University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2003 The Loujon Press : an historical analysis Leo J. Weddle Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Recommended Citation Weddle, Leo J., "The Loujon Press : an historical analysis. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2003. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/5203 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Leo J. Weddle entitled "The Loujon Press : an historical analysis." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Communication. Edward Caudill, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I amsubmitting herewith a dissertation writtenby Leo JeffreyWeddle entitled "The Loujon Press: AnHistorical Analysis." I have examined the finalpaper copy of this dissertation for formand content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe degreeof Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Communications. t!%Dr. kaJ Edward Caudill,/4+.-M Major Professor We have read this dissertation mdrrr;:� l raduate THE LOUJON PRESS: AN HISTORICAL ANALYSIS A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Leo JeffreyWeddle May 2003 11 Copyright© 2003 by Leo JeffreyWeddle All rightsreserved. 111 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to Jill Elaine Grogg and Leo Augustus Weddle. IV ABSTRACT During the years 1960 through 1971, a period generally known in publishing history as the era of the "mimeograph revolution," husband and wifeteam of Jon Edgar Webb and Louise "GypsyLou" Webb owned and operated the Loujon Press. Loujon published fourissues of a literary journal,The Outsider, and two books each by poet Charles Bukowski and novelist Henry Miller. ThoughLoujon published many of the Beat Generation, Black Mountain, and other avant-garde poets and writers whose work appeared in the scores of cheaply produced mimeograph publications of the era, Jon and Louise Webb published The Outsider and their fourbooks in high quality, labor-intensive editions. These publications received at least as much praise for their quality as physical artifactsas they did forthe poems and prose that made up their editorial matter. As such, the Loujon Press stands as anexemplar for the small press and little magazines of its era. The arc of the Loujon Press's functionalexistence is shown throughextensive correspondence between Jon Edgar Webb and dozens of friends, acquaintances and advisors. As many of Webb's correspondents were fellow small press editors and publishers, and many others were frequentcontributors to small press publications, this correspondence reveals the prevalence and function of networking within small press publishing during the decade of the 1960s. This cooperative model stands in contrast to the profit-basedmodel of commercial publishing houses. Finally, the failure of the Loujon Press to survive the 1971 death of Jon Edgar Webb suggests an inherent flawin Loujon's business model, that of failing to distribute assets, liabilities, skills and duties among a broader range of individuals. The day-to-day responsibilities of maintaining the Loujon Press were difficultfor two people to maintain. They proved impossible for one person. Loujon, which has been chieflyremembered as a publisher of Bukowski' s early books, was instead a broadly based publishing enterprise. This press? s ambitions, V struggles, achievements and failureshelp to illuminate the broader small press world of the 1960s. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page Introduction.................................................................................................................... 1 One: Context ..................................................................................................................4 The Little Magazine in America: A Symposium ..................................................... 8 Hoffinan,Allen and Ulrich .....................................................................................16 The Loujon Press and the Mimeograph Revolution ..............................................19 The Literature in the Grey Flannel Suit ................................................................. 20 Trace ...................................................................................................................... 23 Enter The Outsider ................................................................................................. 26 Loujon' s Achievements ......................................................................................... 29 Methodology .......................................................................................................... 3 3 Two: The Literary Small Press and Libraries .............................................................. 35 Loujon Press and the Lilly Library........................................................................ .40 Three: Literature Review .............................................................................................43 Four: Jon and Louise Webb Beforethe Loujon Press................................................ .54 Webb's Beginnings ................................................................................................ 58 Jon Webb as Showman .......................................................................................... 63 Louise .....................................................................................................................67 The French Quarter ................................................................................................ 71 The Loujon Press as Part of New Orleans' Publishing Tradition .......................... 73 Life in New Orleans............................................................................................... 76 Four Steps to the Wall..................................................... ....................................... 80 Hollywood.............................. ................................................................................ 82 Back to New Orleans: Birth of The Outsider......................................................... 85 Five: The Outsider Issue One............................................. ..........................................88 Prospectus .............................................................................................................. 89 Copyright..................................................................................... .......................... 90 The Editor's Bit........................................................ ..............................................91 Walter Lowenfels ................................................................................................... 92 Seeking Advice ...................................................................................................... 94 The Henry Miller and Walter Lowenfels Correspondence .................................... 99 Getting Started .....................................................................................................1 04 John William Corrington ........ :................................... ......................................... 106 The Village Voice ................................................................................................ 108 Distribution: B. DeBoer .......................................................................................11 2 William S. Burroughs and Others........................................................................ 113 Sinclair Beil es ......................................................................................................116 Melville Hardiment.............................................................................................. 118 Marvin Bell .......................................................................................................... 120 Jory Sherman....................... ................................................................................. 124 Networking ..........................................................................................................130 vu Into the Future ...................................................................................................... 13 2 Six: The Outsider Issue Two ...................................................................................... 133 The Editor's Bit .................................................................................................... 134 Corrington ............................................................................................................ 13 7 Continued Success ..............................................................................................