Tag Archives: Robert Creeley

Four Seasons Foundation

Donald Merriam Allen (Iowa, 1912 – San Francisco, August 29, 2004) was an influential editor, publisher, and translator of contemporary American literature. He is perhaps best known for his project The New American Poetry 1945-1960 (Grove Press, 1960), a seminal anthology that introduced a revolutionary new generation of postwar poetry that was to change the course of American literature.

In 1960, Allen moved from New York to San Francisco, where he established Grey Fox and the Four Seasons Foundation, two significant literary presses where he continued to publish work from Beat, San Francisco Renaissance, Black Mountain, and New York School writers, as well as younger new voices.  Among the authors he published were Richard Brautigan, Robert Creeley, Edward Dorn, Robert Duncan, Jack Kerouac, Joanne Kyger, Philip Lamantia, Frank O’Hara, Charles Olson, John Rechy, Aaron Shurin, Gary Snyder, Jack Spicer, Lew Welch, and Philip Whalen.


Four Seasons Foundation, A Preliminary Checklist

1. Welch, Lew. STEP OUT ONTO THE PLANET
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation 1963
First edition, broadside, 9.5″ x 12.5″, 300 signed copies, offset printed. Printed for the occasion of a reading at Longshoreman’s Hall, San Francisco, June 12, 1964.

2. Whalen, Philip. THREE MORNINGS
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation 1963
First edition, broadside, 9.5″ x 12.5″, 300 signed copies, offset printed. Printed for the occasion of a reading at Longshoreman’s Hall, San Francisco, June 12, 1964.

3. Snyder, Gary. NANAO KNOWS
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation 1964
First edition, broadside, 9.5″ x 12.5″, 300 signed copies, offset printed. Printed for the occasion of a reading at Longshoreman’s Hall, San Francisco, June 12, 1964.

4. Olson, Charles. A BIBLIOGRAPHY ON AMERICA FOR ED DORN
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation (1964)
First edition, saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 6″ x 8″, 16 pages. Published as Writing 1

5. Dorn, Edward; Rumaker, Michael; Tallman, Warren. PROSE 1
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1964
First edition, saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 36 pages. Published as Writing 2

6. 12 POETS & 1 PAINTER
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1964
First edition, saddle-stapled printed and illustrated wrappers, 32 pages. Contributors include: LeRoi Jones, Joanne Kyger, Robert Creeley, Denise Levertov, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Robert Duncan, Gary Snyder, Lew Welch, Allen Ginsberg, Charles Olson, Max Finstein, Bruce Boyd. Illustrated by Jess Collins. Published as Writing 3

7. Loewinsohn, Ron. AGAINST THE SILENCES TO COME
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1965
— a. First edition, stapled wrappers, 7.75″ x 9.75″, 16 pages, 1000 copies.
— b. First edition, stapled wrappers, 7.75″ x 9.75″, 16 pages, 26 lettered and signed copies.
Published as Writing 4

8. Kyger, Joanne. THE TAPESTRY AND THE WEB
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1965
— a. First edition, paperback, 61 pages
— b. First edition, hardcover, 61 pages
Published as Writing 5

9. Olson, Charles. PROPRIOCEPTION
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1965
First edition, saddle-stapled wrappers, 18 pages. Published as Writing 6

10. Snyder, Gary. RIPRAP & COLD MOUNTAIN POEMS
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1965
First edition, stapled wrappers, 7.75″ x 9.75″, 50 pages. Published as Writing 7

11. Welch, Lew. HERMIT POEMS
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1965
— a. First edition, saddle-stapled wrappers, 16 pages, 974 copies.
— b. First edition, saddle-stapled wrappers, 16 pages, 26 numbered and signed copies.
Published as Writing 8

Snyder, Gary. SIX SECTIONS FROM MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS WITHOUT END
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1965
stapled wrappers, 42 pages, 1000 copies. Published as Writing 9

Koller, James. THE DOGS & OTHER DARK WOODS
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1966
— a. stapled wrappers, 33 pages, 1000 copies
— b. hardcover, 33 pages, 26 copies, numbered signed
Published as Writing 10

McClure, Michael. LOVE LION BOOK
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1966
— a. stapled wrappers, 24 pages, 1000 copies
— b. hardcover, 24 pages, 40 copies, numbered, signed
Published as Writing 11

Olson, Charles. STOCKING CAP: A STORY
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1966
stapled wrappers, 15 pages
Published as Writing 13

Olson, Charles. IN COLD HELL, IN THICKET
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1967
[Published as Writing 12 ?]

Brautigan, Richard. TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1967
paperback
Published as Writing 14

Hadley, Drummond. THE WEBBING
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1967
stapled wrappers, 52 pages, 500 copies
Published as Writing 15

McClure, Michael. THE SERMONS OF JEAN HARLOW & THE CURSES OF BILLY THE KID
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation with Dave Haselwood Books, 1968
— a. First edition, saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 1200 copies, letterpress printed. Printed by Dave Haselwood.
— b. First edition, hardcover, 50 numbered and signed copies, letterpress printed. Printed by Dave Haselwood.
[Published as Writing 12 ?]

Olson, Charles. CAUSAL MYTHOLOGY
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1969
— a. paperback, 40 pages
— b. hardcover, 40 pages
Published as Writing 16

Blaser, Robin. CUPS
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1968
— a. First edition, saddle-stapled printed wrappers, 24 pages, 1000 copies, letterpress printed. Printed by Graham Mackintosh.
— b. First edition, hardcover, 24 pages, 40 numbered and signed copies, letterpress printed. Printed by Graham Mackintosh.
Published as Writing 17

McClure, Michael. GHOST TANTRAS
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1969
paperback. [Published as Writing 18 ?]

Upton, Charles. TIME RAID
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1969
stapled wrappers, 30 pages
Published as Writing 19

Brautigan, Richard. THE PILL VERSUS THE SPRINGHILL MINE DISASTER
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1968
— a. First edition, perfect-bound photo-illustrated wrappers, 108 pages.
— b. First edition, hardcover, 108 pages, 50 numbered and signed copies.
Published as Writing 20

Brautigan, Richard. IN WATERMELON SUGAR
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1968
— a. First edition, perfect-bound photo-illustrated wrappers, 5.25″ x 8″, 138 pages.
— b. First edition, hardcover, 138 pages, 50 numbered and signed copies.
Published as Writing 21

Creeley, Robert. A Quick Graph: Collected Notes & Essays
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1969
— a. First edition, perfect-bound photo-illustrated wrappers, 365 pages, 1000 copies
— b. hardcover, 365 pages
— c. hardcover in dust jacket, 365 pages
Published as Writing 22.

