The Journal of Black Mountain College Studies

is a multidisciplinary open-access digital publication of the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC). The Journal seeks to host diverse works by writers and artists of varied backgrounds. We welcome academic articles, essays, reviews, poetry, images and forms of artistic expression.

Volume 13: Silence/Presence

Volume 13: Silence/Presence

Journal of Black Mountain College Studies Volume 13"There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, try as we may to make a silence, we cannot." –John Cage, from Silence: Lectures and Writings...

Volume 12: Expanding the Canon

Volume 12: Expanding the Canon

Journal of Black Mountain College Studies Volume 12Although small by design, Black Mountain College was boundless in many ways, and has long had an astonishing hold on the public mind. During its 24-year run as a liberal arts college with summer arts institutes, its...

Volume 10: Chance | Dance

Volume 10: Chance | Dance

Dancing. Always there was dancing at Black Mountain College, from the porch of the Blue Ridge Assembly to the dining room at Lake Eden. I was reminded of this by a postcard that recently arrived in my post office box. Polka dots were added to a photograph by Kenelm...

Volume 9: Archives and Histories

Volume 9: Archives and Histories

Welcome to the RE/START of the Journal of Black Mountain College Studies! We are very pleased to present this first volume in several years, re/suming our collective efforts to explore the college and its living heritage through scholarship, poetry, interview, memoir,...

Volume 8: Celebrating 50 Years of The Paper Snake

Volume 8: Celebrating 50 Years of The Paper Snake

Table of Contents This journal volume marks 50 years of The Paper Snake (1965) and "Something Else Entirely:Ray Johnson, Dick Higgins and the Making of The Paper Snake" Michael von Uchtrup, Guest EditorBMCS, Black Mountain College StudiesBlake Hobby, Executive...

Volume 7: BMC Writers

Volume 7: BMC Writers

Table of Contents BMCS, Black Mountain College StudiesBlake Hobby, Executive EditorAlessandro Porco, Associate EditorJacob Riley, Editorial Assistant March 2015 Ted Dreier, Jr., Interview by Erin Dickey and Alice Sebrell Black Mountain: Was It a Real College Or Did We...

Volume 6: Progressive Education, Graphic Design + Women on Craft

Volume 6: Progressive Education, Graphic Design + Women on Craft

Table of Contents Blake Hobby, Executive EditorAlessandro Porco, Associate Editor June 2014 Vera Baker Williams Interview by Connie Bostic Social Justice at BMC Before the Civil Rights Age: Desegregation, Racial Inclusion, and Racial Equality by Micah Wilkins The Life...

Volume 5: Buckminster Fuller

Volume 5: Buckminster Fuller

Table of Contents BMCS, Black Mountain College StudiesBlake Hobby, Executive EditorAlessandro Porco, Associate Editor June 2014 Claude Stoller Interview by Connie Bostic Buckminsterfullerene by Melissa Gwyn Biographical Sketch by Melissa Gwyn Interstellar dust and...

Volume 4: John Cage

Volume 4: John Cage

Table of Contents Rand Brandes & John Cheek, Guest Editors Blake Hobby, Executive EditorBrian Butler, Associate Editor April 2013 Introduction by Rand Brandes & John Cheek Blue With China Ink—Homage to John Cage by Robert Motherwell The Asian Factor in John...

Volume 3: BMC’s Modern Legacy

Volume 3: BMC’s Modern Legacy

Table of Contents Daniel Kane & Paul Betts, Guest Editors Blake Hobby, Executive EditorBrian Butler, Associate Editor September 2012 “To Open Eyes”: Black Mountain College into the 21st Century by Daniel Kane & Paul Betts Interview with Jacob Lawrence and...

Volume 2: A Tribute to Ray Johnson

Volume 2: A Tribute to Ray Johnson

Table of Contents Blake Hobby, Executive EditorBrian Butler, Associate EditorKate Dempsey, Guest Editor Spring 2012 Introduction by Kate Dempsey Ray Johnson Biography by Michael von Uchtrup Kenneth Snelson interviewed by Connie Bostic, transcribed by Jolene Mechanic...

Volume 1: Inaugural Issue

Volume 1: Inaugural Issue

  Table of Contents Blake Hobby, Executive EditorBrian Butler, Associate Editor March 2011 Dorothea Rockburne Interview with Connie Bostic Transcribed by Jolene Mechanic The Prospect of an Ideal Liberal Arts College Curriculum: Reconstructing the Dewey-Hutchins...