Seamus Cooney Black Sparrow Press Collection

This collection of Black Sparrow Press books, broadsides, manuscripts, and ephemera was purchased from Seamus Cooney, Professor of English at Western Michigan University. Professor Cooney was an editor for the Black Sparrow Press from 1969 until 2003 when the press shut down. Cooney primarily edited the works of Charles Bukowski and Charles Reznikoff.

The Black Sparrow Press was a small but distinguished Californian fine press started by John Martin in 1966 and lasted until 2003 when the press shut down. This collection includes of a variety of materials: the manuscripts from the works Professor Cooney edited, along with the proofs, corrections, and of course the final printed version of the book. Due to Cooney's long-standing relationship with the press, Special Collections has an almost complete archive of the press's published works from 1966 to 2003. Every title from the Black Sparrow Press was issued in four different states: a paper bound trade edition, a hard bound trade edition, a limited edition signed by the author and/or illustrator, and an edition hand bound with an original piece of artwork or poem in the hand of the author. WMU Special Collections holds one of every state of each title the Black Sparrow Press printed.

The books in this collection consist mainly of poetry and prose by writers such as Wanda Coleman, Edward Dorn, William Everson, John Fante, Robert Kelly, Lyn Lifshin, Eve Shelnutt, Janine Pommy Vega, John Yau, and Diane Wakoski.

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