If anybody had said to me that the shaggy “mimeo revolution” of little magazines begun in the 1960s would be the subject of an exhibition as elegant as this one, and in as venerable a setting, I wouldn’t have believed it. During that period I played a small part in what was happening as an editor of a little mag myself. I thought we were participants in a rebellion more than a revolution. But the breadth and depth of it — as captured these many years later by After Words: Visual and Experimental Poetry in Little Magazines and Small Presses, Post-1960 — is more than persuasive. It’s revelatory.
Visual and Experimental Poetry in Little Magazines and small Presses (1960-2025). Catalogue published by Granary Books.
“Poetry underwent a profound re-conception post-World War II, as poets experimented not only with techniques such as projective verse, but also with the verbal and visual qualities of poetic language. Known variously as visual, concrete, and sound poetry, these practices reached new heights of innovation in the 1960s and beyond sustained by the mimeograph revolution and the proliferation of small independent presses. [The exhibition] curated by Steve Clay and Grolier Club member M.C. Kinniburgh explores the decentering and re-imagining of language from the perspective of visual poetics, and the varieties of ways these ideas took published form. The exhibition presents a wide range of international works with approximately 150 publications.” — Granary Books
The exhibition is on view through July 26, 2025. Admission is free. Several free events are scheduled between now and then.
- On May 22, Thursday, from 6 pm to 7:30 pm, there will be a “Roundtable on Visual Poetry,” co-sponsored by NYU Special Collections and the Bibliographical Society of America, featuring Lisa Pearson (Siglio Press), Charlotte Priddle (Special Collections, New York University), Amelia Grounds (The Bancroft Library at University of Berkeley), Antonio Sergio Bessa (emeritus, The Bronx Museum of the Arts), and Alison Fraser (The Poetry Collection, University at Buffalo), moderated by M.C. Kinniburgh and Conley Lowrance.
- On June 12, at 1 pm, there will be a tour of the exhibition with the curators Steve Clay and M.C. Kinniburgh.
- On June 26, from 6 to 7:30 pm, there will be a live taping of a discussion featuring Clay and Kinniburgh for the podcast Person, Place Thing, hosted by Randy Cohen. RSVP HERE.
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