Bachy, No. 6 (1975)

The 1975 issue of Bachy brings its writers together without asking them to sound alike. It contains 15 named pieces or sections, beginning with Quartet for my Lover on a Sentimental by Patricia Eakins, A Railroad Train Made of Flowers by Jerry Oleaf, and Randy's Dominance Theory by Rachel Michaud. 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.

Quartet for my Lover on a Sentimental by Patricia Eakins sets the first measure of the issue. From there, A Railroad Train Made of Flowers and Randy's Dominance Theory 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, Dear Editor by Rod Bradley changes the view; the closing stretch reaches Horse by Joseph Hansen. 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 Patricia Eakins, Jerry Oleaf, Rachel Michaud, Robert Kinerk, Greg Kuzma, William Talcott, Richard Hasher, and Rod Bradley, 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 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 Quartet for my Lover on a Sentimental by Patricia Eakins, turn next to Dear Editor by Rod Bradley, and finish with Horse by Joseph Hansen. The clean reading edition is designed for that kind of movement. Original scan: 178 PDF pages. Reader’s edition: 196 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.