KUZMA GREG: (1944- )

KUZMA GREG: (1944- ) American poet. Small series of four T.Ls.S., Greg Kuzma, each one page, slim 4to, Crete, Nebraska, all dated but with no year indicated (1970s), to the poet, editor and literary critic Jan Schreiber (3) and the editor David Godine (1). Kuzma writes regarding various publishing matters, in part, ´I´m sorry, of course, that the poems of The Petition aren´t the right kind of things for you. Will you look at another group? I ask this partly because the Hollander book that you sent me is so superbly done that I doubt I´ll see a finer looking book, and would be so delighted if something similar might ever come about for me. The other reason is that though I think The Petition poems are good, and mine, I am writing different kinds of poems now and have been for some time, and that my work has generally, over the years, sought many forms and voices. Short of rhyme and meter itself, I think I have written poems of a sort that might interest you, poems that are not "of the poetic climate" that exists in this country today - - I know sort of what you mean´ (19th January), ´Congratulations on having the Hollander book up for the NBA. Anybody´s going to have trouble beating out Ammons, or is it Berryman this time? But good luck. This stuff here is what I´d like someone to make a book of. These are my first six published pamphlets - - I´d like to have a selected poems taken from them, but not necessarily call it that. I was going to use a number of these in the Viking book, but then I changed my mind and wanted the Viking book to be work that hadn´t been collected before. They did end up using a few poems from The Bosporus and "The Monster" from Something at Last Visible. Harry´s Things would have to stay together, though it might be cut back a bit. Anyway, I thought I´d let you take a look´ (10th April), ´I expect we are into different things, and most of the time I guess my work isn´t either terse or precise, and I´m never formally patterned. As much as I admire Frost and find myself moved by him, I can´t get his formal tightness without sounding hollow.....I read somewhere that you are doing the printing of a John Judson book for Elizabeth Press. Do you like his work? I ask because I have a manuscript of woods and fishing poems that are quite imagistic and accurate descriptively, called McKeever Bridge. Part of it is being done as a chapbook by Bill Fox, a small publisher, but the whole of it is something I´ve wanted to see done for three years or more´ (4th December), ´....I ran across one of your brochures, and I note that you publish poetry. Would you be willing to read a manuscript of my work? I´ve been publishing poems in magazines for a number of years, and 7 of my pamphlets have been published by small presses. Recently Viking Press has contracted a book from me, and they may take another or two. But there are a couple other manuscripts I believe in, and would like to see reach print, especially in artistically-finished editions. I am a printer/publisher myself, although I´m not very good at it yet´ (22nd November). Together with a printed 8vo promotional flyer issued for Kuzma´s readings. Three file holes to the left edge of each letter, VG, 5 Jan Schreiber (1941- ) American poet, translator and literary critic who launched the poetry chapbook series at the Godine Press.