Nada Press / Big Scream Selected Covers 1974-2019
 

Dave Cope, self-portrait

Nada Press / Big Scream has been in continuous publication since 1974. The magazine focuses on a few poets in each issue, each poet represented by a selection of work large enough to give a sense of his/her vision and work. I am interested in plain speech (“objectivist” or “realist”) traditions, as well as poetry that grows from approaches established by Lorca, Neruda, and others. I have deliberately eschewed criticism, bios, or promotional materials seen in most literary journals:  I am interested in the work itself, not in commentary.


I also mix work ranging from well-known poets to those in process of establishing themselves, and I have been fortunate to be able to publish a wide variety of younger poets sent me by Allen Ginsberg, Diane di Prima, and Marc Olmsted. Each issue has usually been printed in an edition of 100, sent to contributors, editors, publishers, and other poets. Big Scream is archived at the University of Michigan Special Collections Library in the David Cope Papers, and there are substantial collections at the New York Public Library and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Library.


Over 37 years, my editing philosophy has remained the same, though formats have changed with the times. The first issue was printed via ditto, the covers hand-stamped with poster paint laid on with cutout potatoes; the Cope Poems cover shows this approach. I quickly moved to printing via mimeo machine, purchasing a $120 Sears mimeo and running issues off patiently year by year. Covers featuring color were attained by hand-drawing with permanent marker on a mimeo design. In 1983, I moved to screened photographs of the poets, reasoning that being able to present a face to go with the poems would increase the magazine’s personal quality while establishing visual recognition of the poet. Eventually, I developed photos as the primary vehicle for the cover, ranging from poet portraits to landscapes. In recent issues, I have moved to a 6 X 9 format, allowing my son-in-law, Scott Baisden, to create more complex photo covers for these issues.

 

––David Cope

Click on thumbnail to enlarge. Images are presented in chronological order.
       
    Big Scream 2 (1974) drawing by David Cope.
       
    Cope Poems (1974) Africanesque Face in Red, drawing by David Cope.
       
   

Big Scream 3 (1975) three figures with pendant antennas running in unison, highlighted in red, orange, and chartreuse permanent marker, by David Cope.

       
    Big Scream 4 (1975) four figures in profile, highlighted in black and red, with issue title to left, highlighted in black and chartreuse permanent marker, by David Cope.
       
    Big Scream 5 (1975) freeway and skyscrapers cover by David Cope.
       
    Neon Eyes (1975) David Cope chapbook; drawing by David Cope.
       
    Big Scream 7 (1976) Screenheads, drawing by David Cope.
       
    Big Scream 10 (1978), drawing by David Cope.
       
    Waking (1978) David Cope Chapbook. African sculpture drawing by David Cope.
       
    Big Scream 12 (1980) Big Scream Goes West, drawing by David Cope.
       
    Big Scream 13 (1981) Cover drawing w/ two naked dancers by David Cope.
       
    Big Scream 15 (1982) Three dreamers with moon, drawing by David Cope.
       
    The Strand (1983) Bob Rixon chapbook. Cover photo by Christine Dolinich.
       
    Big Scream 18 (1984) Bob Rixon, photo by Sharon Guynup.
       
    Divine April (1984) Jim Cohn chapbook. Cover design and image by Jim Cohn.
       
    Big Scream 21 (1985) Cover photo of collage, both by Christine Dolinich.
       
    Big Scream 23 (1986) Andy Clausen, photo by Marcia Ward.
       
    Crossing the Border (1986) James Ruggia chapbook. Cover photo by Sharon Guynup. Design by unknown.
       
    Big Scream 25 (1988). Softcover. Photos by various photographers.
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    Big Scream 26 (1988) Gargoyles at Notre Dame, Paris. Photo by Gary Schmidt.
       
    Big Scream 30 (1992) Jim Cohn, unknown photographer.
       
    Thanks / Nada Special Issue commemorating Allen Ginsberg's visit to GRCC, February 19, 1992. Cubist homage drawing of naked dancers and bending guitar, window background with bizarre cityscape, by David Cope.
       
    Big Scream 31 (1993) Anne Waldman, photo by Craig Stutzky.
       
    Allen Ginsberg: Shared Dreams, Some Roots & Later Leaves, Some Sources & Descendents (1994). Allen Ginsberg photo by Darlene Kazmarczyk.
       
    Big Scream 33 (1995) Jim Cohn, Andy Clausen, David Cope, Cohn and Cope photos by Craig Stutzky, Clausen photo photographer unknown.
       
    Big Scream 34 (1996) Eliot Katz, photo by Deborah Pohl.
       
    Big Scream 36 (1998) Sequoias, photo by Gary Schmidt.
       
    Sunflowers and Locomotives: Songs for Allen. (1998) Allen on fire escape, 12th Street apartment, photo by Chris Funkhouser.
       
    Big Scream 37 (1999) Carmen Bugan, photo by Craig Stutzky.
       
   

Big Scream 38 (2000) Buddhist woodcarver, photo by Gary Schmidt.

       
    Big Scream 39 (2001) Sierra Madre, photo by Paul Bloom.
       
    Big Scream 41 (2003) Thornapple River Shallows, photo by Anne Cope.
       
    Big Scream 42 (2004) 30th Anniversary Issue. Climbers on Long’s Peak, photo by David Cope.
       
    Big Scream 43 (2005) Marc Olmsted, photo by Tulku Garwang.
       
    Big Scream 46 (2008) Diane di Prima and Julia Chaka Marlowe, photo by Tara Marlowe.
       
    Big Scream 47 (2009) Anne Waldman, photo by Kai Sibley; cover design by Scott Baisden.
       
    Big Scream 48 (2010) Andy Clausen and Shiv Mirabito, photo by Christopher Funkhouser. Cover design by Scott Baisden.
       
    Big Scream 49 (2011) Downtown GR, photo by Scott Baisden. Cover design by Scott Baisden.
     
    Big Scream 50 (2012) cover photos, layout & design by Scott Baisden.
     
    Big Scream 51 (2013) cover photos, layout & design by Scott Baisden.
     
    Big Scream 52 40th Anniversary Issue (2013-2014) cover photos, layout & design by Scott Baisden.
     
    Big Scream 53 In Memory of Bob Rixon (2014) front cover photo: Fort 13, Jilava Prison, by Catalin Bugan; back cover photo: Ion Bugan in cell, Jilava Prison, by Catalin Bugan; layout and design by Scott Baisden.
     
    Big Scream 54 Sacred Lands & Waters Issue in Memory of Jeff Poniewaz (2015) cover photos by David Cope, layout and design by Scott Baisden.
     
    Big Scream 55 (2016-2017) cover photos by David Cope, layout and design by Natasha Herrygers.
     
  Scream 56   Big Scream 56 Standing Rock water protectors protest. Front cover photo by Wang Ping. Back cover photo by Jesse Katzman. Layout and design by Natasha Herrygers.
     
  57   Big Scream 57 (2018). Front cover photo of Manhattan from NJ Palisades by Beverly Brown (2018) Back cover photo of Eliot Katz, Jim Ruggia and David Cope, at Fox & Crow Parlour Room, Jersey City, by Danny Shot (2018).
       
    Big Scream 58 Strangers in a Strange Land (2019) Front Cover: Zilka Joseph and Pramila Venkateswaran, photo by Varsha Saraiya Shah. Back Cover: Matawaala collage, by Nomia Verma-Pfaff.
       
    Big Scream 59 International issue (2020). Layout and design by Natasha Herrygers. Images of Allen Ginsberg from 1973 National Poetry Festival, Allendale, Michigan. Used by permission of the Allen Ginsberg Trust.
       
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