Various (Stettner, Irving (Editor); Brown, Tom; Levy, Howard S.; Maillot, Christine; Resnick, Joe; Richter, Ernst; Trantino, Tommy et al.)

Stroker No. 58 (1996)

Shavertown, PA: Stroker Magazine, 1996. First Edition. Stapled Wrappers. “Truman beating Dewey wasn’t not big deal to us. We all knew that a Republican with a mustache didn’t stand a cut pig’s chance of beating a solid Democrat who wore an Open Road, John B. Stetson, hat. But 1948 was a real big year for two Texas politicians. Lyndon Johnson got caught stealing votes in Jim Wells County and Constable Gideon Stout got caught at duckleggin’ in Galveston County. / Lyndon went to the United States Senate and Gideon went to jail. Lots of people in Artesia said it should have been the other way around. Some disagreed. They allowed that they’d pick jail and living with ordinary criminals over having to live in Washington with all them politicians, if given their druthers. / Duckleggin’ didn’t seem bad to Gideon and people in Galveston County at the time. Maybe vote stealing wasn’t no big deal either to Lyndon Johnson and Jim Wells County in 1948. Most people in Artesia didn’t know a thing about Coke Stevenson or Lyndon Johnson in 1948 and didn’t give a busted churn paddle which one went to Washington since they were both Democrats. But everybody knew Gideon Stout and this is his story. / “Duckleggin’” is the nick-name for a Federal crime having to do with selling dead, wild ducks. The name “duckleggin’” made more sense than “boot-legging” which don’t have nothing to do with either boots or legs. The people of Galveston County didn’t take either on of them seriously in 1948. Sort of like the Seventh Commandment; if enough people did it, somehow it didn’t seem like a real crime even if it was against some law. (Somehow “Votelegging” never did catch on.)”--Tom Brown, “Duckleggin’”, pg. 5. Stroker was a magazine of literature and arts that ran from 1974 to 1994. It was published from New York – and later from Nagano, Japan – by American artist and author Irving Stettner (1922-2004). Stettner, a friend of Henry Miller’s (1891-1980), lived many years as an ex-pat in France, Morocco, Japan and other countries. With little money, he cultivated a devoted following of readers who were also “Stroker” contributors -- including Henry Miller in the last two years of his life, as well as Paul Bowles (1910-1999), Mohammed Mrabet (b. 1936) and Charles Bukowski (1920-1994), among others. One lesser-known writer from Detroit named Ron Papandrea (b. 1948) became one of Stettner's closest allies, his "Western scout," acting as a collector, archivist, distributor and publisher of Stettner's works. Stettner’s vision for Stroker was largely to present an amalgamation of art, literary essays, correspondences, poetry, and a seemingly Walt Whitman (1819-1892)-esque enthusiasm for life and poetry. The topic of today’s curation, Stroker 58 was published in 1996. This issue features: “Duckleggin’” a prose piece (quoted above) by Tom Brown; “Waka Poems by Little-known Whores of the Tokugawa Period (1603-1867)” translated from the original Japanese by Howard S. Levy; “Stardust” ink wash, drawing by Christine Maillot; “H.M.’s Two Loves” a prose piece by Joseph Resnick (1954-2016); “On the 2nd Avenue Patrol,” a book review and “Conversation avec Albert Cossery,” an ink drawing by Irving Stettner; and 2 ink drawings, and an ink drawing/poem by Tommy Trantino (b. 1938), among many other great contributions! Stapled wrappers. First & presumably only printing. In relatively very fine condition with only minor wear to fine edges, moderate smudging/staining to front and back covers, and very light rusting at staples. Very Fine. [Item #8737]

Price: $50.00