Tag Archives: letterpress printing

Piero Heliczer – Books and Broadsides

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SECTION A:
This index includes books, chapbooks, booklets and broadsides

1. Heliczer, Piero. THE TOMB OF HENRY JAMES, DIFERENCIA 1
First edition:
(White Plains): privately published, (c. 1957)
Hand-sewn sheets tipped into printed wrappers, 12 pages, 24 numbered copies issued hors commerce.  Illustrated by Heliczer.

Contents: “The Tomb of Henry James Diferencia 1” [play] [collected in The Plays of Piero Heliczer, Volume I]

According to BeatBooks catalog #86, prints the first part of Heliczer’s absurdist play. The play’s second part appeared in Accent (Spring 1958), and the complete (?) four-part play was published by the Dead Language Press in 1971. This first part was privately printed “as a distraction” by Heliczer in White Plains, New York, “for personal use of its author”, and does not bear the Dead Language (or any) imprint. It was included in the Dead Language catalogue for 1959 (item #49), though only a tiny number of copies were sold or, more likely, given away.

2. Heliczer, Piero. GIRL BODY
First edition:
Paris: The Dead Language, 1958
First edition, broadside, 5″ x 24″ folded twice to 5″ x 6″, white ink letterpress printed on black paper.

Contents: “Girl Body” [poem]

According to BeatBooks catalog #86, the subject of this sensual and concupiscent poem is Olivia de Haulleville, Heliczer’s girlfriend, whose breath he compares to a turtle’s and “her sex” to “a turtle shell” (Piero owned a pet turtle which he led on a leash and is said to have once deposited it at the Louvre’s cloakroom during a visit).

[scans of this item at Brown University Library digital repository]

3. Heliczer, Piero. IN WHICH THE POET WALKS…
First edition:
Paris: Dead Language, 1958
Broadside, 6″ x 11″ folded twice to 6″ x 3.75″, letterpress printed on cream laid paper.

Contents: “In Which The Poet Walks from 945 Park Avenue to His Home at 420 West 46th Street out of Which He is to be Evacuated as a Squatter and Finally to Battery Park at Noon” [poem]

4. Heliczer, Piero. YOU COUL HEAR THE SNOW DRIPPING…
First edition:
Paris: Dead Language Press, 1959
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 6.5″ x 6.75″, 24 pages, letterpress printed. Avant-propos by Robert Graves, original photo of Heliczer by Harold Chapman mounted to verso of last leaf.

Contents: “Fuga XIII” [poem], “Ornithology For Love Cyclops” [poem], “England” [poem], “English Girls” [poem], “Paris A Scenario For A Silent Movie” [poem], “America” [poem]

According to BeatBooks catalog #86, in his avant-Propos, Robert Graves likens Heliczer’s work to “a translation of poems from a foreign language, which I would like to understand” (“an indication”, Anselm Hollo later noted, “of the limited range of the older poet’s ear”). The title is credited to Siggy Wessberg, Olivia de Haulleville’s half brother.

5. Heliczer, Piero. THE LION KEEPER
First edition:
Paris: The Dead Language, 1960
Postcard, 4″ x 6″., letterpress printed.

Contents: “The Lion Keeper”.

From the verso: “Lavender this color blends the most harmoniously with the environment and therefore has a restorative effect on nerve tissue”.

6. Heliczer, Piero. & I DREAMT I SHOT ARROWS IN MY AMAZON BRA
ph_idreamtFirst edition, thus:
Brighton: Dead Language & London: Matrix Press, 1961
Saddle-stapled in illustrated wrappers, 4.5″ x 11″, 20 pages, letterpress printed. Cover photo by Ph Mechanicus.

Contents: “& I Dreamt I Shot Arrows in My Amazon Bra” [poem]

From Heliczer’s notes to this edition: “An earlier edition was dittoed by Anselm Hollo… My earlier inspiration little frogs and clay dams in the sound of leaves there’s no need to worry about fulfilling a sign as signs necessarily fulfill themselves just as every thing has a pot dimension ie that emitter sends pot signals to pot man it is not necessary to the manifestation whether the emitter is under the influence.”

According to BeatBooks catalog #86, Heliczer’s 1963 Dead Language catalog prints the publication year as 1961, a year before he moved to New York; elsewhere Tom Raworth mistakenly gives the year as 1963, stating that “Piero was living with us; he and I printed it on my treadle press which was off Oxford Street in Richard Moore’s print-shop…”. Heliczer’s notebook dates the sale and distribution of copies in early December 1961, and records that he paid Tom Raworth £1.00 on the ninth of that month.

7. Heliczer, Piero. THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE
a. First edition, pink cover:
New York: Dead Language, (1962)
Saddle-stapled in printed and illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 7″, 28 pages, letterpress printed. Afterword by Anselm Hollo.


b. First edition, orange cover:
New York: Dead Language, (1962)
Saddle-stapled in printed and illustrated wrappers, 7″ x 7″, 28 pages, letterpress printed. Afterword by Anselm Hollo.


Contents: “Poem Number One” [poem], “Mantis” [poem], “Wm Byrd” [poem], “Bird Burgeoning Sky” [poem], “Buckingham Palace” [poem], “Carillon Booty” [poem]

Note: “Poem Number One” appeared in La Lune en Rodage 1, (Basel); “Mantis” appeared in a French version in Sens Plastique, (Paris); “Wm Byrd” appeared in New Departures 2/3, (Oxford & London); “Buckingham Palace” appeared in Outburst 2, (London).

