Artwork: 2012.4.2
Poetry Crown
circa 1986
Carved and painted wood
North Carolina born, self-taught artist James Harold Jennings made the Jargon Society sign and Poetry Crown for Jonathan Williams' Jargon Society. Jennings referred to himself as the “sun, moon, and star artist” and is known for his whirligigs and brightly colored signs and animal motifs.
Williams founded the Jargon Society in 1951 in a San Francisco Chinese restaurant. Jargon 1 was a folded pamphlet with a poem by Williams (Garbage Litters the Iron Face of the Sun’s Child) and an etching by David Ruff. Just 50 copies were produced. Jargon 2, The Dancer, consisted of a poem by Joel Oppenheimer and a drawing by Robert Rauschenberg. Jonathan Williams published it at Black Mountain College soon after his arrival there in the summer of 1951. Other Jargon publications included The Maximus Poems by Charles Olson, White Trash Cooking by Ernest Matthew Mickler, and many, many books of poetry.
Williams founded the Jargon Society in 1951 in a San Francisco Chinese restaurant. Jargon 1 was a folded pamphlet with a poem by Williams (Garbage Litters the Iron Face of the Sun’s Child) and an etching by David Ruff. Just 50 copies were produced. Jargon 2, The Dancer, consisted of a poem by Joel Oppenheimer and a drawing by Robert Rauschenberg. Jonathan Williams published it at Black Mountain College soon after his arrival there in the summer of 1951. Other Jargon publications included The Maximus Poems by Charles Olson, White Trash Cooking by Ernest Matthew Mickler, and many, many books of poetry.
6 inches x 9.5 inches
Gift of the Estate of Jonathan Williams and Thomas Meyer
James Harold Jennings, Poetry Crown, circa 1986. Carved and painted wood. Collection of Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. Gift of the Estate of Jonathan Williams and Thomas Meyer.