Locus Solus

Cover of Locus Solus I, edited by James Schuyler.

A Modern International Collection

In 1961, the first of four issues of Locus Solus--edited by poets John Ashbery, Kenneth Koch, and James Schuyler--was printed in Europe. Though entirely in English and targeted towards an American audience, each edition of the magazine drew from foreign influences, even taking its name from Raymond Roussel's classic. Locus Solus is not enitrely classical, however, despite its inclusion of both historical Western and Eastern literature; much of its content reflects the editors' deep affinity for modern art, and each covers mimics that of typical French publications.

Each iteration of this magazine attempts to further uncover the nature of written communication and the profound reverberations of language. Using newly-developed techniques and styles of poetry, Ashbery, Koch, and Schuyler effectively curated a collection that celebrated collaboration between old and new, American and European, and avant-garde and classical.

Cover of Locus Solus II, edited by Kenneth Koch.

Cover of Locus Solus III-IV, edited by John Ashbery.

Cover of Locus Solus V, edited by James Schuyler.

Aesthetic

Though made for quick distribution, the plain, book-like copies of Locus Solus look nothing like other magazines of the time. Rather than a collection of hand-drawn visuals on large paper sheets bound by a stapler, Locus Solus is pocket-sized, dense, and stiff. It is simple, elegant, and respectful of the dignified language each edition contains, and yet, its method of creation is relatively easy and inexpensive. Packed densely with poetry and prose, Locus Solus's cleanliness and intensity reflects an appreciation for highly intellectual, European society. Additionally, its thin covers, contrasted against the substantial thickness of each edition, add an unexpected sense of delicacy to this syllable-heavy magazine.

Poem by Denis Roche (left), translated by John Ashbery (right) in Locus Solus III.

"Ballad of Moral Beauty" by Harold Rosenburg, Locus Solus V.

Harold Rosenburg's "Ballad of Moral Beauty"

In Locus Solus IV, Harold Rosenberg, an American writer, philosopher and art critic who coined the term Action Painting (later known as abstract expressionism), speaks to his affinity for art in "Ballad of Moral Beauty."¹ A page-long poem, "Ballad" emphasizes the unquenchable thirst to create that is common among artists, as well as the notion that writing is not only a release, but a source of comfort. In fact, it's addictive. Rosenburg, like so many others, has committed himself to a lifetime of service to the English language, seeking to liberate his "flesh" from greed and bitterness and instead become deeply involved in art--both its culture and community. While not a foreign-based work, Schuyler likely included this in the fourth edition of Locus Solus for its admiration of language's profundity and heartiness.

Amika Baraka's "A Poem for Myself, the Fool"

Over the course of his 50-plus year career, American writer Amika Baraka, then called "Leroi Jones," often focused on topics of white racism and black liberation. In 1962, when "A Poem for Myself, the Fool" was published, Baraka had recently produced a book of poems--Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note--highlighting a deep frustration at the complacency of black middle-class American artists. To him, as long as this group sought acceptance in middle-class society, they would never speak their mind.² "A Poem" further emphasizes this idea--asking Baraka's community to overcome this fear of ostracism and so move towards an easier coexistence with white persons. By including this piece, the editors of Locus Solus more accurately provide cultural context for the Western world at the time. In a year marked by increasingly racial violent racial tensions, the inclusion of not only a black artist, but a polarizing and outspoken individual, illustrates the editors' high regard for meaningful abstract expressionist art above all else. Additionally, "A Poem" is atypical in its format; with mismatched indents, fragments, and unfinished sentences, Baraka's piece reads a bit like the product of poetic splicing--a newly developed technique characteristic of the New York School. Its placement in Locus Solus is ultimately a feat of collaboration.

Locus Solus I

Kenneth Koch..........................................."On the Go." Two Poems

Barbara Guest...........................................Seven Poems

James Schuyler........................................."Current Events"

Anne Porter..............................................."The First of May"

Ebbe Borregard.........................................Three Poems

John Ashbery.............................................Six Poems

Harry Matthews........................................The Conversions (I)

Frank O'Hara..............................................Ten Poems

Edward Denby............................................Nine Sonnets

Robin Blaser..............................................."Cups"

George Montgomery.................................Four Poems

R. Burckhardt............................................."Love in Three Acts"

Fairfield Porter...........................................Four Poems

James Schuyler in Calais, VT, late 1960s.⁴

Locus Solus II

Unknown....................................................."To a Waterfowl"

Five Chinese Poets......................................"A Garland of Roses"

Sei Shonagon & the Empress Sadako......"Poem about Saisho"

Basho, Bonsho, Fumikuni & Kyorai........."The Kite's Feathers"

Kakei & Basho.............................................."November--"

