Journal Issue
This 1969 number of Trace is best met through the writing itself. It contains 47 named pieces or sections, beginning with Inward/outward by (Some Gladly Frustrated Thoughts On The, (Some Gladly Frustrated Thoughts On The Making of Poetry), and Freud, on Crop Supports, Etc by Ruth Moon Kemphe. 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.
Inward/outward by (Some Gladly Frustrated Thoughts On The gives Trace no. 70 its clearest point of entry, while (Some Gladly Frustrated Thoughts On The Making of Poetry) and Freud, on Crop Supports, Etc by Ruth Moon Kemphe widen the issue’s field. Dated 1969, this expansive number contains 48 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, God’s Tongue changes the view; the closing stretch reaches Titlewave Amalgamate by British Far Necktie Stroke Dip. 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 (Some Gladly Frustrated Thoughts On The, A. Fredric Franklyn, Alan Brilliant, Albert Camden, Alex Silberman, Anthony Piccione, Barry Montgomery, and Barry N. Schwartz, along with 75 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 Inward/outward by (Some Gladly Frustrated Thoughts On The, turn next to God’s Tongue, and finish with Titlewave Amalgamate by British Far Necktie Stroke Dip. The clean reading edition is designed for that kind of movement. Original scan: 232 PDF pages. Reader’s edition: 213 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
- (Some Gladly Frustrated Thoughts On The — Contributor
- A. Fredric Franklyn — Essayist
- Alan Brilliant — Poet
- Albert Camden — Poet
- Alex Silberman — Poet
- Anthony Piccione — Poet
- Barry Montgomery — Poet
- Barry N. Schwartz — Essayist
- British Far Necktie Stroke Dip — Contributor
- Dave Rasey — Essayist
- David Henderson — Contributor
- David Kipp — Contributor
- Diane M. Moore — Poet
- Duncan S. Harris — Poet
- E. R. Baxter — Poet
- Edward J. Kerns — Artist
- Emilie Glen — Contributor
- Francis Murray — Fiction writer
- François Pasqualini — Contributor
- Gary Elder — Artist
- George McWhirter — Poet
- Gil Orlovitz — Poet
- Grace Butch — Essayist
- H. M. Gordy — Poet
- Harland Ristau — Artist
- Hugh Fox — Essayist
- Iris B. Buaken — Essayist
- J. McLeod — Poet
- James Bertolino — Poet
- James Boyer May — Editor
- James Brooks — Fiction writer
- James D. Houston — Contributor
- James Kennedy — Contributor
- James Reiss — Poet
- Jane Fulton — Poet
- Jed Linde — Poet
- John Marble — Fiction writer
- John Thomson — Poet
- John Tryford — Essayist
- Joyce Odam — Contributor
- Konstantinos Lardas — Poet
- la Random House — Essayist
- Lee M. Lubrano — Contributor
- Linda Pastan — Poet
- Lynn Lonidier — Essayist
- Lynn Lonidier Unclothes It — Contributor
- Lynn Strongin — Poet
- Maida Adamich — Fiction writer
- Matthew B. Flynn — Poet
- Meiszko J. Skapski — Poet
- Mike Doyle — Poet
- Millie Mae Wicklund — Poet
- N. H. Taylor — Fiction writer
- Norman L. Morris — Artist
- Paul Celan — Poet
- Paul Freeman — Contributor
- Peter Paul Fersch — Poet
- R. D. Skillings — Fiction writer
- Richard O'Connell — Contributor
- Robert Louis — Contributor
- Robert R. Fox — Poet
- Roger Mitchell — Poet
- Ron Silliman — Correspondent
- Rush Rankin — Correspondent
- Russell Salamon — Poet
- Ruth Moon Kemphe — Contributor
- Ruth Moon Kempher — Poet
- Ryah Tumarkin Goodman — Poet
- Sanford M. Dorbin — Poet
- Scott H. Mulrane — Poet
- Seamus Finn — Correspondent
