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The cover depicts silkscreened portrait of levy and includes a handwritten inscription, "25 [cents] for levy's defense." The tipped-in silkscreen print on the page was probably made by levy. The text admonishes the people of Clevelsand for the treatment of levy. According to a letter from Alan Horvath, this is the first version of the book that was subsequently published with a different cover/title page. Further, he indicated that pages were missing from the Sackner copy. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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d.a. levy contributed a long poem "new year" about his father and his alienation from what he knew as Jewish life. The manuscript was received by the editors in the mail on October 14, 1968. levy shot himself to death in his East Cleveland apartment on November 24, 1968. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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Cover depicts a portrait of da levy drawn by Reed Thomason. This is the first issue to be printed with an additional color other than black. The da levy portrait has a red border. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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The cover collage is initialled LVK in the lower right corner. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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levy writes an angry, depressed letter about his relation to the state of politics, police and the court system in Cleveland. He indicates that he has turned to drugs because of his problems in the city. Inman writes back that levy's letter is self-pitying and admonishes him about using drugs because "if we use kicks and drugs as an excuse, then already we enter the most negative aspects of the system we claim we're against...it is the most sinister kind of cop-out." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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The cover was designed by Tom Kyyss. r.j.s. stands for Robert J. Sigmond, a poet who at age 19 years was incarcerated by the Cleveland authorities for six months because of using marijuana. d.a.levy's poem in this book, "Indictment of the City of Cleveland for Contributing to the Delinquency of Minors" describes that episode. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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Relates story of the arrest of d.a.levy, Jim Lowell and Robert Sigmund. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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This prose poem deals with levy resigned to turning himself in to serve his sentence for the obscenity charge. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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The mailing envelope (dated May 12, 1967) to BILL WYATT + chris Torrance has a label on its left upper corner that reads "SMUT DOES NOT MELT IN YOUR HANDS." The recto of the letter to BIll Wyatt closes with "the best Way to fry yr enemies is to pray for their enlightenment." The verso of this letter deals with comments on the Assyrian Kings. levy ends his diatribe as follows. "SHAZAM" - this is turning into one of ed sander's' mongolian cluster fucks! forget the light / im turning on with the "Old ASS"/yrs KHU-ED-OHO GUARDIAN of the royal cisttern/d.a. levy bh -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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levy asks Bill Wyatt to write a letter to the Cleveland Plain Dealer indicating that levy is a poet not a smut peddler. Jonathan Dworkin mentioned in the letter was levy's defense attorney.The verso of the letter is a photocopied exhibition announcement for a Cleveland artist, Phillip Pekarcik. The verso of the envelope is collaged with the label, "GREETINGS FROM SWAMP ERIE." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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levy comments in this letter about the politics of Steve Slavik. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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This letter is about levy's self-pitying, depressive state of mind regarding the events surrounding him such as the Vietnam war and the assult on drugs. levy also castigates Inman for his anti-drug stand. According to the envelope, this letter was mailed March 8, 1967. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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Article "d.a. levy - The Life, Death & Legacy of a Poet" by Mike Golden inserted in magazine. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

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Contains d.a. levy's poem, "the bells of Cherokee ponies." Also, the cover was designed by d.a.levy. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Scope and Contents This polemic deals with the reprecussions of the arrests of d.a. levy and James Lowell on obscenity charges. According to Brandon Thomas DiSabatino on internet: As the regional headlines mark the 50th anniversary of the Hough Riots, I recall a line in a poem by d.a. levy, observing the madness that erupted from July 18th to July 23rd on the east side of Cleveland: they are looting stores trying to get televisions so they can watch the riots/on the 11 pm news It is an image my mind has conjured during riots and subsequent lootings over the past few years "” in Ferguson, in Baltimore "” where the strange, seemingly unmovable biases and struggles of class warfare appear inseparable from the American landscape. levy was born and raised in Cleveland, and he incorporated the Hough Riots in his poetry as he incorporated every aspect of Cleveland during the mid-to-late 60s. His self-described artistic mission was to give the city its own singular breed of poetry, regardless of whether...

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levy wrote that this work was to be published in the next issue of MQ (Marrahwanna Quarterly). -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.