8. Heliczer, Piero. THE SOAP OPERA
ph_soapoperaFirst edition:
London, Trigram Press, 1967
Hardcover in cloth-bound boards with illustrated dust jacket, 9″ x 10″, 36 pages, 500 copies (36 numbered and signed), letterpress printed. Illustrations by Paul Vaughan, Andy Warhol, Jack Smith, Wallace Berman.

Contents: “A Purchase in The White Botanica” [poem], “The Death Of Stephen Ward” [poem], “Wyatt: Elegy & Diferencias” [poem], “Victorian Era” [poem], “The Passion Of Johann Sebastian Bach” [poem], “The Autumn Feast” [poem]

Notes: “The Autumn Feast” was made into a movie, Jeffrey Keen did the photography and cutting, Angus Maclise and Tony Conrad made the soundtrack.

9. Heliczer, Piero. THE PLAYS OF PIERO HELICZER, Volume I
ph_plays1First edition:
Préaux: The Dead Language, 1971
Side-stapled in printed and illustrated cover, 8.5″ x 11″,  30 pages, 100 copies, mimeograph printed. Cover photo by Avril Hodges.

Contents: “The Tomb of Henry James, Diferencias I-IV” [play]

10. Heliczer, Piero. THE PLAYS OF PIERO HELICZER, Volume II
ph_plays2First edition:
Préaux: The Dead Language, 1971
Side-stapled in printed and illustrated cover, 8.5″ x 11″, 30 pages, 100 copies, mimeograph printed. Cover photo by Avril Hodges.

Contents: “Wyatt” [play], “The Pecan Tree” [play], “Chaconne in G Minor” [play]

11. Heliczer, Piero. THE PLAYS OF PIERO HELICZER, Volume III
ph_plays3First edition:
Préaux: The Dead Language, 1971
Side-stapled in printed and illustrated cover, 8.5″ x 11″, 100 copies, 26 pages, mimeograph printed.

Contents: “Harunobu” [play], “The Blue Centaur” [play], “Bessie Smith” [play]

12. Heliczer, Piero. THE HANDSOME POLICEMAN *
First edition:
New York City : Moon Dragon Press, 1976
Broadside, 11″ x 17″.

Contents: “The Handsome Policeman” [poem]


13. Heliczer, Piero. ABDICATION OF THE THRONE OF HELL
First edition:
Heerlen, Holland: Uitgeverij 261, 1981
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 5.25″ x 8.25″, 48 pages, printed in English and Dutch. Published as part of The Amsterdam School/Poetry Series.

Contents: “In Coena Domini” [poem], “Leadbelly (A D 1882 To 1949)” [poem], “Chinatown” [poem], “None of This is Going to Be Really There” [poem], “And I Am Not Afraid Of The Dark” [poem], “Abdication Of The Throne Of Hell” [poem]

14. Heliczer, Piero. SUNDAYS CHILD
First edition:
(New York): (The Rare Book Room), (1987)
Side-stapled in printed wrappers, 8.5″x 11″, 17 pages, 10 copies, xerox printed.

According to BeatBooks catalog #86, a promotional flyer produced by The Rare Book Room and mailed by Heliczer to Bill Levy in late January 1988, states that the booklet was published in an edition of “Less than 10 copies”, and describes it as “An autobiographical sketch of some 17 pages by a former child star of Italy (‘Il Piccolo Pucci’), one of the earliest underground film-makers here (he also acted in Jack Smith’s notorious ‘Flaming Creatures’, some of Warhol’s earliest films), compulsive talker, womanizer – and, despite some occasionally wandering neurons – a fine poet. Mint. Signed by the author. 15.00”.

Forming only the first part of an unfinished life story, the narrative ends with the young Piero still in Italy at the end of World War II, prior to his emigration to America. Heliczer is referred to in the third person throughout, and it seems plausible that the text may have been based on conversations with the owner of The Rare Book Room, Richard Rogers. The Rare Book Room was a small bookstore on Greenwich Avenue in New York owned by Roger and Irvyne Richards. Roger was a friend to most of the Beat writers, notably Gregory Corso, as well as a regular at Warhol’s Factory.

15. Heliczer, Piero. LEADBELLY *
First edition:
n.p.: n.p., (c. 1988)

Contents: “Leadbelly” [play]



16. Heliczer, Piero. THE PERFECT DETECTIVE *
First edition:
Amsterdam: Soyo Productions, 1989
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8.5″, 40 pages.

Contents: “Border Boredom” [prose], “America” [prose], “The Perfect Detective” [prose]

17. Heliczer, Piero. AND I AM NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK
ph_afraidFirst edition:
Bayonne, N.J. : Beehive Press, 1991
Comb-bound in printed cover, 5.75″ x 8.5″, 7 leaves printed recto only. Includes a flyer for Heliczer’s reading at Saint Marks bound in with a brief biography.

Contents: “And I Am Not Afraid of The Dark” [poem]

18. Heliczer, Piero. A PURCHASE IN THE WHITE BOTANICA
First edition:
New York: Granary Books, 2001
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 150 pages. Edited by Gerard Malanga and Anselm Hollo, with a foreword by Hollo and a 19-page biographical interview with Heliczer’s half-sister, Marisabena Russo, conducted by Malanga.

