Various (Bonheim, Helmut (Editor); Federman, Raymond (Editor); Eigner, Larry; Hollo, Anselm; Isherwood, Christopher et al.)

Mica II (February 1961)

Santa Barbara, CA, USA: Helmut Bonheim & Raymond Federman, 1961. Limited First Edition. Stapled Wrappers. "Mica Mica Parva Stella..." (Italian for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, title page). Mica II is a very small, ephemeral little literary magazine published and edited by German-American English scholar Helmut Bonheim (1930-2012) & French-American scholar Raymond Federman (1928-2009). It ran for about seven issues between late 1960 & November 1962. Mica positioned itself as the direct successor to Scottish poet Gael Turnbull's (1928-2004) magazine Migrant. Featured are two excerpts from a talk (pg. 10) given by English-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer & diarist Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) in which Isherwood expresses the value in accepting even the smallest of victories. Isherwood's presence is notable, as he was living in the LA/Santa Barbara area at the time and was already a major literary figure (his autobiographical The Berlin Stories, published in 1939, was the basis for the Broadway musical Cabaret), so his appearance signals that the magazine drew on local Southern California literary networks, not just the small-press poetry circuit. Other notable contributors include American poet Larry Eigner (1927-1996; "four poems by Larry Eigner," pgs. 26-27), one of the principal figures in the Black Mountain School of poets led by Third Mind Books favorite "Maximus Obscurantist" Charles Olson (1910-1970) & Finnish poet Anselm Hollo (1934-2013; "Two translations from the German," pgs. 14-15), one of the earliest translators of Beat Generation Founding Father Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) into German & Finnish, which meant he was a key conduit bringing Beat poetry to European audiences in the early 1960s at a time when Howl and similar work were still largely an American phenomenon. Mica sits squarely in the Mimeo Revolution of late-1950s/early-60s American small-press poetry. By continuing Turnbull's Migrant, Mica inherited a British/American crossover roster with later issues featuring Robert Creeley, Tom Raworth & Charles Bukowski. We have found & retained the original non-perforated subscription mailing insert. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England for founder Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate bookseller & publisher). From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Unicorn proffered & published many outstanding productions by William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), J.G. Ballard (1930-2009) et al., some of which have become the scarcest, all-but-unobtainable Beat-&-Beyond collectibles (see for example our Item No.s 8217 & 8366). After prevailing against censorious harassment efforts, Unicorn closed & Butler died in short order. Cupidi went on to found the Public House Bookshop in Brighton, which had a long & successful run but is also now closed, & he still resides there. We have been honored to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining gems of Unicorn & Public House, including this standout. Chapbook in Stapled Wrappers: First Edition, 1 of only 550 copies printed, per "a note from the editors," (pg. 4). A most collectible Mimeograph Revolution time capsule in its rarest contemporary form with highly relevant association & very distinguished provenance. In relatively fine condition with mild-to-moderate rubbing/discoloration mostly to fine edges of front, back covers & spine; mild age-toning & bumping of corners to same; several minor occasions of mild spot-staining to front cover; mild-to-moderate rubbing to text block. Interior fine with moderate age-toning mostly to blank margins & fine edges of page leaves; mild bumping to corners of same. Subscription insert fine with moderate age-toning & minor rubbing mostly to blank margins & fine edges. Fine. [Item #9076]

Price: $80.00