[No place: no publisher], (1976, 1977).
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Softcover. Tall octavo. Original rice-paper wrappers in Japanese-style binding with an original collage by Emmanuel Navaretta reading "Jargon 25" (measuring 4" x 5"), pasted to the front cover with original unprinted mylar dustwrapper. Very good with rubbing at the edges of the wrappers and some bumping at one corner; the jacket is good with a three-inch tear, a few scattered nicks, and several small- to medium-sized chips. The original signature book used by Williams on his peripatetic caravan of events and gatherings relating to the Jargon Society's 25th Anniversary celebration in 1976. Williams was a poet and the publisher of the avant-garde and idiosyncratic Jargon Society, which produced books that were, to paraphrase Guy Davenport, an amalgam of fine press and samizdat publications.
The book is titled in red on the front wrap in Williams' hand and contains approximately 550 Signatures, along with additional quotations, notes, and drawing from various authors, artists, and friends related to Jargon. Among the most notable are Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Larry Fagin, Dick Higgins, John Ashbery, William Merwin, Michael Rumaker, John Russell, Irving Sandler, Armand Schwerner, Keith Smith, Peter Taylor, Joe Tilson, Eliot Weinberger, John Yau, Ray DiPalma, Ray Gosling, Mary Harris, Herbert Huncke, Simpson Kalisher, David Kermani, Ron King, Elizabeth Kray, Herbert Leibowitz, Joan & Nathan Lyons, Stuart Mills, Denny Moers, Emmanuel Navaretta, Geoffrey O’Brien, Basil Bunting, John Furnival (x2), Glen Baxter, Jackson Mac Low, Joe Brainard, Robert Kelly (full page), Guy Davenport, Tom Clark, Thomas A. Clark, William Corbett, Cynthia and Jorge Fick, Mary Fiore, Gene Frumkin, Clark Coolidge, Russell Banks, Donald Finkel, Richard Kostelanetz, Ross Feld, Stanley Crouch, Ronald Johnson, Ted Wilentz, Richard Elman, William Anthony, Stella Snead, Tim Dlugoz, Michael Lally, Victor Bockris, Joel Oppenheimer, Tom Meyer, Ted Greenwald, Walter Abish, Marvin Cohen, Richard Mock, Paul Metcalf, David Ignatow, A. Doyle Moore, Mel Edelstein, Eric Mottram, Walter Abish, Dobree Adams, Bruce Andrews, Asa Benveniste, Gus Blaisdell, Edward Lucie-Smith, Robert Bertholf, Simon Cutts, Jonis Agee, Guy Mendes, Alex Gildzen, Ray Kass (with a drawing), Jonathan Greene, John Menapace, Lyle Bonge, Larry Goodell, Bill Katz, Mark Goodman, Rochelle Kraut, Michael Morris (co-founder of The Image Bank), F. Whitney Jones, and hundreds more, most of whom have documented connections with both the arts community and the supporters who surrounded the idiosyncratic and important Jargon Society. A wonderful and unique item celebrating Williams' remarkable career and uniting the collective contributors of Jargon.
Item #390395
