They first published
an English-language quarterly "Review of Literature & Art"
called ZERO. The first issue
(SPRING 1949) contained new writings by Richard
WRIGHT, Wallace FOWLIE,
Kenneth PATCHEN, William
Carlos WILLIAMS, James BALDWIN,
and other known and unknown authors. Subsequent issues of ZERO
were released from Tangier (Morocco), Mexico City, New York, and Philadelphia.
The ZERO logo head design was
drawn by John B.L. GOODWIN in Santa
Fe, New Mexico in the summer of 1948 (in crayon). Goodwin, a highly regarded
painter, also contributed examples of his poetry for publication in ZERO.
In addition, he was responsible for putting the ZERO
editors in touch with writers such as Paul BOWLES,
Christopher ISHERWOOD and Jean
COCTEAU, as well as the Surrealist painter Max
ERNST and the Brazilian artist MATTA
-- all of whom subsequently contributed to this publication.
After the second issue (FALL 1949) Asa Benveniste moved to London,
where he established Trigram Press. G. P. Solo- mos continued to
publish the little maga- zine ZERO
from various cities in his travels, as well as several books and
a ZERO ANTHOLOGY from
New York City in 1956. (Photo: A. Benveniste
& T. Hoetis in Tangier 1950.)
Later
issues of ZERO contained writings
by Jean-Paul
SARTRE, Samuel
BECKETT, Gore
VIDAL, Otto
FRIE- DRICH, Wallace
STEVENS, Otto
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FRIEDRICH,
Wallace STEVENS,
Ivy COMPTON-BURNETT,
Witter BYNNER
and others.
The last issue of ZERO Review
was issued from Philadelphia in 1980. It contained extensive coverage
of the group of naturalist revolutionaries known as MOVE
-- championed by the author Mumia ABU-JAMAL
(currently on death row in Pennsylvania).
Collateral publications issued by G. P. Solomos under the imprint PROUDSTAGE
BOOKS and FILMBANK PUBLICATIONS
were published from London in the 1960s.
Both of these imprints, together with the ZERO
PRESS archives, are presently being prepared for re-issue
and distribution from London in 2000 -- to be available electronically
on the NET or in soft-cover print editions for libraries and collectors.
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