David Baptiste Chirot wrote:
> Friend Reed:
>
> I don't know where to find the booklet of repros you mention--
>
> I knew A.M somewhat back in the late Seventies-mid-80s as he was a
> fixture in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. He was often to be found at
I spent some time in Cambridge Mass., too (not living there but visiting
there from Maine almost every weekend for quite a stretch. The place I
visited was on Mission Hill. Always liked Cambridge. I'm sure I heard that
A.M. Fine spent a lot of time in Portland Maine too. The artist Carlo Pittore
knew him and I remember Carlo mentioning him back then. Carlo had a great
deal of respect for him.
>
> I was ignorant of mail art, so mostly talked to him about what I
> did as he asked a lot of questions. I made "Leisure Books" which were
> "xollage"--xeroxed collage books of four pages. I lived for a while in an
>
"xollage" that's a new one! I've heard "xerolage" used before (the name of
Xexoxial Endarchy's long running magazine of copy art/visual poetry/page art
etc.
> from the streets. I also followed religiously all the trash night routes
> to collect things from dumpsters or that were laid out on street. In the
> Cambridge area this often producd amazing finds.
Ah! The dumpster diving years are the best years, IMHO!
> though on a number of occaisions he would give me what
> I no
> know of as mail art calls--and tell me to send something to the places
> named. I did to a few, when I could sustain any such effort.
> I am not sure what happened to him.
He died. A few years ago (1990, 91?) very soon after I began with mail art
myself.
Thanks for the personal testimonial.... very entertaining.
Reed