[link to Granary Books, Reviews & Press, for this title.]

—

[*not in archive]

Auerhahn Press: Commissioned Publications

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Section C:
This index collects commissioned publications printed by Auerhahn Press for various publishers and private parties from 1961 through 1965.

1. SAN FRANCISCO TRIBUTE TO KENNETH PATCHEN
patchen_tributeFirst edition:
San Francisco: (Auerhahn Press), 1961
Hand-sewn in printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 8 pages, printed at the Auerhahn Press. Program for memorial service, includes illustrated Patchen poem. (Auerhahn 9)

2. Pomeroy, Ralph. STILLS & MOVIES
pomeroy_stillsFirst edition:
San Francisco: Gesture Press, 1961
Perfect-bound in illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 9″, 41 pages, 500 copies printed at the Auerhahn Press. Cover art by Harold Bruder. (Auerhahn 11)

Note: Printed announcement issued.

3. Suffin, Arnold. RESURRECTION
suffin_resurrectionFirst edition:
San Francisco: Arnold Suffin, 1961
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 5.25″ x 8″, 40 pages, 200 copies, printed at the Auerhan Press. (Auerhahn 12)


4. Racine, Jean. BRITTANICUS
racine_britannicusFirst edition:
San Francisco: Folio 1, 1962
Hardcover in cloth-covered boards, 6.25″ x 8.25″, 87 pages, 300 numbered copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press, bound by the Schuberth Bindery. Block prints by Tanya Lohman. (Auerhahn 16)

Note: Printed announcement issued.

5. Magistretti, Paul. NOTES OF WHAT I CAN’T BE, OF WHAT I AM
magistretti_notesFirst edition:
San Francisco: The New Gnu Press, 1962
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 4.25″ x 7″, 40 pages, 400 numbered copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press. (Auerhahn 25)

Note: Printed announcement issued.

6. Hillsborough Garden Club. PLANTS FOR PICKING
San Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1963
(Auerhahn 26)

7. Magowan, Robin. VOYAGE NOIR
magowan_voyageFirst edition:
Seattle: Robin Magowan, 1962
Hand-sewn in printed wrappers, 6″ x 8.5″, 36 pages, 500 copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press. Cover illustration by Hervé Télémaque. (Auerhahn 27)

8. Powell, Roxie. DREAMS OF STRAW
powell_dreamsFirst edition:
San Francisco: Roxie Powell,1963
Hand-sewn printed wrappers, 4.5″ x 6.75″, 16 pages, 250 copies, printed by Dave Haselwood and Charles Plymell at the Auerhahn Press. (Auerhahn 28)

9. Black, M. Graham. M. GRAHAM BLACK SENDS HIS OWN VERSES…
First edition:
San Francisco: Auerhahn Press, 1963
Hand-sewn in printed wrappers, 4.75″ x 6.5″, 8 pages, 100 copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press. (Auerhahn 29)


10. Elvin, Steve. DRAWINGS OF A PEYOTE BOY
elvin_drawingsFirst edition:
San Francisco: Batman Gallery, (1963)
Printed envelope containing 8 sheets printed with line cuts (one tinted), 9″ x 11″, printed at the Auerhahn Press. (Auerhahn 30)


11. Blackley, R. John. BEYOND DUST
blackley_beyondFirst edition:
San Francisco: n.p., 1964
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 8″ x 10.25″, 64 pages, 175 numbered and signed copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press. (Auerhahn 31)


12. KOSHIRO ONCHI, 1891-1955: WOODCUTS
First edition:
San Francisco: Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, 1964
Perfect-bound wrappers, 6.5″ x 8.5″, 42 pages, (750 copies), printed at the Auerhahn Press. (Auerhahn 32)

13. Corrington, John William. THE ANATOMY OF LOVE…
corrington_anatomya. First edition, regular copies:
Fort Lauderdale: Roman Books, 1964
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 6.5″ x 9″, 86 pages, 1000 copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press. Introduction by Richard Whittington. (Auerhahn 33)

b. First edition, hardcover, signed copies:
Fort Lauderdale: Roman Books, 1964
Hardcover in paper-covered boards with cloth spine, 6.5″ x 9″, 86 pages, 50 numbered and signed copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press, bound by the Schuberth Bindery. Introduction by Richard Whittington. (Auerhahn 33)

14. Williams, Jonathan. LINES ABOUT HILLS ABOVE LAKES
williams_linesa. First edition, regular copies:
Fort Lauderdale: Roman Books, 1964
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 6.25″ x 9″, 27 pages, 750 copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press. Illustrated by Barry Hall. Foreword by John Wain. (Auerhahn 34)

b. First edition, hardcover, signed copies:
Fort Lauderdale: Roman Books, 1964
Hardcover in paper-covered boards with cloth spine, 6.25″ x 9″, 27 pages, 50 numbered and signed copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press, bound by the Schuberth Bindery. Illustrated by Barry Hall. Foreword by John Wain. (Auerhahn 34)

