A book its publisher describes as "the only definitive collection of d.a. levy's works in print." Levy was not only a brilliant wordsmith (on Cleveland, his hometown, in particular) but a pioneer in visual poetry. He was also a fascinating personification of the Idealism, Creativity and Wildness of the Sixties, who, tragically, killed himself at the age of 26.--Bob Grumman
levy was an important poet who deserves to be taken seriously as a writer and publisher. This book does that, featuring painstaking reproductions of some of his graphic work, long unavailable. He also once wrote: "everytime i write a/poem--i'm afraid--when/i'm dead it will sell/and some other poet will/starve because no one will/buy his poems". I think he'd hate this coffee-table book, as much as he'd hate collectors paying $100+ for some of his early hand-printed stuff now that he's dead and "collectable". Druid Books (Ephraim WI 54211) has published his collected poems in a much more righteously priced (but ugly) edition; Persona Non Grata used to put out chapbook reprints free-fr-postage, which is how d.a. woulda liked it...--luigi
This review originally appeared in TapRoot Reviews #1,
Contact the editor, luigi-bob drake, at Burning Press
Copyright Burning Press 1993, 1996.