Tag Archives: Jack Spicer

Black Mountain, San Francisco Renaissance

Robert Duncan

Described by Kenneth Rexroth as “one of the most accomplished, one of the most influential” of the postwar American poets, Robert Duncan was an important part of both the Black Mountain school of poetry, led by Charles Olson, and the San Francisco Renaissance, whose other members included poets Jack Spicer and Robin Blaser. A distinctive voice in American poetry, Duncan’s idiosyncratic poetics drew on myth, occultism, religion—including the theosophical tradition in which he was raised—and innovative writing practices such as projective verse and composition by field.

further reading…

Auerhahn Press: Books & Pamphlets

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This index includes Auerhahn Press publications from 1958 through 1965: from Dave Haselwood’s first publishing venture through the dissolution of his partnership with Andrew Hoyem and the end of Auerhahn Press.

A. Auerhahn Press: Books & Pamphlets

1. Wieners, John. THE HOTEL WENTLEY POEMS
wieners_wentley1San Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1958
First edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 7.75″, 20 pages, circa 500 copies. Printed—and edited without prior notice to Dave Haselwood—by East West Printers. Cover photo by Jerry Burchard. Illustration by Robert La Vigne. Printed announcement issued.
(Auerhahn 1)

2. Wieners, John. THE HOTEL WENTLEY POEMS
wieners_wentley2San Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1959
Second revised edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 7.75″, 20 pages, 500 copies. Cover photo by Jerry Burchard. Illustration by Robert La Vigne.
(Auerhahn 2)

3. Lamantia, Philip. EKSTASIS
lamantia_ekstasisSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1959
First edition, perfect-bound wrappers, 5.75″ x 7″48 pages, circa 950 copies. Titling by Robert La Vigne. Printed announcement issued.
(Auerhahn 3)


4. McClure, Michael. HYMNS TO ST. GERYON…
mcclure_hymnsSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1959
First edition, perfect-bound illustrated wrappers, 7.25″ x 10″, 62 pages, 950 copies. Cover illustration by McClure.
(Clements A4, Auerhahn 4)


5. Lamantia, Philip and Antonin Artaud. NARCOTICA
lamantia_narcoticaSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1959
First edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 8.5″, 16 pages, 750 copies. Cover photographs by Wallace Berman. Published as “Auerhahn Pamphlet No. 1”. Printed announcement issued.
(Auerhahn 5)

6. Whalen, Philip. MEMOIRS OF AN INTERGLACIAL AGE
whalen_memoirsSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1960
— A. First edition, perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 8.75″ x 11.25″, 64 pages, (1250 copies). Cover illustration by Robert La Vigne.
— B. First edition, hardcover, 8.75″ x 11.25″, 64 pages,  (60 copies with 25 signed and another 15 signed with holograph poem and illustration), bound by the Schuberth Bindery. Cover illustration by Robert La Vigne.
Printed announcement issued.
(Auerhahn 6)

7. Welch, Lew. WOBBLY ROCK
lew_wobblySan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1960
First edition, saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 6″ x 8″, 12 pages, 500 copies, illustrated by Robert LaVigne. Dedication: for Gary Snyder / “I think I’ll be the Buddha of this place” / and sat himself / down
(Auerhahn 7)

8. Burroughs, William S. and Brion Gysin. THE EXTERMINATOR
burroughs_exterminatorSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1960
First edition, perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 9.25″, 64 pages, (1000 copies). Illustrated by Brion Gysin. Printed announcement issued.
(Maynard & Miles A4, Auerhahn 8)

9. Marshall, Edward. HELLAN, HELLAN
marshall_hellanSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1960
First edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 6″ x 8.75″, 24 pages, (750 copies). Illustrated by Robert Ronnie Branaman. Printed announcement issued.
(Auerhahn 10)

10. McClure, Michael. DARK BROWN
mcclure_darkbrownSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1961
— A. First edition, perfect-bound printed wrappers, 6″x 9″, 56 pages, 725 copies.
— B. First edition, hardcover, 6″ x 9″, 56 pages, 25 numbered and signed copies, bound by the Schuberth Bindery.
Printed announcement issued.
(Clements A9, Auerhahn 13)

11. Olson, Charles. MAXIMUS FROM DOGTOWN
olson_maximusSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1961
First edition, hand-sewn printed wrappers, 9″ x 11.25″, 12 pages, 500 copies. Foreword by Michael McClure.
(Auerhahn 14)


