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d. a. levy collection of Carol Jedlinsky

Special Collections and Archives

d. a. levy collection of Carol Jedlinsky

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Special Collections and Archives

d. a. levy collection of Carol Jedlinsky

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Repository: Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.
Title: d. a. levy collection of Carol Jedlinsky
Inclusive Date(s): 1959-1991
Bulk Date(s): 1959-1962
Author: Finding aid prepared by Jeff Maser and Cara Gilgenbach
Creation: Finding aid encoded by Cara Gilgenbach using the OhioLINK EAD Application in 2012
Origination: Levy, D. A.
Extent: .75 cubic feet (2 document cases + 1 oversized folder)
Physical Location: 11th floor
Finding Aid Identifier: OhKeUSC0141
Abstract: This collection includes over 250 manuscripts written by d.a. levy including poems, prose, and plays that levy sent to his close friend Carol Jedlinsky over a number of years. Many of the materials in this collection do not appear in other levy manuscript collections.
Language(s): The records are in English

Biography of d. a. levy

Darryl Allen Levy (d.a. levy) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 29, 1942, to Joseph and Caroline Levy. His parents changed the spelling of their surname from "Levey" to "Levy" in the 1940s; however levy's older brother, James, retained the original spelling. levy graduated from James Ford Rhodes High School in 1960, after which he spent seven months in the U. S. Navy, based in San Diego. levy's Navy experience, as described in numerous letters to family members, was very unpleasant and difficult. After his early release from the service, levy focused his energies on poetry, artwork, and publishing. levy is considered one of the founders of the "mimeograph revolution" of printing and distributing poetry and other publications during the second half of the 20th century. This "do-it-yourself" approach to publication utilized a mimeograph, producing small print runs often utilizing local materials on hand such as discarded paper stock. levy collaborated with a large network of poets and artists including Tom Kryss, rjs (Robert J. Sigmund), Kent Taylor, D.r. Wagner, Russell Salamon, and many others both within and outside of the Cleveland poetry scene. According to Jeff Maser, "levy lead an itinerant life. Though he did not 'travel' in the normal sense, he would often stay with friends and family members for short periods of time, or take month-to-month rentals. Occasional trips were made to the West, to Wisconsin, and to New York, but to Cleveland he always returned." A dramatic series of events occurred in levy's life in 1967 when he was indicted by a grand jury, arrested, and jailed for "possessing and distributing obscene literature." In March of that same year, he was again arrested for "contributing to the delinquency of minors" in relation to a poetry reading he had given, attended by some minors. Friends and fellow poets, including Allen Ginsberg, rallied around levy through a series of events, publications, and fund raising efforts. His sentence for the second offense was eventually suspended and the prior grand jury charges were later dismissed. However, levy was left feeling increasingly isolated, under attack, and betrayed by his native city. levy died on November 24, 1968 at the age of 26. He was found by friends on the floor of his apartment, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, with a .22 caliber rifle by his body. His death was ruled a suicide.

Scope and Content

The collection is comprised of over 250 manuscripts written by levy, including 245 poems, two prose works, seven plays, and additional material that levy sent to Jedlinsky. Many of the manuscripts in this collection do not appear in other collections of levy's manuscripts. The manuscripts are typescripts, and many include holograph notations and edits by levy. Most of the material in the collection dates from 1959-1962.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged into five series: Poems, Prose, Plays, Letters, and Oversized Materials.

Related Material

Please also see the d.a. levy papers, which contains manuscripts, correspondence, artwork, and other materials created by and about levy, purchased by Special Collections and Archives over a number of years.

Special Collections and Archives also owns the d.a. levy and family archive, a major collection of levy manuscripts, correspondence, artwork, and other materials from the personal collection of levy.

Processing Information

This collection was organized for sale by Jeff Maser, Bookseller. Special Collections and Archives has maintained Maser's arrangement and descriptions of materials in this archive, in most cases. There are some items present in the collection that are not listed in the Maser catalog, which will be noted, when applicable.

Restrictions on Use

Copyright of materials in this collection resides with the d.a. levy estate and other applicable copyright holders. Please contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives for copyright inquiries.

Other Finding Aid

A detailed printed catalog of The d.a. levy Collection of Carol Jedlinsky by Jeff Maser, Bookseller, is available in Special Collections and Archives and is referenced in this finding aid. The Maser catalog includes more detailed descriptions of some of the items in this collection.

Preferred Citation

d. a. levy collection of Carol Jedlinsky. Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.

