Journal Issue
Modern Poetry’s Own Trajectory by Richard O’Connell gives Trace no. 55 its clearest point of entry, while Towards Print by James Boyer May and Urges ‘ Reader-Activation ’ Magazines widen the issue’s field. Dated Winter 1964, this substantial number indexes 38 pieces or named sections, moving between literary argument, creative work, reviews, correspondence, and the practical business of little-magazine culture. The order matters: recurring editorial features sit beside contributions with their own formal and critical demands, so the magazine reads as an active conversation rather than a neutral container. The reader’s edition makes that sequence easy to follow; the original scan preserves the cover, page design, advertisements, visual material, and directory apparatus that locate the writing in its first publication. Together, the two editions show James Boyer May sustaining both a literary forum and a working map of the independent publishing network.
Contributors
Publication details
Full contents
- Modern Poetry’s Own Trajectory — Richard O’Connell [Essay, p. 7]
- Towards Print — James Boyer May [Essay, p. 16]
- Editors (and others) Write [Correspondence, p. 18]
- Urges ‘ Reader-Activation ’ Magazines [Contribution, p. 18]
- T. S. Eliot’s Message on Democratic Life — John Tryford [Correspondence, p. 19]
- A COASTLINES Response to Lawrence Lipton — John Tryford [Contribution, p. 20]
- ‘ Best Poets ’ Criterion Called in Question — Clarence Major [Correspondence, p. 22]
- John Keats: Pioneer of Modern Existentialist Thought — Edward Carben [Contribution, p. 24]
- Profile for the Loving Critic — Judson Crews [Essay, p. 36]
- Gil Orlovitz: Poems [Poem, p. 39]
- Art of the Sonnet: 166 — Gil Orlovitz [Poem, p. 39]
- Median 7 — Gil Orlovitz [Poem, p. 39]
- Median — Gil Orlovitz [Poem, p. 40]
- Median 42 — Gil Orlovitz [Poem, p. 41]
- Median 30 — Gil Orlovitz [Poem, p. 41]
- Conjugates: 1 — Gil Orlovitz [Poem, p. 42]
- Best Always, Puerco — A. Fredric Franklyn [Poem, p. 45]
- Impasse on a Rainfat River — Vernon Reynolds [Poem, p. 52]
- The Artistry of a Hornman — Henri Montandon [Poem, p. 55]
- It Doesn’t Matter Now — Frederick Thorgood [Poem, p. 57]
- Weedlike Woman — Frederick Thorgood [Poem, p. 58]
- Fourth Season Sketches — Frederick Thorgood [Poem, p. 59]
- Some People — Frederick Thorgood [Poem, p. 60]
- Three Classmates Thirty Years After — Dorothy Ellin Flax [Poem, p. 61]
- Circle — Ruth Finer Mintz [Poem, p. 63]
- I Want Small Hand — David J. Raine [Poem, p. 64]
- Troublin’ Mind — Byron Williams [Fiction, p. 66]
- Rumors from the City — Ronald Caplan [Fiction, p. 74]
- Don’t Let Monday Come — Robert Lowry [Fiction, p. 77]
- The Avant Garde & the Official Culture — John Tryford [Essay, p. 86]
- At the Village Vanguard — Warren Slesinger [Poem, p. 93]
- Some Items Received [Contribution, p. 94]
- Thoughts About a Few Poetry Books — James Boyer May [Review, p. 94]
- The People Pattern — James Boyer May [Review, p. 98]
- Social Satire: ‘ Tight ’ & ‘ Swinging ’ — Carl Larsen [Review, p. 101]
- larksky — Walter Leslie Denny [Poem, p. 103]
- Unusual Materials Unsensationally Handled — James Boyer May [Review, p. 103]
- Wordy Snake-bite Cure — James Boyer May [Review, p. 105]
Rights and citation
Copyright remains with the respective authors, artists, publisher, or successors.
Copyright Status Unresolved
Rights in the individual contributions and the periodical compilation have not been fully resolved.
Trace, no. 55 (Winter 1964). Text/Tech Journals reader’s edition, 2026.