Contempo: A Review of Books and Personalities
Contempo, A Review of Books and Personalities, was a "literary and social commentary" published by Milton A. Abernethy and Anthony Buttitta at Chapel Hill, North Carolina from 1931 to 1934. Though less well-known than some of its contemporaries, "Contempo" fits into the tradition of the "Little Magazine," a group of elite literary magazines pervasive in the first decades of the twentieth century. Ideology. The Little Magazines, "Contempo" included, were influential in the popularization of modernism, both as it influenced literary and visual arts. They were often sympathetic to leftist social ideologies such  as anarchism, communism and socialism. The publication's original subtitle, "A Review of Ideas and Personalites," reflects the editors' interest in political as well as literary ideas. Appropriately, then, "Contempo" incorporated a wide variety of genres in its format, including book reviews, literary and political essays, prose, poetry, short stories, and works in progress. The editors of "Contempo" aimed to "carry on the pioneering spirit of Margaret Anderson's "The Little Review"" by identifying and publishing emerging creative writers "Contempo" sought to be a publication where authors could freely publish their own work, as well as critique other authors and  respond to criticisms. Abernethy stated the magazine’s policy as: (1) complete freedom from all cliques whatsoever, (2) asylum for aggrieved authors, (3) encouraging literary controversy, and (4) the rapid reception of new ideas." To this end, the magazine included "author-review," a novel format which allowed writers to pronounce upon their own work. It was this feature which made the magazine so attractive to many writers, despite the lack of remuneration for their work. ("Contempo", like most other Little Mags, was a non-commercial venture and its contributors received no compensation.) History. The idea for "Contempo" originated with five  college classmates at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Milton Avant Abernethy, Anthony J. Buttitta, Shirley Carter, Phil Liskin, and Vincent Garoffolo. These five were students of Pulitzer Prize winner, Paul Eliot Green, author of "In Abraham's Bosom". The first issue of "Contempo" was produced by these five out of a college dorm room in May 1931. The "Daily Tar Heel", the student paper, announced that, '"in conjunction with the magazine, the editors are operating... the "Intimate Bookshop" in one of the dormitory rooms"' The next month, the Bookshop moved to Franklin Street, an '"attractive and central  location... where any cautious co-eds may now join the booklovers on their daily pilgrimage."' The original five editors did not stay affiliated for long: two left Chapel Hill, Shirley Carter for Washington and Philip Liskin for Russia. Vincent Garoffolo remained in Chapel Hill, but transitioned from editor to poet: "the 21 August issue, one of the last to list Garoffolo as editor, noted that he had just completed a volume of experimental verse entitled "Halted Tears". Abernethy and Buttitta settled in as dual editors by November 1931, but they worked to collect a prestigious list of critics as collaborators  (see listing below). Ezra Pound, who was foreign editors to several other little magazines, was originally listed as a contributing editor, but requested in a letter marked 20 December 1932 that his name be removed from the list of contributing editors, saying that "There always has been a great deal in Contempo that I do not stand for, and if it is to pay its way, there will probably be more. So please leave my name OFF the list of edtrs. Pound's request was granted when the list of contributing editors was dropped altogether from the publication, starting with  the 21 February issue. The first volume of "Contempo" was experimental, spirited, and, as a letter to the editors from Louis Untermeyer noted, somewhat indiscriminate and vague in tone. The publication began to achieve some cohesion by centering its efforts around special issues. For example, two issues were devoted to the notorious Scottsboro boys trial, one in mid-July 1931, and one on 1 December 1931. Interest in "Contempo's" coverage of the trials drove demand for the publication up dramatically: the editors printed 6,500 copies for the December issue, as opposed to 1,500 in July. Langston Hughes provided poetry  and prose for the second issue, notably "Christ in Alabama" on the cover. Less controversial but equally significant was the special Faulkner issue of 1 February 1932. The issue featured nine of Faulkner's poems, his short story, "Once Aboard the Lugger," as well as advertisements for several of the writer's novels and praises for recently published Faulkner novels in the "Book Reviews" section. The Faulkner issue was the first of many issues which highlighted either a single author (as with the Bob Brown or Hart Crane issues), or regional schools of authors, as with the southern issue of  25 September 1932. The serialization of Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts, beginning in the 5 July 1932 issue was another important stage in the history of "Contempo". Not only did the magazine feature the novel, it also published an author-review as well as numerous favorable reviews by noted writers, including