Creeley, Robert. THE CHARM: EARLY AND UNCOLLECTED POEMS
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1969
— a. First edition, perfect-bound photo-illustrated wrappers, 97 pages
— b. First edition, hardcover, 97 pages
— c. First edition, hardcover, 97 pages, 100 numbered and signed copies,
Published as Writing 23

Whalen, Philip. SEVERANCE PAY
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1970
— a. paperback, 51 pages
— b. paperback, 51 pages, 50 copies, numbered, signed
Published as Writing 24

Lamantia , Philip. THE BLOOD OF THE AIR
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1970
— a. paperback, 45 pages
— b. hardcover, 45 pages, 50 copies, numbered, signed
Published as Writing 25

Millward, Pamela. MOTHER: A NOVEL OF REVOLUTION
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1970
paperback, 57 pages
Published as Writing 26

Olson, Charles. POETRY AND TRUTH: THE BELOIT LECTURES
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1971
— a. paperback, 75 pages
— b. hardcover, 75 pages
Published as Writing 27

Schaff, David. THE MOON BY DAY
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1971
paperback, 114 pages
Published as Writing 28

Herd, Dale. EARLY MORNING WIND AND OTHER STORIES
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1972
paperback
Published as Writing 29

Snyder, Gary. MANZANITA
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1972
paperback

Creeley, Robert. CONTEXTS OF POETRY: INTERVIEWS 1961-1971
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1973
First edition, perfect-bound photo-illustrated wrappers, 214 pages.
Published as Writing 30

Conze, Edward. THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM IN EIGHT THOUSAND LINES AND ITS VERSE SUMMARY
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation 1973
Published as Wheel Series, 1

Olson, Charles. ADDITIONAL PROSE: A BIBLIOGRAPHY ON AMERICA, PROPRIOCEPTION, & OTHER NOTES & ESSAYS
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1974
— a. paperback, 109 pages
— b. hardcover, 109 pages
Published as Writing 31

Lamantia, Philip. TOUCH OF THE MARVELOUS
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1974
— a. paperback, 47 pages
— b. hardcover, 47 pages
Published as Writing 32

Whalen, Philip. THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS: POEMS 1969-1974
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1976
paperback, 57 pages
Published as Writing 33

Dorn, Edward. THE COLLECTED POEMS 1956-1974
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1975
— a. paperback, 277 pages
— b. hardcover, 277 pages
Published as Writing 34

Olson, Charles. MUTHOLOGOS; COLLECTED LETTERS & INTERVIEWS 
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1979
— a. paperback, 230 pages, 2 volumes
— b. hardcover, 230 pages, 2 volumes
Published as Writing 35

Olson, Charles. THE FIERY HUNT AND OTHER PLAYS
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1977
paperback, 125 pages
Published as Writing 36

Whalen, Philip. OFF THE WALL: INTERVIEWS WITH PHILIP WHALEN
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1978
paperback, 88 pages
Published as Writing 37

Dorn, Edward. INTERVIEWS
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1980
paperback, 117 pages
Published as Writing 38

Creeley, Robert. WAS THAT A REAL POEM & OTHER ESSAYS
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation 1979
— a. paperback, 149 pages
— b. hardcover, 149 pages
Published as Writing 39

Dorn, Edward. VIEWS
Bolinas: Four Seasons Foundation, 1980
— a. paperback, 142 pages
— b. hardcover, 142 pages
Published as Writing 40

Gluck, Robert. ELEMENTS OF A COFFEE SERVICE
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1982
paperback, 97 pages
Published as Writing 41

Whalen, Philip. HEAVY BREATHING: POEMS 1967-1980
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1983
paperback, 207 pages
Published as Writing 42

Shurin, Aaron. THE GRACES
San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation, 1983
paperback, 72 pages
Published as Writing 42


References consulted:

Bohn, Dave. OYEZ: THE AUTHORIZED CHECKLIST
Berkeley: n.p., 1997

Hawley, Bob. CHECKLISTS OF SEPARATE PUBLICATIONS OF POETS AT THE FIRST BERKELEY POETRY CONFERENCE 1965
Berkeley: Oyez/Cody’s, 1965

Johnston, Alastair. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE AUERHAHN PRESS & ITS SUCCESSOR DAVE HASELWOOD BOOKS
Berkeley: Poltroon Press, 1976

Lepper, Gary M. A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION TO SEVENTY-FIVE MODERN AMERICAN AUTHORS
Berkeley: Serendipity Books, 1976

 

Ark

ARK II, MOBY I, is the successor to THE ARK, a collection of verse, drawings, and articles published in San Francisco in 1947. This was probably the first coherent expression of a new aesthetic and social freedom, which as the years have gone by is now seen to be the characteristic approach of the post war II generation.

—from the introduction to ARK II, MOBY I


1. THE ARK, edited by Philp Lamantia, Robert Stock, and Sanders Russell
San Francisco: The Ark, Spring 1947
First edition, side-stapled and bound into illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 9.75″, 72 pages, letterpress printed, artwork by Ronald Bladen.

“The Ark is printed by voluntary labor on a small press belonging to the magazine. The editorial board is open to all interested in active work on the Ark, the future of which depends on continued and new interest in what we are doing.”

  • Contents:
    1. Kenneth Patchen – “excerpt from Sleepers Awake”
      Alison Boodson – “Three Poems”
      Kenneth Rexroth – “Advent 1946”
      James Laughlin IV – “Now Love Speaks”
      Richard Eberhart – “At the End of War”
      George Woodcock – “What is Anarchism?”
      Robert Duncan – “Four Poems”
      Paul Goodman – “The ‘Horace’ of Corneille”
      William Everson – “If I Hide My Hand”
      E. E. Cummings – “Four Poems”
      Ammon A. Hennacy – “Christian Anarchism”
      Sanders Russell – “Six Poems”
      Philip Lamantia – “Another Autumn Coming”
      Robert Stock – “Poem on Holy Saturday”
      Christopher Rambo – “Peace To the Doomed Idol”
      William Carlos Williams – “Inquest”
      Sanders Russell – “E. E. Cummings and the Idea of Actuality”
      Robert Duncan – “Reviewing View, an Attack”
      Thomas Parkinson – “September Elegy”
      Richard Moore – “A Mediation”

2. ARK II, MOBY I, edited by Michael McClure and James Harmon
San Francisco: Ark/Moby, 1956-1957
First edition, saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 6″ x 9″, 46 pages including advertisements for The Pocket Poets Series, Jargon, and Black Mountain Review, 1000 copies, letterpress printed at the Press of Villiers Publications, artwork by Ronald Bladen.

“This new gathering has concentrated on poetry and drawings because we feel that the social message has long since been taken for granted by those likely to be interested.”

