Re: 5 Poems-Lyn Lifshin

Jordy C wrote:

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https://peacockjournal.com/lyn-lifshin-five-poems/

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I remember Lyn Lifshin from the small press chapbook days, R.I.P.
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https://deathatthefleacircus.wordpress.com/2019/12/13/r-i-p-small-press-poet-lyn-lifshin/
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*********** R. I. P. Small Press Poet Lyn Lifshin
Posted on December 13, 2019 by David Barker
Yesterday I read on Facebook the sad news that legendary small press
poet Lyn Lifshin had died at age 77. Like Kate Braverman who passed away
in October of this year, Lyn was one of the writers who defined an era
for me. I remember in the 1960s and ’70s how you couldn’t pick up a
small press poetry magazine without finding at least one poem by Lifshin
in it, and they were always good. She was everywhere in the small press,
which was how she gained the unofficial title of “Queen of the Small
Press” or “Queen of the Lit Mags.” In those pre-Internet day, it wasn’t
a simple task to locate and submit to little magazines. They were
difficult to find out about. There was no Google search. You might see
an ad or listing for a new magazine (or one you didn’t know about) in
another small press publication, or you might find it in Len Fulton’s
annual International Directory of Little Magazines & Small Presses.
Failing those options, maybe a fellow poet would tell you about a new
magazine they’d discovered. Then you would make copies of your poems,
write a cover letter to the editor, send off your poems including a Self
Addressed Stamped Envelop for the editor’s reply and/or return of the
poems, and wait months or years for an acceptance or rejection. I can’t
imagine how much Lyn must have spent on postage stamps, Xerox copies,
and envelops submitting her work all over the place. She was dedicated
to writing good poems and getting them published.
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I Googled her name and the word “dead” (which always brings up
obituaries) and found no stories in major newspapers announcing her
death — just a few short notices on blogs. I guess the world doesn’t
care much about small press poets, but to me, she was a major icon. I
only have a couple of her books: Upstate Madonna: Poems 1970-1974 (The
Crossing Press, 1975) and Madonna Who Shifts for Herself (Applezaba
Press, 1983), both of which are pictured below. The name “Applezaba”
brings back an odd memory for me: they had accepted a book of my poems,
we had signed a contract, but for a reason I never knew or have since
forgotten, the book never happened. This was in the 1970s, I think.
That’s common in the small press, planned books don’t get published, and
I didn’t worry about it.
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Now that she’s passed into history, I would like to locate a few more of
Lyn Lifshin’s chapbooks, and reread the two that I do have. She was a
class act. I didn’t know her personally, and never corresponded with
her, but I did see her read twice at the college I attended. This would
have been in the late 1960s or early 1970s. I may have news clippings
about those events, and if I find them, I’ll add a note to this blog
with the details. Meanwhile, I hope at least one major news source
announces her death. She deserves to be remembered. In a blurb on the
back cover of Upstate Madonna, Bill Knott wrote “Lyn Lifshin is one of
the best young poets in the U.S.A.” I agreed then, and I agree now.
*************
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Sad to see her go...