Burning Deck Exhibit

Forty Years of Burning Deck Press
1961 - 2001

an exhibit of materials from the
Burning Deck Archive
and the
Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays
Brown University Library

Annmary Brown Memorial
12 March to 6 April, 2001

The Memorial is open to the public from 1:00 to 5:00, Monday through Friday.

For further information about the exhibit
and the Burning Deck Archive, contact
hay@brown.edu

Illustration: Cover, Burning Deck Catalog, 2001

"In 1961, poets were supposed to be in opposing camps, often inelegantly - and inaccurately - labeled 'academics' or 'beats'. The two most widely noted anthologies of the time, borh representing the period 1945-1960, contain not a single poet in common.

Burning Deck (the magazine) disregarded this split, printing and reviewing a spread of poets wide enough that on occasion an author would complain of being published in such unprogrammatic company. Though advertised as a 'quinterly', the magazine, after only four issues, gave way to a series of pamphlets and - later - books of poetry and short fiction. Our list remains eclectic, with some emphasis on experimental writing and an attention to recent British poets generally ignored in this country.

Since being eclectic is not always taken for a virtue, we would note that our eclecticism - besides simply reflecting personal ranges of appreciation - is based on an inability to believe that the history of, for instance, poetry can possibly be clear before the poems are written. It is not denying the importance of 'movements', to insist that there is another importance in moving beside or apart from them. After all, there are many judgements, none of them the last."
K. & R.W. (excerpted from Preface to A Century in Two Decades, 1981)

"Until 1985, we printed Burning Deck publications on our own letterpress.In the beginning it seemed the only way to afford publishing anything at all and, in spite of the drudgery involved, it remains a source of satisfaction. At this point, however, the automation of bookbinding makes it financially more feasible to print full books offset and reserve letterpress work for the smaller chapbooks. We admire fine printing (under no illusion that ours is such) and admire any press that prints good work, even by mimeo. Our own practice - a middle way - is to design and print books with care, in permanent form (smyth-sewn, acid free paper), but at a price that will not keep them on closed shelves."
[K. & R.W.] (excerpted from "About Burning Deck: A history")

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Forty Years of Burning Deck Press 1961 - 2001

About Burning Deck

Exhibition Checklist A - C | D - J | K - M | N- V | W - Z

Forty Years of Burning Deck Press
1961 - 2001

Exhibition Checklist

A - C | D - J | K - M | N- V | W - Z