The Avant Writing Collection focuses on a group of primarily North American writers, most of whom became active starting in the 1970’s. They are primarily interested in poetry and visual poetry, but are also writing prose, and in numerous transgeneric forms not easily classified. Many of them are also involved with visual arts, photography, sound art, music, performance, conceptual art, mail art, and/or artists’ books. These writers are all quite unique, but almost none of them are associated with any of the prevailing literary or institutional establishments of the day.
Although it is difficult to identify anything like a “school” or “movement” among this group of individualists, most of them know and communicate with each other, publish in the same venues, and are involved in numerous collaborative writing projects. In fact, collaborative writing – often involving numerous and proliferating pseudonyms – is one of the hallmarks of this group of writers.
It is also important to note the significant international character of the collection. It includes writers and artists from all over the world, most of whom interact and collaborate on a daily basis. Some of this is due to the ease of communications created by the internet, but internationalism has been a characteristic of avant garde movements throughout modern history.
It is important to collect these writers because, as has been the case over and over in the history of literature, the best and most innovative writing, the writing that advances the art and that in the future becomes the classic and defining work of a period, is almost always the work of outsiders. As has been the case in numerous pasts, it is the case today that the best writing, especially the best poetry, is not to be found in the bookstores, in the mainstream publications, in classrooms, nor in many of the libraries. The Avant Writing Collection seeks to remedy this situation as much as possible, by collecting, archiving, and making available a largely hidden, but extremely important, body of literature, so that in the future, scholars and readers will have a place to find it, to do research on how the work was created, on the writers and artists who created it, and on its bibliographic history.
It is significant that the Avant Writing Collection be housed in BBML, because the same library also houses the world’s largest collection of materials by and relating to William S. Burroughs. Many of the writers of the Avant Writing Collection have been great admirers of Burroughs, and have in various ways been encouraged and/or influenced by his work. Burroughs’ papers here, in fact, contain publications, manuscripts, and correspondence from many of the writers in this collection.
The collection includes major archives of papers, manuscripts, and publications from Sheila E. Murphy, F. A. Nettelbeck, Jim Leftwich, Scott MacLeod, Scott Helmes, Lee Ballentine, Marilyn R. Rosenberg, K. S. Ernst, Jon Cone, John M. Bennett, Thomas L. Taylor, Allen Bramhall, Alan Sondheim, John Perlman, and others, and is constantly growing, making a list like this almost instantly out-of-date. It also includes thousands of individual books, serials, and other materials which can be accessed through the Library’s central catalog.
Dr. John M. Bennett, former curator
Searching the Library Catalog
To see a list of many of those materials, go to http://library.osu.edu/ and do a “Keyword” search for “Avant Writing Collection”.
Work by some of the artists and writers in the Avant Writing Collection may also be found in the Libraries' GRANARY BOOKS COLLECTION. To find these, do a keyword search for "Granary Books" and "Granary Books Collection" in the Libraries' catalog.
Finding Aids
Please note that the list below represents finding aids/guides that have been converted to a digital format.
This conversion project is ongoing, so do check back later for additions.
Altemus (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0355)
The Reed Altemus Collection
Bennett (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0171)
John M. Bennett Correspondence Collection
Bennett (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0107)
John M. Bennett Publications Collection, 1940-1995
Beveren (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0304)
Peter van Beveren Mail Art Collection (CMS.0304)
Bole (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0381)
Mary Jo Bole Collection
Bramhall (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0162)
Allen Bramhall Collection
Cone (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0125)
Jon Cone Collection
Ernst (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0121)
The K. S. Ernst Collection
Ernst (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0155)
The K. S. Ernst Collection, cont.
