Henry Martin: An Active Ear
Selected Writings, Conversations and Correspondences

Henry Martin: An Active Ear is the first publication dedicated to the work of African American writer, critic, translator, and curator Henry Martin (Philadelphia, USA 1942 – Bolzano, Italy 2022). Edited and introduced by Emanuele Guidi, the book presents itself as a research project exploring Martin’s contribution to cultural and artistic contexts in Italy, Europe, and the United States. Through a selection of published and unpublished articles, essays, conversations, personal correspondence, and photographs spanning from the early 1960s to his recent passing, the volume maps the relationships and experiences in which Martin was actively involved.

Gathered primarily from his private archive in Bolzano and the Archiv der Avantgarden – Egidio Marzona in Dresden, these documents bear witness to Martin’s ongoing dialogue with artists and intellectuals, as well as his unique role as a key interlocutor for various radical artistic movements, including Fluxus, Mail Art, Concrete Poetry, Arte Povera, Nouveau Réalisme, and Conceptual Art.

Newly commissioned essays examine Henry Martin’s position by exploring his friendships and collaborations, his work as a translator, and his decision to leave the main cultural centers behind to relocate to the Italian Alps in 1971. These essays highlight his active role as a writer in solidarity with artists, while also offering a contemporary reading of his life and work at the intersection of environmental thinking and “sustainable” working practices. As poet and translator Allison Grimaldi Donahue writes in her essay: “Henry Martin is a character straight out of a Borges story. He is the writer of scenes that come to life; he is always present but rarely visible.”

The project is made possible thanks to the support of the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture, as part of the Italian Council (12th edition, 2023), the international program promoting Italian contemporary art.