Various (LaVoie, Steven (Editor); Nolan, Pat (Editor) et al.)

Life of Crime Vol. Actualism No. Shmactualism (1984)

Cedar Rapids, IA: Black Bart Poetry Society, 1984. Limited First Edition. Stapled Sheets. "After a class with Ted Berrigan in the Iowa Writers' Workshop, back when drugs were mind-altering and ideas took on grandeur greatly disproportionate to their actual significance, someone clutched an Old Style and proclaimed the birth of Actualism." (exceprt, front page)."Life of Crime was the often satirical mimeograph newsletter of the Black Bart Poetry Society, co-edited by Steve Lavoie & Pat Nolan (b. 1943). It documented the San Francisco poetry wars of the late 1970s & early 1980s, serving as the voice of the counter-insurgency against the "Language Poetry" establishment. The "Vol. Actualism No. Shmactualism" numbering is a direct shot at the poetry movement labeling game, "shmactualism" being classic Yiddish-inflected dismissal. Actualism itself was an Iowa City based poetry movement from the early 1970s, associated with poets like Darrell Gray (1952-1997) & Dave Morice (b. 1946), which then migrated to the San Francisco Bay area. LaVoie & Nolan recognized early on the tactic of dismissing non-conforming Bay Area poets by labeling them "post-Actualist," and they solicited Morice (b. 1946) to help debunk the strategy through a "Post-Actualist Manifesto." Nolan was also an early compatriot of the Actualists, which makes the newsletter's mock-numbering scheme all the more pointed, it's an insider joke from someone who actually knew those poets. "Life of Crime" captured a pivotal moment in the history of American poetry, marking the shift from a cozy, local reading scene to a more politicized and contentious literary environment.From the collection of Albert Glover (1942-2026), the great American scholar, bibliographer, author & publisher who until recently was the foremost remaining authority on literary giant Charles Olson (1910-1970), with whom we're honored to have been acquainted. Stapled Sheets (8; folded once horizontally): First Edition, first & only printing per publication custom. A most collectible mimeograph uniquity in its rarest contemporary form with very distinguished provenance. In relatively fine-to-very fine condition with mild rubbing to pages; mild scratching & age-toning mostly to blank margins & fine edges of pgs. 2-8; mild bumping to corners of some of same. At recto final page, the magazine has been hand addressed to Glover in black ink. Fine-Very Fine. [Item #8909]

Price: $200.00