Finding aid for the d.a. levy and family archive

Biography of d.a. levy

Darryl Allen Levy (d.a. levy) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 29, 1942, to Joseph and Caroline Levy. His parents changed the spelling of their surname from "Levey" to "Levy" in the 1940s; however levy's older brother, James, retained the original spelling. levy graduated from James Ford Rhodes High School in 1960, after which he spent seven months in the U. S. Navy, based in San Diego. levy's Navy experience, as described in numerous letters to family members, was very unpleasant and difficult. After his early release from the service, levy focused his energies on poetry, artwork, and publishing. levy is considered one of the founders of the "mimeograph revolution" of printing and distributing poetry and other publications during the second half of the 20th century. This "do-it-yourself" approach to publication utilized a mimeograph, producing small print runs often utilizing local materials on hand such as discarded paper stock. levy collaborated with a large network of poets and artists including Tom Kryss, rjs (Robert J. Sigmund), Kent Taylor, D.r. Wagner, Russell Salamon, and many others both within and outside of the Cleveland poetry scene. According to Jeff Maser, "levy lead an itinerant life. Though he did not 'travel' in the normal sense, he would often stay with friends and family members for short periods of time, or take month-to-month rentals. Occasional trips were made to the West, to Wisconsin, and to New York, but to Cleveland he always returned." A dramatic series of events occurred in levy's life in 1967 when he was indicted by a grand jury, arrested, and jailed for "possessing and distributing obscene literature." In March of that same year, he was again arrested for "contributing to the delinquency of minors" in relation to a poetry reading he had given, attended by some minors. Friends and fellow poets, including Allen Ginsberg, rallied around levy through a series of events, publications, and fund raising efforts. His sentence for the second offense was eventually suspended and the prior grand jury charges were later dismissed. However, levy was left feeling increasingly isolated, under attack, and betrayed by his native city. levy died on November 24, 1968 at the age of 26. He was found by friends on the floor of his apartment, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, with a .22 caliber rifle by his body. His death was ruled a suicide.

Scope and Content

The d. a. levy and family archive is comprised of the manuscripts, publications, and personal papers of d. a. levy. Additionally, the collection includes a significant number of levy's original paintings and collages. The collection also includes biographical materials, photographs, publications, and ephemera that were part of levy's personal collection, much of which was housed for levy by his brother James due to levy's somewhat itinerant lifestyle. levy's personal collection contains a number of periodicals, both those with and without his own contributions; materials related to the study of eastern religions; image reference files; scrapbooks with clippings about levy; and a variety of ephemeral material kept by levy. There is also correspondence to and from levy both with family members and with friends, poets, and artists with whom we was associated.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Copyright of materials in this collection resides with the d.a. levy estate and other applicable copyright holders. Please contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives for copyright inquiries.

Please also see the
d. a. levy papers, a related collection, which contains manuscripts, correspondence, artwork, and other materials created by and about levy. Most of the material in that collection was purchased by Special Collections and Archives over several years.

Additionally, the department houses the
d. a. levy collection of Carol Jedlinsky that includes a large number of levy poetry manuscripts, as well as prose and play manuscripts by levy.

Some books and other published materials have been separated from the archival collection and are cataloged in
KentLINK as noted in the detailed description section below.

Subject Headings

The following subjects are found in this collection:

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Custodial History

"Material in this collection comes from three sources--1. items from d.a. levy's apartment, collected by his brother, James after d.a.'s death; 2. the collection of James Levey and his wife Charlene; and, 3. the collection of d.a.'s parents, Joseph J. and Carolyn Levey. These three collections were later united by levy's niece, Sandy (via inheritance) who then left it to her brother, Jim Levey...." (from the Maser catalog, page i)

Preferred Citation

d.a. levy and family archive. Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from the James Levey family through Jeff Maser, Bookseller in November 2009.

Processing Information

This collection was organized for sale by Jeff Maser, Bookseller. Special Collections and Archives has maintained Maser's arrangement and descriptions of materials in this archive, in most cases. There are some items present in the collection that are not listed in the Maser catalog, which will be noted, when applicable.

Other Finding Aid

A highly detailed printed catalog of The d.a. levy & Family Archive by Jeff Maser, Bookseller, is available in Special Collections and Archives and is referenced throughout this finding aid. The Maser catalog includes more detailed descriptions of many of the items in this collection.

Bibliography

Detailed Description of The Collection