Fantome (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0315)
C.M. James Fantome Press Collection
Ficus strangulensis (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0314)
Ficus strangulensis Collection
Flanagan (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0329)
The Bob Flanagan Collection
Helmes (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0130)
The Scott Helmes Collection
HousePress (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0199)
The HousePress Collection
Huttinger (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0126)
The Peter Huttinger Collection
Impossibilists (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0320)
The Impossibilists Collection
Kolm (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0305)
The Ron Kolm Collection
Leftwich (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0163)
Jim Leftwich Collection
Leftwich (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0086)
Jim Leftwich Papers
Leftwich (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0124)
Jim Leftwich Papers, 2003
MacLeod (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0102)
Scott MacLeod Collection
MacLeod (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0131)
Scott MacLeod Collection
Murphy (SPEC.RARE.0160)
Sheila E. Murphy Collection
Nettelbeck (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0123)
The F.A. Nettelbeck Collection
Nettelbeck (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0362)
The F.A. Nettelbeck Collection (web version in progress)
Perlman (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0135)
The John Perlman Collection
Porter (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0361)
The Bern Porter Collection
Richey (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0314)
Forrest A. Richey - Ficus strangulensis
Rosenberg (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0117)
Marilyn R. Rosenberg Collection
Rosenberg (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0156)
Marilyn R. Rosenberg Collection
Taylor (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0097)
Thomas L. Taylor Papers
Taylor (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0176)
Thomas L. Taylor Paper, 2001-
Van Beveren (SPEC.RARE.CMS.0304)
Peter van Beveren Mail Art Collection
Avant Writing Links
http://johnmbennett.net/ - John M. Bennett’s website, including Luna Bisonte Prods
http://www.nakedsunfish.com/ - Naked Sunfish, an on-line journal which includes a monthly section of John M. Bennett’s poetry, “Blank Sight”
http://9thstlab.blogspot.com/ - Jake Berry’s blog
http://fhole.blogspot.com/ - Daniel F. Bradley’s blog
http://www.cafepress.com/bluelionbooks66 - Cafe Press, Publisher of extensive and highly experimental texts
http://www.thegatesofparadise.com/ - David Daniels’ web site
http://www.lulu.com/eightpagepress - eIghT-pAGE pREss, Publisher of experimental texts
http://eratiopostmodernpoetry.com/eratioeditions.html - E-ratio; PDF books available for download
http://eratiopostmodernpoetry.com/ - E-ratio postmodern poetry; an electronic journal of innovative writing
http://www.hybriden-verlag.de/ - Hybriden-verlag, publisher of experimental and avant artists’ books and materials
http://www.lulu.com/xpressed - Lulu.com, publisher of highly experimental texts
http://www.ubu.com/ - Major website documenting all kinds of experimental and visual literatures
http://www.warnell.com/syntac/ - S Y N T A C T I C A L E R R O R, website of experimental texts
http://ficusstrangulensis.blogspot.com/ - Ficus strangulensis’ blog
http://fivemilcopiesproj.blogspot.com/ - The Five Million Copies Project, a project based on a poem by John M. Bennett
http://fluxlist.blogspot.com - Website based on the Fluxlist listserve
http://peterganicklongpoemtext.blogspot.com/ - Blog of Peter Ganick’s work
http://www.greatworks.org.uk/ - Great Works, site for innovative writing in the UK: modernist, postmodernist, archaic. See especially the links page at:
http://www.greatworks.org.uk/quicklinks.html.
http://comprepoetica.com/newblog/blog00699.html - Bob Grumman’s blog; poetry, avant texts, criticism, and much else
http://www.muse-apprentice-guild.com/ - On-line journal edited by August Highland
http://scoresimprovisationstexts.blogspot.com/ - Crag Hill’s blog
http://www.dbqp.blogspot.com/ - Geof Huth’s blog
http://www.hybriden-verlag.de/ - Hybriden- Verlag, publisher of experimental and avant artists’ books and materials
http://richardkostelanetz.com/index.html - Richard Kostelanetz’ website
http://jimleftwichtextimagepoem.blogspot.com/ - One of Jim Leftwich’s blogs (archive available)
http://thomaslowetaylor.blogspot.com/ - Blog created by Thomas Lowe Taylor and Jim Leftwich
http://www.lulu.com/xpressed - Lulu.com, publisher of highly experimental texts
http://seriousprojects.blogspot.com/ - Scott MacLeod’s blog
http://www.naplesyellow.com/ - J. Michael Mollohan's website of visual poetry and much more
http://www.nakedsunfish.com/ - Naked Sunfish, an on-line journal which includes a monthly section of John M. Bennett’s poetry, “Blank Sight”
http://www.andes.missouri.edu/andes/Ciberayllu.shtml - Website focusing on Peruvian writing
http://tomphillips.co.uk/ - Tom Phillips’ website
http://www.rediscov.com/sacknerarchives/ - The Sackner Archive of Visual and Concrete Poetry, website and catalog of the world’s largest collection of visual and experimental poetry
http://www.eratiopostmodernpoetry.com/ - eratio postmodern poetry, journal edited by Gregory Vincent St. Thomasino
http://www.spidertangle.net/home.html - A book and other material from the Spidertangle visual poetry listserve
http://thomaslowetaylor.blogspot.com/ - Blog created by Thomas Lowe Taylor and Jim Leftwich
http://www.umbrellaeditions.com/index.php - Website for Judith Hoffbergh’s Umbrella magazine, which focuses on artists’ books and related themes
http://www.ben-vautier.com/ - Ben Vautier’s website
http://www.wordforword.info/vol7/index2.htm - word for/word, a Journal of New Writing