Poet, artist, publisher, d.a. levy was a major literary and underground figure in Cleveland's emerging poetry and small and alternative press scene in the early 1960s and continued to be until his untimely death in 1968. Levy documented his love-hate relationship with the city and the politics of the day through his poetry and art work which today gives a unique political & social perspective of Cleveland during the 1960s.

As the self-publishing & mimeo revolution of the era unfolded, levy published works of other poets, including Clevelanders Russell Salamon, Kent Taylor, Russell Atkins and Grace Butcher through his Renegade Press and later Seven Flowers Press publications. Levy created and published some of Cleveland's original alternative press publications; the Buddhist Third Class Junkmail Oracle and Marrahwana Quarterly often distributing them on the streets of Cleveland. He challenged the notion of free speech when he was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 1966 at a poetry reading in which juveniles read work that was deemed obscene. It was shortly after pleading no contest to a similar charge in another case later in 1968 that levy tragically took his own life at the young age of 26.

Although levy created an enormous amount of poetry and artwork in his young life, fewer and fewer of his original materials are in circulation today. Sadly before his death, levy destroyed much of his remaining pieces and gave the rest away to friends.

Dr. Wagner, a fellow poet and friend of levy's, wrote that levy“carries Cleveland around in his shirt pocket like some small clawed animal. And he loves it.” Too often, though, that love was not returned. In levy's own words:

In the same poem, levy also said“cleveland - there are parts of me/you will not understand/for centuries.” In some ways the world of 1968 seems centuries removed from the world we now inhabit. Perhaps it is not too soon to hope that the understanding can begin today.

The University Library has made a concerted effort to bring Clevelander d.a. levy's work home by locating and acquiring what it can for archival preservation and public access purposes. With the advent of the World Wide Web, there is no reason it need only be confined to archival boxes in the backroom of the Library anymore. We can now "cover the world" with his lines via the web, and most importantly, reduce further deterioration of the print originals.

This website was designed to serve as a portal to information on and about d.a. levy. Not only are poetry, artwork, photographs on in digital format and on display, but important newspaper accounts, additional references and links to available materials, including bibliographies of his work that were created by fellow poets and friends.

Users can now browse levy’s work freely, page by page, from anywhere in the world.