Acquisition Information

Purchased in 2011 from Jeff Maser, Bookseller.

Custodial History

"All of the materials in this collection were saved over the years by the late Carol Jedlinsky, a close and trusted friend of d.a. levy's." (Maser catalog, p. i).

Subject Headings
The following subjects are found in this collection:

Subjects:
Levy, D. A. -- Archives.
American poetry -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
American poetry -- 20th century.
Poets, American -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Cleveland (Ohio) -- Poetry.
Underground movements in literature.
American drama -- 20th century.
Drama -- 20th century.
Persons:
Jedlinsky, Carol.
Functions:
Poetry -- Authorship.
Authorship.
Occupations:
Poets.
Artists.
Authors.
Authors, American.
Material Types:
Manuscripts for publication.
Typescripts.
Authors' annotations (Provenance)
Annotations (Provenance)
Titles:
Oracle (San Francisco, Calif.)
Kaleidoscope (Milwaukee, Wis. : 1967)



Detailed Description of the Collection

See the Maser catalog for more detailed physical descriptions of the items in this collection.

Series 1: Poems, 1959-1962
Physical Description: Typescripts, carbon copy typescripts, or holograph ink. Some include holograph annotations by levy.

Arrangement
The poems are arranged as originally filed in folder.

Processing Information
Titles below are capitalized, spelled, and punctuated as found on the originals. If two or more poems occur in a single typescript, titles will be separated with a space, slash, space ( / ). Dates provided are standardized in form and do not reflect the date exactly as written or typed on the originals.
Box 1 / Folder 1
Original folder containing poems, undated
Box 1 / Folder 2
tear off the birth shrouds, June 21, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 3
to him who am but thinks he is, undated
Box 1 / Folder 4
BEAT-beat / nice kitty, December 31, 1959
Box 1 / Folder 5
conqueror without, July 18, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 6
reflections, July 29, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 7
warm one II, July 2, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 8
centiparty, June 26, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 9
sign of cactus, July 12, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 10
to balance the scales, July 13, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 11
Three Sisters / N.Y. / close, but not quite enough, October 29, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 12
fall into whirling blackness, August 9, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 13
Its the night of the flesh moon, August 28, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 14
a salam aleikum peyote, October 1, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 15
granny, October 11, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 16
Twilight in Babylon, October 20, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 17
fable of the 3 twigs, October 20, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 18
away from her, September 29, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 19
last of '61' / happy new yee------, December 27-31, 1961, January 1, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 20
rebellion, January 18, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 21
Intermission (the subconscious during the comercial before sleep), November 9, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 22
an evening on tape, December 6, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 23
Richard Allen Morris, November 26, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 24
one sided conversation discussing two reasons for animal love and the need for the animal protective league, November 18, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 25
world carcinoma, November 12, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 26
new breed, January 12-13, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 27
bleatings / broken, January 12-13, 1962, January 13, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 28
flames on the horizon, January 6, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 29
what a hell of a way to spend january five, January 6, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 30
as age creeps in, January 5, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 31
death, June 7, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 32
toast of the rebelious alcoholic, November 6, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 33
last request, October 22, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 34
tribute to han shan, October 17, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 35
the first time i saw her, October 15, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 36
Night of many vomits, December 16, 1961
Box 1 / Folder 37
miles davis / cerebral famine, January 16, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 38
savage voices / brothers from under, January 17, 1962, January 16, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 39
cleveland impressions, undated
Box 1 / Folder 40
Baruch Spinoza, undated
Box 1 / Folder 41
himeros (the muse disappears) / himeros (on waiting for the return of my muse), undated
Box 1 / Folder 42
corvette, December 15-16, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 43
return, December 8, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 44
three years, December 7, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 45
psalm - lester del rey / live and let live / jam sessions / Childrens rhymes, undated
Box 1 / Folder 46
means of mass communication with self / education of a food fadist / something i should have said tomorrow, undated
Box 1 / Folder 47
the winds, June 4, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 48
san diego departure, December 3-6, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 49
passing time, October 15, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 50
the first fix, October 11-15, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 51
trapped, October 11, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 52
to the naval chapal at san diego, October 2, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 53
san diego impressions / [san diego impressions] [2], September 24-28, 1960, October 5, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 54
love of the searching souls, September 14, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 55
night light, September 7, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 56
darkness, August 4, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 57
wanderings, July 29, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 58
to S.K., July 26, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 59
el barbero shoppe, July 25, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 60
benjamin franklin schoolyard, July 22-25, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 61
a poem in three parts, July 21, 1960
Scope and Content
The three parts are "the flight," "capture," and "escape."
Box 1 / Folder 62
matter over mind, July 14, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 63
lake road blues, July 9, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 64
july 4th, July 4, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 65
minority group, July 1, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 66
last night [34], June 24, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 67
thoughts after 11:00 [35], June 28, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 68
dad, June 14, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 69
for a rainy day / patchen couple / this strange little bird / bop for the kiddies / prelude to a rice throwing, undated
Box 1 / Folder 70
This weekend of smiling navels, undated
Box 1 / Folder 71
fertility (she) / fertility (he), January 21, 1962
Box 1 / Folder 72
for what sunscape, undated
Box 1 / Folder 73
the flower, July 22, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 74
day life, May 31, no year
Box 1 / Folder 75
Somewhere, June 1, no year
Box 1 / Folder 76
confusion, May 11, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 77
school, May 3 and 17, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 78
what is a poem, May 7, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 79
premonition, April-May 7, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 80