12. Reps, Paul. GOLD FISH SIGNATURES
San Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1961
— A. First edition, Japanese binding, 8.5″ x 11″, 84 pages, (1000 copies).
— B. First edition, Japanese binding, 8.5″ x 11″, 84 pages, (50 copies in slipcase), signed.
Printed announcement issued.
(Auerhahn 15)

13. THE AUERHAHN PRESS CATALOGUE
auerhahn_catalogueSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1962
First edition, saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 4″x 5″, 16 pages includes poems by Wieners and Meltzer.
(Auerhahn 17)


14. Lamantia, Philip. DESTROYED WORKS
lamantia_destroyedSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1962
— A. First edition, perfect-bound illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 8.75″, 48 pages, 1250 copies.
— B. First edition, hardcover, 7″ x 8.75″, 48 pages, 50 numbered and signed copies, bound by the Schuberth Bindery.
(Auerhahn 18)

15. Meltzer, David. WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY…
meltzer_weSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1962
First edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 8.5″, 12 pages, 750 copies. Published as “Auerhahn Pamphlet No. 2”.
(Auerhahn 19)


16. Williams, Jonathan. IN ENGLAND’S GREEN &
williams_englandsSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1962
First edition, hand-sewn printed wrappers, 6.5″ x 9.25″, 20 pages, 750 copies. Illustrated by Philip Van Aver.
(Auerhahn 20)


17. Spicer, Jack. THE HEADS OF THE TOWN UP TO THE AETHER
spicer_headsSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1962
— A. First edition, perfect-bound illustrated wrappers, 4.75″ x 6.75″, 109 pages, 750 copies. Illustrated by Fran Herndon.
— B. First edition, hardcover, signed by the author and artist, with an original drawing, 4.75″ x 7.25″, 109 pages, 50 copies, bound by the Schuberth
Bindery. Illustrated by Fran Herndon.
Printed announcement issued. (Auerhahn 21)

18. Hoyem, Andrew. THE WAKE
hoyem_wakebSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1963
— A. First edition, perfect-bound printed wrappers, 6″ x 8.5″, 30 pages, 750 copies.
— B. First edition, hardcover, signed, 6″ x 9″, 30 pages, 35 copies, bound by the Schuberth Bindery.
Three printed announcements issued.
(Auerhahn 22)

19. di Prima, Diane. THE NEW HANDBOOK OF HEAVEN
diprima_newSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1963
— A. First edition, perfect-bound printed wrappers, 5.25″ x 7.5″, 48 pages, 1000 copies.
— B. First edition, hardcover, signed, 6″ x 9″, 30 pages, 30 copies, bound by the Schuberth Bindery.
(Auerhahn 23)

20. Brother Antoninus. THE POET IS DEAD
antoninus_poetSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1964
First edition, hardcover, 8.25″ x 10.5″, 28 pages, 205 copies. Printed announcement issued. (Auerhahn 24)



21. Deemer, Bill. POEMS
deemer_poemsbSan Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1964
— A. First edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 9.25″, 20 pages, 500 copies. Introduction by Andrew Hoyem.
— B. First edition, hardcover, signed, 6.5″ x 9.25″, 20 pages, 25 copies, bound by the Schuberth Bindery. Introduction by Andrew Hoyem.
Printed announcement issued.
(Auerhahn 37)

22. Davis, William. JANUS
davis_janusSan Francisco: The Auerhahn Society, Spring 1965
First edition, perfect-bound printed wrappers, 6.5″ x 9.75″, 64 pages,  750 copies.
(Auerhahn 38)



23. Van Buskirk, Alden. LAMI
San Francisco: The Auerhahn Society, 1965
First edition, perfect-bound printed wrappers, 7.75″ x 9.75″, 91 pages, 1000 copies.
(Auerhahn 39)



24. Olson, Charles. HUMAN UNIVERSE AND OTHER ESSAYS
olson_humanSan Francisco: The Auerhahn Society, 1965
First edition, hardcover, 7.75″ x 11″, 160 pages, 250 copies, bound by the Schuberth Bindery. Cover art by Robert La Vigne. Author photo by Kenneth Irby. Edited by Donald Allen.
(Auerhahn 40)

 

Foot

Poet Richard Duerden was born in Utah and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He joined the Merchant Marines and the Marine Corps and was educated at the University of California.

