Wormwood Review 7 #100/700 -- Charles Bukowski’s First Appearance, Handsomely Decorated Copy (1962)

Published in 1962, Wormwood Review 7 was the first issue Charles Bukowski appeared in. Over the next 34 years, Bukowski would appear in 97 issues of Wormwood Review, contributing hundreds of poems, many of which were never published in books.

Many (if not most) of the copies of Wormwood 7 were hand-colored by editor Marvin Malone and his children. In that way, each decorated copy is one-of-a-kind.

This is an excellent specimen of a decorated copy. It is hand-colored in vibrant yellow and gold, with a bit of red inside the ovals. A blue border also surrounds the edges of this copy.

This copy is hand-numbered #100 out of 500 copies and is in Near Fine condition with tiny bumps to the oversized covers.

In this issue, Bukowski’s contribution was Thank God For Alleys, a poem that would later appear in Cold Dogs in the Courtyard (1965), A Bukowski Sampler (1969) and The Roominghouse Madrigals (1988).

Wormwood Review was published by the legendary Marvin Malone (1930-1996). Malone was a pharmacologist, scientific researcher, educator, artist, poetry collector, and editor. Upon arrival to Storrs, Connecticut in 1960, Malone discovered the second issue of Wormwood Review and soon took over the publication as the sole editor, publisher, and designer (alias A. Sypher), producing quarterly issues until his death in 1996.

Wormwood Review ran for 144 issues (1959-1997). Christa Malone, Marvin's daughter, co-edited issue 144 after Marvin's death, and released issue 145/146 as a special tribute issue to Marvin in 1999.

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