The Artists Workshop Active Anthology

                                  will be the center of & the 1st raison d'etre for this magazine. What we are doing, here, in Detroit. WORK, our work, & the work of those artists in the national community of artists who feel close to what we are doing, here. A place for growth, for the exhibition of their growth, by both Workshop people & those not here who continue working & growing, wherever they are.

          this place is

          any place

          the writing is done.

                    (from George Tysh from Paris)

The sound of their singing, their Music. Our Music.

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The Artists workshop was founded in Detroit on November 1, 1964, & continues as a place for young Detroit artists to meet & work with one another, & to perform their art, publicly & privately. The energy that has gone into the Workshop has been entirely our own – we have had to manage houses, pay our collective bills, do our own advertising, promoting, money-raising, operating 7 houses, &c &c – while continuing our work, trying to keep food in our homes, going to jail, always working at keeping ourselves & the Workshop community of artists together, on all levels.

But the time & the energy – the work – spent, has been worth it. We are now in the process of acquiring our own jazz club, a facility which will provide more working & performing space for musicians, poets, graphic artists, film-makers, & playwrights in the workshop community. Since the Workshop itself burned down on Memorial Day 1965 we have one less building, & no indoor performing area; but the concerts & readings have moved out-of-doors for the summer, & we will be ready, with our new building, to return indoors in the fall.

We are also obtaining our own printing equipment & recording facilities & will be able then to produce our own printed magazine; printed books of poetry & prose; & high-quality tape recordings of our bands' music that will be available to a national audience.

We have come this far ourselves, using what pitiful material resources there have been at hand, to help ourselves. We will continue to do so. WORK, the magazine, will continue to offer our real work - our lifework - for all those who are interested. & it will be seen, here, the work, in this active anthology. Top

– John Sinclair in “The Artists Workshop Active Anthology” (WORK/1, Artists Workshop Press, Summer, Detroit, 1965) pg. 27.

Robin Eichele, George Tysh, Bill Hutton, John Sinclair, James Semark, Gary Johnston, Jessica Swain, Michael Ortner, Jerry Younkins, Ron English