William Levy (January 10, 1939 – April 22, 2019), also known as the Talmudic Wizard of Amsterdam, was an American writer, editor, and former radio personality, plus the author of such works as ''The Virgin Sperm Dancer'', ''Wet Dreams'', ''Certain Radio Speeches of Ezra Pound'' and ''Natural Jewboy''. Before leaving the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the autumn of 1966 aboard the R.M.S Queen Mary, Levy attended the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

, and taught in the literature department at Shippensburg State College, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. In the Sixties and Seventies, he was founder and chief editor of many magazines, including the '' Insect Trust Gazette'', '' International Times'', ''

Suck Suck may refer to: *Suction, the force exerted by a partial vacuum *.sucks, an Internet top-level domain Arts and entertainment Music * Suck (band), a South African hard rock group * Suck, drummer for the 1990s Japanese punk band Teengenerate * ...

'', and ''The Fanatic''. Later, he served as European Editor for American glossy magazines ''

High Times ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade.Danko, Danny"Norml Founder Retires – Exha ...

'' and ''

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

'', and as an associate editor of Amsterdam zines ''Het Gewicht'', ''Ins & Outs'', ''La Linea'' and ''Atom Club''. Levy was a regular contributor to Andrei Codrescu's ''

Exquisite Corpse Exquisite corpse (from the original French term ', literally exquisite cadaver), is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g. ...

'' and ''Libido''. He also published his own Transactions of the Invisible Language Society series. His meditation play ''Europe in Flames'' was also featured at the Festival of New Radio in New York. In 1998, Levy was awarded the Erotic Oscar for writing at London's Sex Maniac's Ball. For 20 years until his retirement from radio, Levy's alter-ego, Dr. Doo Wop, could be heard weekly spinning groovy music across Amsterdam's airwaves. Until his death following a long illness, Levy lived in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

with his wife, the literary translator Susan Janssen (translator of many works of

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...

and of

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

's ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

'').

Selected works

Playing Tennis with KafkaThe Virgin Sperm Dancer
*Wet Dreams *Certain Radio Speeches of Ezra Pound *Souvenir Programme for the Official Lynching of Michael Abdul Malik (with John Michell) *Jeremiad Chants *Natural Jewboy (

Ins & Outs Press Ins & Outs Press is a small English-language publisher with international connections based in Amsterdam and registered in the Netherlands as a cultural foundation, or ''stichting''. It was started in 1980 by Eddie Woods, Jane Harvey, and Henk van ...

, Amsterdam, 1981) *Voicings and Transmissions *Radio Art *Blood
Rape
*An Introduction to Political Porno in Europe *A Vilna Legend *The Night Before Charisma *Billy's Holiday *Viagra Blues *Is There Sex Over Forty? *Impossible: The Otto Muehl Story (New York: Barany Artists, 2001)

* ttp://www.corpse.org/archives/issue_11/manifestos/levy.html ZOCK: The Outlaw Manifesto of the Centurybr>Death of a Gunslinger: An Obituary on Ed Dorn for AmericaHanging Out With Zalman ShneourThe Beast of Britain Minstrel ShowThe Fortunate Traveller
(2019)

External links

Levy on Michell
An interview with William Levy about John Michell
Dr. Doo-wop
A film by Michiel Brongers * Definitive biopic by Malcolm Hart
William Levy. RIP
Obituary in ''International Times'' (April 27, 2019)

Obituary in Straight Up Arts Journal (April 27, 2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, William 1939 births American male journalists University of Maryland, College Park alumni Temple University alumni Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania faculty American expatriates in the Netherlands American male poets 2019 deaths