A letter of inquiry came in the other morning from Holland asking about one of the many old Liberation magazines we have for sale in the bookshop, being dedicated dreamers such as we are. The inquirer wasn't able to pay for the issue and costly shipping overseas but was wondering if he could pay us to prepare a scan for him of the front cover. The front cover was an old Kenneth Patchen drawing with his signature calligraphy, naturally one of a kind. It turns out the inquirer was Jim Forest, long time peace activist and Catholic Worker trouper amongst so many other things. Jim has written biographies of both Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. Was friends with the poet Robert Lax. And little did Jim know that he had been a silent teacher for me in my own young conscientious objector years against the Vietnam War. We were more than happy to send a nice size scan over to Holland, at no cost, and Jim has set it on his blog which you can link to below. There is never ever and never will be enough Kenneth Patchen. Just to date me. And I adore being out of date.
Liberation magazine, September 1961
