Bukowski/Fry/Hedley Feud in Trace 1960

[bospress.net]

Hey,
I found this letter from Barbara Fry in Trace 39 from Sept-Oct 1960. This refers to the feud with Leslie Woolf Hedley that was caused when Barbara Fry accepted some poems for publication, only to have Bukowski remove them. Heldey apparently considered legal action (The idea of a poet suing a small press publisher for not publishing their poems is odd, really).

This refers to Trace 33 & 37, which I have not seen. #33 is probably Bukowski's commentary on Hedley and #37 is probably another persons comment on Fry/Bukowski, but that is a guess.

And, does anyone know if it is Fry or Frye. Sounes spells it "Frye", while everything else, including Harlequin lists her as "Fry"

Bill

p.s. Is it just me or is she a fan of really smart sounding words? I have to be honest. I do not have any idea what about 5 of the words in her letter even mean. Maybe the idea is to talk over their heads. Maybe I'm just ignorant.

 

[hoochmonkey9]

excellent find, Bill. but it sure gave my dictionary a workout. Babs liked her fancy words, eh?
thanks for posting this.

and it's "Fyre" in the timeline. but other than that, I don't know which is correct.

 

[bospress.net]

Well, if Uncle Howard says that it is Frye, then it is Frye, even though she listed her own name as Fry on the masthead of her magazine. I guess that she misspelled her own name....

Bill

 

[hoochmonkey9]

ha!

all hail Uncle Howard!

but a misspeliing could occur. sometimes when I'm in a hurry, my name comes out "Sterling von Beegdic".
seriously, if she's said it was spelt "Fry" I'm sure she would know.

 

[bospress.net]

Barbara seemed to be very arrogant. I have read some of her rejection letters and they are usually very insulting. One that I have here framed in my office is on a single page. Typewritten is the sentence:

"We do not publish this kind of poetry."

That is it! Nothing else, no name, no date, nothing.

There was another one that I read a while back (that came from the same person that I bought this one from) where she insulted the poets work.

Bill

 

[cirerita]

Barbara signed as Fry, not Frye. But there seems to be evidence that it's actually Frye, not Fry. Barbara did not get along with most Fry(e) family members, and maybe she dropped the "e" for some reason. But I have no way to prove this. Call it speculation on my part.

Trace 33 has a looong Bukowskian rant about Hedley rejected poems and B.'s editorial disagreements with Barbara. Quite funny.

There's also quite an interesting letter in the last? Harlequin issue by OW Crane, where he complains about being rejected by the two Big Bs (Barbara and Bukowski). He's talking as if he were a genius and the two Bs were morons. Funnily enough, OW Crane would be one of the 7 Poets Press who would publish Bukowski several times in the early 60's.

 

[bospress.net]

There's also quite an interesting letter in the last? Harlequin issue by OW Crane, where he complains about being rejected by the two big Bs (Barbara and Bukowski). He's talking as if he were a genius and the two Bs were morons. Funnily enough, OW Crane would be one of the 7 Poets Press who would publish Bukowski several times in the early 60's.

This letter can actually be read in Fogel, in one of the glossy photographs (the one with Harlequin). It is pretty funny. Maybe he taught Barbara how to use academic words to talk over people's heads...

I would love to read the rejection letter from Fry to Crane. Apparently she insulted him and said that he seemed "Extraordinarily young", which is what set him off.

Bill

 

[cirerita]

No one has found the Fry(e) papers. I think they were destroyed when Barbara's daughter burned her house down.

OW Crane was quite young back then, and the tone of his letter shows as much.

 

[Bukfan]

Nice find, Bill! She sure had a way with words. I think she used a dictionary when she composed those letters because some of the words are not in most people's vocabulary. Thank God, for the invention of the dictionary...:D

 

[bospress.net]

Right now, I'm drinking purgative fluids out of my favorite Ciborium. I know that shows my indecorousness....

And, yes, I had to use a dictionary to find out what those three words meant...

Bill

 

[ROC]

but a misspeliing could occur. sometimes when I'm in a hurry, my name comes out "Sterling von Beegdic".

:D Thanks. I needed that. :D

Seriously - LOL

 

[Rekrab]

Good find, Bill, thanks. Where else can you read stuff like this? Nowhere but on this Forum. All bow in adulation (look that up in your dictionary.) By the way, I just heard that Sylvia Plath always had a thesaurus at her elbow while writing her poetry. And I thought it was all soul and suffering.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Right now, I'm drinking purgative fluids out of my favorite Ciborium. I know that shows my indecorousness....

And, yes, I had to use a dictionary to find out what those three words meant...

Use your Latin, Bill! Purgative: purge; much like cathartic; emptying of residuals

Indecorous: badly decorated in a social sense - rude, socially ugly; the true essence of Buk

Ciborium: no fucking clue. Reminds me of "AND DON'T FORGET THE EXTRA TOILET PAPER IN THE WOMEN'S CRAPPER!"

Never took latin, but one can guess the meaning of many words by looking at the roots.

 

[Bukfan]

Ciborium (si-BORE-ee-um) - a vessel used to hold the Hosts which will be used for communion; some are cup-like and others are bowl/plate like; they are also used to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle.

- Thanks, Google! :D

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Which only goes to confirm my belief that it also means a crapper.

 

[mjp]

I always wondered between Fry and Frye too, but I had to use something, so I flipped a coin.



Okay, actually I used the spelling on the marriage certificate/FBI records. I wonder if I can use those without Howard Sounes suing me...

 

[bospress.net]

He owns the FBI too.....

Bill

 

[the only good poet]

now i would like to see the piece where they (?) "...unburden themselves with such carthartic abandon..." anybody any idea what dear mr anselm was refering to?


and btw, who is mr anselm?