Box 12 contains the files for two magazines that Stephen Morrissey edited and published, what is and The Montreal Journal of Poetics, between 1973-1985. There is one file of preliminary notes for what is, followed by fifteen files of back issues of what is arranged chronologically (1973-1976). There is a complete run of the magazine. Ten files are included for The Montreal Journal of Poetics (later called MJP), which constitutes a complete run of this magazine (1978 - 1985). These files contain original photo-ready copies of the magazine, also included are duplicate back issues of the magazine. Both what is and The Montreal Journal of Poetics were mailed without cost to those people receiving the magazine. Several issues of what is consisted of only one legal size page. The Montreal Journal of Poetics was photocopied on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.

Box 13 contains copies of several important Montreal periodicals from the 1960s to 1980s. Most of these literary magazines were produced on a limited budget, but there is a democratic spirit and openness to new writers in the magazines.

Includes Morrissey’s earliest poems; juvenilia; the manuscript for Morrissey’s first publication, a chapbook entitled Poems of a Period (Montreal, 1971); other early unpublished manuscripts. A copy of Poems of a Period is enclosed.

Drafts and completed poems written between 1970 to 1978; manuscripts show Morrissey’s interest in concrete and sound poetry and emphasis on experimental writing.

Includes rough drafts of poems, including the manuscript for The Trees of Unknowing (Montreal, Vehicule Press, 1978). Photocopies of reviews of The Trees of Unknowing; invitations to the book launch at Powerhouse Gallery in Montreal; and photocopies of letters from Robert Creeley, Northrop Frye, F.R. Scott, John Newlove, and other writers regarding The Trees of Unknowing are also included. Also included are other original manuscripts by the author. A copy of The Trees of Unknowing is included.

Contains original copies of poems including working copies of the manuscript for Divisions (Toronto, Coach House Press, 1983). A limited edition chapbook of Divisions (1978) published by Sunken Forum Press is also included.

Contains 23 mostly spiral-bound notebooks dated 1979 - 1986. Also, five notebooks with drafts of poems, notes, and crayon drawings and collages from a Canada Council "B" Grant sponsored visit to Mexico from October to December 1984. Includes first drafts of poems published in Family Album (Vancouver, Caitlin Press, 1989) and drafts of book reviews by Stephen Morrissey.
A copy of Divisions is included.

Contains nine “packages” of manuscripts; each “package” is approximately two inches thick. Included are unpublished manuscripts, rough drafts of poems dating from 1984 to 1988, and the manuscript for Family Album (Vancouver, Caitlin Press, 1989).
An unpublished manuscript entitled Meetings With RR, a biography of R.R. Skinner, an English healer and spiritual teacher and friend of Morrissey’s for twenty-five year, is included. Also, included are numerous drafts of book reviews published in Poetry Canada Review, Canadian Literature, The Antigonish Review, and other periodicals.

Contains three packages of manuscripts, loose manuscript pages, as well as thirteen notebooks. There are first drafts of poems including manuscript work on poems for Family Album (Vancouver, Caitlin Press, 1989) and drafts of book reviews and articles on poetry.
A copy of Family Album is enclosed.

Contains five packages of manuscripts as well as loose unbound pages of manuscripts. First and subsequent drafts of poems and manuscript work for The Compass (Montreal, Empyreal Press, 1993). Also, drafts of book reviews and articles on poetics are included.
A copy of The Compass is included.