WHY, undated
Box 1 / Folder 81
BRIEF ENCOUNTER WITH THE UNIVERSE, undated
Box 1 / Folder 82
INTERCEPTED THOUGHTS AT A BUS STOP, December 30, 1959
Box 1 / Folder 83
DISTANT MURMURS, March 1960
Box 1 / Folder 84
ESCAPE ROUTES, March 18, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 85
SELF-EVALUATION, April 30, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 86
SICK / The Way / SOCIETY, May 3, 1960
Box 1 / Folder 87
INSOMNIA OF THE BALLS, July 1959
Box 1 / Folder 88
ah ya man - pace that floor [first line], undated
Box 1 / Folder 89
anti-bellum seduction / i am nights of anguish, undated
Box 1 / Folder 90
ice floe, undated
Box 1 / Folder 91
Remembrance / TALK, undated
Box 1 / Folder 92
impressions of a modern society, undated
Box 1 / Folder 93
memories / reason / ritual, undated
Box 1 / Folder 94
chick / the cleveland scene, undated
Box 2 / Folder 1
painters americano, undated
Box 2 / Folder 2
black garden / my rainbow, undated
Box 2 / Folder 3
What Are You Doing?, undated
Box 2 / Folder 4
Night Life I, May 20, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 5
statement / carol / a square lady, May 17, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 6
boot camp, September 30, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 7
Snowflakes in autumn, October 6-12, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 8
to him who am but thinks he is / erebus and nyx, February 1, 1962, February 8, 1962
Box 2 / Folder 9
new why jan 29 -- 62 / reflections of self confusion, January 30, 1962
Box 2 / Folder 10
threads of life - broken shoelaces / love in an empty society / talk / remembrance / move out, undated
Box 2 / Folder 11
home for the weekend, July 14, 1962
Box 2 / Folder 12
speaking of religion / isolated rose, July 14, 1962
Box 2 / Folder 13
american haiku, undated
Scope and Content
Includes the poems: arizona; rapid transit; apartments; rationalized exhaustion; disease; waiting; the bomb; masochist; strangeness; tension; unconscious; sorrow; fear; watching death; monument to death.
Box 2 / Folder 14
end, undated
Box 2 / Folder 15
contented thoughts, July 3, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 16
white tiger / Sue / Progress, undated
Box 2 / Folder 17
wipe the slate clean [first line], undated
Box 2 / Folder 18
night rainbow, June 25, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 19
one steamed vision, June 15, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 20
the age of the equation, May 20, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 21
lament of the hitchhiker, May 25, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 22
from my speechless rays i see, May 17, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 23
hawks called a hole in one, May 5, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 24
revelation - too late, April 19, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 25
flaming ice, April 13, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 26
view, April 1, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 27
tears to remember, March 30, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 28
enlisted mans club, March 22, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 29
thoughts before dying, March 15, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 30
divide to unite, March 2, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 31
no smiles, February 26, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 32
come over red rover, February 22-23, 1961 and March 8, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 33
thoughts from a civilized mans cellar, February 22, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 34
silent noises, February 19, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 35
requiem for / if love falls from rock / bottom emptyness [first line], undated
Box 2 / Folder 36
we wont listen, Janary 24, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 37
whispered in solitude, January 29-February 16, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 38
fingertips, January 31-February 8, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 39
but where is the tonight, January 31, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 40
silent skins, March 24, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 41
knossus, February 21, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 42
the voice - the ear - and the eye, January 12, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 43
surrealist scene, January 2, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 44
spring, December 28, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 45
moments, December 28, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 46
expression, undated
Box 2 / Folder 47
police, December 23, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 48
blues for life, October 3-4, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 49
the last time, September 30, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 50
a flute plays, February 10, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 51
tomorrow, January 6, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 52
Progress II, January 24, 1962
Box 2 / Folder 53
footsteps, December 14-15, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 54
need, July 20, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 55
no one, July 17, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 56
quiet autumn, November 12, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 57
night life II, March 10, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 58
chick poems, undated
Box 2 / Folder 59
echoes of a tear stained love, December 10, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 60
love, August 15, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 61
world war III, March 23, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 62
to all sad endings / no more talk about waterloo / wistfulthinking, June 5, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 63
and i placed her on a pedastal, January 14, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 64
Temptation, November 18, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 65
waste, June 1, no year
Box 2 / Folder 66
the temple, July 3, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 67
of extreme value, February 26, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 68
when we moved, August 18, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 69
the crying tree, May 17, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 70
answer in blue, December 28, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 71
the black void / my enemy, March 8, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 72
i have two rings, undated
Box 2 / Folder 73
shadows / birth in spring, June 1, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 74
gods art gallery, undated
Box 2 / Folder 75
alone, August 6, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 76
deja vu / october song, undated
Box 2 / Folder 77
pretext, February 22, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 78
remembrance from the outside, September 10, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 79
kith and kin, February 22, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 80
warm one, June 14, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 81
tiger, November 8, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 82
rosalie (written for a friends girl), November 28, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 83
fragments, November 15-16, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 84
cuyahoga county blues, August 13, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 85
KAY I / KAY II, December 30, 1959, February 3, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 86
viva, May 28, no year
Box 2 / Folder 87
next of kin, June 7, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 88
warm one, September 1961
Box 2 / Folder 89
when she walks, November 12, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 90
fertility (she) / fertility (he), January 21, 1962
Box 2 / Folder 91
see if if follows, December 27, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 92
outsider, August 28, 1960
Box 2 / Folder 93
neither/nor, April 29, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 94
her, July 16, 1960-April 2, 1961
Box 2 / Folder 95
waiting, June 25, 1960