A member of the San Francisco Renaissance poetry movement, Duerden founded the literary journals Foot and the Rivoli Review. His books of poetry include The Fork (1965), The Left Hand & The Glory of Her (1967), and The Air’s Nearly Perfect Elasticity (1979). His poetry was anthologized in The New American Poetry, 1945–1960 (1960, edited by Donald Allen). A selection of his manuscripts and correspondence is archived in the Stanford University Libraries and a smaller selection of his correspondence with poet Philip Whalen is archived at the Reed College Library.

Foot, No.1, edited by Richard Duerdan
mags_foot01San Francisco, September 1959
First edition, hand-sewn illustrated wrappers, 6.75″ x 8.5″, 56 pages. Cover illustration by Robert Duncan.

Contributors: Ebbe Borregaard, Richard Brautigan, Jess Collins, Richard Duerden, Robert Duncan, Larry Eigner, Eloise Nixon, Philip Whalen, Gary Snyder.

Foot, No. 2, edited by Richard Duerden and William Brown
mags_foot02San Francisco, 1962
First edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 6.75″ x 8.75″, 80 pages. Illustrations by Philip Roeber and Philip Whalen.

Contributors: Philip Whalen, Philip Roeber, Joanne Snyder, Richard Duerden, Robert Duncan, Jack Spicer, Kenneth Rexroth, William Brown, Lew Welch, Leslie Thompson, Jess Collins, Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, Suzanne Duerden.

Foot, No. 3, edited by Richard Duerden
mags_foot03San Francisco, Spring 1977
First edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 8.5″, 12 pages. Cover illustration by Robert Duncan.

Contributors: Robert Creeley, Duncan McNaughton, Richard Duerden, John Thorpe, Lawrence Kearney.

Foot, No. 4, edited by Richard Duerden
mags_foot04San Francisco, Summer 1977
First edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 8.75″, 16 pages. Cover illustration by Terry Bell.

Contributors: Lawrence Kearney, Jerry Ratch, Duncan McNaughton,   Don Cushman, James Koller.

Foot, No. 5, edited by Richard Duerden
mags_foot05San Francisco, Fall 1977
First edition, saddle-stapled illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 8.5″, 12 pages. Cover illustration by Leslie Scalapino.

Contributors: Leslie Scalapino, Richard Duerden, Michael Wolfe, Ron Loewinsohn.

Foot, No. 6, edited by Leslie Scalapino and Richard Duerden
mags_foot06Berkeley, 1978
First edition, perfect bound illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 9″, 40 pages. Cover illustration by Diane Sophia.

Contributors: Diane Sophia, Leslie Scalapino, Larry Kearney, John Thorpe, Philip Whalen, Diane Sophia, Don Cushman, Sherril Jaffe, Michael Davidson, Michael Wolfe, Duncan McNaughton, Robert Duncan, Norman Fischer, Bernadette Mayer, Peter Rabbit, Richard Duerden.

Foot, No. 7, edited by Richard Duerden
mags_foot07Berkeley, 1979
First edition, perfect bound illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 5.5″, 40 pages. Cover illustration by Terry Bell.

Contributors: Lawrence Kearney

Foot, No. 8, edited by Leslie Scalapino and Richard Duerden
mags_foot08Berkeley, 1980
First edition, perfect bound illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 9″, 52 pages.

Contributors: Keith Shein, Leslie Scalapino, Diane Sophia, Norma Smith, Sarah Menefee, Don Cushman, Joanne Kyger, Larry Eigner, Bill Berkson, Bob Grenier, Jackie Cantwell, Ted Pearson, Marc Lecard, Lawrence Kearney, Jeanne Lance, Duncan McNaughton, Michael Wolfe, Carla Harryman.

Ebbe Borregaard

Ebbe Borregaard 1970Ebbe Borregaard’s work was published in the first run of White Rabbit Press in 1958 and then by Oyez using the name “Gerard Boar”, the anagrammatic pseudonym of his last name. He also appeared in several periodicals over the years and self-published some poetry and letters.

Along with his wife Joy, Ebbe owned and operated Borregaard’s Museum and Art Gallery. The idea behind establishing the venue in 1960 was to showcase the creative achievement of the Spicer circle. Helen Adam’s play SAN FRANCISCO’S BURNING was performed by Adam and her sister Pat in that first year. The following year the museum hosted a show of Jess’s work as well as a series of lectures by Duncan.

