Jim McCrary papers
Overview
This collection consists of incoming correspondence sent to Jim McCrary and submissions to and correspondence about his literary zine Smelt Money: a poetics newsletter from the kaw river bottoms, produced by McCrary in Lawrence, Kansas in the mid-1990s. Also in the collection is a draft and final copy of a short story written by McCrary, materials related to the River City Reunion held in Lawrence, Kansas in September 1987, and a set of recorded readings given by McCrary.
Dates
- Creation: 1972 - 1999
Creator
- McCrary, Jim (Compiler, Person)
- Dorn, Edward (Person)
- Moritz, John (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Audio visual materials are stored in the KU Annex off-site storage area. All researchers interested in reviewing this material must consult Spencer Research Library Public Services staff (785-864-4334 or ksrlref@ku.edu, 9-5 M-F CST) before a planned visit; staff will respond within three days, though materials may not be available in that timeframe. Access to audio visual materials may require digitization first. Be advised that drop-in requests for this material cannot be accommodated.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Jim McCrary
Jim McCrary was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and joined the Army after high school. He came to Lawrence, Kansas in the 1960s when in his mid-20s and joined the literary and cultural movements occurring there, working at the Abington Book Shop and spending time with poets and literary figures that included cartoonist S. Clay Wilson, writer Charlie Plymell, as well as GRIST publisher John Fowler, Allen Ginsberg, Kenneth Irby, Ed Dorn, Robert Duncan, and others passing through.
In 1981 McCrary left Lawrence for California State University in Sonoma, earning a bachelors and masters in creative writing and studying under David Bromige.
McCrary came back to Lawrence, later becoming friends with William S. Burroughs and working as office manager and archivist at William Burroughs Communications. In the mid-1990s McCrary produced Smelt Money on a Kinko's copy machine with the intention of including a wide variety of poets and authors he considered important for the time.
McCrary was a contributing editor for Avec Magazine, an avant guarde publication edited by Cydney Chadwick, and for First Intensity magazine, published by Lee Chapman. His published books of poetry include Coon Creek (1972), West of Mass (1992), and All That (2008). He has also taught poetics and run the Lawrence, Kansas poetry slams.
McCrary has continued to edit and publish a variety of chapbooks, zines, and other literary publications. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas with his wife, painter Sue Ashline.
Extent
.5 Linear Feet (2 document cases + 3 oversize folders, 1 DVD)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection has been organized into four series: Correspondence; materials related to Smelt Money or other writings by McCrary; materials related to the River City Reunion; and audiovisual materials.
Correspondence regarding submissions to Smelt Money has been kept with the submissions. Issues of the literary magazine have been physically separated and are housed at MS Q69. Some oversize posters and news clippings related to the River City Reunion have also been physically separated and are located at both MS Q69 and MS Qa36.
Physical Location
MS 332
Physical Location
MS Q69
Physical Location
MS Qa36
Physical Location
SC AV 21
Physical Location
A/V items at Annex (Contact Spencer Library Public Services)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts, Jim McCrary, 2014, 2017, 2020.
Separated Materials
Addiss, Stephen and Stanley Lombardo, eds. Phoenix Papers: 26 Lawrence Poets. Lawrence, Ks: Penthe Publishing, 1993. Located at Spencer Research Library at D7480 and Watson Library at Ps572.L3 P55 1993.
Lopez, Richard. Super 8. Sacramento, Ca: Superblast! Press, 2006. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23241.
McCrary, Jim. 3 poems. Ra'anana, Israel: Stephen Ellis, 1995. Located at Spencer Research Library at D7481.
McCrary, Jim. All That: The Collected Chapbooks. Moscow, Id: ManyPenny Press, 2008. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23245.
McCrary, Jim. Being Frida Kahlo. Lawrence, Ks: Really Old Gringo Press, 2007. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23243.
McCrary, Jim. Es Verdad. [Lawrence, Ks]: [published by Jim McCrary], 2013. Located at Spencer Research Library at C233723.
McCrary, Jim. Hotter Than and Now. Lawrence, Ks: [published by Jim McCrary], 2009. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23377.
McCrary, Jim. Knock Knock Whose There Po 8. Arroyo, Ca: Hank's Original Loose Gravel Press, 2012. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23376.
McCrary. West of Mass: Poems, 1988-1991. Lawrence, Ks: Tansy Press, 1992. Located at Spencer Research Library at D7479 and at Watson Library at Ps3563.A2668 W4 1992.
McCrary, Jim. Po Doom. Arroyo Granda, Ca: Hank's Original Loose Gravel Press, 2011. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23374.
McCrary, Jim. Oh Miss Mary. Lawrence, Ks: The Really Old Gringo Press, 2006. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23242.
McCrary, Jim. Not Not. Arroyo Grande, Ca: Hank's Original Loose Gravel Press, 2012. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23372.
McCrary, Jim. Mayaland: 8 Poems, 2 essays. [Lawrence, Ks: Jim McCrary and John Moritz?], 2002. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23244.
McCrary, Jim. M ental tekst. Lawrence, Ks: Really Old Gringo Press, 2013. Located at Spencer Research Library at C20380.
Nielsen, Aldon Lynn. Mantic Semantic. Arroyo Grande, Ca: Hank's Original Loose Gravel Press, 2011. Located at Spencer Research Library at C20361.
Raworth, Tom. Eternal Sections: Three Poems from a Sequence. Lawrence, Ks: Tansy Press in conjunction with the Friends of the KU Poetry Collection, 1989. Located at Spencer Research Library at D7517 and Le P212.
Yeary, James. 10th Spectral Cannon. Arroyo Grande, Ca: Hank's Original Loose Gravel Press, 2013. Located at Spencer Research Library at C23375.
Individual issues of serials, broadsides, and other miscellaneous items donated by Jim McCrary in 2014 and not listed here can be found doing a catalog Boolean search using his name with the terms "gift" and "2014."
Source
- McCrary, Jim (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Jim McCrary Collection
- Subtitle
- Jim McCrary papers
- Author
- Finding aid compiled by mwh, 2017. Finding aid encoded by mwh, 2017. Finding aid revised by mwh, 2018, 2021.
- Date
- 2017
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/8430034186
- Preferred citation
-
Jim McCrary papers, MS 332, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository