Featuring Michael Hennessey's recollections of his own work with the archive
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
On November 18, 2013, Steve McLaughlin hosted a celebration of PennSound’s 10th anniversary. After introductory remarks offered by Al Filreis, there were short talks each by Charles Bernstein, Michael Hennessey, Danny Snelson, Katie Price, Steve McLaughlin himself, and Benjamin Behrend. Hennessey was not in Philadelphia for the event and had prepared a recording to be played. In this PennSound podcast, the 33rd in the series, we feature Hennessey’s retrospective (along with clips he prepared from various bits from the archive). Allison Harris edited the podcast and introduces it. Full audio and video recordings of the event are available at the Kelly Writers House web calendar entry.
Bibliographic Bunker
Jed Birmingham’s library began with his William Burroughs collection. After he obtained all the books, he started to research and obtain any periodical that Burroughs contributed to, but quickly realized that the small press culture of the little magazines was just as interesting (if not more) than Burroughs’ contribution, and that’s how our little magazine, Mimeo Mimeo, got started. The poets, artists, printers, paper, collating parties, distribution, associations, manuscripts, postcards, and, letters are all part of the overall aesthetic and culture of the Mimeograph Revolution, brilliantly documented in Steve Clay and Rodney Phillips’s A Secret Location on the Lower East Side. There are few people who take the art of mimeo as seriously as Jed, whose attention to detail is more common amongst bibliophiles specializing in incunabula and antiquarian books. In addition to sharing his research, he also shares aspects of his collection and others online in the Bibliographic Bunker at Reality Studio. Check out the Floating Bear archive, for startes, which includes a free, downloadable spreadsheet mapping the recipients of Di Prima and Jones' legendary mimeo magazine.