  • Contents:
    1. Denise Levertov – “Central Park, Winter, After Sunset”
      Denise Levertov – “A Song”
      Denise Levertov – “The Springtime”
      Denise Levertov – “The Third Dimension”
      Denise Levertov – “Laying the Dust”
      Michael McClure – “Canoe: Explication”
      Michael McClure – “Logos: Knout”
      Louis Zukofsky – “Michtam”
      Louis Zukofsky – “George Washington”
      Kenneth Rexroth – “140 Syllables”
      Sanders Russell – “Two Poems”
      Robert Duncan – “The Law I Love is Major Mover”
      Charles Olson – “As the Dead Prey Upon Us”
      Jack Kerouac – “230th Chorus from Mexico City Blues
      Allen Ginsberg – “The Trembling of the Veil”
      Gary Snyder – “Groves, 12 from Myths & Texts”
      Jonathan Williams – “The Switch Blade (or, John’s Other Wife)”
      Jonathan Williams – “Catullus: Carmen XVI”
      Jonathan Williams – “Greque Musique d’Ameublement”
      Stuart Perkoff – “The Recluses”
      Robert Creeley – “Ballad of the Despairing Husband”
      Edward Dorn – “The Revival”
      Edward Dorn – “Lines from a Sitting Position”
      Edward Dorn – “The Common Site”
      Kenneth Patchen – “Another Hamlet is Heard From”
      Kenneth Patchen – “The Most Hen”
      Paul Cox – “Reclame”
      Jess Collins and Christian Morgenstern – “Gallowbrother’s Song to Sophie; The Hangman’s Maiden”
      Jess Collins and Christian Morgenstern – “Moonmatters”
      Jess Collins and Christian Morgenstern – “Goat and Stalker”
      Jess Collins and Christian Morgenstern – “How the Gallowschild Remembers the Names of the Months”
      Philip Whalen – “Martyrdom of Two Pagans”
      Lawrence Ferlinghetti – [untitled] “Constantly risking absurdity…”
      Richard Eberhart – “Clocks”
      Richard Eberhart – “Snow”
      Clive Hawthorne – “Four Poems and Notes”
      James Harmon – “Silver Fox Island”
      James Harmon – “Hawk Inlet”
      James Harmon – “The Wind on Market Street”
      James Harmon – “For H. H.”
      Gael Turnbull – “A Self-Portrait”
      Gael Turnbull – “Why Don’t You Answer?”

3. ARK III,  edited by James Harmon
San Francisco: Ark, Winter 1957
First edition, saddle-stapled in printed wrappers, 6″ x 9″, 48 pages including advertisements for New Directions and City Lights Books, 500 copies, letterpress printed at the Press of Villiers Publications.

  • Contents:
    1. Louis Zukofsky – “Barely and Widely”
      Thomas Parkinson – “Two Vineyards”
      Kenneth Rexroth – [untitled] “I am fifty-two years old…”
      Clive Hawthorne – “Greeting, Sweets, The Dog”
      Clive Hawthorne – “Art Blakey”
      Clive Hawthorne – “Love Song”
      Clive Hawthorne – “Night”
      Clive Hawthorne – “Poem”
      Donald Fall – “Caprice”
      Donald Fall – “Eddy Street, San Francisco, 10.30 A.M.”
      Donald Fall – “To H. L.”
      Donald Fall – “A Respectful Statement on Sex in Unsettled Times”
      Donald Fall – “Postcard”
      Donald Fall – “Abstract Celebration”
      Harry Roskolenko – “Images of Disorder”
      Harry Roskolenko – “My Father’s Profession”
      Harry Roskolenko – “The Streets of Home”
      Harry Roskolenko – “Charlie”
      Bruce Boyd – “Nocturne for the West”
      Stuart Z. Perkoff – “Utter Fascinations”
      Nicole Sanzenbach – “Consider Children in the Street”
      Nicole Sanzenbach – “To Allen”
      Philip Whalen – “A Dim View of Berkeley in the Spring”
      Gary Snyder – “What I Think about When I Meditate”
      Allen Ginsberg – “An Atypical Affair”
      Allen Ginsberg – “A Typical Affair”
      Allen Ginsberg – “How Come He Got Canned at the Ribbon Factory”
      Jack Kerouac – “San Francisco Blues (two excerpts)”
      William J.  Margolis – “Use Your Imagination (no one else does)”
      Lawrence Ferlinghetti – “Frame This Picture”
      Philip Wallick – “My Apartment is a Pastoral Apartment”
      Christopher Maclaine – “Three”
      David Cornel DeJong – “Hour of Damnation”
      David Cornel DeJong – “White Collar Class”
      Gil Orlovitz – “The Beggar”
      Mitchell Lifton – “Song”
      David Galler – “Thoughts in the Ward”
      Guy Wernham – “Nature Loves to Hide Herself”
      Guy Wernham – “L’Homme Arraignee”
      Carl Larsen – “The Work of Hands”
      Richard Eberhart – “Hockey”
      Richard Eberhart – “Dogs”
      Laura Uronivitz – “How St. George Met The Dragon”
      Jack Gilbert – “Who Cried Love”
      Idell Tarlow Romero – “Message on a Tree Trunk”
      Idell Tarlow Romero – “Written on a Curbstone”
      Cid Corman – “Agamemnon”
      Gael Turnbull – “October”
      Gael Turnbull – “The War”
      Lawrence Lipton – “End of The Nile”

The San Francisco Renaissance

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

The San Francisco Renaissance, a timeline of events

1951

1953

      • City Lights Bookstore opens in North Beach

1955

1956

      • Allen Ginsberg’s Howl published by City Lights

1957

      • Howl confiscated by customs; Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Shigeyoshi Murao arrested
      • Jack Spicer‘s Poetry as Magic Workshop, San Francisco Public Library
      • Charles Olson reads and lectures in San Francisco
      • First book from White Rabbit Press, Steve Jonas’s Love, the Poem, the Sea & Other Pieces Examined

1958

1959

      • Philip Lamantia‘s Ekstasis published by Auerhahn Press
      • Bob Kaufman’s The Abomunist Manifesto published by City Lights
      • J, edited by Jack Spicer
      • Cid Corman’s Origin Press publishes Gary Snyder’s first book, Riprap

1960

      • Gary Snyder’s Myths and Texts published by Corinth Books
      • Lew Welch‘s Wobbly Rock published by Auerhahn Press
      • William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin’s The Exterminator published by Auerhahn Press

1962

      • White Rabbit Press revived 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

1963

      • Vancouver Poetry Conference

1964

      • Open Space publishes Robin Blaser’s first book, The Moth Poem

1965

1966

      • Lenore Kandel’s The Love Book published by Stolen Paper Editions
      • Philip Lamantia‘s Touch of the Marvelous published by Oyez Press
      • John Martin’s Black Sparrow Press begins in Los Angeles

1967

      • The Pacific Nation, edited by Robin Blaser in Vancouver

1968

      • Janine Pommy-Vega’s Poems to Fernando published by City Lights

1969

      • Gary Snyder’s book of essays Earth House Hold published by New Directions

1975

      • Jack Spicer‘s Collected Books published by Black Sparrow

 

In San Francisco, the commingling of several activities helped to prepare the ground for the remarkable literary explosion that was soon to take place. The Libertarian Circle held regular literary events; poet members included Kenneth Rexroth, Muriel Rukeyser, William Everson, Robert Duncan, Jack Spicer, and Thomas Parkinson. Rexroth also ran a literary program on KPFA, the country’s first listener-sponsored radio station. Madeline Gleason (assisted by Rexroth and Duncan) founded the San Francisco Poetry Center, housed at San Francisco State College and managed by Ruth Witt-Diamant. The magazines Circle, Ark, City Lights, Goad, Inferno, and Golden Goose helped to consolidate the growing literary underground.

