"Jim was a man of many facets. He expanded our perspective by opening conversations which collided art, literature, drama and science. Marking his death in January 2021, we celebrate his infectious curiosity, his ability to challenge and to explore human behaviours. The Jim Haynes Living Legacy which Jim generously donated to Edinburgh Napier University in 2016 and the subsequent associated research continues to provide students, academics and members of the public with a rich, insightful collection that continues to inform our perspective and understanding."
Andrea Nolan, Vice Chancellor
Jim Haynes founded the Paperback Bookshop in 1959, the first paperback-only bookshop in the country and an early fringe venue near Edinburgh’s George Square. He co-founded and co-produced Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre Club, the 1962 Writers Conference and 1964 Drama Conference with other key Scottish arts figures like John Calder and Richard DeMarco.
Later, with the support of arts councillor Jennie Lee, Haynes led an effort to establish The London Traverse at the Jeanetta Cochrane theatre, and in 1967 the Arts Lab on Drury Lane in London. The Arts Lab featured notable work by Jane Arden (author of the first uncensored feminist play performed in London), playwright David Hare, and artists like Roelof Louw and Andy Warhol. The Arts Lab also played host to projects by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and David Bowie. A 60s counter-culture hotbed, the Arts Lab arguably contributed to the broader movements — along with Calder’s court trials for publishing Hubert Selby Jr’s Last Exit to Brooklyn — which contributed to the dissolution of the Lord Chamberlain’s office and brought an end to arts censorship in Britain.
In addition, Haynes founded his own fringe publishing company, ‘Handshake Editions’, with a catalogue that includes Jeanne Pasle-Green, Beat Poet Ted Joans and contributions from Germaine Greer. Together with writer/gallerist Barry Miles, photographer John “Hoppy” Hopkins and eccentric accountant Michael Henshaw, Haynes launched International Times, the notorious counter-culture newspaper. Other significant counter-culture periodicals such as OZ and SUCK followed, as well as over fourteen books authored by Haynes.
The Jim Haynes Archive contains an extensive range of original project plans, printed and recorded materials, diaries, personal journals, books, and ephemera documenting Haynes’s eclectic life. Through his extensive travels in Eastern Europe and publication of his People to People travel guides, as well as his infamous weekly Sunday dinners in Paris, Haynes became known as the ‘godfather of social networking’. The archive provides insight into the life of this dynamic, self-confessed ‘people addict', and new research opportunities at Edinburgh Napier well into the future.
Contacts
All enquiries - Email enusca@napier.ac.uk.