Blog post by Jesse Siragan Arlen, CFPRT Scholar

 

Second in a series of blog posts chronicling finds in the V. Vale Collection, currently being processed in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) in Library Special Collections.

 

The V. Vale Collection contains approximately 500 unsolicited submissions and proposals sent to RE/Search, in the form of full typescripts, book proposals, sample chapters, outlines, short stories, essays, poetry, writing samples, artwork, photographs, illustrations, drawings, music, and invitations to collaborate on literary or publishing projects. Materials span the years 1980-2010, and were submitted from many different countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Russia, Japan, and others. They are rich in their variety of content, since RE/Search had become known for publishing on the fringe and explicit topics, and hence attracted submissions not suited for conventional publishing houses. Although none of the submissions in this collection were ever accepted for publication by RE/Search, they kept most of the originals sent to them, and some of the submissions went on to be published elsewhere. Of note are submissions of poetry by G. Sutton Breiding, the typescript of Unfictions by Jason Price Everett, the typescript Addict: Out of the Dark and Into the Light with photography by Chris Keeley, the typescript of a dissertation by theatre/performance artist and writer Julie Wilson (now Wilson-Bokowiec) on Hermann Nitsch and Genesis P-Orridge, a typescript by Jaz Coleman (Killing Joke), prose and poetry submissions by Marty Wilson-Piper (The Church), a book proposal by Veronica Vera, the typescript of Whore Carnival by Shannon Bell, and a number of other proposals and typescripts relating to pornography, sex workers, and erotica. 

 

Below are some samples of full typescript book submissions. An upcoming post will feature examples of other types of submissions and proposals.

 

 

Whore Carnival by Shannon Bell was published in 1995 by Autonomedia. The typescript is 145 pages. The edition published by Autonomedia is 288 pages. Bell is a performance philosopher, who is currently a Professor in York University's Political Science Department in Toronto, Canada. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The submission Addict: Out of the Dark and into the Light by Christopher Keeley contains ca. 250 pages, with over 50 photographs. RE/Search tried for over a year and a half to find the means to publish the book, but ultimately was unable to do so. It was self-published in 2007 through Xlibris, 164 pages.

 

 

The typescript of Unfictions by Jason Price Everett is ca. 250 pages. It was published in 2009 by 8th House Publishing, 248 pages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The typescript of "Smut Fest Anthology," edited by Jennifer Blowdryer with photographs by Annie Sprinkle, contains ca. 100 pages.

 

 

The typescript for An Investigation into the Philosophical and Psychological Basis of the Work of Hermann Nitsch and Genesis P-Orridge by Dr. J.A. Wilson contains 213 pages. The author is now known as Julie Wilson-Bokowiec, and is a theatre/performance artist and writer, who publishes widely on aesthetics and interactive performance.

 

 

The typescript for "Smilers" by Robert P. Gallagher contains 55 pages with 93 short, humorous stories.

 

 

 

The typescript for "I Was a Teenage Teenager!" by Mike McPadden is ca. 150 pages.