8:30 P.M. Friday 28 August 1992 I got quite a bit of semi-interesting mail, including a form letter from Jim Knipfel announcing that Hudson Luce sold Factsheet Five to Jerod Pore. Then this evening Bill Paulaskis gave me a call and we chatted about the latest F5 developments, and Taproot Review, which he’s going to be participating in as well, and other matters. My mail also included a note from John Byrum, who didn’t have anything to say about his newsletter but did invite me to do a reading in Cleveland.
9 September 1992 Joe Lane just called me. He just wanted to know what was going on with me; he said that apparently the new Factsheet Five has two editors, one of them in charge of the printed version. His name is Seth Friedman, and Joe thinks he’ll be getting in touch with me soon. I certainly hope the magazine gets going again, with my column as part of it.
11 December 1992. A form letter from Len Fulton announcing to past contributors to Small Press Review that he was planning to start a new similar magazine devoted to reviewing small press magazines and inviting comment, and submissions. I wrote him a postcard note in support of the new magazine and told him he could count on help from me. Next I hope to send him three 500-word reviews and volunteer for a position as regular columnist on “experioddica.” It would be a huge step forward if he agreed to that!
Saturday 16 January 1993 I got a form advertisement for subscrip- tions to Factsheet Five from Seth Friedman–no mention of my column. I subscribed to F5 anyway.
Tuesday 19 January 1993 Among a largish number of minor letters was one that came in an envelope with no return address. I tore it open thinking it and and ready to toss it. Then I saw that it was from Small Press Review . . . For a few seconds I thought it was some kind of form letter, particularly when I noticed that the second of its two sheets was a style sheet. But I then realized that the first sheet was not from Small Press Review after all, but from Small Magazine Review. It was, in fact, Len Fulton’s reply to my offer to write a column for his new magazine: he accepted! Naturally, I was delighted–even though he only wants to run my column every other issue for a while, and is hesitant about using the samples I sent him on the grounds that the magazines reviewed in them won’t be current by the time they appear. He did say that he should be able eventually to do it more often, and he encouraged me to write regular reviews and features, etc. In short, he was very positive. And so am I. I have now become sufficiently established to become an important part of world culture–if I deserve to. I will now have to be attended to–if I deserve to be, for I will now be regularly visible. If I deserve a significant place in world culture, I will now not be denied it because I couldn’t gain access to a
large enough public. From now on all should be automatic, assuming I keep working hard. Of course, if the New Yorker comes through for me, things will be even better, but it doesn’t matter that much any more. And that’s it for this entry.
(Note: The was the high point of my bigWorld achievements, I still can’t understand why.)
Thursday 21 January 1993 Around eleven a letter and some copies of the long-awaited first issue of Taproot Reviews arrived from Luigi-Bob Drake. The magazine looked very nice and did a pretty good job of covering the micro-press scene. I had a bunch of reviews in it, possibly all the ones I sent him, but he didn’t run my column. He ran four others’ columns, though. Oh, well, I’m more than willing to keep on as reviewer, as I told him in the reply I wrote to his letter.
27 January 1993: Mike Gunderloy’s Penguin book about the underground press is now out. I ordered a copy, eager to see it. I should be able to do an interesting review of it for Small Press Review. I’m curious if I’ll be mentioned in it. Probably not. Geof, I’m sure, will be, however.
Tags: Factsheet Five