Jim Leftwich Collection

This sub-collection contains 46 boxes, binders, and folders from the archive of poet, theorist, and publisher Jim Leftwich (1956-2025), each in turn containing dozens or scores of items. These include hundreds of original pieces of mail art created or collaborated on by Leftwich, scores of chapbooks by himself and others traded or collected c.1995-2018, scores of pieces of correspondence, hundreds of unpublished poems and text-image works from the same period, and numerous pieces of artwork, performance relics, assemblages, and other items from various collaborative events in which he was involved. 

Though I have yet to compile a catalog all items, most of the boxes include include itemized lists by Leftwich, often with contextual information and annotations added. The list below includes the box labels (not the full itemizations) provided by Leftwich in quotation marks, and/or general descriptions of the content-type by myself.

  1. Shoebox: "Small press Micro-press #1 / Books, booklets, chapbooks, pamphlets / Mark van Elburg / Jose Roberto Sechi / Serkan Isin / Morton Koppany / Jim Leftwich / Rea Nikanova / Mark Wallace / Blaine R. Hammond / Inan Arguelles / Reed Altemus / Justin Kotko / Mark Young / Marcia Arrieta". Books. w/catalog by Leftwich.
  2. Shoebox: "Small press Micro-press #2 / Madison Morrison / Daniel F. Bradley / Don Hilla / Sheila Murphy / K.S. Ernst / Jake Berry / Jessy Kendall / The Magic Twig Community / Michael Jacobson / Crag Hill / Julia Vinograd / Clememte Padin / Serge Segay / Rea Nikonova / Guido Billarinttio / Chris Daniels". Books. w/catalog by Leftwich.
  3. Shoebox: "Small press Micro-press #3 / Lewis Lacook / the windsor SALT / Dareen Wenshler-Hewry / Ken Harris / Spencer Selby / Hector Ortega / Gabriel Trujiool Munoz / John Martone / Jim Leftwich / Reed Altemus / Baby Nous Joel Chase". Books. w/catalog by Leftwich.
  4. Shoebox: "Small press Micro-press #4 / Paul Lambert / Dennis Barone / Sand Script / Jow Lindsay / Adam Pomell / Paul Silvia / Skip Fox / Cid Corman / William L. Fox / Sherry Reniker / Karl Young / Bill Keith / Derek Beaulieu / Reed Altemus / Jake Berry / Wayne Sider / Serkan Isin / Carlos Luis / Derek White"". Books. w/catalog by Leftwich.
  5. Shoebox: "Small press Micro-press #5 / Andrew Topel / Jim Leftwich/ Olchar Lindsann/ Reed Altemus / Grigorzi Antonin / Crag Hill / Bananafish 18 / Stephen-Paul Martin / Marco Giovenale"". Books. w/catalog by Leftwich.
  6. Shoebox: "Small press Micro-press #6 / Jake Berry / Harry Burns". Books. w/catalog by Leftwich.
  7. Shoebox: "Small press Micro-press #7 / Kostelanetz / Greenblatt / Luis". Books. w/catalog by Leftwich.
  8. Shoebox: "Small press Micro-press #8 / Zapatista / Encuentro / John High / John Buckner / Dalachinsky / Topel / Baratier". Books. w/catalog by Leftwich.
  9. Shoebox: "Box 11 / Priddle / Dickau / Frzipr / Beaulieu / Rubberoid / Id M Theft Able / Altemus / Lenoir / La Toan Vintt / and More". Also The Sticker Dude. Mail art & Networking Packets, Correspondence, etc. w/annotated catalog by Leftwich.
  10. Decorated Shoebox: "Box 8 / Altemus / Ferini / Itilla / House Organ / Ongoing Research / 2017-2018 / Scanned". Mail art & Networking Packets, Correspondence, etc. w/annotated catalog by Leftwich.
  11. Shoebox: "Tonerworks / Rebecca Guyver Artists / Trashbook / Satu Kaikkonen book / MAF[Marginal Arts Festival] / CHS Zine Club / Philosophy Inc / Mail / Reid Wood / AND MORE." Books.
  12. Shoebox: "SRUNT Mail Art booklets / Nob Globbolalia / Mail Art / booklets / Microbooks / Correspondence / SRUNT JMB". Publications, mail art & Networking Packets, Correspondence, etc.
  13. Shoebox: "John Bennett / Collaborations, visual poems / Correspondence / Fork Lint / Be Blank / Cards, tlps". Publications, mail art & Networking Packets, Correspondence, etc. w/annotated catalog by Leftwich.
  14. Shoebox: "John M. Bennett". Publications, mail art & Networking Packets, Correspondence, etc.
  15. Shoebox: "Scott MacLeod / Ragan Kellly / BKS Calendar / Jakub Kolousek" (books and much physical correspondence, I haven't examined it closely yet)
  16. Shoebox: "Jose Roberto Sechi / Pense Aqui / Think Here! / Jessy Kendall / Dob Kamperelic". Publications, mail art & Networking Packets, Correspondence, etc. w/catalog by Leftwich.
  17. Decorated Shoebox: Lick Run (TLP mini-zine) original & printed copies, w/annotated catalog by Leftwich, Lick Run: A Brief History of its Flirtation With Non-Existence, dated Aug. 18, 2018.
  18. Decorated Box of documents, relics, & printed emails re: the 2012 Decentralized Networkers' Congress
