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Johnson, B. S. (Bryan Stanley), 1933-1973

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1933 - 19731113

Found in 15 Collections and/or Records:

A Dublin Unicorn, 1965

 Item
Identifier: CC-32639-34224
Scope and Contents

Also designated Byron Press Pamphlet Series No.5. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1965

Albert Angelo , 1964

 Item
Identifier: CC-31913-33438
Scope and Contents

This is Johnson's second novel. It recounts the life of Albert Angelo, a school teacher in several styles of writing and varied page layouts. The novel comprises five chapters, viz., prologue, exposition, development, disintegration, and coda. The prologue is mainly laid out like a drama. The first section of the chapter 2, exposition, is written in first person singular. The second section, that is written in second person singular, also includes some unusual punctuation marks. The third section is written in the third person singular, the fourth in first person plural, the fifth in second person plural, and the sixth in third person plural. Chapter 2, development, is mainly printed in two columns, the left sided tells the main story, the right sided has comments that are printed in Italics. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1964

Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry / Johnson, B.S.., 1985

 Item
Identifier: CC-35057-36783
Scope and Contents

This is a macabre tale of a young man who requires that his misfortunes be met by punishing others and recording both events in double-entry book keeping format. The book was first published in England in 1973. The Sackner Archive holds the manuscript and first edition of this book. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1985

Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry / Johnson, B.S.., 1973

 Item
Identifier: CC-35507-37244
Scope and Contents

This is a macabre tale of a young man who requires that his misfortunes be met by punishing others and recording both events in double-entry bookkeeping format. The Sackner Archive also holds the manuscript of this book. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1973

Everyone Knows Somebody Who's Dead, 1973

 Item
Identifier: CC-32714-34303
Scope and Contents

This is a short, autobiographical story about the author's friend and the trail of deaths by suicide of this friend and acquaintances. The cover designed by John Furse depicts a concrete poetic image of RIP. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1973

House Mother Normal: A Geriatric Comedy, 1986

 Item
Identifier: CC-31638-33140
Scope and Contents

This is a later printing of the book sometime after 1986. The first edition which is identical in layout and also held by the Sackner Archive, was published in only 126 copies. The layout of the text has unusual spacing and a variety of fonts. In one chapter, the spaced words take on a concrete poetic appearance and in another, the spaced letters almost appear like a letter picture. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1986

House Mother Normal: A Geriatric Comedy, 1971

 Item
Identifier: CC-31706-33216
Scope and Contents

This is the first edition of the book limited to 100 copies for sale and 26 for distribution by the author. The layout of the text has unusual spacing and a variety of fonts. In one chapter, the spaced words take on a concrete poetic appearance and in another, the spaced letters almost appear like a letter picture. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1971

[Letter to Bruce Montgomery] / Johnson, B.S.., 1963

 Item
Identifier: CC-31920-33445
Scope and Contents

This letter was sent to Bruce Mongomery, one of Johnson's teachers, along with a copy of Johnson's first novel, "Travelling People," (also held by the Sackner Archive) in gratitude for helping him as a student. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1963

Poems Two, 1972

 Item
Identifier: CC-32635-34220
Scope and Contents

The title actually is a misnomer; the book consists of several poems, mostly autobiographical in content. There is minimal usage of adventurous typography in the poems. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1972

See the Old Lady Decently, 1975

 Item
Identifier: CC-32669-34255
Scope and Contents

This is semi-biographical novel of Johnson's mother. It was last novel written by Johnson who committed suicide shortly after its release. Michael Bakewell wrote an introductory essay that provides an explanation of the story. The shaped, concrete poems portray a breast as a metaphor for the cause of Johnson's mother's death from breast cancer. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1975

The Unfortunates, 1969

 Item
Identifier: CC-32501-34078
Scope and Contents

This novel consists of a first and last section, four and six pages in length, respectively. The other sections range from one to 12 pages in length. The reader is instructed to read the first and last sections of the book in their order while reading the other 25 sections in random order. The story revolves around a football reporter who visits a city and regains lost memories of the time he spent there many years before with a friend and his wife. Insofar as the page layout, Johnson utilizes wide spacing between words for paragraphs or dashes. Marc Saporta also published a novel, "Composition No.1," (1963) translated from the French in the same format as this book, unbound pages meant to be read in any order. Saporta's book is also held by the Sackner Archive. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1969

Travelling People, 1963

 Item
Identifier: CC-31919-33444
Scope and Contents In the prelude to his first novel, Johnson states that he wanted to write a novel that would expose its mechanism. He realized that it would be desirable to have interludes between chapters in which "I could stand back, so to speak, from my novel, and talk about it with the reader, or with those parts of myself which might hold different opinions, if necessary; and in which technical questions could be considered, and quotations from other writers included, where relevant, without any question of destroying the reader's suspension of disbelief, since such suspension was not to be attempted." He adds, "I should be determined not to lead my reader into believing that he was doing anything but reading a novel..."Such interludes are placed between chapters in this book and are marked by poetically designed layouts (the book was designed by Johnson) and liberal use of Italic typeface. The eight interludes comprise the descriptions mentioned in the prelude including among others...
Dates: 1963

Xtie Malry's Own Double-Entry (Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry) / Johnson, B.S.., 1972

 Item
Identifier: CC-35506-37243
Scope and Contents

This is a macabre tale of a young man who requires that his misfortunes be met by punishing others and recording both events in double-entry book keeping format. The book was first published in England in 1973 with the title, "Christie Malry's Own Double Entry." The binding with a notebook cover was done by Gyorgy Novak. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates: 1972