the copies.”

References Consulted:

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

di Prima, Diane and LeRoi Jones. editors. THE FLOATING BEAR: A NEWSLETTER. Numbers 1-37, 1961-1969
La Jolla: Laurence McGilvery, 1973

Online Resources:

· Beat Visions and the Counterculture – Floating Bear
· From a Secret Location – The Floating Bear
· Reality Studio – Floating Bear Archive

White Rabbit Press

IMG_3062From 1957 to 1968, the White Rabbit Press published sixty-three books and ten broadsides. It was the primary publisher of the work of Jack Spicer, Robin Blaser, and Robert Duncan—the three central figures of the literary movement first known as the Berkeley Renaissance, and later as the San Francisco Renaissance. Founded by Joe Dunn in 1957 to print the poetry of the Jack Spicer Circle, the first ten books were printed surreptitiously on a multilith at the Greyhound Bus offices on 7th street in San Francisco. These early books were illustrated by Jess, Robert Duncan, and Kenn Davis.

After a four-year hiatus, the imprint was revived in 1962 by Graham Mackintosh with Spicer’s LAMENT FOR THE MAKERS, which was published in a small edition of less than 100 copies and illustrated by Mackintosh. The press, in this second series, continued to publish through the 1980s.

Section A:
Books and Chapbooks

A1. Jonas, Steve. LOVE, THE POEM, THE SEA AND OTHER PIECES EXAMINED
jonas_loveFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, November 1957
Hand-sewn in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 12 pages, 200 numbered copies, multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Cover illustration by Jess Collins. (Johnston A1)

A2. Spicer, Jack. AFTER LORCA
spicer_lorcaa. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, November-December 1957
Saddle-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 76 pages, 474 copies, multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Jack Spicer’s first book of poetry. Cover illustration by Jess Collins. Introduction by Federico Garcia Lorca. (Johnston A2)

b. First edition, lettered and signed copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, November-December 1957
Saddle-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 76 pages, 26 copies lettered and signed with a drawing by the author, multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Jack Spicer’s first book of poetry. Cover illustration by Jess Collins. Introduction by Federico Garcia Lorca. (Johnston A2)

c. First edition, second issue:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, November-December 1957
Unbound with out wrappers issued in mailing envelope, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 76 pages, 20 copies, multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Jack Spicer’s first book of poetry. Cover illustration by Jess Collins. Introduction by Federico Garcia Lorca. (Johnston A2)

A3. Levertov, Denise. FIVE POEMS
levertov_fiveFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, January 1958
Hand-sewn and glued into illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 12 pages, (200 copies), multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Cover illustration by Jess Collins. (Johnston A3)

A4. Borregaard, Ebbe. THE WAPITIS
borregaard_wapitisFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, January 1958
Hand-sewn in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 12 pages, (200 copies), multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Ebbe Borregaard’s first book. Cover illustration by Robert Duncan. (Johnston A4)

A5. Stanley, George. THE LOVE ROOT
stanley_loveFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, January 1958
Hand-sewn in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 12 pages, (200 copies), multilith printed by Joe Dunn. George Stanley’s first book. Cover illustration by Robert Duncan. (Johnston A5)

A6. Duncan, Robert. FAUST FOUTU ACT 1
duncan_faustFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, March 1958
Hand-sewn in printed wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 20 pages, 300 copies, multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Illustrated by Robert Duncan. (Johnston A6, Bertholf A7b)

Note: This is part one of four parts of the dramatic reading originally presented at King Ubu Gallery.

A7. Dull, Harold. THE BIRD POEMS
dull_birdFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, May 1958
Hand-sewn in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 16 pages, 200 copies, multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Harold Dull’s first book. Cover illustration by Nugent. (Johnston A7)

A8. Brautigan, Richard. THE GALILEE HITCH-HIKER
brautigan_galileeFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, May 1958
Hand-sewn in printed and illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 6 pages, 200 copies, multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Cover illustration by Kenn Davis.
(Johnston A8)

A9. Adam, Helen. THE QUEEN O’CROW CASTLE
adam_queenFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1958
Hand-sewn in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 20 pages, (200 copies), multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Cover illustration by Jess Collins. (Johnston A9)

A10. Olson, Charles. O’RYAN 2 4 6 8 10
olson_oryanFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, September 1958
Hand-sewn in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 16 pages, 300 copies, multilith printed by Joe Dunn. Cover illustration by Jess Collins. (Johnston A10)

A11. Spicer, Jack. LAMENT FOR THE MAKERS
spicer_lamentFirst edition:
Oakland: White Rabbit Press, 1962
Hand-sewn and glued into illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 16 pages, 125 copies planned (“probably less than 100 completed”), lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. Cover illustration by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A11)

According to Johnston, “Back of title page has a fictitious acknowledgments list (by Graham Mackintosh) taken from Robert Duncan’s The Opening of the Field.”

