Joel Singer (Artwork)
Paul Mariah and Joel Singer (Printers)
Description: South San Francisco: ManRoot Press, 1979, First Edition limited to 251 copies, of which this one is hand-numbered copy 58 (of 225 numbered). Flat Signed by James Boughton and Joel Singer. Original hand-bound letterpress softcover Artist Book designed and printed by Paul Mariah with Joel Singer artwork; 6.25 x 9.5 inches, 18 pages of poetry (one bifolium of plain Japanese mulberry paper, and one bifolium of Japanese mulberry paper bearing an illustration; 20 bifolium leaves in all). Designed, set in Caslon Old Face, and printed by Joel Singer and Paul Mariah, with assistance from Clive Matson, at the Neon Sun Press.
"This is my body, which speaks for itself. . . .This is my body, which sings of itself." - James Broughton
Condition: Fine clean, tight and bright softcover with Japanese-style end-papers in the original clear Dust Jacket, which is Near Fine with very light edge wear. Overall a beautifully constructed and printed Artist Book.
Additional Information: James Broughton (1913 - 1999) was an American poet and poetic filmmaker. He was part of the San Francisco Renaissance, a precursor to the Beat poets. He was an early bard of the Radical Faeries, as well as a member of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, serving the community as Sister Sermonetta.
As poet Jack Foley writes in All: A James Broughton Reader, "In Broughton’s moment of need, Hermy appeared again in the person of a twenty-five-year-old Canadian film student named Joel Singer... Broughton's meeting with Singer was a life-changing, life-determining moment, that animated his consciousness with a power that lasted until his death." In 2004, Singer wrote of their long relationship and collaboration in White Crane.
In Coming Unbuttoned, Broughton remarks on his love affairs with both men and women. Among his male lovers was gay activist Harry Hay. He briefly lived with the film critic Pauline Kael and they had a daughter, Gina, who was born in 1948. Broughton put off marriage until age 49, when he married Suzanna Hart in a three-day ceremony on the Pacific coast, documented by his friend, the experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. Hart and Broughton had two children, and built a counter-culture community along with friends including Alan Watts, Michael McClure, Anna Halprin, and Imogen Cunningham.
Paul Mariah (1938 - 1996) was born in Whittington, Ill. but long resided in the Bay Area. He had served time in prison before coming to San Francisco. In a 1977 newspaper article, his prison experiences were cited as crucial to his personal and literary development. He would emerge as one of the most prolific imprisoned poets of his generation, writing over 500 poems during his lifetime.
He founded both Manroot magazine and Manroot Press, a publishing company devoted exclusively to poetry that published a number of leading gay poets in the seventies, including Jack Spicer, James Broughton, Robert Peters, and Thom Gunn.
Cavemodern was founded in 2005 as a home for important "modern" books and works on paper.
"Cave" meant a home for both the tangible touch of beautiful objects and a cozy virtual den for armchair exploration. "Modern" starts with the art and literature that went beyond realistic depictions to expressive use of color, non-traditional materials, and new techniques and mediums. Our focus has evolved to be on important pieces by cultural innovators that take their work in new, unexpected, and modern directions. |