Historical/Biographical Note:
Ron Kolm, poet, writer, editor, artist, promoter, and long-time member of the downtown scene served as the de facto archivist of the Soho and East Village arts scene from ca. 1975 to 2003. Through his work in various independent bookstores and his active involvement in small magazines, performance spaces, and the outsider art scene, Ron Kolm, amassed this collection. Ron's poem "Suburban Ambush" was selected by Robert Siegle as the title for his book, Suburban Ambush: Downtown Writing and the Fiction of Insurgency (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989). Kolm continues to be heavily involved in avant garde work, serving as a main organizer of The Unbearables, a loosely organized group of downtown writers and artists, perhaps best known for their protests against the poetry of The New Yorker and other acts of "poetic terrorism" intended to point out how society constructs the notions of "good" or "bad" literature and art.
Return to topScope and Content Note
The collection, which exceeds 6000 items, has been built by Ron Kolm from 1970 up to the present. It broadly covers artists and writers in this period of the 'Downtown Scene' for whom Kolm has processed a high regard, or those who have been perceived to be of some importance. The collection is comprised of his personal correspondence with members of that scene, manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings, clippings files, posters, original art, production files for his small press-Low Tech Press-and a collection of materials about the various events and publications of The Unbearables. He also has collected books, serials, 'zines,' ephemera, manuscripts, correspondence, sound recordings, videotapes, posters, and other miscellaneous materials relating to that scene of which he is considered an integral part.
Items include: inscribed copies of books and extensive holdings of archival materials about the scene; signed first editions and chapbooks by authors such as Kathy Acker, Lynne Tillman, Gary Indiana, Walter Abish, Spaulding Gray, Patrick McGrath, Harry Mathews, Hal Sirowitz, Max Blagg, Janice Eidus, Constance DeJong, David Wojnarowicz; complete runs of the important literary magazines of the 1980-1990's scene, including Between C and D, Appearances, Red Tape, Benzene, Zone, The Portable Lower East Side, Beat, Vox, Semi(o)texte, Peau Sensible, Raw, and The National Poetry Magazine of the Lower East Side. Assembly magazines, 'zines, posters, flyers, catalogues of exhibitions, and announcements for readings round out the collection and give a sense of the downtown arts scene of the Soho and East Village during its artistic height. The collection is also rich in materials relating to non-literary artists, and even includes some writing by those artists. Among these are David Wojnarowicz, Keith Haring, Art Spiegelman, and others. Kolm's collection, though not a comprehensive archive of the scene,is a major resource for material pertaining to the downtown scene.
SERIES I: Correspondence
Series one contains two boxes of correspondence to Ron Kolm from a wide range of downtown artists and writers. It is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and chronologically within each folder.
SERIES II: Manuscripts
Series two contains two boxes of manuscripts sent to Ron Kolm as a friend or as an editor. Included are many important manuscript drafts by downtown writers arranged alphabetically by author.
SERIES III: The Unbearables
Series three is organized in three subseries
Subseries A contains materials relating to the various events, readings, and periodical publications of The Unbearables. It is organized by a rough chronology of their events.
Subseries B contains materials, artwork and manuscripts relating to the publication of The Crimes of the Beats.
Subseries C contains materials, artwork and manuscripts relating to the publication of Help Yourself.
SERIES IV: Subject files
Series four consists of two boxes in two subseries.
Subseries A contains materials about writers and artists arranged alphabetically by last name. Included in these materials are reviews, clippings, and other miscellaneous printed materials about the artist or writer.
Subseries B contains materials about subjects in the downtown scene, like stamp art, vend art, etc. It also contains items documenting Ron Kolm's career working for independent bookstores.
SERIES V: Photographs
Series five is organized in two subseries.
Subseries A consists of one small box of photographs, mostly of The Unbearables.
Subseries B is one binder of pictures from throughout Ron Kolm's tenure at Coliseum Books.
SERIES VI: Announcements
Series six contains a large selection of announcements for readings, gallery shows, and other events in two boxes. It is broken down into two subseries:
Subseries A contains announcements for readings arranged alphabetically by venue.
Subseries B contains announcements for gallery shows arranged alphabetically by gallery or by artist.
SERIES VII: Sound Recordings, Videos, LPs, CDs
Series seven contains a collection of downtown sound recordings, including poetry, music, and spoken word recordings in two boxes.
SERIES VIII: Original Art
Series eight contains a small collection of original art works by downtown artists in one box.
SERIES IX: Ephemera
Series nine contains miscellaneous ephemeral objects in two boxes. Included are Keith Haring pins, matchbook poems, pencil poems, stamp art, sticker art, sticker poems, a ping pong ball announcement from CBGB's, etc.
SERIES X: Production Files for Low Tech Press
Series ten contains one box of production related materials for Ron Kolm's small press.
SERIES XI: Posters
Series eleven contains posters Kolm collected from the downtown scene. Included are posters for the Sex Pistols as well as posters for many downtown books, such as Raw magazine, and a variety of signed prints by downtown artists. These posters are shelved flat in the map case.
SERIES XII: Catalogues
Series twelve contains one box of catalogues from small and independent presses and consortia who published downtown works.
SERIES XIII: Ron Kolm's Calendars
Series thirteen contains Ron Kolm's calendars on which he recorded important readings and other downtown events. The are arranged chronologically.
SERIES XIV: Periodicals
Series fourteen contains periodicals important to, featuring or produced by members of the downtown scene.
OVERISIZE: A flat oversize box at the end of the collection contains oversize materials from all series, with the exception of the posters from Series 11, which are in the map case.
ACCRETIONS 1995-1999
ACCRETIONS 2000-2001
ACCRETIONS 2002-2003
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Arrangement |
||
| Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author heading. | ||
| The files are grouped into 14 subject and material type oriented series. Accretions have been added at the end. | ||
Related Material at the Fales Library and Special Collections
The Richard Kostelanetz Papers
Return to topSeparated Material
Selected printed materials have been removed and individually catalogued in the Downtown Periodicals Collection. Records for these items can be retrieved through Bobcat.
Following is a list of the printed materials that were removed from the Accretions 2002-2003 portion of the collection and moved into the Downtown Periodicals Collection.
American Book Review: 23.5-24.4 July/August 2002-May/June 2003.
The Brooklyn Rail (August-September 2002); (Winter 2003); (April-May 2003).
Gargoyle 45 (2002).
Long Shot 25 (2002) 20th Anniversary Edition, "On 9/11", 2002.
NY Arts 7.11 (November 2002).
Poetry Project Newsletter 187-195, 2001-2003.
Rain Taxi Review of Books 6.3-7.1; 7.3, 2001-2002.
Tamarind (May 1998).
World War 3 Illustrated 33 (2002).
Return to topRestrictions
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers. Appointments are necessary for the use of manuscript and archival materials.
Use Restrictions
Collection use is subject to all copyright laws. Permission to
publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Director of Fales
Library and Special Collections. For more information, contact
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012Phone: (212) 998-2596
Fax: (212) 995-3835
Email: fales.library@nyu.edu
URL: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/fales/cdfa.htm
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Administrative Information
Provenance
The Ron Kolm Papers were acquired via purchase from Mr. Kolm in December of 1996. The collection was sorted by Marvin J. Taylor once it arrived at NYU. Printed materials were removed and catalogued in the Downtown Collection and are listed in BobCat. Posters were shelved flat in the mapcase. Three accretions have also been added: Accretions 1995-1999, Accretions 2000-2001, and Accretions 2002-2003.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the
following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Ron Kolm Papers; MSS 79; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections
, New York University Libraries.
Container List
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]