Sogi, Shohaku & Socho..............................."Three Poets at Minase"

Blacatz & Vidal............................................."Tenso"

Vidal & Lanza................................................"Tenso"

Aragon, Salvatge, Foix & Auriac................."Coblas"

Fletcher & Shakespeare..............................."Song"

Donne & Goodyere........................................"A Letter"

Cowley & Crashaw........................................."On Hope"

Suckling & Waller.........................................."In Answer of Sir John Suckling's Verses"

Thomas Chatterton........................................Two Poems

Coleridge & Southey......................................From Joan of Arc

Marinetti & Cangiullo...................................."Public Garden"

Breton & Eluard..............................................From The Immaculate Conception

Eluard & Peret................................................."Surrealist Proverbs"

Breton & Tanguy............................................."Question and Answer Game"

Eluard & Others..............................................."Cadavres Exquis"

Char & Eluard...................................................Two Poems

Ern Malley.........................................................Two Poems

Ashbery & Schuyler........................................."A Nest of Ninnies"

Frank O'Hara....................................................."Choses Passagères"

Ceravolo & Perreault......................................."Milk"

Krakauer, Aeschylus, etc................................."Jack Who Yawned"

Benedikt & Gilman.........................................."Under the Stones"

Freilicher & Koch............................................."The Car"

Kenneth Koch, 1970s.⁵

Kenneth Koch's Naropa Class, 1979.⁶

Locus Solus III-IV

Michael Benedikt..............................................Four Poems

Leroi Jones.........................................................Three Poems

D. Krakauer........................................................Two Poems

Bill Berkson........................................................Seven Poems

Welton Smith.....................................................Two Poems

Larry Rivers........................................................Six Poems

Robin Blaser........................................................"The Park"

Diane Di Prima...................................................."Moon Mattress"

Dennis Quinn.......................................................Five Poems

Alan Ansen...........................................................Three Poems

Robert Lax............................................................Four Poems

Jean Boudin..........................................................Two Poems

Frank O'Hara........................................................Three Poems

Frank O'Hara & Bill Berkson..............................From The Memorandums of Angelicus Fobb

George Stanley.....................................................Two Poems

Paul Carroll..........................................................."Postcard for Joseph Cornell"

Denis Roche..........................................................Three Poems

Marcelin Pleynet..................................................Three Poems

Pierre Martory......................................................"Les Soirées de Rochefort"

Pierre Martory......................................................"Tchat"

Joseph Ceravolo....................................................Four Poems

Joseph Ceravolo...................................................."Water, How Weather Feels the Cotton Hotels"

Musa McKim..........................................................Three Poems

Allan Kaplan...........................................................Three Poems

Hugh Amory...........................................................From The Federalists

Daisy Aldan............................................................."Zina"

Kenward Elmslie....................................................Four Poems

James Schuyler......................................................."December"

Gerard Malange......................................................"Psyche"

James Koller............................................................Crouched in mothers musk

James Merrill..........................................................."Letter from Egypt"

David Ball................................................................."A Recent Conversation"

John Ashbery..........................................................."The New Realism"

Furman Stout.........................................................."Prose Poem for Clara"

Landis Everson........................................................From The Little Ghosts I Played With

John Perreault.........................................................Three Poems

Barbara Guest..........................................................Two Poems

Barbara Guest & Sa'di Koylan..............................."Turkish"

Anselm Hollo..........................................................."Text 9. iii. 1961"

Kenneth Koch..........................................................Five Poems

Kenneth Koch.........................................................."Bon Dieu"

Kenneth Koch.........................................................."The Echo"

Jack Foss..................................................................."The Categorical Avoidance"

Robert Magowan......................................................Two Poems

Thomas Jackrell........................................................Seven Poems

Harry Mathews.........................................................The Conversions (III)

John Ashbery, 1970s.⁷

John Ashbery, 1975.⁸

John Ashbery, 1950s.⁹

Locus Solus V

Gerard Malanga........................................................Three Poems

Harold Rosenburg...................................................."Ballad of Moral Beauty"

Chester Kallman.......................................................Two Poems

Edwin Denby............................................................."The Thirties"

Frank O'Hara.............................................................Five Poems

Ted Berrigan............................................................."Poem in the Traditional Manner"

Carol Morse...............................................................Three Poems

Musa Guston..............................................................Two Poems

Piero Heliczer............................................................Two Poems

Anselm Hollo............................................................."A Letter, Both Intimate and Didactic"

Tuomas Anhava........................................................"Elegy for the Night"

Frank Lissauer...........................................................Three Poems

John Ashbery............................................................."Into the Dusk-Charged Air"

Harold Rosenburg....................................................."Liberalism, Conservatism--and Literature"

Kenward Elmslie.......................................................Three Poems

