Various (Sinclair, John (Editor); Brautigan, Richard; Dawson, Fielding; Eichele, Robin; Hollo, Anselm; Jones, LeRoi; Sanders, Edward; Snyder, Gary; Spicer, Jack; Tysh, George; Whalen, Philip et al.)

Work No. 2 (Fall 1965)

Detroit, MI: Detroit Artists' Workshop, 1965. First Edition. Stapled Wrappers. "The work is the thing. The measure of a man. All there is to look at, count up, judge him by. His work. The words are no mark, are noise. Talk is cheap, &c, but let's see the work, &c. The 'solid artifact,' what draws the mind. (The word as act only. As prophecy. As poem, is act/shun, choice of one design (ys) over, act. The poem, as thing [underlined]. What has been made, worked with, what has been made of the workings...You start with the work of a man," writes John Sinclair (1941-2024) in the opening editorial to Work/1, published by John Sinclair and Robin Eichele's (b. 1941) Detroit Artists' Workshop in the Summer of 1965 (see our item #6308). While this snippet wasn’t taken from this particular issue of Sinclair and the Workshop’s Work magazine, fear not: this one is, dare I say, even better. This issue—and really the whole Work publication sub-series issued by Sinclair and Eichele's Detroit Artists' Workshop Press in the mid-late 1960s—signifies the go-getting, action-backed culture of the Mimeograph Revolution, writ large. The reason for this? Well, among the most remarkable parts—if not THE most remarkable part–of Work magazine's second issue is best unfurled before You, Dear Reader by the following passage, qtd. directly from the magazine's seventy-ninth page. "All readings and lectures and perhaps the seminars conducted at the Berkeley Poetry Conference in July were taped and are being made available (according to the individual poets’ wishes) throughout the U of C Berkeley Language Laboratory, @ approx. $4.50 per tape. You can write to: Robert Krones, Sound Technician, for more information, or to this magazine. Below is listed a grouping of the various aspects of the conference in case you want to make a specific order,” reads the magazine. Why is this remarkable? Well, it’s because the magazine again lives up to its title: it testifies to the fact that it wants not only to live up to an image it created for itself but democratizes the possibility for all possible participants and in the most technologically advanced way possible. It is a pure embodiment of what sociologists of social movements call "Diffusion," a pure example of a technological adaptation combining with a mission (or attestation to mission) mobilized by a social movement for the purposes of mobilization. Incredible! As if this were enough, it also contains rarely-seen photographs (taken by Leni Sinclair) of that very event, which are worth the price of admission alone. Contents and contributor list, in part, reads: [1] “3 Flip-outs for Children” by Jim Semark; [2] “3 poems” by Ron English; [3] “letter” by Kenneth Schooner”; [4] “All Around the World,” by “Little Willie Jean”; [5] A series of three “Responses” to the Conference, beginning with: “Jack Spicer: Language,” by George Tysh; [6] “A note on Spicer’s forthcoming book,” by Stan Persky”; [7] “The Berkeley Poetry Conference,” by Robin Eichele; [8] “supplement 5: photographs by Magdalene Arndt; [9] More “responses,” this time to books, the first of which is ”Leroi Jones/Two Plays” & “Ron Loewinsohn/Against the Silences to Come,” by Allen Van Newkirk; [10] “Lew Welch/Hermit Poems,” “Stephen Rodfer/The Knife,” & Fred Wah/Lardeau,” by Ron English & also contains at least eleven more reviews after that. Quite a lot of “Work,” indeed! From the collection of Robin Eichele (b. 1941), noted Mimeograph Revolutionary & co-founder (with John Sinclair) of the Detroit Artists’ Workshop. In strong near fine condition with only moderate to enunciated shelf-wear, bumping, bump-creasing, age-toning, sunning & rubbing to front, back covers, spine-edge & corners of same, otherwise quite clean with the interior wholly unmarked. Near Fine. [Item #6304]

Price: $400.00