15. Johnson, Ronald. A LINE OF POETRY, A ROW OF TREES
johnson_linea. First edition, regular copies:
Highlands: The Nantahala Foundation, 1964
Perfect-bound in illustrated french-fold wrappers in glassine dust jacket,  6.5″ x 10″, 80 pages, 500 copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press, errata slip noting the omitted dedication to Olson laid in. Illustrated by Thomas George. The author’s first book. Published as Jargon 42. (Auerhahn 35)

b. First edition, hardcover, signed copies:
Highlands: The Nantahala Foundation, 1964
Hardcover in cloth-covered boards in unprinted dust jacket, 6.5″ x 10″, 80 pages, 50 numbered and signed copies, printed at the Auerhahn Press, bound by the Schuberth Bindery. Illustrated by Thomas George. The author’s first book. Published as Jargon 42.
(Auerhahn 35)

16. THE NEXUS CATALOGUE
nexus_catalogFirst edition:
La Jolla: The Nexus, 1964-65
Saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 4″ x 8.75″, 16 pages, printed at the Auerhahn Press. (Auerhahn 36)



—

Charles Bukowski: Broadsides

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SECTION B:
This index includes broadsides featuring poems and stories from  the 1940’s to the late 1960’s: from Bukowski’s first appearance to roughly the time that his work started being published in collected volumes by John Martin’s Black Sparrow Press; the period of time covered by Sanford Dorbin’s Bibliography.

1. Bukowski, Charles. 20 TANKS FROM KASSELDOWN
First edition:
Washington D.C.: Black Sun Press, Spring 1946
Broadside, 12″ x 16″,  (c. 1000 copies). Published as part of PORTFOLIO AN IN­TERNATIONAL REVIEW, No. 3, edited by Caresse Crosby.
(Dorbin D2, Krumhansl 1)

2. Bukowski, Charles. HIS WIFE, THE PAINTER
buk_hiswifeFirst edition:
Eureka: Hearse Press, June 1960
Broadside, 5″ x 11″, (c. 201 copies), letterpress printed. Published as Hearse Broadside No. 1.
(Dorbin B1 and C248, Krumhansl 2 and 14a)

Note: according to Dorbin [see Dorbin B1], there were variant examples on paper without the blindstamp (Strathmore Artist) of this and three other Bukowski broadsides later assembled as part of Coffin, No.1. He believed that all could have been printed on scrap stock.

Note: according to Krumhansl, “201 copies were published 16 June 1960, 50 of which were distributed to various poets and friends of E.V. Griffith, publisher of Hearse Press. 150 copies were included in Coffin 1 and the remaining copy was used for the offset paste-up of Flower, Fist and Bestial Wail.”

3. Bukowski, Charles. THE PRIEST AND THE MATADOR *
buk_priestFirst edition:
n.p.: privately printed, 1962
Broadside, 8.5″ x 11″, offset printed.
(Dorbin B4, Krumhansl 10)

Note: according to Krumhansl, “Published sometime in 1962. Bukowski believed that this item was produced by students at Northwestern or Purdue. Dorbin could not verify this information but ascertained that it was picked up by some mid-western area students after the publication of Run with the Hunted in 1962.”

4. Bukowski, Charles. SAME OLD THING, SHAKESPEARE THROUGH MAILER
buk_sameoldFirst edition:
Storrs: Wormwood Review, 1963
Broadside, 8.5″ x 11″, offset printed.
(not in Dorbin, Krumhansl 11)

Note: an offprint of pages 2 and 3 from The Wormwood Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, Issue 11, edited by Marvin Malone (Storrs: The Wormwood Review, November 1963).

Note: according to Krumhansl, “500 copies, of which 29 were signed and numbered, were issued gratis sometime in 1963”.

5. Bukowski, Charles. THE PAPER ON THE FLOOR
First edition:
Eureka: Hearse Press, 1964
Folded broadside, 7″ x 11″ sheet folded once to make four pages, (151 copies), letterpress printed. Published as part of Coffin, No. 1, edited by E.V. Griffith.
(Dorbin C250, Krumhansl 14b)

Note: according to Krumhansl, “151 copies were published in 1964, 150 of which were laid into the portfolio [Coffin, No. 1] and one used in the offset paste-up of Flower, Fist and Bestial Wail“.

6. Bukowski, Charles. THE OLD MAN ON THE CORNER
First edition:
Eureka: Hearse Press, 1964
Broadside, 4″ x 11″, (150 copies), letterpress printed. Published as part of Coffin, No. 1, edited by E.V. Griffith.
(Dorbin C249, Krumhansl 14c)


7. Bukowski, Charles. WASTE BASKET 
First edition:
Eureka: Hearse Press, 1964
Broadside, 5″ x 6″, (150 copies), letterpress printed. Published as part of Coffin, No. 1, edited by E.V. Griffith.
(Dorbin C251, Krumhansl 14d)

8. Bukowski, Charles. TRUE STORY *
buk_truestory_xFirst edition:
Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1966
Broadside, 10″ x 14.5″, 30 copies, letterpress printed by Philip Klein.
(Dorbin B6, Krumhansl 18)

Note: according to Krumhansl, “30 signed copies were published April 1966: 27 copies numbered 1-27 plus 3 copies lettered A-C. Designed and printed by Philip Klein.”

9. Bukowski, Charles. ON GOING OUT TO GET THE MAIL *
buk_ongoing_xFirst edition:
Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1966
Broadside, 10″ x 14.5″, 30 copies, letterpress printed by Philip Klein.
(Dorbin B7, Krumhansl 19)

Note: according to Krumhansl: “30 signed copies were published May 1966: 27 copies numbered 1-27 plus 3 copies lettered A-C. Designed and printed by Philip Klein.”