Barbara Guest............................................................"Candies"

Donna Kerness.........................................................."Insomnia VI"

John Wieners.............................................................Three Poems

Richard Elliott..........................................................."9 Elaborations for 26 Characters"

Harry Mathews........................................................."The Ring"

Jean Boudin..............................................................."Politics"

Robert Harson..........................................................."Lacrimae"

John N. Morris..........................................................."Reno"

Daisy Aldan................................................................"Facility phrases"

Edwin Denby.............................................................."Snoring in New York: an elegy"

Raymond Roussel......................................................"Locus Solus (I)"

Michael Cain.............................................................."Lovepoetry"

Robert Dash..............................................................."Memoirs d'auters"

Kenneth Koch............................................................"The Islands"

Kenneth Koch............................................................"The Departure from Hydra"

Tony Whedon............................................................"Sounds"

James Schuyler, 1950s.¹⁰

James Schuyler at Grace Hartigan's art opening, 1959.¹¹

References

¹The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Harold Rosenberg.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 8 July 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Harold-Rosenberg.
²Jarrett, Gene Andrew. A Companion to African American Literature. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
³Epstein, Andrew. Twitter, Twitter, 29 Mar. 2018, twitter.com/andrewepstein3/status/979331517729198080?lang=en.
⁴Brainard, Joe. James Schuyler. Calais, VT.
⁵Epstein, Andrew. “Memories of a ‘Child of the New York School’: Katherine Koch's New Essay.” Locus Solus: The New York School of Poets, 12 Aug. 2013, newyorkschoolpoets.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/memories-of-a-child-of-the-new-york-school-katherine-kochs-new-essay/.
⁶“Kenneth Koch's 1979 Naropa Class.” The Allen Ginsberg Project, 20 Aug. 2019, allenginsberg.org/2015/10/kenneth-kochs-1979-naropa-class/.
⁷Faville, Curtis. “John Ashbery [1927-2017].” John Ashbery [1927-2017], 5 Sept. 2017, compassrosebooks.blogspot.com/2017/09/john-ashbery-1927-2017.html.
⁸Hujar, Peter. John Ashbery (I). San Francisco, 1975.
⁹“Biographies.” Imagine! Painter and Poets of the New York School, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library, 9 June 2012, library.syr.edu/digital/exhibits/i/imagine/section10.htm.
¹⁰Kernan, Nathan. “Past = Past.” Jacket2, 30 June 2012, jacket2.org/article/past-past.
¹¹McDarrah, Fred W. Schuyler & Sandler at Hartigan Opening. New York, New York, 28 Apr. 1959.

Citations

“Biographies.” Imagine! Painter and Poets of the New York School, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library, 9 June 2012, library.syr.edu/digital/exhibits/i/imagine/section10.htm.
Birmingham, Jed. “Eureka: Locus Solus V.” RealityStudio, realitystudio.org/bibliographic-bunker/locus-solus/eureka-locus-solus-v/.
Birmingham, Jed. “Locus Solus.” From a Secret Location, 6 Feb. 2017, fromasecretlocation.com/locus-solus/.
Brainard, Joe. James Schuyler. Calais, VT.
Diggory, Terence. Encyclopedia of the New York School Poets. New York, Facts on File, 2013.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Harold Rosenberg.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 8 July 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Harold-Rosenberg.
Epstein, Andrew. “Memories of a ‘Child of the New York School’: Katherine Koch's New Essay.” Locus Solus: The New York School of Poets, 12 Aug. 2013, newyorkschoolpoets.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/memories-of-a-child-of-the-new-york-school-katherine-kochs-new-essay/.
Epstein, Andrew. Twitter, Twitter, 29 Mar. 2018, twitter.com/andrewepstein3/status/979331517729198080?lang=en.
Faville, Curtis. “John Ashbery [1927-2017].” John Ashbery [1927-2017], 5 Sept. 2017, compassrosebooks.blogspot.com/2017/09/john-ashbery-1927-2017.html.
Hujar, Peter. John Ashbery (I). San Francisco, 1975.
Jarrett, Gene Andrew. A Companion to African American Literature. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
Tharp, Shannon. “Locus Solus.” Jacket2, 19 Aug. 2019, jacket2.org/commentary/locus-solus-2#n1.
“Kenneth Koch's 1979 Naropa Class.” The Allen Ginsberg Project, 20 Aug. 2019, allenginsberg.org/2015/10/kenneth-kochs-1979-naropa-class/.
Kernan, Nathan. “Past = Past.” Jacket2, 30 June 2012, jacket2.org/article/past-past.
McDarrah, Fred W. Schuyler & Sandler at Hartigan Opening. New York, New York, 28 Apr. 1959.
Unless otherwise stated, all images are courtesy of the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.

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