General publications, 1983-2010, undated

Subseries I.A.1., General publications, contains materials related to Digby’s original publications which largely consist of original, found, and collage poetry published by The Feral Press, but also draft and publicity materials for some earlier works concerning his collage methodology, as well as art-books strictly featuring his collages. Predominantly consisting of drafts, proofs, layouts, and notes, nearly all of these works contain small-scale specimens of original Digby collages eventually used for publication.

Drafts, proofs, and notes for Digby’s Improvisations on Arthur Rimbaud’s "Le Bateau ivre" (The Drunken Boat) are included in this subseries. The work is an example of John Digby’s “improvisatory” method of translating poetry, a process he further explored while translating classical Chinese poems both individually and in collaboration with scholar Hong Ai Bai. A detailed description of this process is found in the following two subseries: I.A.2. Improvisations on Chinese poetry and I.A.3. In collaboration with Hong Ai Bai. Early items of significance in the first subseries include correspondence, proofs, and notes for Digby’s Incantations which was published by Stone House Press in 1983; publicity materials for The Arches, (significant materials related to The Arches can be found in the original collection, MSS 0569); two copies of Archival Collage: A Personal Example which offer insights into Digby’s collage methodology; a copy of Lines to a Dodo which was published by Digby’s Ragged Edge Press; and a print-out of a section of the now-defunct “johndigby.com” website mainly concerning Digby’s Osip Mandelstam collage series. More information on Incantations, The Arches, and Osip Mandelstam can be found in the original collection.