E-LIST #26
d.a. levy and Cleveland's Mimeograph Revolution
d.a. levy (1942-1968) was a visionary poet, artist, and publisher born in Cleveland, Ohio. He lived there his entire life. The rustbelt city inspired, infuriated, repressed, and ultimately defined him.
After a stint in the Navy and an awakening to Buddhism, levy set out to "read and write everything," to lose himself in the search for infinity. In the early '60s he became the vanguard of a small but intense community that interacted with a nationwide network of mimeo publishers, poets, and artists. He operated two presses, Renegade Press and 7 Flowers Press, printing his and other poets' works by hand. His labors garnered the attention of law enforcement, specifically the local red squad, who slapped him and bookstore owner Jim Lowell with obscenity charges, culminating in a year of harassment from the courts. Prominent poets such as Allen Ginsberg and Tuli Kupferberg of The Fugs rallied to levy and Lowell's defense. The charges were eventually dropped, and levy paid a small fee. So much hassle-- over poetry.
Levy often spoke of committing suicide, worrying his friends to the extent that they would bring him stacks of books knowing he would read them all, and then replenish them, diligently attempting to delay his death book by book. This was to no avail, as he committed suicide in 1968. He was 26. His legacy was his extensive ouevre.
All books are subject to prior sale. They can be ordered via email (info@burnsiderarebooks.com) or through our website.
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Primary works by d.a. levy
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Cleveland, Ohio: Falling Down Press, 1976. First edition, one of 200 copies. Original side-stapled blue wraps, with front cover silk-screened by TL Kryss, illustration by M. Schaefer. Near Fine with light shelf wear. A posthumously published work, reprinting material from The Buddhist Third Class Junkmail Oracle, NOLA Express, Campfires of the Resistance, Unmuzzled Ox, and The Box Lunch Travel-og of Freemont Gulch. Scarce. Item #140939028
$350
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The Beginning of Sunny Dawn
levy, d.a.
Cleveland, Ohio: GHOSTflower Press, 1968. First edition, first printing. Signed by d.a. levy on the title/copyright page dated in the year of publication. Publisher's original side-stapled wraps. Very Good+ with some light shelf wear and light toning. A short prose tale, one of 236 copies printed. Item #140938400
$550
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Collected Poems
Ephrain, WI: Druid Press, 1976. First edition. Near Fine with light shelf wear, faint toning to spine and light rubbing to rear joint. A fantastic copy. Item #140938815
$125
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Poem for Julie
Cleveland, Ohio: Grass Coin Publishing Company, 1967. Side-stapled wraps. (4) pp. printed on rectos only. First edition. Very Good with toning, light shelf wear and a faint stain to the title page. One of approximately 260 copies. Prints a single poem, "One Death in the Life of Julie." Item #140939026
$300
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Suburban Monastery Death Poem
Cleveland, Ohio: Zero Edition, 1968. First edition, first printing. Mimeographed stapled poems bound into stiff white wraps with drawings by Barb O'Connelly printed on blue paper adhered to the front and rear covers. Very Good+ with light general wear. Item #140938401
$175
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Tibetan Stroboscope
Cleveland, Ohio: Ayizan Press, 1968. First edition. Side-stapled wraps. Toned, else Near Fine. A tabloid-format collection of visual poetry, published in the last year of Levy's life. Item #140939030
$350
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ukanhavyrfuckincitibak.
levy, d.a.
Cleveland, Ohio: Ghost Press, 1968. Unpaginated (approx. 275 pages with six color silkscreens by T.L. Kryss). First edition, first printing. Softcover with mimeographed type bound with black library tape, as issued. Laid in is a typed letter signed by rjs, as well as a Swamp Erie Publications order form, with a types letter signed by rjs on the verso. Very Good. Dampstain to front cover, barely, lightly affecting the first page as well; creasing and light dampstain to rear cover. Levy's rare collected works, hand-assembled by his friends including poets t.l. Kryss and rjs to raise money for his legal defense. Reprints of articles about levy's arrest and trials, drawings by him and more. Item #140939027
$400
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Contributions to books and
periodicals by d. a. levy
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Head Second
Staatsburg, NY: Erik Kiviat, [1965]. First edition. [14] pp. Side-stapled wraps. Very Good with light scuffing and soiling, hint of creasing to corners. A rare collaboration between poet Judson Crews (hailing from New Mexico) and Cleveland's multi-talented d.a. levy, who provided drawings rather than his usual poetry. OCLC locates only three copies. Item #140939036
$250
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456 [Four Five Six]
Cleveland, Ohio: 7 Flowers Press, 1966. Side stapled mimeographed sheets with cover art by Ralph & Diedra Poplar. Very Good with toning, light soiling and light staining causing light waviness to tops of several pages. An anthology of Cleveland poets featuring works of levy, rjs, kryss, Kent Taylor, and more. Item #140939025
$500
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Cleveland Concrete
levy, d.a.; rjs; Taylor, Kent, et al.
