Journal Issue
Open this Spring 1964 issue of Trace and the contents begin making their own introductions. It contains 44 named pieces or sections, beginning with Old Men & New Tools by Max Halperen, The Chinese Cantos of Pound by Max Halperen, and Between Kung and Eleusis by la Dorata Under the Golden Roof. That opening offers a direct path through the issue, but it is not the only one. A reader can follow the printed order, pause over a familiar contributor, or start with a title that catches the eye. No special background is needed. The magazine explains itself gradually through the choices it makes and through the company each piece keeps.
Old Men & New Tools by Max Halperen gives Trace no. 52 its clearest point of entry, while The Chinese Cantos of Pound by Max Halperen and Between Kung and Eleusis by la Dorata Under the Golden Roof widen the issue’s field. Dated Spring 1964, this expansive number contains 56 pieces or named sections, moving between writing about literature, creative work, reviews, correspondence, and the everyday work of a little magazine. The order matters: recurring editorial features sit beside contributions with their own aims, so the magazine feels like an exchange among writers rather than a stack of unrelated pages. The reader’s edition makes that sequence easy to follow; the private source facsimile preserves the cover, page design, advertisements, visual material, and directory information that locate the writing in its first publication. Together, the reading edition and private source record show James Boyer May keeping a place for new writing while also showing how independent magazines found one another.
The contents page also works like a small map. Early entries establish the issue’s first set of voices; around the middle, Game for Children changes the view; the closing stretch reaches Stories: Riverside Street, by Hua-ling Nieh by Hua-ling Nieh. The works differ in length, subject, and manner, yet their placement creates connections that a simple list of names cannot show. The pleasure comes from those changes. A short piece can clear the air after a longer one, a new voice can redirect the mood, and an unexpected title can make an earlier page look different when the reader thinks back to it.
The contributor list includes A. Frederic Franklyn, A. Fredric Franklyn, Al Michaels, Albert W. Vogel, Alexander Kuo, Alfred M. Rossum, Alvaro Cardona-Hine, and Carl Linder, along with 36 additional contributors. Some readers will arrive looking for a particular name; others will meet these contributors here for the first time. Either approach works. The publication details add useful context: the issue was edited by James Boyer May, published by Villiers Publications Ltd., and issued from London, England; Hollywood, California (editorial office). A journal is also a made object, assembled by people deciding what to print, how to order it, and which voices should share a number. Reading from beginning to end lets those choices appear naturally.
The catalog subjects—Little magazines, Experimental literature, Poetry, Fiction, and Literary criticism—are useful starting points, especially for searching, but they do not set limits on what a reader may find. For a first visit, begin with Old Men & New Tools by Max Halperen, turn next to Game for Children, and finish with Stories: Riverside Street, by Hua-ling Nieh by Hua-ling Nieh. The clean reading edition is designed for that kind of movement. Original scan: 104 PDF pages. Reader’s edition: 131 PDF pages. It keeps the contents in a stable, legible form and makes names and titles easier to find. A source facsimile remains part of the project’s private editorial record, but it is not included in the public upload. What appears here is the reading copy: a practical way to spend time with the issue and discover which pieces invite a return.
Contributors
- A. Frederic Franklyn — Poet
- A. Fredric Franklyn — Poet
- Al Michaels — Contributor
- Albert W. Vogel — Contributor
- Alexander Kuo — Poet
- Alfred M. Rossum — Poet
- Alvaro Cardona-Hine — Poet
- Carl Linder — Correspondent
- Dear Editors — Contributor
- Delane Morgan — Poet
- Er — Reviewer
- Forrest Anderson — Poet
- Frank Salantrie — Artist
- GEORGE ABBE — Contributor
- Hua-ling Nieh — Poet
- Iron Band — Contributor
- Jack Micheline — Poet
- James Boyer May — Essayist
- James L. Weil — Poet
- John R. Starks — Poet