Borregaard also ran Oannes Press, publishing two titles: Helen and Pat Adam’s SAN FRANCISCO’S BURNING and James Alexander’s ETURNATURE, the latter in conjunction with Open Space.

Moving to Bolinas in 1969, Borregaard was later included in ON THE MESA: AN ANTHOLOGY OF BOLINAS WRITING published in 1971 by City Lights.

Section A:
Books and Broadsides

A1. Borregaard, Ebbe. THE WAPITIS
borregaard_wapitisFirst edition:
San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, January 1958
Hand-sewn illustrated wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 12 pages, (200 copies). Ebbe Borregaard’s first book. Cover illustration by Robert Duncan. (Johnston A4)

A2. Borregard, Ebbe. LEANTO: THE JOURNAL EXTRACT FROM THE ORIGINAL BY THE AUTHOR
First edition:
San Francisco: privately published, 1960
Illustrated french-fold wrappers, 125 copies, mimeograph. Illustrated by J. Alexander.

A3. Borregaard, Ebbe. [LETTERS TO SPRACH]
First edition:
Berkeley: privately published, 1963
Side-stapled sheets in unprinted card covers, 7″ x 10″, 58 pages, 20 copies. Preface by Ebbe Borregaard dated Christmas 1963.

Title supplied from Serendipity Books Catalogue 35, item no. 36 which also states that no more than 20 copies were printed.

A4. Borregaard, Ebbe. WHEN DID MORNING WIND RIP CALLOW FLOWERS IN MAY
First edition:
San Francisco: Arts Festival, 1964
Illustrated broadside, 12.5″ x 20″,  300 copies. Illustrated by Jess Collins.

A broadside issued as part of the 1964 San Francisco Arts Festival portfolio: A POETRY FOLIO, which contained 11 broadsides.

A5. Borregaard, Ebbe. CHILDHOOD OF DWARF CHRIST 1

First edition:
Sussex: Collection, 1969
Side-stapled illustrated wrappers, 9 copies, off-print of pages  25-36 from Collection 3 edited by Peter Riley.

A6. Boar, Gerard. SKETCHES FOR 13 SONNETS 
a. First edition, regular copies:
Berkeley: Oyez, 1969
Saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 7.75″ x 9.75″, 1600 copies, designed and printed by Graham Mackintosh.

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
Berkeley: Oyez, 1969
Hardcover, number of copies unknown, designed and printed by Graham Mackintosh.

A7. Borregaard, Ebbe. FRIDAY NIGHT PROVERBS
First edition:
Bolinas, n.d.
Broadside.

Section B:
Contributions to Periodicals and Anthologies

B1. J, No. 1, edited by Jack Spicer
mags_j01San Francisco, 1959
“Ballad for Billy Swan”, “Ballad for SAD”





B2. FOOT, No.1, edited by Richard Duerdan
mags_foot01San Francisco, September 1959






B3. LOCUS SOLUS, No. 1
1961
“Other stories of the beauty wapiti”, “wapiti 3”, “From ‘Sprach'”

B4. M, No. 2, edited by Lew Ellingham
mags_m02San Francisco: M, 1962
“October Seventh Poem”





B5. ANGEL HAIR, No. 3, edited by Lewis Warsh and Anne Waldman
New York: Angel Hair, Summer 1969

B6. COLLECTION, No. 3, edited by Peter Riley
Sussex, January 1969
“Childhood of Dwarf Christ 1”

B7. ANGEL HAIR, No. 6, edited by Lewis Warsh and Anne Waldman
New York: Angel Hair, Spring 1969

B8. EPHEMERIS, No. 2, edited by David Schaff
San Francisco, c. 1969
“Eros in Error”

B9. WRITING, No. 4, edited by Stan Persky and Dennis Wheeler
Vancouver: Georgia Straight, 1970

B10. WRITING, No. 7, edited by Stan Persky and Dennis Wheeler
Vancouver: Georgia Straight, 1971

B11. SESHETA, No. 2, edited by Andi Wachtel and Richard Downing
Surrey: Sesheta Press, Spring 1972

B12. ADVENTURES IN POETRY, No. 11, edited by Larry Fagin
New York: The Poetry Project, Spring 1974
“October Seventh Poem”

References consulted:

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

Magazine Wars

THE SAN FRANCISCO CAPITALIST BLOODSUCKER-N

mags_capitalist

 

 

Published during the so-called “magazine wars” of the early 1960s, George Stanley’s THE SAN FRANCISCO CAPITALIST BLOODSUCKER-N lasted just one issue. Stan Persky, Lew Ellingham, and Gail Chugg edited M, gathering contributions from a box at  Gino & Carlo’s Bar in San Francisco’s North Beach. Richard Duerden was editing FOOT; with Ron Loewinsohn he was also editing THE RIVOLI REVIEW, produced in Duerden’s apartment on Rivoli Street in the Haight-Ashbury district. Loewinsohn and Richard Brautigan soon produced another magazine, CHANGE.