Cleveland, Ohio: Free Love Press, 1966. Side stapled mimeographed sheets with smaller yellow cardstock sheet folder over the cover. Very Good with toning, several tiny stains and light wear to the corners. A collection of concrete poetry featuring works of d.a. levy, rjs, and Kent Taylor, to name a few. Item #140939024
$750
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Free Love Periodically #1
Cleveland, Ohio: Free Love Press, 1966. Side stapled mimeographed sheets. Near Fine with light shelf wear and toning. The first of two issues published, featuring the poets who read at the fourth open poetry reading at the "Gate" in Cleveland including to poems by d.a. levy. A lovely copy. Item #140939031
$750
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The Outsider 4 & 5
Tucson, AZ: Loujon Press, 1969. First edition. 202 pp. Illustrated boards. Includes note pasted onto rear paste down reading "Again, thank you [signed] L," signed by "Gypsy Lou" Louise Webb. Near Fine with light wear, lacking jacket. The final issue of the deluxe, handset rebel literary magazine. Features poetry by levy. Item #140938757
$100
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A Tribute to Jim Lowell
Bukowski, Charles; kryss, t.l.; levy, d.a.; et. al
Cleveland: Ghost Press, 1967. First edition. One of 500 copies. Stapled wraps with silkscreened cover, silkscreen illustrations inside. Near Fine with very faint stain to front cover, light edge wear and creasing to page red silkscreen print is attached to. A very nice copy of a 1967 rallying of Cleveland local, mimeo, and a few well-known poets to the cause of Asphodel Bookshop owner Jim Lowell who was charged with obscenity by local police alongside levy. Item #170807004
$250
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Related works and works by
levy's Cleveland contemporaries
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Cleveland: 7 Flowers Press, 1965. First edition. Limited to 178 copies. Signed by the silk screen artist, Grady Jones, on the rear cover. Wraps with card covers. Near Fine. Item #150815013
$175
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Long Dongs
Blazek, Douglas; Richmond, Steve; Nickell, Joe
Cleveland: 7 Flowers Press, 1966. First edition. Wraps glued to brown paper, stapled, pink and yellow paper; 1 of 300 copies. Good+ condition. Clean pages. Front cover has a stain, back cover has a scribble in pen. Wraps worn at edges. Three poets' work, published by Cleveland underground legend d.a. levy, in the vein of Charles Bukowski and the "Meat" mimeo school he inspired. Item #140904163
$250
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Nuclear Roses & Quiet Rooms
San Francisco: Open Skull Press, 1969. First edition. Stapled pink wraps. A Fine unread copy. Item #140939033
$25
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3 Poems
Cleveland, Ohio: 7 Flowers Press, 1967. First edition, first printing; one of 275 copies printed. Side stapled mimeographed sheets bound into printed cover. Very Good with tape repair made to inside rear cover. Light stain to top of rear pages causing waviness to pages throughout. Scarce. Item #140939029
$500
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Shit Outside When Eating Berries poems
Cleveland: Black Rabbit Press, 1971.
First edition. [32 pp.] printed on rectors only. Pale green wraps, toned with age. Very Good+. Holograph correction, presumably by author, to one poem. Item #140939037
$30
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San Francisco: Black Rabbit Press, 1969. First edition. Black wraps with silkscreened cover by t.l. kryss. Near Fine with typical toning to contents, a little scuffing to wraps. Item #140939034
$25
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Taylor, Kent; levy, d.a. [Publisher]; Woideck, Carl [Illustrator]
Cleveland: 7 Flowers Press, 1966. First edition. Stapled wraps. [22 pp.] Very Good condition. Cover worn at edges, back cover creased. Handprinted cover by Carl Woideck. Printed by levy. Item #150815014
$150
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The Union Camp Papers: (a log of one night and several days spent alone with everyone)
San Francisco: Twowindows Press, 1968. First edition, trade issue. Gray wraps bound in string. Near Fine with light wear along spine. Item #140939032
$25
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Moonstones Vol. 1 No. 2
Wagner, D.r. [Editor]; Bukowski, Charles; levy, d.a.; rjs; Miller, Brown; Hitchcock, George; Fowler, Gene, Taylor, Kent; Salamon, Russell; Atkins, Russell; Butcher, Grace; nichol, bp
Niagara Falls, NY: Press : Today : Niagara, 1966. First edition. Wraps, stapled on front and back. Improperly stapled on top, so pages loose at top, else Near Fine. Features the Bukowski poem "A Man Gets Tired," as well as a section for Cleveland poets guest-edited by Kent Taylor: d.a. levy with "iron cross of the sun" (who also drew the back cover art), Russell Salamon, rjs, Russell Atkins, Susan Cornillon, Grace Butcher, and more. Item #140939035
$200
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Cleveland, Ohio: 7 Flowers Press, 1967. First edition, first printing; one of 200 copies printed. Side stapled mimeographed sheets. Very Good or better, with toning and several faint water splashes to the front cover. Illustrated throughout with drawings by dagmara. Item #140939023
$200
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