A Selectively Exhaustive Bibliography of Published Materials About
Robert Lax
Compiled by Paul J. Spaeth
[revised 2/06]

 

Books, Articles, Theses

Emil Antonucci. “A Journey with Robert Lax” in Robert Lax (Museum Tinguely) 2004.  (177-178)

Emil Antonucci. “A Note on Working with Robert Lax” in Voyages: Robert Lax Special Issue 2:1/2
(Winter/Spring 1968) 100. [reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 187]

Stephen Bann. “Concrete Poetry and the Recent Work of Robert Lax” in Voyages: Robert Lax Special
 Issue 2:1/2 (Winter/Spring 1968) 80-81. [reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 64-65]

Vincent Barras. “The First Production of Black/white Oratorio” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 225-226.

Vincent Barras. “Two Meetings with Robert Lax” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 221.

John Beer. “Notes on Black/White Orartorio” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 223-224.

Arthur W. Biddle. “An Interview with Robert Lax” in When Prophecy Still Had a Voice: The Letters of
Thomas Merton and Robert Lax. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2000. (421-440)

Irene Bourquin. “Robert Lax – eigenwilliger Lyriker und Philosoph” in Zeichen und Werte 274 (11/25/95) 25-26.

Henri Chopin. “Fabulous Independents” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 114-115.

Thomas A. Clark. “Words and Stones, Eloquence and Astonishment” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 106-111.

Contemporary Authors: 25-28R (1977) 415-416, 11NRS (1984) 321, 27NRS (1989) 288-290, 115NRS (2003) 272-275.

Francesco Conz. “Impressions of Robert Lax … [Letter to Nicholas Zurbrugg]” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 212–218.

Cid Corman. “The Work of …” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 112-113.

John Deedy. “News and Reviews: Robert Lax” in Commonweal 105:5 (March 3, 1978) 130.
[reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 184-186]

Alexander Eliot. “A Fax Re: Robert Lax” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 204-206.

Judith Emery. “Robert Lax Bibliography” in Robert Lax. Archive Sohm, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, 1985.
([13-21, 24-25, 28-29])
 
Nancy Flagg. “The Beats in the Jungle” in Art International 21 [special supplementary number] (Sept. 1977)
56-59. [reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 191-200]

Nancy Flagg. “Reinhardt Revisiting” in Art International 22:2 (February 1978) 54-57.

Peter France. “A Hermit for Our Time: Robert Lax on Patmos” in Hermits: The Insights of Solitude. New York:
St. Martin’s Press, 1996. (192-212)

Robert Garlitz. “Archival Visits with Robert Lax” in Robert Lax: Speaking into Silence, 2001. (7-36)

Steve Theodore Georgiou. Sea and Sky: Robert Lax and the Spiritual Dimensions of Minimalism Thesis (Ph.D.).
—Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, 2004.

Steve Theodore Georgiou. The Way of the Dreamcatcher: Spirit Lessons with Robert Lax: Poet, Peacemaker, Sage.
Ottawa: Novalis, 2002. [interviews]

Michael Gibbs. “Words in Art are Words … Poetry in Art is Poetry:Robert Lax and Lawrence Weiner” in ABCs of
Robert Lax (1999) 158-161.

Eugen Gomringer. “Homage to Robert Lax” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 222.

Patrick Hart. “Forword” A Catch of Anti-Letters / Thomas Merton & Robert Lax. Kansas ity: Sheed, Andrews &
McMeel, 1978. (v-viii) [reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 227-230.

Patrick Hart. Patmos Journal: In Search of Thomas Merton with Robert Lax. Westerly, RI: Ring Tarigh, 1996.

Sigrid Hauff. “Crucial Moments: From an Interview with Robert Lax … on Patmos, September, 1999” in Robert Lax
(Museum Tinguely) 2004. (155-175).

Sigrid Hauff. A Line in Three Circles: The Inner Biography of Robert Lax. Munich: Belleville Verlag, 1999.
[contains an extensive bibliography].

