Journal Issue
Open this 1972 issue of Beyond Baroque and the contents begin making their own introductions. It contains 31 named pieces or sections, beginning with TRAFFIC by Tom Smith, NO by Richard Kostelanetz, and KAMEA by Jack Hirschman. 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 takes its first formal cue from TRAFFIC by Tom Smith. Compact lyrics sit beside longer, more loosely unfolding poems, with changes in line and stanza doing much of the issue’s formal work. The movement toward RHYMES gives the number a clear closing direction while leaving its voices distinct. Across 31 poems, formal interest lies in the changes of scale: short, image-driven pieces give way to longer fields of syntax, and each new opening resets the relation between line, breath, and page. The variety reflects the Venice workshop culture around the publication, where experimental practice was less a house style than a shared willingness to let voice, spacing, and sequence determine form.
The contents page also works like a small map. Early entries establish the issue’s first set of voices; around the middle, RELATIONSHIP by Nicole changes the view; the closing stretch reaches RHYMES by Greg Druit. 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 Tom Smith, Richard Kostelanetz, Jack Hirschman, Sandi Herschel, Kilian Anderson, Stuart Friebert, S. M. Nechetsky, and Don Menn, along with 11 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 George Drury Smith, published by Beyond Baroque Enterprises, and issued from Venice, 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 poetry, Venice, California, Experimental poetry, Little magazines, and War—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 TRAFFIC by Tom Smith, turn next to RELATIONSHIP by Nicole, and finish with RHYMES by Greg Druit. The clean reading edition is designed for that kind of movement. Original scan: 78 PDF pages. Reader’s edition: 42 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
- Tom Smith — Poet
- Richard Kostelanetz — Poet
- Jack Hirschman — Poet
- Sandi Herschel — Poet
- Kilian Anderson — Poet
- Stuart Friebert — Poet
- S. M. Nechetsky — Poet
- Don Menn — Poet
- Martha Zweig — Poet
- Nicole — Poet
- James Hoggard — Poet
- Rheinhold Johannes Kaebitzsch — Poet
- Robert Brixius — Poet
- E. Lagomarsino — Poet
- Lee Byron Jennings — Poet
- R. X. Massa — Poet
- Lynn Shoemaker — Poet
- James Krusoe — Poet
- Greg Druit — Poet
Publication details
Full contents
- TRAFFIC — Tom Smith [Poem]
- NO — Richard Kostelanetz [Poem]
- KAMEA — Jack Hirschman [Poem]
- LMPHK — Jack Hirschman [Poem]
- Я — Jack Hirschman [Poem]
- The Law — Jack Hirschman [Poem]
- CURRENT EVENTS — Sandi Herschel [Poem]
- THREE SPANS — Kilian Anderson [Poem]
- PAINTING THE BRIDGE — Stuart Friebert [Poem]
- SYLVIA REDDING — S. M. Nechetsky [Poem]
- POEM — Don Menn [Poem]
- GREGOR SAMSA — Martha Zweig [Poem]
- Dogs in a circle with men know — Martha Zweig [Poem]
- HOW LONG? — Stuart Friebert [Poem]
- THROUGH THE FENCE — Stuart Friebert [Poem]
- RELATIONSHIP — Nicole [Poem]
- SEPARATE — Nicole [Poem]
- DILATIONS OF FELINITY — James Hoggard [Poem]
- surrealists talking* — Rheinhold Johannes Kaebitzsch [Poem]
- one month before the civil war — Rheinhold Johannes Kaebitzsch [Poem]
- PARLER ET LISE — Robert Brixius [Poem]
- COMPOSITION ELEVEN — E. Lagomarsino [Poem]
- MAO TSE-TUNG — Lee Byron Jennings [Poem]
- Mr. Smith — R. X. Massa [Poem]
- EVOL U — R. X. Massa [Poem]
- UNDERGROUND — Lynn Shoemaker [Poem]
- SENDING YOUR TONGUE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY — Lynn Shoemaker [Poem]
- TRANSPLANTING A TRUE CLOWN'S NOSE — Lynn Shoemaker [Poem]
- THIS IS POEM FOR — James Krusoe [Poem]
- TO THE OLD LADY DYING IN SHANAHAN'S MARKET, VENICE, CALIF — James Krusoe [Poem]
- RHYMES — Greg Druit [Poem]
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.
*Beyond Baroque*, vol. 2, no. 2, 1972. Text/Tech Journals, reader’s edition.