In 1964 George Drury Smith conceived the name for a magazine to be called Beyond Baroque, but it was little more than a dream until 1968, when what was to become  Beyond Baroque Center opened in a storefront at 1639 West Washington (now Abbot Kinney) Boulevard in Venice, California.

The first issue of the avant-garde magazine Beyond Baroque, devoted to experimental writing, was published late that year.

You can view a PDF file containing covers from some Beyond Baroque magazine covers here.

By early 1969 Joseph Hanson and John Harris had moved their poetry workshop to Beyond Baroque, and the workshop has continued virtually every Wednesday evening since. Poetry readings, musical performances and art gallery exhibitions began.

1970 proved to be a very difficult year for Beyond Baroque financially, but Jim Krusoe had become a mainstay volunteer, and helped assure the survival of the organization.

In 1971 Smith resigned as a high school language teacher to devote full time to Beyond Baroque. In 1972 organization  incorporated as a nonprofit tax-exempt educational organization, Beyond Baroque Foundation. NeWLetterS, a second magazine was begun, with a focus on local literary news and less-experimental writing. It later became NEW Magazine, edited by Krusoe. Beyond Baroque magazine continued, edited by Smith.

In 1973 Alexandra Garrett (1926-1991) became a volunteer and director of the Beyond Baroque Library of Independent Press Literary Publications, which was billed as the only such library open to the general public in the country at that time. She was to serve the foundation the rest of her life.

By now there was standing room only for most events, and loudspeakers were often installed so overflow audiences on the street could hear the readings and other performances. The foundation received its first grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

In 1975 the facilities were doubled by moving the offices into the “Orange Pagoda” in back and using the entire storefront for performances and the library. NewComp Graphics Center opened, with “typeset­ting services for non-commercial literary publish­ers and arts organizations,” funded by the NEA. It eventually occupied an apartment above the storefront. Also in 1975 Beyond Baroque became the host for the Poetry in the Schools program for Southern California (funded by the NEA and the California Arts Council). Free distribution of NEW Magazine: Arts & Letters reached 16,000.

In the following years NEA grants were received for the NewBooks series.

In 1979 Beyond Baroque got a lease from the City of Los Angeles for the Old Venice City Hall, at 681 Venice Blvd. in Venice, and moved to its new facility.

Smith resigned as president and chairman of the board of trustees in late 1979, but remained chairman of the board of trus­tees, and he continued as editor of Beyond Baroque for several years. Jim Krusoe resigned as vice president, but remained on the board of trustees for many years. Eventually Smith was named chairman emeritus of the board.

Manuel H. “Manazar” Gamboa (died in December 2000) was named president and director in 1979, as well as editor of Obras, and Alexandra Garrett became vice president when Jim Krusoe resigned. Manazar was eventually succeeded by Jocelyn Fisher, who published Magazine and Poetry News, which succeeded the earlier publications.

Jim Krusoe edited the various incarnations of NeWLetterS (NEW Magazine; NEW, etc.) and was associate editor of Beyond Baroque through the 1970s. He remained on the board of trustees in through the 1980s.

Alexandra Garrett was an assistant editor and associate editor through the years and remained active on the board of trustees until her untimely death December 31st, 1991.

Beyond Baroque could never have survived without Krusoe and Garrett and scores of other devoted volunteers.

Beyond Baroque Foundation, now generally knowd as Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, is now headed by Fred Dewey.

For a more detailed chronology of the early years, go to Beyond Baroque: A Detailed Chronology.

For information on Beyond Baroque today, go to beyondbaroque.org