A12. Andrews, Jr., Lyman. FUGUTIVE VISIONS
andrews_fugitiveFirst edition:
Oakland: White Rabbit Press, 1962
Hand-sewn in printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 24 pages, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrations by Graham Mackintosh.
(Johnston A12)

A13. Dull, Harold. THE WOOD CLIMB DOWN OUT OF
dull_woodFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1963
Saddle-stapled in printed and illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 8.25″, 12 pages, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrations by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A13)

A14. Primack, Ronnie. FOR THE LATE MAJOR HORACE BELL OF THE LOS ANGELES RANGERS
primack_lateFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1963
Side-stapled sheets glued into printed and illustrated wrappers, 6″ x 9″, 32 pages, letterpress and offset printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A14)

A15. Stanley, George. TÊTE ROUGE / PONY EXPRESS RIDERS
stanley_teteFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1963
Unbound sheets laid into illustrated wrappers, 6″ x 8.25″, 54 pages, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. Cover design by Bill Brodecky, Illustrated by Paul Alexander.
(Johnston A15)

A16. Kearney, Lawrence. FIFTEEN POEMS
First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1964
Saddle-stapled and glued into printed wrappers, 5.75″ x 9″, 20 pages, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Kearney’s first book. (Johnston A16)


A17. Thorman, Janet. THE TAROT SUITE
thorman_tarotFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1964
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8.5″, 24 pages, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A17)

Note: According to Johnston this books was offered for free as a supplement to OPEN SPACE magazine.

A18. Spicer, Jack and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. DEAR FERLINGHETTI
spicer_ferlingFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1964
Single 8.5″ x 14″ sheet folded once, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A18)

Note: According to Johnston this work arose out of a dispute between Spicer and Ferlinghetti’s City Lights Book Shop.

A19. Spicer, Jack. THE HOLY GRAIL
spicer_holya. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1964
Saddle-stapled and glued into illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 8.5″, 80 pages, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A19)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1964
Hardcover, 6.25″ x 8.5″, 80 pages, 13 copies signed (4 were reportedly destroyed during signing), lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A19)

A20. Duncan, Robert. AS TESTIMONY
duncan_testimonya. First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1964
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 6″ x 9.25″, 24 pages, 350 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A20, Bertholf A12a)

a. Second edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1965
Second edition, saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 6″ x 9″, 24 pages, letterpress and offset. (Johnston A31, Bertholf A12b)

A21. Blaser, Robin. THE MOTH POEM
a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: Open Space, December 1964
Side-stapled and glued into printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8.25″, 32 pages, 288 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A21)

b. First edition, hand-colored copies:
San Francisco: Open Space, December 1964
Side-stapled and glued into printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8.25″, 32 pages, 12 copies with hand-colored end papers by the author, letterpress by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A21)

c. Second edition:
San Francisco: Open Space, December 1964
Side-stapled and glued into printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8.25″, 32 pages, 288 copies, offset printed in letterpress wrappers by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A23)

A22. Dull, Harold. THE DOOR
First edition:
San Francisco: Open Space, 1964
Side-stapled and glued into collaged wrappers, 8.5″ x 11″, 58 pages, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A22)


A23. Duerden, Richard. THE FORK
duerden_forkFirst edition:
San Francisco: Open Space, 1964
Saddle-stapled sheets glued into printed french-fold wrappers, 6.75″ x 8.5″, 92 pages, 500 copies, errata sheet tipped in, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A24)

A24. Alexander, James. ETERNATURE
alexander_eturnatureFirst edition:
San Francisco: Oannes-Open Space, April 1965
Side-stapled sheets glued into printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers, 7.25″ x 10.25″, 104 pages, 250 copies, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Paul Alexander. (Johnston A25)

A25. Olson, Charles. O’RYAN 1-10
olson_oryan02a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, September 1965
Saddle stapled in illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 8.75″, 16 pages, 1000 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Jess Collins. (Johnston A26)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, September 1965
Hardcover, 6.25″ x 8.75″, 16 pages, 26 lettered copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Jess Collins (Johnston A26)

A26. Blaser, Robin. LES CHIMERES
a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: Open Space, September 1965
Saddle-stapled in printed dust jacket, 5.5″ x 8.25″, 32 pages, 500 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A27)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: Open Space, September 1965
Hardcover in printed dust jacket, 5.5″ x 8.25″, 32 pages, 26 lettered copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A27)

