No . . . betweenthehighway hasn’t folded just yet

but I am beginning to fold fresh receipts for this summer amid the foreclosure of “nonprofit” presses and the ongoing crisis of “small press distribution.” What will publishing poetry today and tomorrow look like?

In the meantime, I’ve nearly finished translating Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies, and my biography of Cleveland publisher and poet d.a. levy has reached its first plateau: an introduction and chapter prospectus. These two projects have come together in a recent discussion with poet and teacher C. Derick Varn. A majority of archival research complete, alongside this summer’s receipts I am excited to announce the republication of an extensive selection of levy’s poems, books, and manifestos. Executed with brutal simplicity, this summer’s receipts share their formatting.

This publication season will be the first for BTH to release books with pages, namely Cameron Mays’ “Probably, Ohio.” As the year ripens, listen in for news on Dave Deitke’s “Zig at the Zine” and other surprise publications.

Books officially release the 13th of July, but they are available now as preorders. Release events include a reading in Buffalo at “green_space” with Blue Bag Press on July 6th and a presentation at Mac’s Backs in Coventry Village on July 9th.

If you are interested in all summer 2025 BTH publications, the levy republications are separate, but I will include one levy republication in each order regardless. Until production is complete, “Zig at the Zine” will be noted as a preorder.

Cheers,
alex benedict

Alex Gildzen’s

2 LISTS

& A POEM

ABT LISTS

2.25″ x 27″

First edition of 200

A review as a list of questions about Gildzen’s poems:
- Who has passed you by in your sleep?
- What lists have you completed but never written?
- When every list is scratched out, what poems will you write?

when it comes time
to sum up
a litter of lists
will clutter yr bed

In the 1960s Alex Gildzen began publishing his poems in magazines. In that decade he did his first reading and saw the publication of his first chapbook. He’s grateful to still be doing all that.

Joe Hall’s

Scatalogia, or “Shit Slips”

betweenthehighway X Blue Bag

2.25″ x 162”

First edition of 50

Side with Patti Smith and piss in the river, then shit on the shore. Receipts could be the closest thing to toilet paper, but I wouldn’t wipe your ass with them. Well, you should at least finish reading first . . .

The only thing that mattered about the angels was
the mirror of their faces pointed towards God’s glory,
created a circuit of multiplying amperage. No one cared

that they reeked. They’d bite you if you got too close.
And if enough of them got together in phalanx outside
City Hall, it was time for us clots of losers’ ears to bleed.

Joe Hall nearly shares a name with Joe Hill.

Julia Klatt Singer’s

The Paint Factory Years

2.25″ x 193″

First edition of 100

“The Paint Factory Years”

We mapped out our world
in the empty lot,
scratched our love
into the pebbled dirt.
When the rain came
let it river, let it glisten
on our skin.

We measured the hours
in the drifting of clouds,
in the three-note song
of a bird.
Seven ways I said
I loved you. Seven more
I kept to myself.

Not the blue, but the longing begins Singer’s collection—this phrase later finds its foothold in the poem “Berlin Blue.” All the same, not the paint, but the skin. Running along the Miami River in southern Ohio, I read in bold pink, graffitied letters PAIN IS PAINT. I built my endurance. We build our endurance with art, but art is not only a demonstration of our sufferings or pleasures. Across these years, smattered like dried paint, we outlast suffering and carry on with “the same ache in me that you have in you.“

Julia Klatt Singer is the poet in residence at Grace Nursery School. Co-author of Twelve Branches: Stories from St. Paul, and author of five books of poetry. Her book, Elemental, has audio poems at OpenKim, as the element Sp. She’s co-written numerous songs with composers Craig Carnahan, Jocelyn Hagen, & Tim Takach. Ms. Singer is a long-haired, sweater-wearing poet, painter, and thief.

John Sweet’s

Halcyon

2.25″ x 56″

First edition of 100

halcyon [14] Halcyon days, originally ‘days of calm weather,’ but now used figuratively for a ‘past period of happiness and success,’ are literally ‘days of the kingfisher.’ The expression comes from Greek alkuonídes emérai ‘kingfisher’s days,’ a term used in the ancient world for a period of 14 days fine or calm weather around the winter solstice which was attributed to the magical influence of the kingfisher. The origin of Greek alkúon is not known, although it was from earliest times associated with Greek háls ‘sea’ and kuon ‘conceiving’ (whence the spelling halcyon).

halcyon (14)

and all the boys
fresh out of rehab
except for the
dead ones

except for the ones
we all
want to fuck

except for the
ones
we love

John Sweet sends greetings from the rural wastelands of upstate NY. He is a firm believer in writing as catharsis, and an opponent of all organized religions and political ideologies. He's down with surrealism and old school post-punk. The entirety of his life is hidden in his writing.