  19. Box of artwork, relics, & printed emails re: Marginal Arts Festival and Collab Fest events, 2008-17, apparently collected & boxed in 2017.
  20. Tupperware tub of collaborative artwork and asemia by Leftwich, Tomislav Butkoviç, Rabbit, & participants in Collab Fest events; elements relating to A History project; Anabasis Press t-shirt; "Misc. Micropress" c.2010-15 (my estimate)
  21. Large box with assorted oversized mail art packets from collaborators, elements of Scott MacLeod's installation in the Flux Chapel Labyrinth at the Marginal Arts Festival, collaborative artwork from Collab Fest events.
  22. Shoebox of mail art collabs & trades from C. Mehrl Bennett
  23. Bankers Box: "John M. Bennett: Correspondence / Collaborations / Luna Bisonte Prods / Envelope – poems / Incessant source of Inspiration, Education, and Energy Exchange / tlps / booklets / broadsides / vispo / poems / artefacts [sic] / Anti-Ephemera"
  24. Bankers Box of mail art collabs & trades from Tom Cassidy
  25. Bankers Box: "Mail Art Calls / Festivals / Collab Fests / Vispo / Micro-press". With 4-page contextualizing document about contents and the period c.2005-2015 by Leftwich.
  26. Shoebox-sized box of assorted micropress publications, c.1975-2005 [very rough guess]
  27. Folder w/Printed Essay: Notes on Sound Rituals / Diction as Collision in Sound Rituals, dated Aug. 10, 2018, w/sealed envelope marked "Bill Beamer / Notes".
  28. Binder: A History project – Never published, Jim conceived this as an anti-historiographic experiment, chronicling the period through his curation of found texts, trash, etc., interspersed with mail art, printed texts, etc.
  29. Death Text Book One. Long Series of full-colour text-image pieces generated (I think) from the text published as Death Texts. He was working on these when I first moved to Roanoke. Half-inch binder.
  30. Continuation of Death Texts series. Half-inch binder with printed pages inserted into plastic sleeves.Half-inch binder with printed pages inserted into plastic sleeves.
  31. Assorted visual poetry by Leftwich, Bennett, Eaton, & others, c.2006. Half-inch binder with printed pages inserted into plastic sleeves.
  32. Staceal One: august '95/january '96. Full-colour visual poetry sequence. Half-inch binder with printed pages inserted into plastic sleeves. I'm not sure if this was ever published...? The file format was dead by the time I moved to Roanoke.
  33. Visual Poetry, apparently contiguous with the Staseal sequence. Probably unpublished-?Half-inch binder with printed pages inserted into plastic sleeves.
  34. Visual Poetry and Mail Art by Leftwich & others, c.early to mid 2000s. 2 Half-inch binders with printed pages inserted into plastic sleeves.
  35. Visual Poetry and Mail Art by Leftwich & others, c.mid 2000s. 2 Half-inch binders with printed pages inserted into plastic sleeves.
  36. Visual Poetry and Mail Art by Leftwich & others, c.2006. Half-inch binder with printed pages inserted into plastic sleeves.
  37. What. Apparently collected or distributed as ring-bound binder, 1996. w/tipped-in 2016 Table of Contents by Leftwich. Not sure of the context for this or how widely (if at all it was circulated – an interesting early foreshadowing of Jim's later merging of poetry, theory, correspondence, and appropriation.
  38. Flat File: Unbound print-out of long 1995 Visual Poetry sequence/book Croaker Norge. Not sure off hand whether this was published; I'm pretty sure the original file format is obsolete, even if the file still exists.
  39. Flat File: Unbound printout of long 1996 Visual Poetry sequence Raphesemics; same note as above.
  40. Envelope : Unbound printout of long 1995 Visual Poetry sequence no one window; same note as above.
  41. Envelope : Unbound printout of long 1994 collection of poems, menter ave; same note as above.
  42. Folder w/unbound print-out of full catalog of Jim Leftwich Papers 1993-02 at OSU  Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, printed 8-21-03. (obviously OSU wouldn't need this, but I'm noting it for my own later reference)
  43. Folder w/unbound print-out of full catalog of Jim Leftwich Papers 2003 at OSU  Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. Same note as above.
  44. Folder w/unbound Jim Leftwich Curriculum Vitae up to 2007.
  45. Envelope w/long unbound Visual Poetry sequence 24/7, not dated on first look but I believe from the mid-'90s, not sure if it's been published.
  46. Envelope with Leftwich's "Address Base" correspondence list as of July 31, 2006. Unpaginated, about 1/4" thick.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)