The famous reading at Six Gallery on Fillmore Street was publicized by Allen Ginsberg (via a hundred mailed postcards and a few flyers) thus:

mcclure_sixgallery

On October 7, 1955, in a room measuring 20 x 25 feet with a dirt floor, Ginsberg “read Howl and started an epoch.”(1) Gary Snyder, Philip Lamantia, Michael McClure, and Philip Whalen shared the bill and, by all reports, also read brilliantly. Aside from Rexroth and Whalen, all the readers were in their twenties. Again, in the words of Kenneth Rexroth, “What started in SF and spread from there across the world was public poetry, the return of a tribal, preliterate relationship between poet and audience.”(1)

These events, along with the flourishing of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights Bookshop and publishing house, helped to inaugurate and consolidate what has become known as the San Francisco Renaissance. City Lights published Howl in 1956 (Ferlinghetti asked Ginsberg for the manuscript the same night it was read at the Six Gallery) as Number Four in the Pocket Poets Series. (It had been preceded by an extremely rare mimeographed edition, typed by Martha Rexroth and mimeographed by none other than Robert Creeley. Ginsberg’s Siesta in Xbalba had been mimeographed by the man himself on a freighter in the Alaskan Ocean.) Among the audience members that night was one who added his own chant, the young novelist Jack Kerouac, whose On the Road, published in 1957, was to make this reading and its readers legendary. It was also in 1957 that Charles Olson, rector of the experimental Black Mountain College, visited San Francisco and gave a series of lectures on Alfred North Whitehead at the Portrero Hill home of Robert Duncan and his companion, the painter Jess Collins. Among the attendees at the lectures were, of course, Duncan himself, but also Michael McClure, Gary Snyder’s Reed College friend Philip Whalen, Jack Spicer, and Richard Duerden. The same year saw the “San Francisco Scene” issue of Evergreen Review. Poet Helen Adam’s flamboyant 1961 ballad opera, entitled San Francisco’s Burning, epitomized the time, outrageous both aesthetically and socially. Other writers associated with the San Francisco Renaissance included James Broughton, Lew Welch, Ron Loewinsohn, Madeline Gleason, David Meltzer, Kirby Doyle, and Lenore Kandel.

Experimentation with forms of literature and lifestyle had long been an attractive characteristic of life in San Francisco. But the tolerance felt in Northern California was not as evident in Los Angeles. In 1957, an exhibit of work by assemblage artist Wallace Berman at the Ferus Gallery was closed by the Los Angeles Police Department, and Berman was jailed on charges of exhibiting “lewd and lascivious pornographic art.” Found guilty (by the same judge who ruled against Henry Miller), Berman and family left L.A. for San Francisco that year. Berman edited and published a fascinating assemblage magazine called Semina. After the raid of his exhibit at Ferus, he announced in Semina 2 that “I will continue to print Semina from locations other than this city of degen-erate angels.” Berman’s friend, artist George Herms, designed his own books and provided the artwork for others, including Diane di Prima. Herms had likewise found the political climate in L.A. intolerable and had preceded the Bermans to Northern California.

In the mid-1960s, John Martin’s Black Sparrow Press began publishing broadsides and booklets and has, over the years, published a wide variety of experimental and alternative poetry and prose, including work by Duncan, Olson, Spicer, and Creeley among very many others. 

Because of the previous associations of house printer/designer Graham Mackintosh, Black Sparrow is linked to earlier literary small presses of Northern California, particularly White Rabbit Press (at the urging of Jack Spicer, Mackintosh resurrected the press in 1962, printing Spicer’s own Lament for the Makers); Robert Hawley’s Oyez Press (Mackintosh had printed its first book in 1963); and Dave Haselwood’s Auerhahn Press, which flourished during the 1960s and early 70s in San Francisco. Auerhahn published a wide variety of well-designed books, including The Exterminator, an early example of William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin’s cut-up technique, in 1960. Auerhahn also published John Wieners’s first book, The Hotel Wentley Poems. Oyez published many memorable volumes including Philip Lamantia‘s Touch of the Marvelous. Joe Dunn’s White Rabbit Press, which had begun publishing in 1957 with Steve Jonas’s rough work Love, the Poem, the Sea & Other Pieces Examined, produced books somewhat less elegant than Auerhahn’s or Oyez’s but with a beauty all their own.

The editorial genius behind White Rabbit was the irrepressible Jack Spicer, who published his own remarkable mimeographed magazine, J. Spicer emphasized the inclusion of writers who were not well published elsewhere, and accepted contributions for consideration in a box that was kept in one of three bars in the North Beach area of San Francisco. J is representative of the best of the mimeograph revolution: an uncompromising editorial stance combined with a playful, even colorful, formal character thanks to Fran Herndon, who edited the artwork for the magazine. Spicer’s model for J was Beatitude, which had begun publication in San Francisco slightly before J. And a recalcitrant model it was, since Spicer was not a fan of the Beats and carried on a running war against Ferlinghetti in particular. He imagined Ferlinghetti had become commercial and financially successful, thereby, in Spicer’s mind, “selling out” to the establishment. Magnificently consistent with his principles, Spicer never copyrighted his own work, anticipating the “no copyright, no nuthin” statements of Tom Clark’s London-based Once Series. The performative aspects of Spicer’s poetics as well as his personality also prefigured the rise of poetry readings in the 1950s, particularly those sponsored by the Poetry Center at San Francisco State, which featured mimeographed programs and booklets printing selections from the poets who were reading, among them, Charles Olson, Denise Levertov, and Louis Zukofsky.

