d.a. levy (1942-1948) was born and lived nearly his entire life in Cleveland Ohio. Aside from a high school diploma and a brief stint in the navy, levy maintained a lifestyle and practice outside of any specific "school" or "movement". He chose through his actions to lead an underground movement in Cleveland of poetry, printing and publishing, and community that was unprecedented by Cleveland standards. The deciding factor in this effort was when in 1963 levy acquired his first tabletop platen letterpress which began a lifelong dedication and passion of printing books of his own, and fellow poets and friends, and distributing them whenever possible.
Beginning with Renegade Press in 1963, levy would go on to print under many different imprints as well as printing formats in the next five years. From letterpress he moved on to mimeograph. As well as original books with hand made elements including painting, drawing, and collage. 7 Flowers Press followed, and so on into others. Some imprints being only for one specific publication. Bibliographers have spent years trying to track down and list everything levy printed and published, some of which were 1 copy originals.
This exhibit puts into context a variety of important publications spanning levy's life. Along with the books and periodicals, are original prints, and printed editions of levy's collages. The intention of this exhibit is to shed light on a vastly under-recognized major American poet of the 1960s. Plagued by being overlooked by his geographical location of Cleveland Ohio, and to not subscribe to institutions in the poetry world, he maintained truly underground and operating from various locations on the east and west side of Cleveland. levy did correspond with a number of well known poets, mostly in New York, and in Canada's concrete poetry circles, publishing a number of them. But he chose to stay in the place of his birth, and try to build a scene there instead of heading west to San Francisco, or east to Manhattan. The climate of Cleveland at that time was highly conservative with a violent and unjust police force and legal system. Near the end of levy's life, he was having ongoing problems with these forces resulting in harassment and arrests for writing and distributing "obscene" materials. A classic case of the 1950s & 60s free speech movement. Cleveland, still in the throws of cold war mentality, at this time had remnants of a subversive squad left over from the McCarthy era. levy's suicide in 1968 was a combination of things to in depth to go into for this venue. But was without doubt affected in some ways by this police harassment. levy exited his incarnation as d.a. early. We are celebrating what he left behind. And also celebrating the publication of a new book of d.a. levy's poems published to coincide with this exhibition.
(can we hold hands out here)
Printed letterpress in an edition of 125 copies at Hermitage.
$20.
To order a copy, please contact us at hermitagebeacon@gmail.com
#(845)765-1650
