About Boss Magazine

The cover of the second issue of the magazine, photograph by Paul Hyman.

One of the many poems featured in the magazine on a yearly basis, "Poem for #238" by John Wieners.

An illustration done in ink by Nell Blaine of Saint Lucia. 

     Boss Magazine was an independent magazine published from 1966 to 1967 by Reginald Gay through Acadia Press. It ran for two issues from the summer of 1966 to the spring of 1967. The issues themselves were printed on very cheap paper without color or proper formatting as were most independent publications of the era. 

     The contents of each issue all have a wraparound photograph as a cover, with no text on the outside. The bulk of each issue is made up of poetry of various types, ranging from sonnets to experimental blank verse. Photography and illustrations are also commonplace, arranged alongside the poems in a non-structured, chaotic manner. 

     Boss was one of the many hundreds of magazines or "fanzines" to be producedduring the 1960's. These publications typically saw a limited circulation, limited by the amount of money the publishers had to spare for distribution. They provide a unique way of looking into the mindset of the hippie and beat subcultures through a medium that is rarely seen today.