Although Spicer’s J didn’t publish the works of “established” poets, Spicer did include the work of Robert Duncan in four issues of his magazine. Duncan and Jess Collins (whose work adorned the cover of many magazines and books of the period, including Open Space, Caterpillar, and The Floating Bear) were important influences on the literary and artistic scene in San Francisco in the 60s. Duncan’s early work was published in Berkeley or North Carolina (his Song of the Border-Guard was published by the Black Mountain College Press with a cover by Cy Twombly in 1952). Other earlier works were multilithed (Fragments of a Disordered Devotionin San Francisco in 1952) or mimeographed (the first hundred copies of Faust Foutu were mimeographed by Duncan himself, and the next 150 or so of one act of the play were multilithed by Joe Dunn of White Rabbit Press at his place of employment, the Greyhound Bus offices in San Francisco). The multilithed third edition of Faust Foutu, although also produced by Dunn, was published under Duncan’s own imprint, Enkidu Surrogate, of Stinson Beach. Duncan’s work was published by an amazing variety and number of publishers, including Oyez, Auerhahn, White Rabbit, Black Sparrow, Divers Press, Jargon, Perishable Press, City Lights, Grove Press, New Directions, and Scribners.

Slightly outside the Spicer circle (although some of his own poems were published in J) was Donald Allen, who, after the publication of The New American Poetry, 1945-1960 and before his removal to New York, established the Four Seasons Foundation in San Francisco, which published the work of a number of the writers from the anthology, including Charles Olson, Ed Dorn, Ron Loewinsohn, Philip Lamantia, Michael McClure, Joanne Kyger, Robin Blaser, and Robert Creeley. Among the early Four Seasons publications were two important works by poet Gary Snyder (the Reed College roommate of Lew Welch and Philip Whalen and the “Japhy Ryder” of Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums): Six Sections from Rivers and Mountains Without End and Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems, both published in 1965. Riprap, it should be noted, was originally published in 1959 as a booklet by Cid Corman’s Origin Press. Snyder’s Myths and Textswas published in 1960 by Corinth Books. Snyder was out of the country on an extended stay in Japan, and the text used for the Corinth publication was probably from a manuscript that LeRoi Jones had hand-copied from one that Robert Creeley had received from Snyder in 1955 or 1956. Snyder’s poetry was extremely popular in the 60s and was often used as text for broadsides by small presses, particularly those whose owners were ecologically minded. For instance, Snyder’s poem “Four Changes” was published in 1969 by Earth Read Out, a Berkeley environmental protection group, as four mimeographed pages, as well as in a folded, printed version in 200,000 copies by environmentalist Alan Shapiro for free distribution to schools and citizens’ groups.

Literary scenes with strong affiliations to the New American Poetry were in evidence elsewhere in California — most notably Bolinas in the 1970s, when that somewhat remote hippie village north of San Francisco became home to many poets. In particular, the transplanted easterner and Poetry Project veteran Bill Berkson and his press Big Sky flourished there in the decade, publishing both a magazine and a series of books. Bolinas residents of the period also included Robert Creeley, Bobbie Louise Hawkins, David Meltzer, Lewis Warsh, Tom Clark, Lewis MacAdams, Philip Whalen, Aram Saroyan, Joanne Kyger, Jim Carroll, and Duncan McNaughton, among others. Ted Berrigan, Alice Notley, and Joe Brainard were among many occasional visitors, with Joe Brainard’s Bolinas Journal providing an interesting record of one such extended stay.


(1) Kenneth Rexroth. AMERICAN POETRY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (New York: Herder and Herder, 1971), p. 141.

The Jargon Society

Jargon’s first publication, which contained a poem by Jonathan Williams and an engraving by David Ruff, was published in San Francisco in 1951. The press blossomed at Black Mountain College where its peripatetic director moved to study photography with Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind. Jargon’s second publication was a poem by Joel Oppenheimer (“The Dancer”) with a drawing by Robert Rauschenberg. Over the next several years the press would publish Kenneth Patchen, Robert Creeley, The Maximus Poems by Charles Olson, more work by Williams, Louis Zukofsky, Denise Levertov, Michael McClure, Mina Loy, Robert Duncan, Fielding Dawson, Irving Layton, Guy Davenport, Paul Metcalf—the list goes on and on.

When asked why he published what he had, Williams replied, “For pleasure surely. I am a stubborn, mountaineer Celt with an orphic, priapic, sybaritic streak that must have come to me, along with H. P. Lovecraft, from Outer Cosmic Infinity. Or maybe Flash Gordon brought it from Mongo? Jargon has allowed me to fill my shelves with books I cared for as passionately as I cared for the beloved books of childhood—which I still have: Oz, The Hobbit, The Wind in the Willows, Dr. Doolittle, Ransome, Kipling, et al.”

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


1. Williams, Jonathan. GARBAGE LITTERS THE IRON FACE OF THE SUN’S CHILD
First edition:
San Francisco: Jargon, June 1951
Broadside measuring 4″ x 13″ folded twice to make a 4″ x 5″ leaflet, 50 copies, letterpress printed by David Ruff at The Print Workshop. Engraving by David Ruff Published as Jargon 1. (Jaffe A4)

2. Oppenheimer, Joel. THE DANCER
jargon_dancerFirst edition:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1951
Single sheet measuring 10″ x 7″ folded once to make a 4-page booklet, 5.75″ x 7″, 150 copies. Illustration by Robert Rauschenberg. Printed at the The Sad Devil Press by Joel Oppenheimer at Black Mountain College. Published as Jargon 2. (Butterick A1)

3. Williams, Jonathan. RED / GRAY 
a. First edition, regular issue:
Black Mountain: Jonathan Williams, January 1952
Folio sheet folded three times to make a 12-page gate-fold booklet, 8.5″ x 10″ (when folded), 100 copies. Drawings by Paul Ellsworth tipped in. Printed at the The Sad Devil Press by Joel Oppenheimer at Black Mountain College. Published as Jargon 3. Printed announcement. (Jaffe A7)

b. First edition, signed issue:
Black Mountain: Jonathan Williams, January 1952
Folio sheet folded three times to make a 12-page gate-fold booklet, 8.5″ x 10″ (when folded), 50 copies signed by the writer and illustrator. Drawings by Paul Ellsworth tipped in. Printed at the The Sad Devil Press by Joel Oppenheimer at Black Mountain College. Published as Jargon 3. (Jaffe A7)

4. Kalos, Victor. THE DOUBLE-BACKED BEAST
Black Mountain, 1952
Drawings by Dan Rice, 25 copies.

5. Williams, Jonathan. FOUR STOPPAGES / A CONFIGURATION
First edition:
Stuttgart: Jonathan Williams, 1953
Folio sheet measuring 40″ x 15″ folded three times to make eight panels in envelope with Williams’ printed military return address, 200 copies. Drawings by Charles Oscar. Published as Jargon 5. (Jaffe A8)

