John Martin Collection of Charles Bukowski Periodicals, 1940-2003, bulk 1956-1979
Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Martin, John, 1930-
- Abstract:
- This collection contains periodicals and monographs with content written by or about California poet, novelist, and short-story writer Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) that were collected by Bukowski's long-time publisher and Black Sparrow Press founder, John Martin (born 1930). The collection contains 703 items from 255 periodicals and 37 monographs dating 1940 to 2003, with the bulk of items spanning from 1956 to 1979, that include poems, short stories, interviews, introductions, and excerpts by Bukowski, as well as some additional periodicals associated with Bukowski.
- Extent:
- 740 items in 54 boxes (Boxes 1-45 are drop-leaf document boxes, and Boxes 46-54 are flat-top boxes)
- Language:
- English.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains periodicals and monographs with content written by or about poet, novelist, and short-story writer Charles Bukowski that were collected by Bukowski's long-time publisher and Black Sparrow Press founder, John Martin. The collection contains 703 items from 255 periodicals and 37 monographs dating 1940 to 2003, with the bulk of items spanning from 1956 to 1979, that include poems, short stories, interviews, introductions, and excerpts by Bukowski, as well as some additional periodicals associated with Bukowski.
The earliest items in the collection—a January 19, 1940, issue of the Los Angeles Collegian, Bukowski's college newspaper, and the first issues of The Naked Ear dating from 1956—do not contain writings by Bukowski. Among the earliest items with contributions by Bukowski is the September-October 1957 issue of Existaria.
Items consist primarily of literary periodicals (including "little magazines" or 'zines), magazines, and alternative/underground newspapers, as well as some chapbooks and anthologies. The collection features a complete run of the ten issues of the periodical Nomad published between 1959 and 1962, as well as eighty-six issues of Open City from the late 1960s and issues of the Los Angeles Free Press that together provide a near complete run of Bukowski's column "Notes of a Dirty Old Man."
Many of the items have penciled annotations including "C", "D", and "E" numbers that reference A Bibliography of Charles Bukowski (Black Sparrow Press, 1969) by Sanford Dorbin, as well as "NID" notations indicating items not in Dorbin's bibliography.
The collection forms a subset of the Charles Bukowski Printed Material Collection held in the Rare Books Department of the Huntington Library.
- Acquisition information:
- This collection was donated in 2007 by Linda Lee Bukowski, who purchased the material from John Martin, the original collector.
- Arrangement:
-
Items are not arranged according to any one organizational schema, though some of the patterns in item placement reflect John Martin's original assembly of the collection in thirty-seven boxes. Martin's organization was roughly chronological, though at times overlapping, with additional boxes holding issues of the Los Angeles Free Press and Open City, and items not included in Sanford Dorbin's bibliography.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Note:
-
Finding aid last updated on November 20, 2013.
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Authors, American – 20th century.
Authors, American – 20th century – Interviews.
Authors, American – 20th century – Periodicals.
Poets, American – 20th century.
Poets, American – 20th century – Interviews.
Poets, American – 20th century – Periodicals.
Journals (periodicals)
Magazines (periodicals)
Periodicals.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191