Ron Kolm Papers
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Abstract
Ron Kolm is a writer, editor, artist, promoter, has been the de facto archivist and an enduring member of the Soho and East Village arts scene from the mid-1970s to the present day. During this period, he has been involved with several independent bookstores, small magazines, performance spaces, and the outsider art scene. Kolm continues to be heavily involved in avant garde work, serving as a main organizer of The Unbearables, a loosely organized group of downtown writers and artists, perhaps best known for their protests against mainstream notions of "good" or "bad" literature and art. Through his work, Kolm has collected over 6000 items that comprise this collection. Items include: signed first editions and chapbooks by authors such as Kathy Acker, Lynne Tillman, Gary Indiana, Spalding Gray, Patrick McGrath, Harry Mathews, Hal Sirowitz, Max Blagg, Janice Eidus, Constance DeJong, David Wojnarowicz, among many others; as well as: complete runs of Between C and D, Red Tape, Zone, The Portable Lower East Side, Beat, Vox, and The National Poetry Magazine of the Lower East Side, among others.
Biographical Note
Ron Kolm, poet, writer, editor, artist, promoter, and long-time member of the downtown scene served as the de facto archivist of the Soho and East Village arts scene beginning in the mid-1970s. Through his work in various independent bookstores and his active involvement in small magazines, performance spaces, and the outsider art scene, Ron Kolm, amassed this collection. Ron's poem "Suburban Ambush" was selected by Robert Siegle as the title for his book, Suburban Ambush: Downtown Writing and the Fiction of Insurgency (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989). Kolm continues to be heavily involved in avant garde work, serving as a main organizer of The Unbearables, a loosely organized group of downtown writers and artists, perhaps best known for their protests against the poetry of The New Yorker and other acts of "poetic terrorism" intended to point out how society constructs the notions of "good" or "bad" literature and art.
Arrangement
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author heading.
The files are grouped into 14 subject and material type oriented series. Accretions have been added at the end. Accretions from 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019 have not been arranged by an archivist; these materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor.
Series List
- Series I: Correspondence
- Series II: Manuscripts
- Series III: The Unbearables
- Series IV: Subject Files
- Series V: Photographs
- Series VI: Announcements
- Series VII: Sound Recordings
- Series VIII: Original Art
- Series IX: Ephemera
- Series X: Low Tech Press
- Series XI: Posters
- Series XII: Catalogs
- Series XIII: Calendars [note: all calendars are oversize]
- Series XIV: Periodicals
- Oversize - Series II: Manuscripts
- Oversize - Series III: The Unbearables
- Oversize - Series IV: Subject Files
- Oversize - Series V: Photographs
- Oversize - Series VIII: Original Art
- Oversize - Series X: Low Tech Press
- Oversize - Series XII: Catalogs
- Accretions 1995-1999 - Series I: Correspondence
- Accretions 1995-1999 - Series II: Manuscripts
- Accretions 1995-1999 - Series IV: Subject Files
- Accretions 1995-1999 - Series V: Photographs
- Accretions 1995-1999 - Series VI: Announcements
- Accretions 1995-1999 - Series VIII: Original Art
- Accretions 1995-1999 - Series IX: Ephemera
- Accretions 1995-1999 - Series XI: Posters
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series I: Correspondence
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series II: Manuscripts
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series III: The Unbearables
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series IV: Subject Files
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series V: Photographs
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series VI: Announcements
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series VII: Sound Recordings
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series VIII: Original Art
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series IX: Ephemera
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series XI: Posters
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series XII: Catalogs
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series XIII: Calendars
- Accretions 2001-2002 - Series XIV: Periodicals
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series I: Correspondence
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series II: Manuscripts
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series III: The Unbearables
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series IV:Subject Files
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series V: Photographs
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series VI: Announcements
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series VII: Sound Recordings
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series VIII: Original Art
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series IX: Ephemera
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series XI: Posters
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series XII: Catalogs
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series XIII: Calendars
- Accretions 2002-2003 - Series XIV: Periodicals
- Accretions 2015-2016
- Accretions 2018
- Accretions 2019
Scope and Contents
The Ron Kolm Papers consists of material created and collected by Kolm from 1970 up to the present, broadly documenting artists and writers in this period of the Downtown Scene. The collection comprises his personal correspondence with members of that scene; manuscripts in various stages; photographs; audio recordings; video recordings; clippings files from newspapers and magazines; posters; original art; production files for his small press, Low Tech Press; and materials about the various events and publications of The Unbearables. He also has collected books, serials, zines, and other ephemera relating to the scene of which he is considered an integral part. The collection also includes inscribed copies of books; signed first editions and chapbooks by authors such as Kathy Acker, Lynne Tillman, Gary Indiana, Walter Abish, Spaulding Gray, Patrick McGrath, Harry Mathews, Hal Sirowitz, Max Blagg, Janice Eidus, Constance DeJong, David Wojnarowicz, Jeffrey Cyphers Wright; and complete runs of significant literary magazines of the 1980-1990s scene, including Between C and D, Appearances, Red Tape, Benzene, Zone, The Portable Lower East Side, Beat, Vox, Semi(o)texte, Peau Sensible, Raw, and The National Poetry Magazine of the Lower East Side. Assembly magazines, zines, posters, flyers, catalogues of exhibitions, and announcements for readings provide a sense of the downtown arts scene of the Soho and East Village during its artistic height. The collection is also rich in materials relating to non-literary artists, and includes some writings by those artists, including David Wojnarowicz, Keith Haring, Art Spiegelman, and others.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open to researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Ron Kolm Papers; MSS 079; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Ron Kolm Papers were acquired via purchase from Ron Kolm in December of 1996.
Custodial History
The Ron Kolm Papers were acquired via purchase from Mr. Kolm in December of 1996. The collection was sorted by Marvin J. Taylor once it arrived at NYU. Multiple accretions have also been added to the collection since the original donation.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact fales.library@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Separated Material
Selected printed materials have been removed and individually catalogued in the Downtown Periodicals Collection. Records for these items can be retrieved through Bobcat.
Following is a list of the printed materials that were removed from the Accretions 2002-2003 portion of the collection and moved into the Downtown Periodicals Collection.
American Book Review: 23.5-24.4 July/August 2002-May/June 2003.
The Brooklyn Rail (August-September 2002); (Winter 2003); (April-May 2003).
Gargoyle 45 (2002).
Long Shot 25 (2002) 20th Anniversary Edition, "On 9/11", 2002.
NY Arts 7.11 (November 2002).
Poetry Project Newsletter 187-195, 2001-2003.
Rain Taxi Review of Books 6.3-7.1; 7.3, 2001-2002.
Tamarind (May 1998).
World War 3 Illustrated 33 (2002).
About this Guide
Processing Information
In 2014 this collection was reprocessed in order to improve the housing of materials and to create consistent box and folder numbering. In 2016, accretions from 2015 and 2016 were accessioned and incorporated into the collection as a separate series at the end of the collection in accordance with previous arrangement and description decisions. In 2018, more accretions were accessioned and added as a separate series at the end of the inventory.
In February 2019, boxes 41-44, 48, 50, and 54 were prepared for off site storage with the materials being placed into acid-free folders and record cartons. Orignial order of the boxes maintained.
In April 2019, boxes 45-47, 49-52, 54-55, 57 and 58 were prepared for off site storage by placing materials in their orignal order in acid-free folders and record carton, audiovisual materials were seperated out into Shared Fales boxes 021, 022, 023, and 024. Print materials were prepared for off site storage.
In July 2019, accretions donated in the spring of 2019 were accessioned, rehoused in archival boxes and folders, and incorporated into the collection as a separate series.