6. Patchen, Kenneth. FABLES & OTHER LITTLE TALES
a. First edition, regular issue:
Karlsruhe-Baden: Jonathan Williams · Publisher, Summer 1953
Perfect-bound in printed dust jacket, 6.5″ x 9.25″, 130 pages, 450 copies. Published as Jargon 6. (Morgan A21a)

b. First edition, “author’s edition”:
Karlsruhe-Baden: Jonathan Williams · Publisher, Summer 1953
Perfect-bound in hand-painted dust jacket, 6.5″ x 9.25″, 130 pages, 50 copies. Published as Jargon 6. (Morgan A21b)

7. Olson, Charles. THE MAXIMUS POEMS / 1-10
a. First edition, regular issue:
Stuttgart: Jonathan Williams · Publisher, Summer 1953
Hand-sewn in printed and illustrated dust jacket, 9.25 x 12″, 46 pages plus Foreword by Creeley, 300 copies. Calligraphy by Jonathan Williams. (Butterick & Glover A8)

b. First edition, “donor’s edition”:
Stuttgart: Jonathan Williams · Publisher, Summer 1953
Hand-sewn in printed and illustrated dust jacket, 9.25 x 12″, 46 pages plus Foreword by Creeley, 50 signed copies on special paper and boxed. Calligraphy by Jonathan Williams. (Butterick & Glover A8)

8. Creeley, Robert. THE IMMORAL PROPOSITION
First edition:
Karlsruhe-Durlach: Jonathan Williams, Autumn 1953
String-bound in illustrated wrappers, 9″ x 6.5″, 16 pages, 200 copies. Illustrated by René Laubiès. Printed by Verlagsdruckerei Gebr. Tron KG. Published as Jargon 8. (Novik A3)

9. Olson, Charles. THE MAXIMUS POEMS / 11-22
a. First edition, regular issue:
Suttgart: Jonathan Williams, Spring 1956
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated dust jacket, 9.25 x 12″, 52 pages, 350 copies, letterpress printed by Dr. Cantz’sche Druckerei in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. Calligraphy by Jonathan Williams. Published as Jargon 9. (Butterick & Glover A11)

b. First edition, “patron’s edition”:
Suttgart: Jonathan Williams · Publisher, Spring 1956
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated dust jacket, 9.25 x 12″, 52 pages, 25 signed copies on special paper and boxed, letterpress printed by Dr. Cantz’sche Druckerei in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt.. Calligraphy by Jonathan Williams. Published as Jargon 9. (Butterick & Glover A11)

10. Creeley, Robert. ALL THAT IS LOVELY IN MEN
jargon_allthatFirst edition: 
Asheville: Jonathan Williams, 1955
Perfect bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 6″ x 8″, 44 pages, 200 copies. Drawings by Dan Rice, photograph by Jonathan Williams. Signed by Creeley and Rice on the colophon page. Printed by the Biltmore Press in Asheville. Published as Jargon 10. (Novik A6)

11. Patchen, Kenneth. POEM-SCAPES
a. First edition, regular issue:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, January 1958
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated dust jacket, 5″ x 8″, 42 pages, 325 copies, printed by The Stephens Press in Asheville. Cover photograph by Harry Redl. Published as Jargon 11. (Morgan A28d)

b. First edition, painted issue:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, January 1958
Hardcover in hand-painted dust jacket, 5″ x 8″, 42 pages, 75 numbered and signed copies, printed by The Stephens Press in Asheville. Published as Jargon 11. (Morgan A28c)

c. First edition, “gold and gray edition”:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, January 1958
Hardcover in hand-painted dust jacket, 5″ x 8″, 42 pages, 42 numbered and signed copies with a manuscript poem, printed by The Stephens Press in Asheville. Published as Jargon 11. (Morgan A28b)

12. Zukofsky, Louis. A TEST OF POETRY
Second edition:
New York: Jargon / Corinth Books, 1964
Perfect-bound in printed wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 166 pages. Published as Jargon 11.



13a. Williams, Jonathan. AMEN / HUZZA / SELAH
a. First edition, regular issue:
Black Mountain: Jargon, Summer 1960
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 44 pages, 700 copies. Preface by Louis Zukofsky. Photographs by Jonathan Williams. Published as Jargon 13a. (Jaffe A15)

b. First edition, special issue:
Black Mountain: Jargon, Summer 1960
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 44 pages, 50 copies. Preface by Louis Zukofsky. Photographs by Jonathan Williams. Published as Jargon 13a. (Jaffe A15)

13b. Williams, Jonathan. ELEGIES AND CELEBRATIONS 
a. First edition, regular issue:
Highlands: Jargon, Summer 1962
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 48 pages, 700 copies. Preface by Robert Duncan. Photographs by Aaron Siskind and Jonathan Williams. Published as Jargon 13b. (Jaffe A22)

b. First edition, special issue:
Highlands: Jargon, Summer 1962
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 48 pages, 50 copies. Preface by Robert Duncan. Photographs by Aaron Siskind and Jonathan Williams. Published as Jargon 13b. (Jaffe A22)

13c. Williams, Jonathan. JAMMIN’ THE GREEK SCENE 
Note by Charles Olson. Drawings by Fielding Dawson. James Jaffe notes, “Approximately 4 proof copies were produced for a projected edition of 300 copies, but the book, with a cover designed by Fielding Dawson, was never published.” Karlsruhe, 1959. (Jaffe A16)

14. Duncan, Robert. LETTERS: POEMS 1953-1956
a. First edition, regular copies:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1958
Bound in marbled wrappers, 6.75″ x 10″, 450 numbered and signed copies. Drawings by Robert Duncan. Printed by Claude Fredericks. Published as Jargon 14. (Bertholf A9a)

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1958
Hardcover, 6.75″ x 10″, 60 numbered and signed copies. Drawings by Robert Duncan. Printed by Claude Fredericks. Published as Jargon 14. (Bertholf A9b)

15. Zukofsky, Louis. SOME TIME
a. First edition, regular issue:
Sutgart: Jonathan Williams, Autumn 1956
Hand-sewn with coptic binding in printed and illustrated cover, 6″ x 10″, 35 pages, 300 copies, letterpress printed by Dr. Cantz’sche Druckerei in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. A song setting on the cover by Celia Zukofsky. Published as Jargon 15.

b. First edition, “author’s edition”:
Sutgart: Jonathan Williams, 1956
Hand-sewn with coptic binding in printed and illustrated cover, 6″ x 10″, 35 pages, 50 copies, letterpress printed by Dr. Cantz’sche Druckerei in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. A song setting on the cover by Celia Zukofsky.

