Same Old Thing, Shakespeare Through Mailer (1 Viewer)

[Pogue Mahone Athbheoim]

This one has always bothered me and still does.
According to Krumhansl, this was a promotional mailer Marvin Malone published in 1963 to promote his poetry journal, Wormwood Review. A total of 500 copies were printed, 29 of which were signed by Bukowski and Malone.

I've attached three signed copies. None of these look like period signatures. Especially the one with the little man with his bottle.

Marvin Malone was already dead when Krumhansl published his book, so I guess he didn't get a chance to ask Malone about it. And he probably didn't know to consult Christa Malone.

But the signatures tell me Krumhansl is wrong about (at least) the signed edition. All other information would kind of make sense, even though I think (based on the other issues mentioned) Krumhansl was probably also wrong about it being a promotion piece for Wormwood 11 specifically.

 

[Rekrab]

Pardon me for being dense, but what specifically is the question? Is it when it was printed, or when signed, or when the numbering was done? All those?

 

[Purple Stickpin]

I just checked my emails with Christa from 2009 when she helped me assemble my full run and she referred to the Same Old Thing... as an "original flyer (Krumhansl item #11)." So I'm not sure whether she would have been able to shed any light on when those were signed. Mine is unsigned but I agree that those look like late '70s-'80s signatures and almost certainly not from 1963.

 

[Pogue Mahone Athbheoim]

Pardon me for being dense, but what specifically is the question? Is it when it was printed, or when signed, or when the numbering was done? All those?

They were undoubtedly printed around the time Krumhansl says.

But I think Marvin took a page from the Red Stodolsky playbook when he asked Bukowski to sign them (even though they were free). My guess is he came across some leftover flyers that had not been folded for mailing and the lightbulb went off.

 

[tinux]

I remember reading here that Al Fogel got a bunch of these flyers at one point, and that he asked Bukowski to sign some.
I have one signed at home, will look it up, and post it here.
Also, but you might now this, these were printed specially as flyers, they're not loose pages from WW. Page 2 and 3 would'nt be numbered 2 and 3 if this leaf was to be use in a booklet.

 

[Rekrab]

Marvin Malone sent me a copy of this in 1983. I think it was signed and numbered, but I'll have to look at it again to make sure of that. I don't think he mentioned when they were numbered and signed.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

I remember reading here that Al Fogel got a bunch of these flyers at one point, and that he asked Bukowski to sign some.
I have one signed at home, will look it up, and post it here.
Also, but you might now this, these were printed specially as flyers, they're not loose pages from WW. Page 2 and 3 would'nt be numbered 2 and 3 if this leaf was to be use in a booklet.

Correct. This shows the correct content for pages 2 and 3 from Wormwood 11 but in the booklet, page 35 (actually not numbered in the booklet) is next to page 2 on that sheet of paper. The material under the solid lines on pages 2 and 3 was added to the flyer; that doesn't appear in the booklet.

Also, Pogue, if you look on the backside of the flyer (none of which is from Wormwood 11) there are some general bullets, one of which summarizes the contents of Wormwood 1-12 and two others discuss (presumably) what is or soon will be in Wormwood 13 and 14. Since 12 was the final issue from 1963 and 13 was the first issue from 1964, the flyer (with a 1963 date on it) was produced around the time of Wormwood 11 and 12 as a promotion for Wormwood in general, not just #11.

 

[d gray]

i love sitting on the sidelines and watching the scientists work.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

It's about time that we actually got back to providing analyses in something close to real time and keeping this board alive. Little detective work like this is going to promote that for me, anyway.

 

[bonnie brae]

John Martin

i think i'm posting in the right place, since JM did publish a great deal of "books, magazines, and publications"... so, it seems from reading that JM is a controversial figure around here, and despite the stories of some pretty cold business decisions (which i know is a favorable choice of...

bukowskiforum.com

 

[Pogue Mahone Athbheoim]

Please don't ever mention John Martin in the same thread as Marvin Malone.

 

[bonnie brae]

Did you “Muller” scholars actually read the post?

 

[d gray]

i did but i'm not one of the scholars.

 

[Pogue Mahone Athbheoim]

Did you “Muller” scholars actually read the post?

My apologies, but when I first clicked the link it was landed in a bunch of posts about Martin and some other non-related things. I did see one post about the subject at hand, but it didn't really prvide any info.

You found the exact answer to the question at hand, so thank you very much on tracking it down. I really appreciate it.

It's also a classic Fogel story. I met Al during (what I’ve come to assume) was the last decade of his life. Al didn’t have a lot of money near the end and to get by he did things like finding expensive suites in Miami thrift stores and then sell them on eBay. He also had held on to some parts of his Bukowski collection and would sell me rare items when he needed a few dollars. About six months into Covid, he suddenly went radio silent.

 

[tinux]

Here is my copy, signature looks like the rest, but is in blue ink, which is odd. My guess would be early eighties, if mine is legit at all ; )

 

[Rekrab]

The signature looks okay to me, but I'm no expert. As for blue ink, he probably grabbed whatever pen was handy at the moment.

 

[Pogue Mahone Athbheoim]

...he probably grabbed whatever pen was handy at the moment.

That's spot on. I think the one below is the worst example I've seen of Bukowski doing that. After Dorbin spends countless hours on research for the book and adds such a beautiful signature, Bukowski uses a pen that looks like he ripped off from the Post Office. This is the same guy who used those fancy pens on the LouJon books... he should have known better. If I were Martin, I would have been justifiably pissed off...

 

[Purple Stickpin]

That signature looks fine to me, tinux.

And Pogue: My copy of Dorbin looks very similar. I always viewed it as a nice representation of the juxaposition of free-form writer and meticulous bibliographer.