A27. Stanley, George. FLOWERS
stanley_flowersa. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1965
Saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 5.75″ x 8.75″, 32 pages, 500 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A28)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1965
Hardcover, 5.75″ x 8.75″, 32 pages, 26 lettered and signed copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A28)

A28. Dull, Harold. THE NIGHT OF THE PERSEIDS
a. First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1965
This title, after review by the author, was never issued.
(Johnston A29)

A29. Spicer, Jack. LANGUAGE
spicer_languagea. First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, June 1965
Perfect-bound illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 10″, 72 pages, 950 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A30)

b. First edition, second printing:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1970
Perfect-bound illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 10″, 72 pages, 950 copies, offset printed from the first edition. Text added to the colophon: “Second printing 1970”. (Johnston A54)

A30. Duncan, Robert. THE SWEETNESS AND GREATNESS OF DANTE’S DIVINE COMEDY
a. First edition, first printing:
San Francisco: Open Space, December 1965
Side-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 6.75″ x 9.25″, 28 pages, 500 copies, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Robert Duncan. (Johnston A32, Bertholf A17a)

a. First edition, second printing:
San Francisco: Open Space, January 1967
Side-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 6.75″ x 9″, 28 pages, 500 copies, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Robert Duncan. This second printing has no colophon and the title page’s artwork is slightly altered. (Johnston A32, Bertholf A17b)

A31. Spicer, Jack. BOOK OF MAGAZINE VERSE
spicer_magazinea. First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, March 1966
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 7.75″, 56 pages, 1500 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Prepared for publication from the original manuscript by Stan Persky. Illustrated by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A33)

Note: According to Johnston, “The cover is a parody of the cover of Poetry(Chicago). The poems are arranged in groups intended for various little magazines and newspapers, each section printed on a stock appropriate to that publication, so that for example, the poems for Tish are on blue mimeo paper, those for the St. Louis Sporting News on newsprint.”

b. First edition, second printing:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1970
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 7.75″, 56 pages, 1500 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Prepared for publication from the original manuscript by Stan Persky. Illustrated by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A33)

A32. Ryan, John Allen. RUT
First edition:
(San Francisco): Graham Mackintosh, January 1966
Saddle-stapled in printed and blind-stamped wrappers, 5.5″ x 8.5″,  24 pages, 500 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Knute Stiles. (Johnston A34)

A33. Alexander, James. THE JACK RABBIT POEM
alexander_jacka. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit-Open Space, March 1966
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 9″, 20 pages, 724 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A35)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit-Open Space, March 1966
Hardcover, 5.5″ x 9″, 20 pages, 26 lettered and signed copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A35)

A34. Perksy, Stan. LIVES OF THE FRENCH SYMBOLIST POETS
First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1966
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 5″ x 7.25″, 16 pages, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Dedication: “for / Jack Spicer”. (Johnston A36)


A35. Stowers, J. Anthony. THE ALIENS
First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1967
Saddle-stapled in printed and photo-illustrated wrappers, 5″ x 7.25″, 32 pages, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A37)


A36. Miles, Josephine. SAVING THE BAY
First edition:
San Francisco: Open Space, 1967
Saddle-stapled in printed and illustrated French-fold wrappers, 7″ x 10″, 12 pages, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A38)


A37. Dull, Harold. THE STAR YEAR
dull_starFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, October 1967
Saddle-stapled in printed and illustrated wrappers, 6″ x 9″, 48 pages, 500 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Cover illustration by Fran Herndon. (Johnston A39)

A38. Duncan, Robert. THE CAT AND THE BLACKBIRD
First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1967
Comb-bound in illustrated wrappers, 9.25″ x 12″, 52 pages, 500 copies, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh from author’s manuscript. Illustrated by Jess Collins. (Johnston A40)

A39. Dunn, Joe. BETTER DREAM HOUSE
dunn_betterFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, April 1968
Saddle-stapled in printed and illustrated wrappers, 6.75″ x 9.25″, 32 pages, 1000 copies. Illustrated with paste-ups by Jess Collins. (Johnston A41)

A40. Stanley, George. BEYOND LOVE
First edition:
San Francisco: Open Space .·. Dariel Press, 1968
Saddle-stapled printed and illustrated wrappers, 5.75″ x 8.5″, 36 pages, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Dedication: “for Harold Dull”. (Johnston A42)

A41. Brautigan, Richard. PLEASE PLANT THIS BOOK
First edition:
San Francisco: Graham Mackintosh, 1968
Folder containing 8 printed seed packets, folder measures 6.25″ x 7″, 6000 copies, letterpress and offset printed by Graham Mackintosh. Photographs by Bill Brach. (Johnston A43)