Cameron Mays’

Probably, Ohio

Middle Western Comic Romances

“Many of my friends have begun to make a living for themselves in places outside
of Cleveland. I generally have little interest in their success, unless of course that
success takes place in New York City and they are desperate for a roommate.
Should that be the case, they ought to call me immediately. Their troubles will be
quelled in as much time as it takes me to buy an Amtrak ticket. I remind them that
my card is on file and Cleveland has a daily train service to Moynihan Train Hall.”
(from Internship Report)

This may be the first collection from Mays, but these essays initially came out from his zine that takes its name from that fateful connection to New York.

Cameron Mays is from Cleveland, then Brecksville, then Cleveland again, and now New York. He does not have a federally compliant ID, but he does have a valid driver's license. This is the first collection of his writing.

First edition of 100 . . . inevitably more.

[COVER TO BE ANNOUNCED]

Dave “Ziggy” Deitke’s

Zig At The Zine

With Henry Rollins, and Bert Susanka

Interviewing musicians such as Henry Rollins, Bert Susanka, and many others, Zig moves from the Gig to the Zine, illustrating his interviews into a full color comic-style zine.

Dave Ziggy Deitke is a full-time musician, special needs music educator, and music therapist MT-BC based out of Cleveland, OH. Dave fronts an original punk funk reggae rock group called C-Level. He also runs a podcast called Zig At The Gig.

First edition of 100 . . . inevitably more.

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Every publication listed above!

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[covers]

d.a. levy republications

See: d.a. levy republications

all levy excerpts available separately
or with any receipt-book

all proceeds to publishing & distribution materials

i reject all copyrights since i cannot
consider poetry as a business trans-
action - that doesn't mean i don't
like $$$ - it doesn't mean i give
free readings - i just think as long
as i'm living the poetry happens &
i'm not going to turn my happenings
into a business planned for mass
consumption - patrons support
poets or god (i.e. the universe)
supports poets - not govts or
the public . . .

—d.a. levy, Kaleidoscope,
“d.a. levy memorial issue,” 1968,
edited by Jim Sorcic

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:

Materials for these republications of d.a. levy’s work primarily came fromKent State University Special Collections, Cleveland State University Special Collections, the anthology “ukanhavyrfuckincitibak” (GHOST PRESS, edited by Tom Kryss and r.j.s., 1968), and Alan Horvath’s Kirpan Press republications. Wherever possible, I tried to use first editions or editions published during levy’s lifetime. In some cases, such as with Kibbutz in the Sky and THE NORTH AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, these republications are the first instance of a series of books being published in their completeness. Much of levy’s work has been republished across dozens of small presses,including Quixote Press, GHOST PRESS, ghost pony press, verdant press, Kirpan Press, and Between the Shadows. As such, entries in this bibliography do not cover the entire publication history of any text.

This bibliography only covers materials printed by betweenthehighway press. For a full bibliography, see Alan Horvath’s “looking for d.a. levy(Random Sightings).” This bibliography is based on James Lowell’s “A Preliminary Checklist of the Writings of d.a. Levy (1942-1968)” (The Serif [Kent StateUniversity Special Collections], Vol. 8, No. 4). Started in 2002 and carefully revised with the collaboration of Kent Taylor and many of levy’s friends, the Kirpan Press bibliography is exhaustive of levy’s individual publications, including material he printed, material printed by other publishers, and anthologies. “Random
Sightings” can only be supplemented by the verdant press bibliography of materials levy published in periodicals.

betweenthehighway press republications are relegated to the lexical work of d.a. levy and represent only a sampling of his material. Although these republications are otherwise comprehensive, they cannot stand in for the original editions due to limitations of line length and type availability. Where spelling was an unforced error, “corrections” have been made, and, undoubtedly, this editor has added their own . . .

Visual material is accessible through Cleveland State University’s digitized holdings and the anthology edited by Ingrid Swanberg: “ZENCONCRETE & etc.” visual materials include the Cleveland Prints Series (Renegade Press, 1964), THE EGYPTIAN STROBOSCOPE (7flowers press, 1966), VISUALIZED PRAYERS & HYMN FOR THE AMERICAN $GOD$ (Renegade Press, 1966), SCARAB (1966), the madison poems and the madison collages (Quixote Press, 1968), ZEN CONCRETE: TRANSLATIONS & A NEW INTERPRETATION OF BUDDHIST DOCTRINES (blewointment press, October 1968), and THE TIBETAN STROBOSCOPE (Ayizan Press, 1968).

Illustrations for these republications are sourced from Aubrey Beardsley’s vignettes in Le Morte D’Arthur, headpieces for Henry Reicher, and—
who could forget—Salome’s flowers.

