di Prima, Diane; Jones, LeRoi; McGilvery, Laurence (Glover, Albert)

Prospectus-Letter for compilation volume of The Floating Bear with: Original Mailing Envelope Addressed to Albert Glover

La Jolla, CA: Laurence McGilvery, 1973. First Edition. Single Sheet. “The Floating Bear is one of the most important and also one of the most elusive of all the hundreds of “little magazines” of the sixties. Edited by Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones for free distribution by mailing list, it published many of the best American writers during nearly the entire decade. A list of only the most frequent and well-known contributors includes Frank O’Hara, Charles Olson, Ed Dorn, Michael McClure, Robert Creeley, Joel Oppenheimer, William Burroughs, Phillip Whalen, John Wieners, A.B. Spellman, Robert Duncan, and the editors. Nearly all of the material published in The Floating Bear appeared there in print for the first time, and much of it has never been reprinted elsewhere. Because of the manner of its publication, complete sets of The Floating Bear are virtually unobtainable. The present edition makes this wealth of material available for the first time as a whole.”--Laurence McGilvery. The Floating Bear, founded and edited by Diane di Prima (1934-2020) and LeRoi Jones (1934-2014), a/k/a Amiri Baraka, started in February 1961, was a mimeographed “newsletter” distributed by mailing list whose mission was the speedy dissemination of new literary work. twenty-five issues came out in the magazine’s first two years and featured contributing writers such as: Charles Olson (1910-1970), Robin Blaser (1929-2005), Robert Creeley (1926-2005), Philip Whalen (1923-2002), Paul Blackburn (1926-1971), and Ed Dorn (1929-1999), while Ray Johnson (1927-1995) and Wallace Berman (1926-1976) were among the many visual artists whose work was presented. This tremendous output was due at least in part to Jones’s experience as editor at Yugen and Totem Press and to his voracious working habits. Di Prima recalls, “LeRoi could work at an incredible rate. He could read two manuscripts at a time, one with each eye. He would spread things out on the table while he was eating supper, and reject them all—listening to the news and a jazz record he was going to review, all at the same time.” While The Floating Bear was widely loved by readers and kept afloat by subscribers, the publication unfortunately ran into trouble. One of the recipients of Bear 9 was Harold Carrington, a poet who was in prison in New Jersey. The censor read his mail and objected to the contents of the issue, which included Jones’s The System of Dante’s Hell and William S. Burroughs’ (1914-1997) Routine. Jones and di Prima were subsequently arrested on obscenity charges on October 18, 1961. Di Prima remembers, “I heard a knock on my door early in the morning which I didn’t answer because I never open my door early in the morning in New York City. In the morning in New York City is only trouble. It’s the landlords, it’s Con Edison, it’s the police, it’s your neighbors wanting to know why you made so much noise last night, it’s something awful, and before noon I never open my door.” There was a grand jury hearing, but after Jones’s two-day testimony, they failed to return an indictment. Jones resigned from The Floating Bear in 1963 after issue 25. Di Prima moved briefly to California in 1962 and the magazine came out irregularly over the next several years, culminating in a very large issue in 1971 guest-edited by Allen De Loach (1939-2002) in Buffalo. It was called The Intrepid-Bear Issue: Intrepid 20/Floating Bear 38. Offered today is a prospectus letter for the 1973 The Floating Bear, a Newsletter: Numbers 1-37, 1961-1969. Published by the legendary Laurence McGilvery—antiquarian bookseller and publisher based out of La Jolla, California—The Floating Bear, a Newsletter: Numbers 1-37, 1961-1969 was a compendium of all the issues of the decade defining newsletter/magazine. This prospectus letter, of course, gives some background information on The Floating Bear and its importance to American literature, as well as a rundown on the three available versions of the compendium & their respective prices. This particular copy was mailed to (see envelope in photo) and is from the collection of Albert Glover (1942-2026), the acclaimed American poet, bibliographer, editor, publisher & academician who was the foremost remaining authority on the aforementioned Olson, the Great Black Mountain-&-Beyond Poet's Poet who is our favorite Maximus Obscurantist. Glover was a student of & anointed by the Maximus Master himself at SUNY Buffalo during the 1960s, & ever since was the foremost Olsonian Torch-Bearer. We were honored to know Glover, & are deeply saddened at his recent passing. Single sheet with envelope. First & only printing. Sheet in very fine condition with minor wear to fine edges and two horizontal creases folding the paper into thirds. Envelope in fine-very fine condition with only minor discoloration due to age-toning and jagged edges at side-opening. Very Fine / Fine-Very Fine. [Item #8949]

Price: $30.00