Origin (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Origin magazine, is an American poetry magazine that was founded in 1951
by Cid Corman
. The magazine provided an early platform for the work of Charles Olson
, Robert Creeley
, Gary Snyder
, Theodore Enslin
and other important, ground-breaking poets, who collectively created an alternative to academic poetry.
Cid Corman, the publisher and editor of the magazine, recruited Charles Olson as a contributing editor when he started it. Their correspondence was printed in 1969
as Letters For Origin. "This collection details an enormous battle of creative energy", during the founding process of this magazine.
Olson's In Cold Hell, In Thicket featured in Origin, no. 8 (1953
). Through the Origin Press Corman published Louis Zukofsky's
key work, A 1-12 (Ashland, 1959
) and his novel It Was (1961). William Bronk
's first book, Light and Dark, was published in 1956, Gary Snyder
's Riprap, in 1959. Corman published translation of classic Japanese poetry like Matsuo Basho
's Cool Melon (1959) and poetry by Shimpei Kusano (1903-88), Selected Frogs (1963). Among Cid Corman's own books, Sun Rock Man, (Origin Press, 1962) is singled out by Michael Carlson of the Guardian as "his best collection of poetry." The anthology The Gist of Origin, 1951-71 (Grossman, 1979) "remains a groundbreaking work."
Corman edited the magazine from 1951 to 1984 (with some interruptions), even when he was abroad studying at the Sorbonne in Paris and translating Paul Celan
(1954), taught English in Matera, Italy or lived in Kyoto
, Japan. The first series was published in Dorchster, Mass. (20 issues, Spring 1951-Winter 1957), the second and third in Kyoto (14 issues, April 1961- July 1964 and 20 issues from April 1966-1971). The fourth series in Boston (20 issues, Oct. 1977- July 1982), the firth from Orono
, Maine (4 issues, Fall 1983-Fall 1984).
In late 2003 Corman, after his trip to Milwaukee and Lorine Niedecker Centenary USA visit, conceived the idea of Origin's Sixth Series. He designed this to be both an online and printed edition of the magazine. Upwards of twenty issues were planned in collaborative assistance with Chuck Sandy, a newly found friend and educator who resided in Japan. Unfortunately, Corman only sketched out Origin Sixth Series issues 1-4, instead of his intended twenty issues. These proposed ideas came with only brief notes, recommendations, and plans for the featured poets.
Cid Corman died in 2004. The magazine actually published Corman's skeletal notes about the physical and online magazine.
at New York University
.
1951 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Poet Cid Corman began Origin magazine in response to the failure of a magazine that Robert Creeley had planned. The magazine typically featured one writer per issue and ran, with breaks, until the...
by Cid Corman
Cid Corman
Cid Corman was an American poet, translator and editor, most notably of Origin, who was a key figure in the history of American poetry in the second half of the 20th century.-Early life and writing:...
. The magazine provided an early platform for the work of Charles Olson
Charles Olson
Charles Olson , was a second generation American modernist poet who was a link between earlier figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and the New American poets, which includes the New York School, the Black Mountain School, the Beat poets, and the San Francisco Renaissance...
, Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
, Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...
, Theodore Enslin
Theodore Enslin
Theodore Vernon Enslin was an American poet associated with Cid Corman's Origin and press. He is widely regarded as one of the most musical of American avant-garde poets. Enslin was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. His father was a biblical scholar and his mother a Latin scholar...
and other important, ground-breaking poets, who collectively created an alternative to academic poetry.
Cid Corman, the publisher and editor of the magazine, recruited Charles Olson as a contributing editor when he started it. Their correspondence was printed in 1969
1969 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* FIELD magazine founded at Oberlin College...
as Letters For Origin. "This collection details an enormous battle of creative energy", during the founding process of this magazine.
Olson's In Cold Hell, In Thicket featured in Origin, no. 8 (1953
1953 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* George Plimpton, Peter Matthiessen and Harold L...
). Through the Origin Press Corman published Louis Zukofsky's
Louis Zukofsky
Louis Zukofsky was an American poet. He was one of the founders and the primary theorist of the Objectivist group of poets and thus an important influence on subsequent generations of poets in America and abroad.-Life:...
key work, A 1-12 (Ashland, 1959
1959 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* In the United States, "Those serious new Bohemians, the beatniks, occupied with reading their deliberately undisciplined, protesting verse in night clubs and hotel ballrooms, created more publicity...
) and his novel It Was (1961). William Bronk
William Bronk
William Bronk was an American poet. He won the National Book Award in 1982.-Life and work:William Bronk was born in a house on Lower Main Street in Fort Edward, New York. He had an older brother Sherman who died young and two older sisters, Jane and Betty...
's first book, Light and Dark, was published in 1956, Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...
's Riprap, in 1959. Corman published translation of classic Japanese poetry like Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Basho
, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...
's Cool Melon (1959) and poetry by Shimpei Kusano (1903-88), Selected Frogs (1963). Among Cid Corman's own books, Sun Rock Man, (Origin Press, 1962) is singled out by Michael Carlson of the Guardian as "his best collection of poetry." The anthology The Gist of Origin, 1951-71 (Grossman, 1979) "remains a groundbreaking work."
Corman edited the magazine from 1951 to 1984 (with some interruptions), even when he was abroad studying at the Sorbonne in Paris and translating Paul Celan
Paul Celan
Paul Celan was a poet and translator...
(1954), taught English in Matera, Italy or lived in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Japan. The first series was published in Dorchster, Mass. (20 issues, Spring 1951-Winter 1957), the second and third in Kyoto (14 issues, April 1961- July 1964 and 20 issues from April 1966-1971). The fourth series in Boston (20 issues, Oct. 1977- July 1982), the firth from Orono
Orono, Maine
Orono is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It was first settled in 1774 and named in honor of Chief Joseph Orono of the Penobscot Nation. It is home to The University of Maine. The population was 10,362 at the 2010 census.- Geography :...
, Maine (4 issues, Fall 1983-Fall 1984).
In late 2003 Corman, after his trip to Milwaukee and Lorine Niedecker Centenary USA visit, conceived the idea of Origin's Sixth Series. He designed this to be both an online and printed edition of the magazine. Upwards of twenty issues were planned in collaborative assistance with Chuck Sandy, a newly found friend and educator who resided in Japan. Unfortunately, Corman only sketched out Origin Sixth Series issues 1-4, instead of his intended twenty issues. These proposed ideas came with only brief notes, recommendations, and plans for the featured poets.
Cid Corman died in 2004. The magazine actually published Corman's skeletal notes about the physical and online magazine.
Archvial Collection
The Origin Archive is housed in the Fales LibraryFales Library
New York University's Fales Library and Special Collections is located on the third floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library at 70 Washington Square South between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz Plaza, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It houses nearly 200,000...
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.