Angel Hair Archive
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Abstract
Angel Hair was a small avant-garde poetry magazine. The Angel Hair Archive is a collection of correspondence written to the editors, Anne Waldman and Lewis Warsh, and includes manuscripts, and issues of Angel Hair.
Historical/Biographical Note:
Angel Hair magazine and publishing was led by poets and writers, Anne Waldman and Lewis Warsh from the mid-1960's through the mid-1970's. Anne Waldman has published over thirty books and pamphlets of poetry, including: 'Fast Speaking Woman,' 'Helping the Dreamer: New & Selected Poems,' and 'Makeup on Empty Space.' Coincident with her work on Angel Hair, She was Director of the Poetry Project at St. Marks Church, and together with Allen Ginsberg, co-founded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where she still teaches writing. Lewis Warsh has published two novels: 'Agnes & Sally' and 'A Free Man,' short stories, and numerous books of poetry. He also co-founded United Artists Books. Angel Hairwas first run from their apartment on St. Marks Place in Manhattan where Waldman and Warsh mixed with many literati as well as artists and musicians of the time. Contributors to the magazine included a wide range of poets: Clark Coolidge, Alice Notley, Hannah Weiner, Tom Clark, Bernadette Mayer, Kenward Elmslie, Robert Creeley, Joanne Kyger, Ted Greenwald, Lorenzo Thomas, John Wieners, Joe Brainard, Ron Padgett among many others. Eventually Angel Hair left New York and began publishing books, and Warsh and Waldman amicably went their separate ways. In its years of operation, Angel Hair was a very long-lived and influential publisher on the small press scene. An anthology: 'Angel Hair Sleeps with a Boy in my Head: The Angel Hair Anthology' was published by Granary books (2001).
Sources:
'Angel Hair Sleeps with a Boy in my Head: the Angel Hair Anthology' [summary]. New York: Granary Books, 29 Sept. 2002 [http://www.granarybooks.com/books/angel_hair/angel_hair1.html].Waldman, Anne. 'Angel Hair feature: Introduction'. Jacket-6, 4 Dec. 2002. 7 Jan. 2003 [http://jacketmagazine.com/16/ah1-wald.html].
Arrangement
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author and then chronologically.
The files are grouped into two series.
Missing Title
- Series I: Correspondence
- Series II: Productions Files and Publications
Scope and Content Note
The Angel Hair Archive is a collection of correspondence submitted to its editors, Anne Waldman and Lewis Warsh, from 1965 to 1973. The collection includes manuscripts, issues 1-6 of Angel Hair, and original manuscripts of 'Bun.' Collection highlights include letters written by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jasper Johns, Paul Blackburn, Robert Bly, Sam Shepard, Gerard Malanga, John Giorno, Allen Ginsberg, and Richard Brautigan.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Series I: Correspondence: contains 6 boxes of correspondence to the editors, Anne Waldman and Lewis Warsh. Noted correspondents include: Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jasper Johns, Paul Blackburn, Robert Bly, Sam Shepard, Gerard Malanga, John Giorno, Allen Ginsberg, and Richard Brautigan. Included in series I (box 1, folder 1) is the 'Archive List' which includes descriptions of each item in the collection but also a brief bio of each writer in the collection.
Series II: Production files: contains 1 box of production files, including catalogues, a galley proof, manuscripts, mockups and issues 1-6 of Angel Hair, and original manuscripts of Bun.
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Access Restrictions
Materials are open without restrictions. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Use Restrictions
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Angel HairArchive; MSS 004; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.
Provenance
The Angel Hair Archive was purchased from Serendipity Books in March 1972.
Separated Material
There is no information about materials that are associated by provenance to the described materials that have been physically separated or removed.
