May, James Boyer

Biographical Note

James Boyer May,(December 30,1904 - February 21,1981), was a minor poet, essayist and a publisher. He ran the small but influential literary magazine Trace from 1952 through 1970 in Los Angeles. Trace printed listings of small press activities connecting Alan Swallow of Denver to Len Fulton's Dustbooks in Northern California. May recollected, " Trace was called a 'Bridge' by various people - and it was - between people in many parts of the world... It's my belief, and I think it could be documented, that we had an influence on the language itself."

The friendship between May and Kenneth Patchen began with a strong review in Trace of Patchen's newly issued works Hurrah for Anything, and When We Were Here Together (1957), and continued throughout the 1960's. May appeared to Patchen as a possible source of help in his efforts to obtain financial support from the literary community. Sadly, the letters in this archive are a chronicle of his failure.

From the guide to the James Boyer May correspondence, 1956-1972, (bulk 1956-1965), (University of California, Santa Cruz. University Library. Special Collections and Archives)