16. Oppenheimer, Joel. THE DUTIFUL SON
a. First edition, regular issue:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1956
Hand-sewn and bound into french-fold wrappers with printed label tipped on, 6.5″ x 10″, 36 pages, 200 copies, letterpress printed and bound by the Windhover Press in Short Hills. Frontispiece by Joseph Fiore. Printed announcement. Published as Jargon 16. (Butterick A3)

b. First edition, “author’s edition”:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1956
Hand-sewn and bound into french-fold lithographed wrappers, 6.5″ x 10″, 36 pages, 30 copies, letterpress printed and bound by the Windhover Press in Short Hills. Frontispiece and cover art by Joseph Fiore. Printed announcement. Published as Jargon 16. (Butterick A3)

17. Perkoff, Stuart Z. THE SUICIDE ROOM 
a. First edition, regular issue:
Karlsruhe: Jonathan Williams, 1956
Bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 7.25″ x 9″, 200 copies. Drawing by Fielding Dawson. Photograph by Charles Kessler. Published as Jargon 17.

b. First edition, hardcover issue:
Karlsruhe: Jonathan Williams, 1956
Bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 7.25″ x 9″, 25 numbered and signed copies. Drawing by Fielding Dawson. Photograph by Charles Kessler. Published as Jargon 17.

18. Irving Layton. THE IMPROVED BINOCULARS
a. First edition:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, Autumn 1956
Perfect-bound in printed and photo-illustrated French-fold wrappers, 6″ x 9″, 112 pages, 500 copies. Introduction by William Carlos Williams. Printed by the Stephens Press in Asheville. Published as Jargon 18. (Bennett & Polson A12)

b. Second edition:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, Winter 1957
Perfect-bound in printed and photo-illustrated French-fold wrappers, 6″ x 9″, 144 pages, 1000 copies. Introduction by William Carlos Williams. Printed by the Stephens Press in Asheville. This second edition adds 30 poems and features a different photo on the cover. (Bennett & Polson A13)

19. Denise Levertov. OVERLAND TO THE ISLANDS
a. First edition, regular copies:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1958
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated dust jacket, 6″ x 9.75″, 450 copies. Illustrated by Al Kresch. Calligraphy by Jonathan Williams. Printed by Heritage Printers in Charlotte. Published as Jargon 19. (Wilson A4a)

b. First edition, “author’s edition”:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, Spring 1964
Perfect-bound in printed and marbled dust jacket, 6″ x 9.75″, 50 numbered and signed copies. Illustrated by Al Kresch. Printed by Heritage Printers in Charlotte. Published as Jargon 19. (Wilson A4b)

20. Michael McClure. PASSAGE
mcclure_passageFirst edition:
Big Sur: Jonathan Williams, 1956
Hand-sewn in printed wrappers, 7.25″ x 10.75″, 12 pages, 200 copies. Cover by Jonathan Williams. Printed by the Windhover Press. Published as Jargon 20.  (Clements A1)

21. Kenneth Patchen. HURRAH FOR ANYTHING
a. First edition, regular issue:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1957
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated dust jacket, 5.5″ x 8.25″, 62 pages, 2500 copies, Drawings by Kenneth Patchen. Published as Jargon 21. (Morgan A26a)

b. First edition, painted issue:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1957
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated dust jacket, 5.5″ x 8.25″, 62 pages, 100 copies, Drawings by Kenneth Patchen. Published as Jargon 21. (Morgan A26b)

22. Henry Miller. THE RED NOTEBOOK
First edition:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams|Jargon Books, 1958
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 92 pages, 2000 copies. Facsimile of one of two notebooks which Miller kept during his Air-Conditioned Nightmare tour across America in the early 1940’s. Author photograph by Wynn Bullock. Published as Jargon 22.

23. Mina Loy. LUNAR BAEDEKER AND TIME-TABLES
a. First edition, regular issue:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1958
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated dust jacket, 5.5″ x 9.75″, 82 pages, 450 copies. Forewords by William Carlos Williams, Kenneth Rexroth, and Denise Levertov. Illustrated by Emerson Woelffer. Published as Jargon 23.

b. First edition, “author’s edition”:
Cloth-covered boards in acetate dust jacket, 5.5″ x 9.75″, 82 pages, 50 numbered and signed copies. Forewords by William Carlos Williams, Kenneth Rexroth, and Denise Levertov. Illustrated by Emerson Woelffer. Published as Jargon 23.

24. Charles Olson. THE MAXIMUS POEMS
a. First edition, regular issue:
New York: Jargon|Corinth Books, November 1960
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 6″ x 9″, 160 pages, 1893 copies, Photograph by Frederick Sommer. Published in association with Corinth Books. Published as Jargon 24. (Butterick & Glover A14)

b. First edition, numbered issue:
New York: Jargon|Corinth Books, November 1960
Hardcover, 6″ x 9″, 160 pages, 75 numbered copies, Photograph by Frederick Sommer. Published in association with Corinth Books. Published as Jargon 24. (Butterick & Glover A14)

c. First edition, lettered and signed issue:
New York: Jargon|Corinth Books, November 1960
Hardcover, 6″ x 9″, 160 pages, 26 lettered and signed copies, Photograph by Frederick Sommer. Published in association with Corinth Books. Published as Jargon 24. (Butterick & Glover A14)

25. Paul C. Metcalf. WILL WEST
Asheville, 1956.
500 copies

26. Robert Creeley. THE WHIP
a. First edition, regular copies:
Worchester: Migrant Books, Summer 1957
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 5″ x 6.75″, 49 pages, 500 copies. Cover design by René Laubiès. Printed by Mossén Alcover in Palma de Mallorca. Published as Jargon 26 (Novik A8)

a. First edition, hardcover copies:
Worchester: Migrant Books, Summer 1957
Cloth-covered boards with printed spine, 5″ x 6.75″, 49 pages, 100 copies.  Printed by Mossén Alcover in Palma de Mallorca. Illustrated by Kirsten Hoeck. Published as Jargon 26 (Novik A8)

27. Peyton Houston. SONNET VARIATIONS
Highlands, 1962
Photograph by Henry Holmes Smith.

28. Irving Layton. A LAUGHTER IN THE MIND
First edition:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1958
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 58 pages, 1000 copies. Cover photograph by Frederick Sommer. Published as Jargon 28. (Bennett & Polson A14)

29. Bob Brown. 1450-1950
First edition:
New York, Jargon|Corinth, 1959
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 8.5″, 70 pages, 2000 copies. Cover photograph by Jonathan Williams. Printed by Heritage Printers in Charlotte. Published as Jargon 29.

