We continue our examination of Anton Romatka, who led a curious bohemian existence providing poetry, writing workshops, and calligraphy in Greenwich Village in the ’30s and ’40s. Here are the next four pages of his hand-lettered magazine Calligraphs, from 1935. They include one poem by Romatka, and an acrostic on his name by Richard Zeydel. A quick Googling reveals that the N.Y. Daily News called Zeydel the “unofficial poet laureate of New York’s transit system” (7/14/57). Further searches show that the others were also active: Gertrude Callaghan, for example, published several collections, including Witch Girl and Inheritance; Mario Speracio sold poems to the pulp magazine Love Story.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)