Barry Miles papers, 1958-1990, bulk 1965-1997
Collection context
- Creator:
- Miles, Barry, 1943-, Ferlinghetti, Lawrence, Patten, Brian, 1946-, Malanga, Gerard, McClure, Michael, Burroughs, William S., 1914-1997, Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997, and Brautigan, Richard C.
- Abstract:
- The Barry Miles Papers contains correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and printed materials concerned with Miles' literary activities in the London counterculture. Included are letters and manuscripts from William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, among numerous others. This collection also includes material used by Miles in the research and writing of his work Ginsberg: A Biography as well as from his editorship of the annotated edition of Ginsberg's Howl.
- Extent:
- 16 linear feet (38 boxes: 27 document boxes 10 cassette tape boxes 1 half document box)
- Language:
- Material is primarily in English with some French.
- Scope and content:
-
This collection is comprised of the correspondence and manuscripts (primarily of others) obtained by Miles in his capacity as a bookseller at Better Books and Indica Bookshop, little magazine publisher (The International Times,Longhair), and producer at Zapple Records from the mid-1960s through the 1990s. Also included is material compiled by Miles during the writing of Ginsberg: A Biography, and the annotated edition of Ginsberg's Howl, including multiple drafts of these writings.
The bulk of the correspondence pertains to Miles' publishing and bookselling efforts, much of it from counterculture poets and writers. William S Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg are the most voluminous of Mile's correspondents. Also included are many flyers and catalogues.
The manuscript holdings consist largely of poetry, although there are a number of prose works by William S Burroughs. There are also a large number of Ginsberg manuscripts.
The scholarly work of Miles himself are also found in this collection, primarily drafts and research materials for Ginsberg: A Biography, and the annotated edition of Howl. There are ten distinct versions of the former work, along with handwritten research notes, typed chronologies and itineraries, and duplicate Ginsberg correspondences and journals from university libraries and personal collections. Included are ten boxes of cassette tapes of Ginsberg readings, lectures, and interviews.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Barry Miles was born in 1943, in Cirencester, England. He studied art at Cheltenham College of Art before moving to London and qualifying as an art teacher.
Throughout the 1960s, Miles managed Better Books, a counterculture center located in London, at which he staged performances and poetry readings of American poets, helping to generate greater interest in American literary and arts movements within Britain.
After Better Books was sold in 1965, and Miles, together with art critic John Dunbar and musician Peter Asher, founded MAD Ltd. With the financial support of Paul McCartney, they opened Indica Bookshop and Art Gallery in 1966, which continued to host experimental poetry readings and avant-garde art shows. Miles remained owner/manager of Indica until it closed in 1970.
Also around this time, Miles founded and edited a number of little magazines, including Trees and The Long Hair Times (also, sometimes, just Long Hair), magazines that specialized in publishing Beat poetry and other avant-garde and experimental literature from the US and UK. The latter magazine was the direct forerunner of the underground newspaper The International Times (later just IT), founded in 1966 by Miles, John "Hoppy" Hopkins, and Jim Haynes.
Miles became manager of Zapple Records in 1968, a subsidiary of the Beatles' Apple Records, which was intended as an outlet for spoken word and avant-garde records. Only two records were released before Zapple folded in 1969.
Living in New York for much of the 1970s, Miles worked for Allen Ginsberg catalogueing his tape archives and writing for New Musical Express. He later returned to London to edit Time Out.
Since the 1970s, Miles has worked as a writer and biographer, and in 1989 he published the first complete biography of Allen Ginsberg. He has also written biographies of Paul McCartney, Frank Zappa, William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, and Charles Bukowski, and the band Pink Floyd, as well as editing annotated editions of Ginsberg's Howl and Burroughs' Naked Lunch. He has written extensively on the Sixties counterculture, publishing the book Hippie and an essay in I Want to Take You Higher: The Psychedelic Era, 1965-1969.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Box five is located onsite. The remainder of the collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
- Terms of access:
-
Reader must use microfilm of materials specified above.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
- Preferred citation:
-
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Barry Miles Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
- Location of this collection:
- Before you visit:
- Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
- Contact:
- rbml@library.columbia.edu