Osterlund, Steven (Blazek, Douglas)

Broadside: "New Year's Poem 1966"

n/p: n/p, 1966. First Edition. Single Sheet. Signed by Steven Osterlund. Cleveland, Ohio’s Steven Osterlund (b. 1943) reflects on his life and work in his “New Year’s Poem 1966,” dedicated to Douglas Blazek (b. 1941), poet, editor, & publisher of the literary chapbook Ole as well as the proprietor of Open Skull Press in San Francisco. Blazek is one of the founders of the Mimeo Revolution, a literary movement that sprang up concurrently with the Beats. The small-scale, non-commercial publishing was made possible by the accessibility of the mimeograph, and the underground poets of the era made great use of this new possibility. Blazek was instrumental in bringing non-establishment poets and artists such as Charles Bukowski, Robert Crumb and d. a. levy into the limelight by publishing their work. Osterlund self-published his poetry in Cleveland following the lead of other revolutionaries like levy. This broadside has no reference to publishing or limitation, leading us to believe this may have also been a self-published work. Very little information is available about his life, and his only commercially-published poetry collection, so far as can be discerned, is Twenty Love Poems (Windflower Press, 1976). Osterlund’s relationship with Blazek likely was born out of an excursion to San Francisco during the early 1960s, a common experience of their generation and social circles, and their aligned creative goals and perspectives would have allowed for a fast friendship. “New Year’s Poem 1966” exclaims, “O Doug this is death!” in an existential spiral as the passage of time is felt heavily as the new year commences. Osterlund’s signature is above his printed name below the poem’s text in thin, black ink. Single sheet (appx. 9” x 12”): presumed first edition, first-&-only printing, given the poet’s association with small press printing and the lack of any comparable copies. In relatively fine condition with mild bumping to the fine edges and corners; mild age-discoloration; a small, faint, green line can be found near bottom edge and in left margin near center; a small, darker line can be found in the upper left-hand corner; verso has a gray strip of paper adhered along the top edge which has been torn or peeled off at the upper right-hand corner, leaving behind exposed adhesive residue and peeling a small section of surface paper; this gray strip also shows some red smears; a small black spot is present near center of verso. Fine. [Item #7666]

Price: $25.00