There is a somewhat unwieldy downloadable Excel (.xls) file based on a list I created in the early 1980s with data concerning all Beyond Baroque publications from 1968 to the early ’80s. This might be of interest to librarians and researchers. Click here to download the Beyond Baroque Publications spreadsheet.

There are three complete collections of these Beyond Baroque publications through the early 1980s that I know of — two in my possession (one of which I would gladly give to some institution that might preserve it), and one complete (and one near-complete) set at in the Beyond Baroque Foundation Library, 681 Venice Blvd. Venice, CA 90291.

As of June 2005 there was what appeared to be a pretty extensive collection for sale by the William Reese Company. This collection appears to have come from the estate of New Directions founder James Laughlin, who was a Beyond Baroque subscriber from the very beginning. Other single issues can be found for sale on the Web, mostly at European sites.

1968-1980

From 1968 until Beyond Baroque Foundation was incorporated in 1972, the publisher was shown as either Bayrock Press (a small printing business I ran) or Beyond Baroque Enterprises (a money-losing business set up to publish Beyond Baroque). After that it was Beyond Baroque Foundation.

BEYOND BAROQUE

About 22 issues of Beyond Baroque magazine were published from 1968 to 1980. At one point for a time it became Beyond Baroque: NewForms. I edited Beyond Baroque (mostly with James Krusoe as associate editor, and the late Alexandra Garrett as assistant editor).

Numbering: The original Beyond Baroque magazines bore as part of the title a number which combined the two-digit year with the issue number for that year. Thus the first was Beyond Baroque 691 (1969 issue #1, though it was actually published in November 1968), and the last was Beyond Baroque 802 (1980 issue #2).

Only in 1978 and 1979 did we publish the scheduled four issues.

Purpose: The main goal of Beyond Baroque was to publish experimental or avant-garde prose and poetry.

Printing: The first issue was printed commercially. Starting with the second issue they were printed using a color stencil printing process, with work done by Beyond Baroque staff and volunteers. Later they were produced in bound newsprint format, and all were 8.5 x11 inches.

Distribution: Beyond Baroque was distributed to paying subscribers, Foundation members, small press literary publishers, reviewers, bookstores, art galleries, libraries and others. At one time, about 200 libraries had subscriptions, but there less than a hundred other subscriber. It was never billed as a “free” magazine, as were most of the other publications.

OTHER BEYOND BAROQUE PUBLICATIONS

NEWLETTERS, NEW MAGAZINE, etc.

A number of issues of a “Newsletter” were published in 1969; then it became NeWLetterS.

As NeWLetterS evolved, it continued as a newsletter for the foundation and contained a lot of news about West Coast (“cismontane”) literary events and publishing, but it also published poetry and occasional prose of writers primarily based west of the Rocky Mountains (or was it the Sierra Nevada? In any case “cismontane”), and it definitely less “experimental” than Beyond Baroque.

There were about 15 issues of NeWLetterS. In 1976, NeWLetterS became NEW Magazine, NEW Magazine: Arts & Letters, and finally NEW. James Krusoe was principal editor of all of these, assisted by Alexandra Garrett and me.

Distribution: All of these magazines were distributed free. At one time over 4,500 were regularly mailed free to the Foundation mailing list. For one issue 16,000 were printed, but I think printings averaged perhaps around 6,000 after the first few years.

Printing: The early issues were printed using a color stencil printing process, in 8.5x5.5 stapled booklets, with work done by Beyond Baroque staff and volunteers. Later they were produced in a bound 8.5.x11 newsprint format.

NEWBOOKS: Six NewBooks were published in 1976 and 1977. In a unique experiment, financed by the National Endowment for the Arts Literature Program, only the author, who was given hundreds of copies, could “sell” copies. They were mailed free to the extensive Foundation mailing list with a form that could be mailed back to the Foundation with a suggested contribution, which was in turn paid to the author. These were in 8.5x11 format, staple-bound.

• 1976: Building Some Changes, by Eloise Klein Healy
• Jackdaw, by Henry Roth
• Some Traffic, by Tom Smith
• 1977: Dan McCarroll’s Space Diary, by Dan McCarroll
• 15 Predestination Weather Reports, by Lyle Curtis
• A Vegetable Emergency, by Maxine Chernoff

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Three anthologies of work from the Wednesday night Venice Poetry Workshop were published:

• New Venice Poets (actually Beyond Baroque 701)
• Venice 13 (hors série, 1971?)
• VPW 5, Venice Poetry Workshop 5th anniversary anthology (1974)

There were also a number of other chapbooks:

• K’Wai Sing and Kabbala Surrealism (1973, by Jack Hirschman)
• Perimeters (1974, by Claudia Chapline)

1980 AND AFTER

OBRAS: Starting in 1980, Obras, edited by new director Manazar, replace the other Foundation Publications.

MAGAZINE: From 1981 to 1984 the Foundation published Magazine and Poetry News, edited by Beyond Baroque director Jocelyn Fisher.

Other magazines were published sporadically, including Forehead.

BEYOND BAROQUE PUBLISHING TODAY

After a hiatus when there were no Beyond Baroque Foundation magazines or books, current Foundation director Fred Dewey has recently started published books, and has revived the magazine Beyond Baroque.

QUESTIONS: Questions about the early days may be sent to me at: GeorgeDrurySmith@yahoo.com.