As Ron Loewinsohn recalled, “Everybody seemed to have access to a mimeograph machine. You could then put out your own magazine. This was marvelous: it meant instant publication, instant reaction from people.”

It wasn’t until 1964, that Stan Persksy’s OPEN SPACE took up the publishing necessary to the Jack Spicer circle and its friends…

further reading…

Enkidu Surrogate

spicer_billyannouce
Announcement for Billy the Kid, circa 1959. Collage on paper

 

From Stinson Beach in the late 1950s, Jess Collins and Robert Duncan published just two books under their Enkidu Surrogate imprint.

The books were distributed by White Rabbit Press.

 

 

 

A1. Spicer, Jack. BILLY THE KID
spicer_billya. First edition, first state:
Stinson Beach: Enkidu Surrogate, October 1959
Saddle-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 6.5? x 8.5?, 16 pages, 750 copies, offset printed.  Illustrations by Jess Collins.

b. First edition, second state:
The second state includes holograph corrections to text on page 8

A2. Duncan, Robert. FAUST FOUTU
duncan_faust03a. First edition, regular copies:
Stinson Beach: Enkidu Surrogate, November 1959
Saddle-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 8.5″, 71 pages, 750 copies. Illustrated by Robert Duncan. (Bertholf A7c)

b. First edition, numbered and signed copies:
Stinson Beach: Enkidu Surrogate, November 1959
Saddle-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 8.5″, 71 pages, 50 copies numbered and signed with a drawing. Illustrated by Robert Duncan. (Bertholf A7d)

This is the first complete printing of the play, after a privately printed mimeographed first printing in 1953, and a second from White Rabbit Press in 1958. 

The San Francisco Capitalist Bloodsucker-N

Published during the so-called “magazine wars” of the early 1960s, George Stanley’s THE SAN FRANCISCO CAPITALIST BLOODSUCKER-N lasted just one issue. Stan Persky, Lew Ellingham, and Gail Chugg edited M, gathering contributions from a box at  Gino & Carlo’s Bar in San Francisco’s North Beach. Richard Duerden was editing FOOT; with Ron Loewinsohn he was also editing THE RIVOLI REVIEW, produced in Duerden’s apartment on Rivoli Street in the Haight-Ashbury district. Loewinsohn and Richard Brautigan soon produced another magazine, CHANGE.

As Ron Loewinsohn recalled, “Everybody seemed to have access to a mimeograph machine. You could then put out your own magazine. This was marvelous: it meant instant publication, instant reaction from people.”

It wasn’t until 1964, that Stan Persksy’s OPEN SPACE took up the publishing necessary to the Jack Spicer circle and its friends…

THE SAN FRANCISCO CAPITALIST BLOODSUCKER-N, edited by George Stanley
mags_capitalistSan Francisco: n.p., 1962
First edition, corner stapled printed wrappers, 8.5″ x 11″, 19 pages, mimeograph. Cover art by Fran Herndon (?)

Contributors: Albert J. Rutaro, Richard Duerden, Robin Blaser, Larry Fagin, Ron Loewinsohn, Tony Sherrod, Maxwell Bodenheim, John Allen Ryan, James Keilty, Bob Wrobel, George Stanley, Robert Reinstein, Fran Herndon, Jack Spicer.

Jack Spicer Circle

COW (the magazine)

Inspired by Stan Persky’s OPEN SPACE, Luther T. Cupp edited COW, which ran for three issues from 1965-1966. Cupp was nicknamed “Link” by Jack Spicer and went by the name Link Martin.

mags_cow01

 

Contributors to this short-lived North Beach magazine include:  Lawrence (Larry) Fagin, Stan Persky, Robin Blaser, George Stanley, Harold Dull, Joanne Kyger, Jack Spicer, Ronnie Primack, and others.
(further reading…)