Sigrid Hauff. “Von der Macht einfacher Worter: Ein Eremit auf Patmos: zum 80. Geburstag des Dichters Robert
Lax” in SZ am Wochenende 272 (11/26/95) 2.

Michael W. Higgins & J. S. Porter. “Writing for Writing’s Sake: An Interview with Paul Spaeth” in The Merton
Seasonal 26:1 (Spring 2001) 15-19.

Matthew Hoehn. “Robert Lax 1915-        ” in Catholic Authors: Contemporary Biographical Sketches / ed.
Matthew Hoehn. Newark, NJ: St. Mary’s Abbey, 1952. (298-300)

Susan Howe. “The End of Art” in Archives of American Art Journal 14:4 (1974) 2-7. [reprinted in ABCs
of Robert Lax (1999) 80-91]

Thomas Kellein. “Eine Einfuhrung in das Werk von Robert Lax” in Robert Lax. Archive Sohm, Staatsgalerie
Stuttgart, 1985. ([4-11])

Jack Kelly. “Robert Lax – Coming Home” in The Merton Seasonal 26:1 (Spring 2001) 3-6. [Reprinted in:
Robert Lax (Museum Tinguely) 2004. (139-150)]

Jack & Marcia Kelly. “Conversation with Robert Lax” in Merton Seasonal 16:3 (1991) 4-9.

R. C. Kenedy. “Robert Lax” in Art International 15:1 (1971) 62-65, 68. [reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 66-79]

Richard Kostelanetz. “Robert Lax: Neglected Minimalist” in American Book Review 21:3 (March-April 2000) 24.

Michael Lastnite. “Excerpts from Interviews for ‘Robert Lax: Word & Image’” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 41-45.

Denise Levertov. “On Robert Lax’s Circus of the Sun” in Voyages: Robert Lax Special Issue 2:1/2
(Winter/Spring 1968) 93-94.

Morgan McFinn. “Sublime, No Rhyme” “Ah, Poets” in Out of the Loop: Scenes from Samui and Other Seascapes.
 Bangkok: Asia Books, 2000. (119-134)

Michael McGregor. “Turning the Jungle into a Garden: A Visit with Robert Lax” in Poets and Writers Magazine
(March/April 1997) 78-87.

David Miller. “The End of the Kingdom of Necessity, Servitude and Inertia: An Essay on the Poetry of Robert Lax”
 in “white dark, black dark …” / Robert Lax. Edinburgh: Morning Star Publications, 1991.

David Miller. “The Poetry of Robert Lax: An Introduction” in Lugano Review (1975/2) 46-48.

David Miller. “Robert Lax: Some (Other) Thoughts on Recent Work” in Poetry Information 16 (June 1976).
[reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 92-95]

David Miller. “Robert Lax’s 21 Pages” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 96-102.

Julian Mitchell. “American Sublime” in Modern Painters (Spring 1998) 50-53.

Julian Mitchell. “The Poet of Patmos” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 207-211.

Julian Mitchell. “A Sort of Bliss. Robert Lax: Poems to Be Seen” in Modern Painters

Jeannine [Thyreen] Mizingou. “’Bringing the Earth to Flower’: A Tribute to Robert Lax 1915-2000; Poet,
Pilgrim, Prophet” in The Merton Annual 15 (2002) 23-60.

Jeannine [Thyreen] Mizingou. “Grace and Ethics in Contemporary American Poetry: Resituating the Other, the
 World, and the Self” in Religion and Literature 32:1 (Spring 2000) 67-97.

Jeannine [Thyreen] Mizingou. A Religious Poetics in Contemporary American Poetry: Resituating Notions of God,
 the Other, the World and the Self in the Christian Faith / Thesis (Ph.D.).—Duquesne University, 2001. [large section on Lax]

Jeannine [Thyreen] Mizingou. “Robert Lax [1915-2000]: The Circus of the Sun” in Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature /|
ed. Mary R. Reichardt. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. (2:412-421)

Jeannine [Thyreen] Mizingou. “Robert Lax: Poet, Pilgrim, Prophet” in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought ad Culture 4:1
 (Winter 2001) 98-113.