- Seymour Gresser — Fiction writer
- Stanley Cooperman — Poet
- Stanwood K. Bolton, Jr — Poet
- Stories by Adamich, Gresser, Skillings — Contributor
- SUSAN SONTAG’s Deficiencies Probed by Hugh Fox — Contributor
- TODAY’S TURNING TIDES Departures Within a New Cover — Contributor
- Tryford Sees It Kicking Out the Jams — Contributor
- Warren Netz — Essayist
- Will Jennings — Poet
- William A. Roecker — Poet
- William Virgil Davis — Poet
- William Witherup — Poet
Publication details
Full contents
- Inward/outward — (Some Gladly Frustrated Thoughts On The [Contribution, p. 7]
- (Some Gladly Frustrated Thoughts On The Making of Poetry) [Contribution, p. 7]
- Freud, on Crop Supports, Etc — Ruth Moon Kemphe [Contribution, p. 13]
- Editors (and others) Write [Correspondence, p. 14]
- Good Art First, Political Art Second — Rush Rankin [Correspondence, p. 14]
- ‘Failure of Integrity’ — Not Limited to One Mag — Seamus Finn [Correspondence, p. 15]
- A Letter from the artist, Paul Freeman, to Tom Mcnamara — Paul Freeman [Contribution, p. 19]
- Cold Night [Contribution, p. 22]
- The Goddess of the New Sensibility: Susan Sontag — Hugh Fox [Essay, p. 23]
- The Benefactor [Contribution, p. 27]
- Portrait of a Pugnacious Playwright — François Pasqualini [Contribution, p. 34]
- These Eyes — Jed Linde [Contribution, p. 39]
- Dada as Psychodrama — John Tryford [Essay, p. 40]
- My Grandmother Comes from Prague [Contribution, p. 40]
- Hem-lines in Oscillation — Iris B. Buaken [Essay, p. 44]
- Today’s Machete — James D. Houston [Contribution, p. 51]
- The Vicar’s Birthday — Sanford M. Dorbin [Poem, p. 54]
- Lay Sermon: Capsule One [Contribution, p. 55]
- Lay Sermon: Capsule Two [Contribution, p. 56]
- Lay Sermon: Capsule Three [Contribution, p. 57]
- Lay Sermon: Capsule Four [Contribution, p. 58]
- Lay Sermon: Capsule Five [Contribution, p. 59]
- Serenade for a Cubed Eyeball — Stanley Cooperman [Poem, p. 62]
- God’s Tongue [Contribution, p. 80]
- Selections from Austérics [Contribution, p. 82]
- Several Directions — Millie Mae Wicklund [Poem, p. 98]
- Disappearing Cross [Contribution, p. 103]
- (Two selections from an unpublished novel) [Contribution, p. 104]
- II [Contribution, p. 107]
- Judas Kiss at Dawn — Maida Adamich [Fiction, p. 111]
- Before the Funeral — R. D. Skillings [Fiction, p. 116]
- R. D. Skillings [Contribution, p. 128]
- Liborio — Seymour Gresser [Fiction, p. 130]
- Seymour Gresser [Contribution, p. 136]
- Seymour Gresser [Contribution, p. 142]
- The Paris Tour of Mr. Chester Poor Iii — Richard O'Connell [Contribution, p. 145]
- Items — Ruth Moon Kempher [Contribution, p. 148]
- Concerning the Now of Poetry* — Dave Rasey [Contribution, p. 151]
- David Henderson’s poem, Psychedelic Firemen [Poem, p. 159]
- Yonder Up Called Is Rolls The When — Francis Murray [Contribution, p. 162]
- ‘book Review’—by James Brooks [Review, p. 171]
- A Nugacious Proposal* — John Marble [Fiction, p. 173]
- The Great Automated Culture Crisis — N. H. Taylor [Fiction, p. 185]
- Instant Everything Art [Contribution, p. 187]
- AT THE END — Ryah Tumarkin Goodman [Poem, p. 191]
- Nisei Actress — A. Fredric Franklyn [Contribution, p. 192]
- Ghelderode’s Pantagleize: ‘... lost in equalitarian darkness.’ — Barry N. Schwartz [Contribution, p. 201]
- Titlewave Amalgamate — British Far Necktie Stroke Dip [Contribution, p. 207]
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. 70 (1969). Text/Tech Journals reader’s edition, 2026.