- la Dorata Under the Golden Roof — Contributor
- Leona Hamilton — Poet
- Marion Plunkett — Reviewer
- Martin S. Dworkin — Artist
- Max Halperen — Essayist
- Milton VanSickle — Reviewer
- Neto Risi — Poet
- P. N. Singh — Correspondent
- Pearce Egan — Poet
- Pound — Reviewer
- Publisher PAUL EDWARD PROSS — Contributor
- Quanan Shum — Poet
- R. R. Cuscaden — Poet
- Rafael Santos Torroella — Poet
- Raffaele Carrieri — Poet
- Richard E. Beard, Jr — Poet
- Robert Lewis Weeks — Poet
- Robert Lowry — Reviewer
- Ronald Caplan — Poet
- Shree Ram Vidyarthi — Poet
- Stephen H. Goode — Correspondent
- Sue Abbott Boyd — Poet
- Westin Slesinger — Poet
- William Pillin — Poet
Publication details
Full contents
- Old Men & New Tools — Max Halperen [Essay, p. 6]
- The Chinese Cantos of Pound — Max Halperen [Contribution, p. 7]
- Between Kung and Eleusis — la Dorata Under the Golden Roof [Contribution, p. 9]
- Towards Print — James Boyer May [Essay, p. 18]
- (The Intellectual MISunderstanding of Poetry) — James Boyer May [Contribution, p. 18]
- The Chronicle [Reference, p. 24]
- Editors (and others) Write [Correspondence, p. 25]
- ‘Henry Fielding Party’ for The Avant — Carl Linder [Correspondence, p. 25]
- Message from India — P. N. Singh [Correspondence, p. 27]
- Seeks Aid for British Bibliography — Stephen H. Goode [Correspondence, p. 28]
- A Critical Spoof — Alfred M. Rossum [Poem, p. 29]
- The Bonehead — Iron Band [Contribution, p. 30]
- Chapter Ten [Contribution, p. 32]
- Encuentro De Poetas/ Mexico/ 1964 — A. Fredric Franklyn [Contribution, p. 34]
- Insights from: Notes from an American Dark [Contribution, p. 40]
- that contains the word ‘from:’ titles indicating directive [Contribution, p. 42]
- Female Employment Report — Middle East — Pearce Egan [Contribution, p. 44]
- Rx — Delane Morgan [Poem, p. 47]
- Riverside Street — Hua-ling Nieh [Poem, p. 48]
- Hua-ling Nieh [Contribution, p. 50]
- Hua-ling Nieh [Contribution, p. 53]
- Hua-ling Nieh [Contribution, p. 55]
- Hua-ling Nieh [Contribution, p. 57]
- St. Tropez [Contribution, p. 60]
- How Close [Contribution, p. 69]
- Game for Children [Contribution, p. 70]
- No. Iii from the Flesh of Utopia — Alvaro Cardona-Hine [Poem, p. 72]
- The Cathedral at Barcelona [Contribution, p. 79]
- Reading Trakl in the Diner — R. R. Cuscaden [Poem, p. 81]
- New-york — Forrest Anderson [Poem, p. 84]
- A Song to Celebrate Life — Jack Micheline [Poem, p. 85]
- Crazy Kid — John R. Starks [Poem, p. 86]
- John R. Starks [Contribution, p. 88]
- John R. Starks [Contribution, p. 91]
- John R. Starks [Contribution, p. 93]
- John R. Starks [Contribution, p. 95]
- A Martyr in the Morgue — Shree Ram Vidyarthi [Poem, p. 100]
- Shree Ram Vidyarthi [Contribution, p. 102]
- Shree Ram Vidyarthi [Contribution, p. 104]
- Shree Ram Vidyarthi [Contribution, p. 106]
- Shree Ram Vidyarthi [Contribution, p. 108]
- Shree Ram Vidyarthi [Contribution, p. 110]
- Shree Ram Vidyarthi [Contribution, p. 112]
- Shree Ram Vidyarthi [Contribution, p. 114]
- Plates [Contribution, p. 115]
- The Record [Contribution, p. 116]
- Trace 1964 Series – $4 [Contribution, p. 117]
- Howard O’Hagan’s Frontier — Milton VanSickle [Review, p. 117]
- Celine Solution: a Re-evaluation — Robert Lowry [Review, p. 120]
- Poetry Exemplifying a Personal Goal — Marion Plunkett [Review, p. 122]
- Passing ; the Middle of August [Contribution, p. 124]
- A Reductive Summary of Recent Poetry [Contribution, p. 125]
- Seventh Gate — A. Fredric Franklyn [Poem, p. 130]
- TWO — Westin Slesinger [Poem, p. 130]
- In My Blood, by Raffaele Carrieri 52 In My Head I Have White Countries, by Raffaele Carrieri 53 Short Sight, by Nelo Risi 54 The Odors, by Rafael Santos Torroella 55 The Nightmare, by Jascha Kessler 56 Aunt Mary, by Robert Lewis Weeks 57 Time, My Dog, by S. L. Friedman 58 The Cathedral at Barcelona, by Jeff Berner 59 Reading Trakl in the Diner, by R. R. Cuscaden 60 The Excursion, by Stanley Cooperman 61 Witching, by Ellen L. Shearer 62 New-york by Forrest Anderson 63 A Song to Celebrate Life, by Jack Micheline — Raffaele Carrieri [Poem, p. 64]
- Stories: Riverside Street, by Hua-ling Nieh — Hua-ling Nieh [Contribution, p. 33]
Rights and citation
Copyright remains with the respective authors, artists, publisher, or successors.
Copyright Status Unresolved
Rights in the individual contributions and the periodical compilation have not been fully resolved.
Trace, no. 52 (Spring 1964). Text/Tech Journals reader’s edition, 2026.