William Carlos Williams. Despite the growing popularity of "Contempo" in the literary community, relations between its two editors deteriorated rapidly, resulting in the end of their collaboration in the fall of 1932. Though the exact cause of the break between the two men is undocumented, "the correspondence files give  some evidence that friction resulted when Abernethy's wife, Minna, became editor in October 1932. Buttitta is last listed as editor in the 21 November 1932 issue, although Abernethy's editorial note clearly shows that the split between them had already occurred: "Mr. Buttitta's name appears among the editors in order to credit him for work done on this special issue of "Contempo". Page two of the 10 January 1933 issue baldly states: "The last five issues of "Contempo" (since July) have been financed and published by the editors listed above [Milton and Minna Abernethy] without the aid of  one of the former editors, Mr. A.J. Buttitta." After splitting with the Abernethys, Buttitta moved to Durham, North Carolina and, convinced that the rights to "Contempo" were his, began printing his own publication under that name. Abernethy hotly contested Buttitta's ownership of "Contempo", stating in the 10 January 1933 issue that "Any paper which Mr. Buttitta might publish, whether it bear the name "Contempo" or not, will in no way be connected with the original and authentic "Contempo", will not have access to the editorial materials sent to the original "Contempo" on the strength of the reputation it has  built for itself in the past two years, nor will it reach the regular subscribers of "Contempo"". Buttitta published two of his own issues of "Contempo" from Durham before he lost the legal rights to Abernethy. The dispute, which was very public, resulted in the implosion of both Abernethy and Buttitta's versions of the magazine. By 1934, the Abernethy's were making their exodus from editing, leaving the sole issue of "Contempo" in the hands of guest editor Stuart Gilbert. The Editors. Milton Avant Abernethy "Contempo" was edited by Milton “Ab” Abernethy, a "nonthreatening and generous Communist“. As a  19-year-old sophomore at NC State University, Abernethy published several contentious articles criticizing administrative policies. He was ultimately expelled for "disservice to the school". In January 1931, Abernethy transferred to Chapel Hill, where he met Anthony Buttitta. Together, they created the Intimate Bookshop as the home base for their new magazine, "Contempo". Plagued by financial difficulties, Abernethy took a job with the US Department of Agriculture in 1932. There he met and married Minna Krupsky. After Buttitta's departure from "Contempo", the couple co-edited the magazine. "Contempo" ceased publication in 1934, at which time the Abernethys "turned their  Chapel Hill bookstore...into a moneymaker." They eventually moved to New York where Abernethy became a successful stockbroker. Minna (Karp) Abernethy A Russian Immigrant to the United States, Minna Karp met Milton Abernethy in 1932 when he was working in the US Department of Agriculture. The two married, and after Buttitta's departure from Chapel Hill, the couple co-edited the magazine. Anthony J. Buttitta Buttitta was born in Monroe, Louisiana in 1907, the son of immigrants from Sicily. He published his first plays and stories in the later 1920s as an undergraduate at Louisiana State Normal College and the  University of Texas. Buttitta was an English graduate student at Chapel Hill when he met Milton Abernethy and co-founded "Contempo". Soon after the magazine’s inception, tensions grew between Abernethy and Buttitta. In 1932, Buttitta moved to Durham and opened his own Intimate Bookshop. He published two of his own issues of "Contempo" before losing the legal rights to Abernethy, after which time "Contempo" resumed its sole published location in Chapel Hill, edited by “Ab” and his wife, Minna K. Abernethy. Buttitta later moved to Asheville, where he associated with author F. Scott Fitzgerald, an experience he recorded in  his books, "After the Good Gay Times" and "The Lost Summer: a Personal Memoir of F. Scott Fitzgerald" The Contributors. Though short-lived, the magazine published many notable writers, including: ^Indicates that this person was listed as a contributing editor. Archival Holdings. "Contempo" Papers. Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, Austin Texas. “In addition to a [nearly] complete run of the magazine, Buttitta's collection of literary correspondence is held at the Ransom Center, as well as five hundred twenty-five submitted manuscripts and business papers for the magazine and bookshop.” "Contempo Records" #4408, 1930-1934. "The Southern Historical Collection" at  The Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library. U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "The Tony Buttitta Literary Archive." Thomas Cooper Library, University of SC. “The Buttitta archive in the University of South Carolina’s Department of Rare Books & Special Collections (MSS 2005:1) spans the whole of Tony Buttitta’s career. More than forty archival boxes of typescripts, papers, and memorabilia document, not only the breadth of his literary interests and his connections with other writers, but also the substantial nature of his own work and achievements.”