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WORK PUBLISHED IN
PERIODICALS AND
ANTHOLOGIES:

INTERMISSION (November 9, 1961)
WILD HORSES (Abraxas 44/45, 1964)
GREAT MAN SLEEPING IN A CLOSET (7 flowers press, 1966) [republished: ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968] [written 1965-66]
letter to lady berge’ (blewointment, Vol. 5, No. 1, January 1967) [written 2/27/1966]
LIGHT ON, THE OLD TEST (DO-IT!, No. 1, 1966) [republished by levy in 1967 and ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968)
if you can break an iron angel’s wings (cleveland bridges) [Hika, Vol. 28, No. 3, Kenyon College, 1966]
roses that (ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968) [written 1966]
THE TIBETAN NOTES (SEPT/ 7th 1966)
BERET (SPANISH FLEYE, 1966) [republished: ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968] [performed: La Cave 1966]
poem for lama ginsberg (FREE LOVE PERIODICALLY, #1, 1967)
variations on a short poem (Runcible Spoon, 1970) [ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968]

notes/ variations on a short poem (FAT FROG, No. 1, 1967)

what can i say? (THE FLASH OF PASADENA, No. 5, 1967) [republished: FREE LOVE PERIODICALLY, No. 2, June 1967]
angela (ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968) [previously: burning water]
Jaywalking Blues (ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968)
REBIRTH BLUES (INTRANSIT, 1968) [republished: Kirpan Press]
NEW YEAR (October 1968) (DAVKA, Vol. 1, No. 1, December 1970) [republished: A Ten Year Harvest: Third Decennial Reader, 1977]
WARRIOR’S REST (TOUCAN, Vol. 1, No. 2, Winter 1968) [ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968]
Letter From An Invisible Greek (Litmus, the d.a. levy issue, November 1968) [Quixote, Vol. 4, No. 6, March 1969]
barking rabbit (falling down press, 1976) [previously: The Buddhist Third Class Junkmail Oracle, nola express, campfires of the resistance, unmuzzled ox, and the box lunch travel-og of fremont gulch]

INDIVIDUAL PUBLICATIONS:

FRAGMENTS OF A SHATTERED MIRROR (renegade press, February 1963)
More Withdrawed or Less (renegade press, February 1963) [second edition: September 1963]
Variation on Flip (renegade press, February 1963)
IN Group (Hors Commerce Press: “3 One Act Plays,” 1964)
THE NORTH AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DEAD: PART 1 &2 (FREE LANCE PRESS, 1965) [revision republished: 7 flowers press, 1966]

The Slow Death of Becoming Other People (ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968)

Cleveland undercovers (7 Flowers Press, 1966)
CLEVELAND: THE RECTAL EYE VISIONS (press : today : niagara, 1966) [ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968]

R.E. Vision #8 for W.E. Wyatt (POETRY NEWSLETTER, No. 11, 1966)
R.E. Vision #10 (ENTRAILS, Vol. 3, February/March 1967)
R.E. Vision #2 (RADICAL AMERICA, Vol. 2, No. 6, December 1968)
R.E. Vision #8 Part II - for Art Kleps (RADICAL AMERICA, Vol. 3, No. 4, August 1969)

THE EGYPTIAN STROBOSCOPE [“THE YEAR OF COMING FORTH BY DAY . . .”] (7 flowers press, 1966) [second edition: grass coin, 1967]
Kibbutz in the Sky (7 flowers press, 1967: Books 1 & 2) [republished: ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968)
ONE DEATH IN THE LIFE OF JULIE: POEM FOR JULIE (grass coin, 1967)
THE PRAPS I SERIES (PRAPS (I): CONGRESS, No. 1, 1967) (PRAPS I (Three): CONGRESS, No. 2, 1967) (ASYLUM, No. 4, March 1968) [full series republishined: ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968)
TOMBSTONE AS A LONELY CHARM (press : today : niagara, Part 1: 1967, Parts 2 & 3: 1968)
THE BEGINNING OF SUNNY DAWN (GHOSTflower Press, March 1968) [republished with RED LADY: Open Skull Press, 1969)
RED LADY (Open Skull Press, 1968) [PARA-SHAKTI PRESS, 1969]
songs for dead children [x2] (black rabbit press, 1969) [ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968]
The Evolution of Comparative Literature (1968) [broadside republished: Quixote Press, “the madison collages,” 1969 and again by OFFENSE FUND, 1975]
SUBURBAN MONASTERY DEATH POEM (ZERO EDITION, 1968)
PROSE: on poetry in the wholesale culture & education system (Gunrunner Press, 1968)

MANIFESTOS:

The Cleveland Manifesto of Poetry (Principles behind the writings of 6 Cleveland Poets) (Asphodel Press, June 1964)
CEMENT FUCK [Introduction] (cleveland OHO, 1966) [renegade press]
THE PARA-CONCRETE MANIFESTO (TLALOC, No. 13, 1966) [republished as broadside: 7 flowers press,1966 and ukanhavyrfuckincitibak, 1968]