Series 2: Prose, undated
Box 2 / Folder 96
from where to someday, undated
Physical Description: Typescript, 24 pages.
Box 2 / Folder 97
from where to someday, additions, undated
Physical Description: Four additional pages related to this prose manuscript.
Box 2 / Folder 98
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM and the UNCONSCIOUS, undated
Physical Description: Typescript, 14 pages.

Series 3: Plays, undated
Box 2 / Folder 99
A POEM PLAY: WE'RE THE ONES WHO STARTED TOO YOUNG, undated
Physical Description: Typescript, 8 pages.
Box 2 / Folder 100
Poem Play #2: Let your kids pick their own, undated
Physical Description: Typescript, 4 pages.
Box 2 / Folder 101
the party problem - poem play #3, undated
Physical Description: Typescript, 5 pages.
Box 2 / Folder 102
the brothers from under: a play of sorts (poem play #4), undated
Physical Description: Typescript, [2], 22 pages.
Box 2 / Folder 103
cigarette smoke and mental halitosis, undated
Physical Description: Typescript, 12 pages.
Box 2 / Folder 104
the gift, undated
Physical Description: Typescript, 5 pages.
Box 2 / Folder 105
at an understanding, undated
Physical Description: Typescript, 13 pages.

Series 4: Letters, 1964, 1968
Box 2 / Folder 106
Cleveland Undercovers, January 1964
Physical Description: Single page, folded and mailed to Jedlinsky with some holograph notes by levy.
Box 2 / Folder 107
to Jedlinsky, April 1968
Physical Description: Three page mimeograph addressed to Jedlinsky with a holograph note to her by levy.

Series 5: Oversized Materials, 1962-1991
Physical Location: Filed in oversized folder.
Scope and Content
This series includes newspaper clippings about levy, along with two large empty envelopes that contained materials that levy mailed to Jedlinsky. Also included are two full issues of the periodicals The Oracle (vol. 1) and kaleidoscope (vol. 1, n. 4). The materials in this series are not described in the Maser catalog.
Alternate Form Available
Reference photocopies of clippings (except full newspaper issues) have been made. Researchers are asked to use the reference photocopies due to the fragile nature of the original clippings.