10. Bukowski, Charles. TO KISS THE WORMS GOODNIGHT *
buk_tokiss_xFirst edition:
Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1966
Broadside, 10″ x 14.5″, 30 copies, letterpress printed by Philip Klein.
(Dorbin B8, Krumhansl 20)

Note: according to Krumhansl: “30 signed copies were published June 1966: 27 copies numbered 1-27 plus 3 copies lettered A-C. Designed and printed by Philip Klein.”

11. Bukowski, Charles. THE GIRLS / FOR THE MERCY MONGERS *
buk_thegirls_xFirst edition:
Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1966
Broadside, 10″ x 14.5″, 30 copies, letterpress printed by Philip Klein.
(Dorbin B9, Krumhansl 22)

Note: according to Krumhansl: “30 signed copies were published July 1966: 27 copies numbered 1-27 plus 3 copies lettered A-C. Designed and printed by Philip Klein.”

12. Bukowski, Charles. THE FLOWER LOVER / I MET A GENIUS *
buk_flowerloverFirst edition:
Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1966
Broadside, 10″ x 14.5″, 30 copies, letterpress printed by Philip Klein.
(Dorbin B6, Krumhansl 24)

Note: according to Krumhansl: “30 signed copies were published October 1966: 27 copies numbered 1-27 plus 3 copies lettered A-C. Designed and printed by Philip Klein.”

13. Bukowski, Charles. THE NATURE OF THE THREAT AND WHAT TO DO
First edition:
San Francisco: Nevada/Tattoo Press, 1969
Broadside, 8.5″ x 11″, offset printed. Published as part of  Peace Amongst the Ants
(Krumhansl 33)


—

[* not in archive]

Charles Bukowski

buk

Section A: Books and Chapbooks
Section B: Broadsides
Section C: Contributions to Books and Anthologies
Section D: Contributions to Periodicals
Section E: Miscellaneous Prose

Henry Charles Bukowski (August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-born American poet, novelist, and short story writer.

His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambiance of his home city of Los Angeles. His work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over sixty books. The FBI kept a file on him as a result of his column, Notes of a Dirty Old Man, in the LA underground newspaper Open City. Bukowski published extensively in small literary magazines and with small presses beginning in the early 1940s and continuing on through the early 1990s.

Regarding Bukowski’s enduring popular appeal, Adam Kirsch of The New Yorker wrote, “the secret of Bukowski’s appeal. . . [is that] he combines the confessional poet’s promise of intimacy with the larger-than-life aplomb of a pulp-fiction hero.”

When Bukowski was 24, his short story “Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip” was published in Story magazine. Two years later, another short story, “20 Tanks from Kasseldown”, was published by the Black Sun Press in Issue III of Portfolio: An Intercontinental Quarterly, a limited-run, loose-leaf broadside collection printed in 1946 and edited by Caresse Crosby. Failing to break into the literary world, Bukowski grew disillusioned with the publication process and quit writing for almost a decade, a time that he referred to as a “ten-year drunk”. These “lost years” formed the basis for his later semi-autobiographical chronicles, although they are fictionalized versions of Bukowski’s life through his highly stylized alter-ego, Henry Chinaski.

During part of this period he continued living in Los Angeles, working at a pickle factory for a short time but also spending some time roaming about the United States, working sporadically and staying in cheap rooming houses. In the early 1950s, Bukowski took a job as a fill-in letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service in Los Angeles but resigned just before he reached three years’ service.

By 1960, Bukowski had returned to the post office in Los Angeles where he began work as a letter filing clerk, a position he held for more than a decade.

Jon and Louise Webb, now recognized as giants of the post-war ‘small-press movement’, published The Outsider literary magazine and featured some of Bukowski’s poetry. Under the Loujon Press imprint, they published Bukowski’s It Catches My Heart in Its Hands in 1963 and Crucifix in a Deathhand in 1965.

Beginning in 1967, Bukowski wrote the column “Notes of a Dirty Old Man” for Los Angeles’ Open City, an underground newspaper. When Open City was shut down in 1969, the column was picked up by the Los Angeles Free Press as well as the hippie underground paper NOLA Express in New Orleans. In 1969 Bukowski and Neeli Cherkovski launched their own short-lived mimeographed literary magazine, Laugh Literary and Man the Humping Guns. They produced 3 issues over the next 2 years.

In 1969 Bukowski accepted an offer from Black Sparrow Press publisher John Martin and quit his post office job to dedicate himself to full-time writing. He was then 49 years old. As he explained in a letter at the time, “I have one of two choices – stay in the post office and go crazy … or stay out here and play at writer and starve. I have decided to starve.” Less than one month after leaving the postal service he finished his first novel, Post Office. As a measure of respect for Martin’s financial support and faith in a relatively unknown writer, Bukowski published almost all of his subsequent major works with Black Sparrow Press. An avid supporter of small independent presses, he continued to submit poems and short stories to innumerable small publications throughout his career.

Bukowski died of leukemia on March 9, 1994, in San Pedro, aged 73, shortly after completing his last novel, Pulp.