Werner Morlong. “The Voice of One’s Inner Dialogue” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 103-105.

William Packard. “Craft Interview with Robert Lax” in New York Quarterly 30 (1986) 29-31. [reprinted in ABCs
of Robert Lax (1999) 15-26]

Mary Ellen Solt. “Robert Lax and Concrete Poetry” in Robert Lax and Concrete Poetry. Buffalo: Burchfield Art Center,
1990. (6-19) [reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 132-157]
 
Paul J. Spaeth. [Introduction] Circus Days & Nights / Robert Lax. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 2000. (11-22)

Paul J. Spaeth. [Introduction] A Thing That Is. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 1997.

Paul J. Spaeth. “Robert Lax and the City: An Uneasy Relationship” in Robert Lax (Museum Tinguely) 2004. (181-192)

Paul J. Spaeth. “The Road to Simplicity Followed by Merton’s Friends: Ad Reinhardt and Robert Lax” in The Merton
Annual 13 (2000) 245-256.

Paul J. Spaeth. “Robert Lax: An Overview of His Life and Work” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 117-131.

James Uebbing. “A Visit with Robert Lax ‘38” in Columbia College Today 26:1 (September 1999) 20-24.

James Uebbing. “The Poet Who Fell off the Map: Robert Lax on the Island of Patmos” in Commonweal 123:8
(April 19, 1996) 13-17 [also as introduction to Love Had a Compass / Robert Lax. New York: Grove, 1996. (ix-xviii)]

Gerhard Van den Bergh. “Uber Robert Lax = On Robert Lax” in On and By Robert Lax. Zurich: Pendo Verlag, 1995.
 (19-28, 38-47)

Gerhard Van den Bergh. “Reiche Minimal-Poesie: Der amerikanische Lyriker Robert Lax” in Neue Zurcher Zeitung 249
(10/26-27/91) 66.

C. K. Williams. “Introduction to Some Poems by Lax” in American Poetry Review 3:1 (1974) 14. [reprinted in ABCs of
Robert Lax (1999) 183]

Emmett Williams. “Echoes of Classicism in a New Form” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 219-220.

Nicholas Zurbrugg. “Aspiring to the Condition of Music: Robert Lax Interviewed … Luzern – 2nd April, 1989” in Robert
Lax: Speaking into Silence, 2001. (37-47)

Nicholas Zurbrugg. “Interview with Robert Lax … Patmos – 13th January, 1985” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 27-39.

Nicholas Zurbrugg. “’A little like movie film’: Robert Lax and Vertical Poetics” in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 164-176.


Short Notices

Richard Avedon. [Photograph of Robert Lax] in Egoiste 12 (1992) 140-141.

Stephen Dwoskin. Film Is: The International Free Cinema. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 1975. (163-164)
[reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 188]

Monica Furlong. Merton: A Biography. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980. (many references)

Richard Gilman. Faith, Sex, Mystery: A Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986. (145-146, 173).
[an associate editor at Jubilee, 1955-1959]

Allen Ginsberg. “Dream – July 11, 1954” in Journals: Early Fifties, Early Sixties / ed. Gordon Ball. New York:
Grove, 1977. (78-79)

Jonathan Greene. On the Banks of Monks Pond: The Thomas Merton/Jonathan Greene Correspondence. Frankfort, KY:
Broadstone Books, 2004. (a number of references & a photo)

Jack Kerouac. Selected Letters, 1940-1956. New York: Viking, 1995. (444, 446-448, 491)

Jack Kerouac. Selected Letters, 1957-1969. New York: Viking, 1999. (115, 148, 175, 280, 281)

