Bachy, No. 4 (1974)

Open this 1974 issue of Bachy and the contents begin making their own introductions. It contains 13 named pieces or sections, beginning with In Memoriam: Stuart Perkoff by William Margolis, Hog-Killing by James Carroll, and Dream of the Man Who Wouldn't Die by Patrick Leahy. 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.

In Memoriam: Stuart Perkoff by William Margolis gives the issue its opening pressure. From there, Hog-Killing and Dream of the Man Who Wouldn't Die 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: literary sequences are interrupted by 2 visual portfolios, while prose and verse move at different speeds across the issue rather than being isolated in separate magazines. 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, Photographs by John Findlater changes the view; the closing stretch reaches Drawings by Jerry Fredericks. 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 William Margolis, James Carroll, Patrick Leahy, Leonard Gilley, Joel Dailey, Ronald Koertge, John Findlater, and Robert Eaton Kelley, along with 5 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 Editorial collective, published by Papa Bach Paperbacks, 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, Visual art, and Love—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 In Memoriam: Stuart Perkoff by William Margolis, turn next to Photographs by John Findlater, and finish with Drawings by Jerry Fredericks. The clean reading edition is designed for that kind of movement. Original scan: 158 PDF pages. Reader’s edition: 177 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.