References consulted:

Debritto, Abel. “Cacoethes Scribendi: A Comprehensive Checklist of Charles Bukowski’s Earliest Publications, 1940-1969”, published in RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN LITERARY STUDY, Vol. 35, edited by Jackson R. Bryer and Richard Kopley
New York: AMS Press, September 2012

Dorbin, Sanford. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES BUKOWSKI
Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1969

Fogel, Al. CHARLES BUKOWSKI: A COMPREHENSIVE PRICE GUIDE & CHECKLIST — 1944-1999
Surfside: The Sole Proprietor Press, 1999

Krumhansl, Aaron. A DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRIMARY PUBLICATIONS OF CHARLES BUKOWSKI
Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1999

Online resources:
Collecting Bukowski
Bukowski.net
Wormwood Review

parenthetical press

Parenthetical press started out as a mail art project: from 2002 through 2007, monthly calendar postcards were sent to a list of friends and fellow printers as a means to experiment with letterpress and block printing. More than 70 cards—in various formats—were sent during the period.

verdant press and related printing

Krech, Richard. THE STATUE WITH NO FACE
Mukilteo, WA: Quartermoon Press, 2002
First edition, broadside, 126 copies (100 numbered and 26 lettered & signed copies), handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook 4 at the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts for Quartermoon Press.

levy, d.a. YOU
levyyouPasadena: verdant press, 2002
First edition thus, broadside, 30 numbered copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook 4 at the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts. Published as verdant press broadside number zero.

levy, d.a. CITY
levycityPasadena: verdant press, 2002
First edition thus, chapbook, 10 numbered copies, handset and letterpress printed on a C&P Pilot. [verdant press chapbook number zero.]



levy, d.a. GREAT MAN SLEEPING IN A CLOSET
levygreatmanPasadena: verdant press, 2002
First edition thus, broadside, 30 numbered copies, handset and letterpress printed on a C&P Pilot. [verdant press broadside number one.]



levy, d.a. POEM FOR OUR LADY OF SONGS & DIMENSIONS
levyourladyPasadena: verdant press 2002
First edition thus, chapbook in sewn wrappers with printed cover label in an unprinted envelope, 30 numbered copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook 4 at the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts. [verdant press chapbook number one.]

levy, d.a. LINES FOR THE ERIE STREET CEMETERY
levylinesPasadena: verdant press, 2002
First edition thus, chapbook in sewn wrappers with linocut print in velum envelope, 20 numbered copies, handset and letterpress printed on a C&P Pilot. [verdant press chapbook number two.]

Den Boer, James. FOUR DIRECTIONS
denboerfourPasadena: verdant press, 2002
First edition, broadside, 20 numbered and signed copies in unprinted envelopes made from topo maps, handset and letterpress printed on a C&P 10×15 at the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts. [verdant press broadside number two.]

8. levy, d.a. VISUALIZED PRAYER TO THE AMERICAN GOD #3
levyvisualizedaPasadena: verdant press, 2002
First edition thus, postcard in vellum envelope, handset and letterpress printed in two colors on a C&P 10×15 at the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts. [verdant press postcard number zero.]

DenBoer, James. POEMS
denboerpoemsPasadena: verdant press, 2002
First edition, chapbook in sewn wrappers with cover art by Jason Davis, 15 numbered and signed copies, handset and letterpress printed on a C&P Pilot. [verdant press chapbook number three.]


levy, d.a. THE SUNLIGHT SHINING THRU MY WIFE’S PAISLEY SKIRT
levysunlightaPasadena: verdant press, 2002
First edition thus, postcard, 30 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1 at Archetype Press. [verdant press postcard number one.]


Blazek, Douglas. HEDGING
hedgingPasadena: verdant press, 2003
First edition, broadside, 126 copies (100 numbered and 26 lettered and signed by the poet), handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook 4 at the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts. [verdant press broadside number three.]

levy, d.a. HAIKUS
Pasadena: verdant press 2003
First edition thus, sewn printed wrappers in a blind-stamped envelope, 26 lettered copies, handset and letterpress printed on a C&P Pilot. Reprint of Haiku that appeared originally in Silver Cesspool, Vol. 1 (renegade press, 1963). [verdant press chapbook number four.]

Bukowski, Charles. MY CATS
mycatsPasadena: verdant press, 2003
First edition, broadside, 500 copies printed on the occassion of the 36th California International Antiquarian Book Fair in San Francisco for Jeff Maser, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook 4 at the Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts. [verdant press broadside number four.]

Moore, Thurston. NUDE BULLET IN SECRET
Pasadena: peek press, 2003
First edition, broadside, 100 copies (with 26 lettered and signed copies), handset and letterpress printed on a C&P Pilot.

levy, d.a. I DON’T KNOW…
idontaPasadena: verdant press, 2003
First edition thus, postcard 126 copies (100 numbered and 26 lettered), handset and letterpress printed in two colors on a C&P Pilot, prints an excerpt from PROSE: ON POETRY IN THE WHOLESALE EDUCATION & CULTURE SYSTEM, distributed as part of X-RAY MAGAZINE No.9. [verdant press broadside number five.]

Krech, Richard. LIFE ON APPEAL
Pasadena & Richmond: palOmine Press 2003
First edition, poem postcard, 26 lettered copies signed by Krech, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1.

Bukowski, Charles. POOP
Pasadena & Ventura: X-Ray Book Company, 2003
First edition, broadside, 100 copies, letterpress printed in two colors on a Vandercook Universal 1. Printed by verdant press for X-RAY BOOK COMPANY in an edition of 100 copies and published as part of X-RAY FOTOPROJECT No. 1. [verdant press broadside number six.]