30. Jonathan Williams. THE EMPIRE FINALS AT VERONA
First edition:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, September 1959
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated French-fold wrappers, 8″ x 10.75″, 32 pages, 1000 copies. Drawings and collage by Fielding Dawson. Published as Jargon 30. (Jaffe A12)

31. Williams, Jonathan ed. 14 POETS, 1 ARTIST 
First edition:
New York: Jonathan Williams, 1958
Unbound printed wrappers containing 14 printed pages, 5.75″ x 9″, 1000 copies. Drawings by Fielding Dawson. Contributors include Paul Blackburn, Bob Brown, Edward Dahlberg, Max Finstein, Allen Ginsberg, Paul Goodman, Denise Levertov, Walter Lowenfels, Edward Marshall, E.A. Navaretta, Joel Oppenheimer, Gilbert Sorrentino, Jonathan Williams and Louis Zukofsky. Published as Jargon 31.

32. Walter Lowenfels. SOME DEATHS
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, Summer 1964
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 6.25″ x 9″, 112 pages, 1500 copies, printed by Heritage Printers in Charlotte. Introduction by Jonathan Williams. Photographs by Robert Schiller and African news sources. Published as Jargon 32.

33. Robert Creeley. A FORM OF WOMEN
First edition:
New York: Jargon Books|Corinth Books, 1959
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 5.5″ x 8″, 64 pages, 2000 copies. Cover photograph by Robert Schiller. Printed by Heritage Printers in Charlotte. Published as Jargon 33. (Novik A9)

34. Bob Brown. THE SELECTED POEMS
Introduction by Kay Boyle. Drawing by Reuben Nakian. Jargon 34 was projected but never published.

35. Irving Layton. A RED CARPET FOR THE SUN
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1959
1000 copies. Photograph by Harry Callahan. (Bennett & Polson A17)

36. Larry Eigner. ON MY EYES
Highlands, 1960
500 copies. Introduction by Denise Levertov. Photographs by Harry Callahan.

37. Russell Edson. WHAT A MAN CAN SEE
First edition:
Penland: The Jargon Society, 1969
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers and unprinted glassine dust jacket, 7.5″ x 10″, 86 pages, 1000 copies. Drawings by Ray Johnson. Printed by Heritage Printers in Charlotte. Published as Jargon 37.

38. Giuseppe Gioachino Belli. THE ROMAN SONNETS
Highlands, 1960
2000 copies. Translated by Harold Norse. Preface by William Carlos Williams. Introduction by Alberto Moravia. Cover by Ray Johnson. Collage by Jean-Jacques Lebel.

39. Jonathan Williams. LORD! LORD! LORD!
First edition:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1959
Folding card, 5.5″ x 4.5″, 200 copies, handset and printed “for the friends of the Jargon Press” by Igal Roodenko. Published as Jargon 39. (Jaffe A13)

40. Gilbert Sorrentino. THE DARKNESS SURROUNDS US
First edition:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, October 1960
Saddle stapled in printed and photo-illustrated dust jacket, 6″ x 9″, 48 pages, 1000 copies, printed by Heritage Printers in Charlotte. Introduction by Joel Oppenheimer. Collage and drawings by Fielding Dawson. Published as Jargon 40 [?](McPheron A1)

41. Lou Harrison. JARGON’S CHRISTMAS IN 1960: THREE CHORUSES FROM OPERA LIBRETTI
First edition:
Highlands: Jonathan Williams, 1960
Hand-sewn in wrappers, 5.5″ x 4″, 4 pages, 200 copies. Published as Jargon 41.


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

b. First edition, hardcover copies:
Highlands: The Nantahala Foundation, 1964
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers and glassine dust jacket, 6.5″ x 10″, 80 pages, 50 numbered and signed copies with errata slip noting the omitted dedication to Olson laid in. Illustrated by Thomas George. Printed at the Auerhahn Press in San Francisco. The author’s first book. Published as Jargon 42.  (Auerhahn 35)

43. Paul C. Metcalf. GENOA: A TELLING OF WONDERS
Highlands, 1965
Iconography by Jonathan Williams.

44. Buckminster Fuller. UNTITLED EPIC POEM ON THE HISTORY OF INDUSTRIALIZATION
a. First edition, regular issue:
Highlands: The Nantahala Foundation, 1962
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers and printed glassine dust jacket, 5″ x 7.5″, 227 pages, 2000 copies. Introduction by Russell Davenport. Printed by Heritage Printers in Charlotte. Published as Jargon 44.

a. First edition, numbered and signed issue:
Highlands: The Nantahala Foundation, 1962
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers and printed glassine dust jacket, 5″ x 7.5″, 227 pages, 100 copies. Introduction by Russell Davenport. Printed by Heritage Printers in Charlotte. Published as Jargon 44.

45. Sherwood Anderson. SIX MID-AMERICAN CHANTS
Highlands, 1964
Photographs by Art Sinsabaugh. Preface by Edward Dahlberg. Postface by Frederick Eckman

46. Guy Davenport. FLOWERS AND LEAVES
First edition:
Highlands: The Nantahala Foundation, 1966
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated french-fold wrappers, 6.25″ x 9.5″, 114 pages. Cover photograph by Ralph Eugene Meatyard. Designed and printed by Andrew Hoyem in San Francisco. Published as Jargon 46.

47. Merle Hoyleman. Letters to Christopher
Introduction by George Marion O’Donnell. Jargon 47 was projected but never published.

48. Lorine Niedecker. TENDERNESS & GRISTLE: THE COLLECTED POEMS (1936-1966)
First edition:
Penland: The Jargon Society, 1968
Perfect-bound in printed and illustrated wrappers, 6″ x 10″, 2000 copies. Plant prints by A. Doyle Moore. Printed by the Falcon Press in Philadelphia. Published as Jargon 48.

49. Alfred Hamilton Starr. POEMS
Penland, 1970
Introduction by Geof Hewitt. Drawings by Philip Van Aver. Photograph by Simpson Kalisher.

50. Doris Ulmann. THE APPALACHIAN PHOTOGRAPHS OF DORIS ULMANN
Penland, 1971
Introduction by John Jacob Nies. Preface by Jonathan Williams.

[n.b. notes have not been made about inclusion of items in archive]


Online Resources:

Jacket Magazine

The Jargon Society


References Consulted:

Bell, Millicent. THE JARGON IDEA
Providence: Brown University, 1963

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

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

Jaffe, James S. JONATHAN WILLIAMS: A BIBLIOGRAPHIC CHECKLIST OF HIS WRITINGS, 1950-1988
Haverford: James S. Jaffe Rare Books, 1989

McPheron, William. GILBERT SORRENTINO: A DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY
Elmwood Park: Dalkey Archive Press, 1991

Morgan, Richard G. KENNETH PATCHEN, AN ANNOTATED DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mamaroneck: Paul P. Appel – Publisher, 1978

Williams, Jonathan. JARGON AT FORTY: 1951-1991
Buffalo: State University of New York, 1991

Zukofsky, Celia. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LOUIS ZUKOFSKY
Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1969