Jack Kerouac, Joyce Johnson. Door Open Wide: A Beat Love Affair in Letters, 1957-1958. New York: Viking, 2000. (116, 151)

Richard Kostelanetz. “The Sounds of Slence: The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton” in The New York Times Book
Review (2/5/78) 20. [excerpt reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 183]

John Levy. “We Don’t Kill Snakes Where We Come From”: Two Years in a Greek Village. El Paso, TX: Querencia Books,
1994. [excerpt reprinted in ABCs of Robert Lax (1999) 201-202]

Thomas Merton. Journals [v. 1-7] HarperSanFrancisco, 1995-1998. (many references, as with earlier published versions
of these journals)

Thomas Merton. The Seven Storey Mountain. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1948. (many references)

Michael Mott. The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1984. (many references)

Gerald Nicosia. Memory Babe: A Critical Biography of Jack Kerouac. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. (464, 583)

Henri Nouwen. Pray to Live. Thomas Merton: Contemplative Critic. Notre Dame, IN: Fides, 1972. (30-33)

Edward Rice. The Man in the Sycamore Tree: The Good Times and Hard Life of Thomas Merton. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1970. (many references)

Wilfrid Sheed. “The Beat Movement, Concluded” in The New York Times Book Review (2/13/72) 2, 32.

Wilfrid Sheed. Frank and Maisie: A Memoir with Parents. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985. (268-270)

Layle Silbert. [Photograph of Robert Lax] in New York Quarterly 17 (1975) 90.

Mary Ellen Solt. Concrete Poetry: A World View. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1968. (50, 303)

Mark Van Doren. Autobiography. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1958. (many references) [excerpt reprinted in ABCs
of Robert Lax (1999) 190]

Mark Van Doren. Selected Letters / ed. George Hendrick. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1987. (many references)

Nicholas Zurbrugg. “Poetic Revolution, Poetic Evolution, and Editions Francesco Conz” in Konkrete Poesie
Konzept Kunst. Kunstverein Rosenheim, 1997. (48-57)
[exhibition publication, Lax mentioned 50-52 & a bio at end of volume]

Nicholas Zurbrugg. “Towards the End of the Line: Dada and Experimental Poetry Today” in Dada Spectrum: The
Dialectics of Revolt / ed. Stephen C. Foster & Rudolf E. Kuenzli. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1978. (240-241)

Nicholas Zurbrugg. Visual Poetics: Concrete Poetry and Its Contexts. An Exhibition. Brisbane: Museum of Contemporary
Art, 1988. (cover, 34-35)


Anthologies & Periodical Collections
(arranged by date of publication)

Robert Lax Special Issue / ed. William Claire. Voyages 2:1/2 (Winter / Spring 1968)

Robert Lax and Concrete Poetry. Buffalo, NY: Burchfield Art Center, 1990
[a catalogue published in conjunction with an exhibition 12/1/90-1/20/91]

The ABCs of Robert Lax / ed. David Miller & Nicholas Zurbrugg. Exeter, Devon, Eng.: Stride Publications, 1999.

[Robert Lax Special Issue] / ed. Patrick F. O’Connell. The Merton Seasonal 26:1 (Spring 2001).

Robert Lax: Speaking into Silence / Robert Garlitz, Nicholas Zurbrugg, Robert Lax, Rupert Loydell. Exeter, Devon, Eng.:
Stride Publications, 2001.

Robert Lax. Basel: Museum Tinguely, Bentelli Verlag, 2005.
[a catalogue published in conjunction with the exhibition “Three Islands: Richard Stankiewicz, June Leaf, Robert Lax” at
Museum Tinguely 9/19/04-1/16/05]


Obituaries

Columbia College Today 27:2 (Dec. 2000) 41-42 [Tim Cross]
Contemporary Authors 189NRS (2001)
National Catholic Reporter 10/20/00
New York Times 10/24/00 [Eric Pace]
Olean Times Herald 9/28/00 [Paul J. Spaeth]

 

 

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