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