Thursday, March 15, 2012

"Anything That Happens In the Life of a Poet Is Interesting"

I spent a large part of the day cataloging a stash of John Wilcock's Other Scenes. It was a trip in every sense of the word. Other Scenes was probably the most paripatetic of all the underground newspapers associated with the Underground Press Syndicate. It was published from so many different cities and countries that at times its itinerary and erratic numbering seems like a deliberate provocation. From how many different countries, and in how many different formats can you published the same paper?
The subject matter of Other Scenes was as varied as its itinerary. As its name suggests, it touches upon many scenes, and there are some interesting ties to the worlds of Fluxus, the Mimeograph Revolution, and the New York School. 
In vol. 3, no. 3 I was astonished to find something I'd never seen before - a column by Ted Berrigan entitled "Under Shelley's Poet's Tree."


The page reproduces a drawing by George Schneeman and Ted Berrigan, and begins with something called Berrigan's Law, that 'anything that happens in the life of a poet is interesting." The column goes on to dish out gossip about many of the poets associated with the second wave of the New York School.
There's also this great, full page ad for the Something Else Press, which seems to appropriate an airplane ad. The text which overlays the airplane lists titles in print. The artist is unattributed - I'd love to know who designed it. 


Wilcock, John, ed. Other Scenes: The International Newspaper. Third Battling Year, No. 3 March 1969. New York: Other Scenes, 1969. Folio, tabloid format. Offset printed on newsprint in color. Old fold line as usual, some minor toning, still a remarkably well-preserved, near fine copy.  SOLD

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