Bachy, No. 1 (July 1972)

This July 1972 number of Bachy is best met through the writing itself. It contains 15 named pieces or sections, beginning with A Letter by Gruberg, ZThS by Jack Hirschman, and Becoming a Crow by John Haines. 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.

The issue begins with A Letter by Gruberg, and gives the reader an immediate way into the issue. From there, ZThS and Becoming a Crow widen its range of voices and approaches. The issue gains its character from the way those different voices sit beside one another. Its mix of writing and images shapes the reading experience: the issue keeps its attention on writing, while prose and verse move at different speeds across the pages. Longer groupings and single-page pieces alternate, so the issue’s shape comes from duration and interruption as much as from any common theme.

The contents page also works like a small map. Early entries establish the issue’s first set of voices; around the middle, Icy Lady by Anthony Russo changes the view; the closing stretch reaches The Cold Man by Michael Bacon. 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 Gruberg, Jack Hirschman, John Haines, Dennis Ellman, Lisa Rose, Susan Schaeffer, Harry Northup, and Anthony Russo, along with 7 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 William Mohr (poetry); Claxton Sussex (prose); Michael Moore (art), published by Papa Bach Bookstore, and issued from Los Angeles, California. 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—Los Angeles little magazines, Poetry and prose, and Visual art—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 A Letter by Gruberg, turn next to Icy Lady by Anthony Russo, and finish with The Cold Man by Michael Bacon. The clean reading edition is designed for that kind of movement. Original scan: 186 PDF pages. Reader’s edition: 183 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.