Fuck You Press Archive
Tags: Archive, Collecting, Fuck You, Little Magazine, Mimeo, New York, William BurroughsReports from the Bibliographic Bunker
Jed Birmingham on William S. Burroughs Collecting
It was a good day when I finally got my hands on Fuck You Vol. 5/No. 7. Quite possibly the coolest, hippest magazine of the mimeo revolution (Fuck You epitomized the revolution as demonstrated by naming the Steve Clay book “A Secret Location on the Lower East Side”) and the most desirable piece in my collection with serious competition from Dead Fingers Talk, Floating Bear, Rhinozeros, and Time. They are all great pieces; all signed. The cover by Robert LaVigne (who discovered and drew Peter Orlovsky in the mid-1950’s before Allen Ginsberg came into the picture) of an infant demon is awesome. The Burroughs cut up “Fluck You, Fluck You, Fluck You” in three column newspaper layout is wonderful. But what makes Fuck You so wonderful is its construction. Literally on multi-colored construction paper (supposedly it would not be unusual to get a copy of the magazine with a footprint on it) scattered with freaky, turned-on hieroglyphics.
The writing of the magazine is sometimes spectacular, yet uneven. Editor Ed Sanders claimed “I’ll publish anything.” The list of contributors is impressive. Charles Olson, Philip Whalen, Gregory Corso, Gary Snyder, W.H. Auden, Pound, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, Antonin Artaud, Robert Duncan. The editorial comments are priceless, especially the notes on contributors, the advertisements for a secretary, or the search for a literary assistant for Allen Ginsberg.
Here is a visual archive of materials from the Fuck You Press.
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Number 1
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Number 2
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Number 3
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Number 4
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 1
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 2
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 3
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 4
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 5
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 6
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 7
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 8
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 8 (Warhol cover)
Fuck You, A Magazine of the Arts
Volume 5, Number 9
Fuck You Press Publications
Flyer
The flyer advertises a reading by Herbert Huncke to take place at Le Metro Cafe in New York on 1 July 1964
Roosevelt After Inauguration
The Toe Queen Poems
The Cantos of Ezra Pound CX-CXVI
Fuck You Press News Flash
Fuck You Catalogue 3
Fuck You Catalogue 4.5
(Image courtesy of Paul Rickert)
Bugger: An Anthology
Marijuana Newsletter No. 1
Marijuana Newsletter No. 2
Fugs Flyer
(Image courtesy of Paul Rickert)
Peace Eye
Peace Eye was not actually published by Fuck You but by Frontier Press. However, it provides an interesting bridge between two great mimeo scenes — Fuck You Press headed by Ed Sanders in New York and Frontier Press in Buffalo.
Miscellaneous Items
Phoenix Book Shop Check Number One
Phoenix Book Shop Check Number Two (John Weiners)
Phoenix Book Shop Check Number Three
Phoenix Book Shop Check Number Four (Carol Berge)
Phoenix Book Shop Check Number Five (Michael McClure)
Phoenix Book Shop Check Number Six (Ed Sanders)
Phoenix Book Shop Check Number Seven (Gerald Malaga)
Herbert Huncke 80th Birthday Card