Taylor, Kent. REMAINS TO BE SEEN
Pasadena: verdant press, 2004
First edition, broadside, 126 copies (100 numbered and 26 lettered and signed), handset and letterpress printed in two colors on a Vandercook Universal 1 for Jeff Maser on the occasion of the 2004 San Francisco Antiquarian Book Fair. [verdant press broadside number seven.]

Khu-En-Oho and The Dragon Lady Mara. BLACK HAT AT THE END OF THE BAR
Berkeley: verdant press, 2004
First edition thus, sewn printed wrappers with three-color linocut by Jason Davis, 12 numbered copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. A single concrete poem by levy, which in its original form appeared with several other poems and drawings by both levy and Mara (400 Rabbit Press, 1966).

Teare, Brian. PILGRIM
Berkeley: palOmine press, 2004
First edition chapbook, 126 copies (100 numbered, 26 lettered and signed), handset and lettpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1 and C&P 8×12.

Davis, Jason. BEING ELSE WHERE
Berkeley: parenthetical press, 2004
First edition, postcard, 126 copies (100 numbered and 26 lettered and signed), electrotypes, linocut, and handset type letterpress printed in three colors on a Vandercook Univsersal 1. Distributed as part of X-RAY MAGAZINE No. 10.

Davis, Jason. NUMBER TEN
xraytenBerkeley: parenthetical press, 2004
First edition, card, 126 copies, etching and handset type letterpress printed in two colors on a Vandercook Universal 1. Distributed as the cover of X-RAY MAGAZINE No. 10.


O’Brien, Jim. MY INSIDE PASSAGE
Berkeley: LOW & OUTSIDE, 2005
First edition, chapbook, 250 copies, handset and letterpress printed covers printed by Jason Davis on a Vandercook Universal 1 for LOW & OUTSIDE. Published as LOW & OUSIDE number one.

Krech, Richard. THE DEVOUT MAN’S LATE NIGHT PRAYER
Berkeley: LOW & OUSIDE, 2005
First edition, chapbook, 175 copies, handset and letterpress printed covers by Jason Davis on a Vandercook Universal 1 for LOW & OUTSIDE. Published as LOW & OUSIDE number two.

Krech, Richard. DESIRE NO. 2
Berkeley: Low & Outside, 2005
First edition, broadside, 50 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1 for Low & Ouside Number 2. [Low & Outside broadside number one.]

Kryss, Tom. THE MUSIC BOX STORE
Berkeley: verdant press, 2005
First edition, broadside, 150 copies, handset and letterpress printed in two colors on a Vandercook Universal 1 for Jeff Maser on the occasion of the 38th California International Antiquarian Book Fair in 2005. [verdant press broadside number eight.]

Sinclair, John. I MEAN YOU
Berkeley: palOmine press, 2005
First edition, chapbook, 176 copies (150 numbered and 26 lettered and signed), handset and letterpress printed wrappers by Jason Davis on a Vandercook Universal 1 for palOmine press.

DenBoer, James. BACK UNTIL THEN
Berkeley: palOmine press, 2005
First edition, chapbook, handset and letterpress printed cover labels by Jason Davis on a C&P 8×12 for palOmine press.

levy, d.a. IF YOU BREAK AN IRON ANGELS WINGS (CLEVELAND BRIDGES)
levyclevelandbridgesBerkeley: verdant press, 2005
First edition thus, chapbook in sewn wrappers, 20 numbered copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. This poem previously appeared in HIKA, volume XXVIII, number 3 (Gambier: Kenyon College, Spring/Summer 1966).

Davis, Jason. DO ANY BIRDS…
realcatorce01Berkeley: Real Catorce, 2005
First edition, broadside, 100 numbered copies, linocut and handset type letterpress printed in four colorson a Vandercook Universal 1. Distributed as part of BAGAZINE 1. [Real Catorce broadside number one.]

McClanahan, Ed. THE IMP OF WRITING
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First edition, broadside, 50 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. Printed for the occasion of Ed McClanahan’s first appearance in Salt Lake City for Ken Sanders Rare Books by Jason Davis.

McClanahan, Ed. POETS AND PORNOGRAPHERS…
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First edition, poetry postcard, 100 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. Printed for the occasion of Ed McClanahan’s first appearance in Salt Lake City for Ken Sanders Rare Books by Jason Davis. [Ken Sanders Rare Books Poetry Postcard No. 1.]

Caldiero, Alex. BAM!
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First edition, poetry postcard, 50 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. Printed for the occasion of Alex Caldiero’s reading in Salt Lake City for Ken Sanders Rare Books by Jason Davis. [Ken Sanders Rare Books Poetry Postcard No. 2.]

Long, Joel. WHAT SHE SAYS…
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First edition, poetry postcard, 50 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. Printed for the occasion of Joel Long’s reading in Salt Lake City for Ken Sanders Rare Books by Jason Davis. [Ken Sanders Rare Books Poetry Postcard No. 3.]

Lipschutz, Kurt. LESTER ROGERS
Santa Barbara: Pride of Tacoma Press, 2005
First edition, broadside, 100 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1 by Jason Davis.