A42. Thibeau, John. AN OPEN LETTER TO CHE GUEVARA
First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1968
Printed envelope containing 3 printed sheets, sheets measure 8.5″ x 11″, lithograph printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A44)


A43. SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY PRESENTS DURING AUGUST FIFTY YEARS OF GREAT PRINTING BY GRAHAM MACKINTOSH
First edition:
San Francisco: Graham Mackintosh, 1968
Folio sheet folded in quarters with 8-page booklet stapled inside, 6.5″ x 10″. Includes interview with Mackintosh by Robert Hawley (Oyez), the 8-page booklet lists books designed and printed by Mackintosh including titles from White Rabbit, Oyez, and Black Sparrow.  Printed at Dick’s Quick Print Press. (Johnston A45)

A44. Chapson, James. JIM’S BOOK
a. First edition:
White Rabbit Press, 1969
(Johnston A46)

b. Second edition:
Nine Beasts Press, 1969
(Johnston A47)

A45. Spicer, Jack. A BOOK OF MUSIC
a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit, 1969
Saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 9.25″, 20 pages, 1800 copies designed and printed by Ron and Graham Mackintosh from a typescript made available by Peter Howard. The cover was one decided upon by the author. Illustrated by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A48)

b. First edition, variant copies:
Variant copies include additional printed text on the front leaf: “150 copies printed Christmas, 1969 / for friends of White Rabbit, Oyez, / and the author”. (Johnston A48a)

A46. Liddy, James. A LIFE OF STEPHEN DEDALUS
a. First edition, regular copies:
White Rabbit Press, December 1969
Saddle-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 9″, 24 pages, 474 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A49)

b. First edition, signed copies:
White Rabbit Press, December 1969
Saddle-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 9″, 24 pages, 26 lettered and signed copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A49)

A47. Dusenbery, Walter. THE STORY OF THE BED
First edition:
Natoma Society, 1970
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 6″ x 6″, 32 pages, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A50)


A48. Ryan, John Allen. UNION ONION
First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1970
(Johnston A51)

A49. Siverley, Bill. DREAMS OF ORPHEUS
First edition:
White Rabbit Press, March 1970
(Johnston A52)

A50. Garcia, Luis. THE MECHANIC
First edition:
White Rabbit Press, 1970
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 6″ x 8.5″, 88 pages, 500 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Walter Dusenberry. (Johnston A53)

A51. Felson, Larry. BODY SONG
a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: Elephant Press, April 1970
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 5.75″ x 8.5″, 16 pages, 187 copies, letterpress printed by Ronald Mackintosh. (Johnston A55)

b. First edition, signed copies:
San Francisco: Elephant Press, April 1970
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 5.75″ x 8.5″, 16 pages, 13 signed and lettered copies, letterpress printed by Ronald Mackintosh. (Johnston A55)

Elephant Press was a “subsidiary” of White Rabbit Press.

A52. Scola, Eileen. TO MARY MAGDALENE
First edition:
San Francisco: Elephant Press, 1970
(Johnston A56)

A53. Dorbin, Sandy. THE RUBY WOODS
a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1971
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 5.75″ x 9″, 36 pages, 454 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Chuck Miller. (Johnston A57)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1971
Hardcover, 5.75″ x 9″, 36 pages, 26 numbered and signed copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. Illustrated by Chuck Miller. (Johnston A57)

A54. Liddy, James. A MUNSTER SONG OF LOVE & WAR
a. First edition, regular copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1971
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 6″ x 8.25″, 24 pages, 450 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A58)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1971
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 6″ x 8.25″, 24 pages, 50 copies, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A58)

A55. Kearney, Lawrence. DEAD POEM
First edition;
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1971
(Johnston A59)

A56. Thibeau, Jack. CONVERSATIONS WITH APOLLINAIRE
First edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1972
Saddle-stapled in printed and illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 10″, 16 pages, letterpress printed by Graham Mackintosh. (Johnston A60)


A57. Liddy, James. BAUDELAIRE’S BAR FLOWERS
First edition:
Santa Barbara: Capra Press, 1975
(Johnston A61)

A58. Farquhar, David. THE BIRTH OF ISRAEL
First edition:
White Rabbit Press, 1976
(Johnston A62)

A59. Spicer, Jack. COLLECTED POEMS, 1945-46
First edition:
Berkeley: Oyez/White Rabbit Press, 1981
Saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 7″ x 9″, 32 pages, lithographed from the author’s typescript. (Johnston A63)


References consulted:

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

Johnston, Alastair. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE WHITE RABBIT PRESS
Berkeley: Poltroon Press in association with Anacapa Books, 1985

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