Taylor, Kent; Wagner, D.R.

Broadside: "January 10, 1966, February 10, 1966"/ "Cleveland Gate Illumination"

Cleveland, OH: d.a.levy, 1966. First Printing. Single Sheet. A mimeographed broadside featuring two poems (“january 10, 1966“ & “feb. 10, 1966”) by Kent Taylor, the great American mimeograph revolutionary from Cleveland, OH & noted associate of d.a.levy (1942-1968), the incendiary poet-publisher-printer whose voluminous output and intellectual swagger lit the dynamite on what became “the Mimeograph Revolution in Cleveland,” met Kent Taylor at a poetry workshop cooperatively conducted by Adelaide Simon & the sui generis, Black American poet, Russel Atkins (1926-2024). Atkins, a close friend of Langston Hughes (1901-1967), was particularly encouraging when it came to Kent Taylor and d.a.levy; and it was Atkins who told Taylor that he needed to meet d.a. When they did eventually meet, Atkins prophecy bore fruit: the two were fast friends, & another key branch of the mimeograph revolution began to take shape. It was Kent Taylor who provided the next history-altering introduction: doing so by bringing levy to the Asphodel Book Shop, and introducing him to its owner, Jim Lowell (1932-2004). Lowell, prior to opening the Asphodel, was a widely-respected collector, as well as dealer of rare books & manuscripts. These two meetings as briefly detailed above launched the mimeograph revolution in Cleveland. levy obtained a small, hand-crank letterpress soon after. His first imprint, Renegade Press, was founded in 1963 — and in a stroke of incalculable irony, the first work levy’s RP published was authored by one George Robert Beck, a Cleveland cop. The “pigs,” as John Sinclair (1941-2024) — another major mimeograph revolutionary, & eventual friend to d.a. — might call them, would begin to immiserate the young Bohemian polymath starting appx. three years later. For a time, however — before the ‘invisipigs’ (plainclothes cops, per John Sinclair) started hanging around, gathering “evidence,” & generally bringing to Cleveland the Total Program of Fear & Stasis the politicians loved -- they had massive amounts of fun, and brought revolution directly to the people. As Euclid Avenue (the center of Downtown Cleveland at that time) made the transition from “a physically quiet street,” — as Kent Taylor’s first wife [and d.a.levy’s cousin, Joan Kinney] said to Your Devoted VP-of-Operations here at TMB in an interview — to a thriving, vibrant mecca of smiles & noise, the Old-Timers began to worry, aloud. Before long, a wellspring of protestations from the married & hairless rose to the surface & were mediated [i.e., boosted] through local conservatives on Cleveland's public radio. Despite the rising tide of bullshit, at the time of this reading flyer's publication, great things were happening in Cleveland. One of them, referred to on the verso side of this broadside/reading flyer, was the series of poetry readings at “The Gate." The Gate, for those that don’t know, was not an actual standalone venue. It was just the basement of the Trinity Cathedral there in Cleveland; and a friendly, community-minded minister (named Dewey Fagenberg) let levy & friends use it. This was a huge thing for the Cleveland scene, and the series of readings that followed at the Gate did much to popularize levy’s presses & their publications, as well as create a shared site of social belonging for Mimeograph Revolutionaries (& people of the “Youth Culture,” as John Sinclair would say — who did not engage IN the literary arts, but engaged WITH the literary arts. Eventually, shit hit the fan — and the ‘agents of Grease’ (e.g., local politicians [& other aspiring Nova Criminals]) — as well as a hideous apportionment of illiberal conservatives brought a grand jury indictment on levy that would end in the poet’s death by suicide in November 1968. For a time, however, the Gate Readings were indeed “ILLUMINATIONS,” as the third poem (“CLEVELAND GATE ILLUMINATIONS,” by D.R. Wagner [1943-2023], of Niagara Falls, NY — yet another close levy associate) — makes clear. What matters here is the prospective buyer understanding how & why this is a relic of the Cleveland scene, & Mim-Rev in general: how it capsulizes what “TOTAL ASSAULT ON THE CULTURE!” (through text-based resistance) actually meant at the time this was published. Mimeograph Revolutionaries believed — [a la Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021]) — that “Printer’s Ink is the Greater Explosive.” A vital ideal, still today. Letter-sized mimeographed broadside-reading flyer: the first-&-only printing of this exemplary collectible. In strong near fine condition with only mild-to-moderate shelf-wear, light-to-moderate bumping, & some (since-flattened) bump-creasing to fine-edges & corners of recto & verso side; some rubbing & age-toning (inc. a bit of foxing, discoloration, & other artifacts similar) present variously, throughout; otherwise, clean. Near Fine. [Item #7987]

Price: $100.00