Keeping a forum discussion going for 10 years and more is almost as interesting as the search for Bukowski's elusive Write Magazine published work. Almost...:wb:
WRITE magazine
- Thread starter nymark
- Start date
Rekrab
Usually wrong.
Any news on this front? The scary thing is that a copy of the issue of Write magazine with Bukowski's contribution could be in a library archive somewhere, and get trashed. Libraries are dumping printed material at an alarming rate. Something as ephemeral as an obscure magazine for amateur authors wouldn't stand a chance in a wholesale purge.
cirerita
Founding member
Yeah, now that you mention it, we've been chasing the wrong Write for quite some time. Bukowski was NOT in Write; the monthly magazine for amateur writers. He was in an odd experiment of sorts called Write that came out a few times in 1944-1945. No copies are known to exist in libraries, though.
now, THAT is some news!
How'd you find out? Can you tell more about it? Some specifics?
Pogue Mahone
Officials say drugs may have played a part
Al Fogel has three copies, not including the author's edition.
Oy, mistaken post. Carry on folks; nothing to see here.
But now that you mention it, now that you mention it?
But now that you mention it, now that you mention it?
zobraks
Moderator
These questions keep echoing in vain. :((
I wonder where he found(ered) them. Now he can triumphantly return under his fourth alias.
cirerita
Founding member
Let the man himself speak:
I did some digging and everything he says is pretty much on target. Amazing that he remembers the name of the editor and his pseudonym... 43 years or so later!
I found some correspondence from Henry Burnjohn/John Burnett to Story editor Whit Burnett, but no mention of Write at all.
It's not clear to me what Bukowski says about 7 or 8 issues. Is he saying that there were 7 or 8 issues of Write? Or that all issues had 7 or 8 pages? Or something else?
I did some digging and everything he says is pretty much on target. Amazing that he remembers the name of the editor and his pseudonym... 43 years or so later!
I found some correspondence from Henry Burnjohn/John Burnett to Story editor Whit Burnett, but no mention of Write at all.
It's not clear to me what Bukowski says about 7 or 8 issues. Is he saying that there were 7 or 8 issues of Write? Or that all issues had 7 or 8 pages? Or something else?
mjp
Founding member
I suppose that explains why copies don't turn up. Even if someone found a copy they probably wouldn't assume it was a publication since it's just a bunch of hand typed pages.
"Huh, look at this: uncle John had a pretend poetry magazine..."
"What a weirdo. Throw it in the trash pile."
"Huh, look at this: uncle John had a pretend poetry magazine..."
"What a weirdo. Throw it in the trash pile."
I wonder to which story/poem he's referring to. Thanks for posting that!
PhillyDave
“The essential doesn't change.” Beckett
Was it the one about drinking or the one about a woman?
Maybe drinking with a woman at the track after calling out from the PO.
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
It sounds to me like he only published 7-8 copies of each issue owing to have to TYPE out each page. If so, it sounds more like an art project than an actual release. As much as this is the holy grail, it is not the holy grail. I suspect that if it is ever found, it will be a let down.
Unless the story/poem is unknown, then it may be interesting...
Bill
Unless the story/poem is unknown, then it may be interesting...
Bill
cirerita
Founding member
That makes sense, Bill. If there were 1 or 2 issues only --I think to recall Bukowski said in a 1956 letter to Harper that Write came out once or twice and then gave it up-- and there were 7-8 copies only of each issue, then chances of finding a copy are next to none. Those colored pages are most probably forever gone. Although I don't think Write could be considered a proper publication/magazine, it would great to see the story and poem(s) that Burnett typed out.
mjp
Founding member
First of all, the concept is a bit ridiculous, typing out every copy of a "magazine" (though people have done more ridiculous typing stunts), but I'd bet one or more copies survive somewhere. The problem is if someone who didn't know anything about this story ever found one of them they probably wouldn't recognize it as anything worth investigating or saving.
We may never see it, but the possibility that it's out there somewhere will keep people looking. That's just human nature.
We may never see it, but the possibility that it's out there somewhere will keep people looking. That's just human nature.
Rekrab
Usually wrong.
That's how I read it: 7 or 8 copies per issue. One or two examples may have survived, or not. Having the editor's names is a huge help in searching for it, but still, finding copies would be incredibly lucky.
Isaac Henry Burnjohn is listed here with two stories published in 1944 & 1945, one of them in Story magazine.
...And Isaac Burnjohn appears in the March 1946 issue of Encore magazine.
Isaac Henry Burnjohn is listed here with two stories published in 1944 & 1945, one of them in Story magazine.
...And Isaac Burnjohn appears in the March 1946 issue of Encore magazine.
Rekrab
Usually wrong.
It's amazing good luck that Darger's landlord just happened to be an artist with an eye for genius. Any other landlord would have hauled his junk to the dumpster after he went into a nursing home. As it is, Darger's writings, paintings, source materials, and personal effects were saved. Something I've noticed in a lifetime of going to thrift stores and yard sales is that you never find manuscripts, unless it's a random page stuck inside a book. That's because manuscripts get thrown in the trash. They are assumed to be worthless. We're lucky to have Emily Dickinson's poems, only a handful of which were published during her lifetime. Her sister found her manuscript poems and had the sense to keep them. Thinking about this sort of thing gives writers and artists nightmares.
Just checking in....seeing if anything new has come up about Bukowski's lost WRITE Magazine writings. Topic has been quiet for a while.
~ Later
~ Later