Kyger, Joanne. SLACK KEY
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First edition, broadside, 50 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. Printed for the occasion of Joanne Kyger’s reading in Salt Lake City for Ken Sanders Rare Books by Jason Davis.

Kyger, Joanne. SLACK KEY
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First edition, poetry postcard, 50 copies,  handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. An excerpt from the poem SLACK KEY. Printed for the occasion of Joanne Kyger’s reading in Salt Lake City for Ken Sanders Rare Books by Jason Davis. [Ken Sanders Rare Books Poetry Postcard No.4.]

Bowden, Charles. BOWDEN ON BOOK COLLECTING
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First edition, broadside, 50 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. An excerpt from the chapbook BOOK COLLECTING: THE LAST REFUGE OF THE ILLITERATE . Printed for the occasion of Charles Bowden’s reading in Salt Lake City for Ken Sanders Rare Books by Jason Davis.

Bowden, Charles. BOWDEN ON BOOK COLLECTING, TOO
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First edition, broadside, 50 copies, handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. An excerpt from the chapbook BOOK COLLECTING: THE LAST REFUGE OF THE ILLITERATE . Printed for the occasion of Charles Bowden’s reading in Salt Lake City for Ken Sanders Rare Books by Jason Davis.

Bowden, Charles. BOOK COLLECTING: THE LAST REFUGE OF THE ILLITERATE
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First edition, chapbook, 126 copies (100 numbered and signed in wrappers, 26 lettered and signed in boards), handset and letterpress printed on a Vandercook Universal 1. Printed for the occasion of Charles Bowden’s reading in Salt Lake City for Ken Sanders Rare Books by Jason Davis.

Peacock, Doug. WALKING IT OFF: A VETERAN’S CHRONICLE OF WAR AND WILDERNESS
Salt Lake City: Ken Sanders Rare Books, 2005
First limited edition, bound in boards, 500 copies (25 advance copies, 26 leather-bound signed lettered copies in a slipcase with a Hayduke print by R. Crumb, 100 numbered signed copies with a Hayduke print, and 349 signed hardbound copies). Printed for the event at Ken Sanders Rare Books on November 19, 2005. Designed by Jason Davis, printed by Joel Benson, and bound by John DeMerritt.

Perron, Lee. IN A MEADOW CLOSE BY KENNETH REXROTH’S CABIN AT DEVIL’S GULCH
Berkeley: palOmine press, 2005
First edition, broadside, 126 copies (26 lettered and signed by the poet), handset and letterpress printed in two colors on a Vandercook Universal 1 by Jason Davis.

—

d.a. levy

· Jim Lowell’s d.a. levy checklist

· Alan Horvath and Kirpan Press

References Consulted:

THE BUDDHIST THIRD CLASS JUNKMAIL ORACLE: The Art and Poetry of d.a. levy, edited by Mike Golden. NY: Seven Stories Press, 1999.

D.A. LEVY & THE MIMEOGRAPH REVOLUTION, edited by Larry Smith and Ingrid Swanberg. Huron: Bottom Dog Press, 2007

LOOKING FOR D.A. LEVY (RANDOM SIGHTINGS): THE D.A. LEVY BIBLIOGRAPHY, Volume 1 [1963-1966], edited by Kent Taylor and Alan Horvath. Vancouver: Kirpan Press, 2006

LOOKING FOR D.A. LEVY (RANDOM SIGHTINGS): THE D.A. LEVY BIBLIOGRAPHY, Volume 2 [1967-1968], edited by Kent Taylor and Alan Horvath. Vancouver: Kirpan Press, 2008

ZEN CONCRETE & ETC. BY D.A. LEVY, edited by Ingrid Swanberg. Madison: Ghost Pony Press, 1991

Online Resources:

· Cleveland Memory Project
· d.a. levy home page
· Deep Cleveland
· Literary Kicks

Some notes on printing methods:

Mimeograph:
The stencil duplicator or mimeograph machine is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing black ink through a stencil onto levy_greattibetanpaper. The mimeograph process should not be confused with the spirit duplicator process.

Unlike spirit duplicators (where the only ink available is depleted from the master image), mimeograph technology works by forcing a replenishable supply of ink through the stencil master. In theory, the mimeography process could be continued indefinitely, especially if a durable stencil master were used (e.g. a thin metal foil). In practice, most low-cost mimeo stencils gradually wear out over the course of producing several hundred copies. Typically the stencil deteriorates gradually, producing a characteristic degraded image quality until the stencil tears, abruptly ending the print run. If further copies are desired at this point, another stencil must be made.

Spirit Duplicator:
A spirit duplicator (also referred to as a Ditto machine in North America, Banda machine in the UK or Roneo in Australia, France and South Africa) was a printing method invented in 1923. The term “spirit duplicator” refers to the alcohols which were a major component of the solvents used as “inks” in these machines.

The usual wax color was aniline purple (mauve), a cheap, moderately durable pigment that provided good contrast, but masters were also manufactured in red, green, blue, black, and the hard-to-find orange, yellow, and brown. All except black reproduced in pastel shades: pink, mint, sky blue, and so on.

Spirit duplicators had the useful ability to print multiple colors in a single pass, which made them popular with cartoonists. Multi-colored designs could be made by swapping out the waxed second sheets; for instance, shading in only the red portion of an illustration while the top sheet was positioned over a red-waxed second sheet. This was possible because the duplicating fluid was not ink, but a clear solvent.