"In works that are at once ambitious, modest, humorous, and endlessly inventive, Joe Brainard was one of the most important artists and writers to emerge out of the New York School in the middle of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his innovative memoir, I Remember, which has now become a cult classic, or his Nancy series based on the famous comic strip character, Brainard worked in a variety of visual and literary media. In whatever medium, his art drew on the everyday, popular culture, and his friendships, always exuding a sense of playfulness and generosity. Love, Joe: The Selected Letters of Joe Brainard is an engaging record of Brainard's friendships and work. The letters also give a window into queer life during this period. In letters to his lover Kenward Elmslie and others, Brainard describes a moment when gay life and visibility was becoming more prominent in New York City. The letters and images included in the book reflect how New York City in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s was a stage for the cross-fertilization of art and life - where writing and painting intersected with music, parties, gallery openings, happenings, dance performances and more. In letters to friends such as Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, Alex Katz, Anne Waldman, and Fairfield Porter, Brainard writes about the processes of creating avant-garde art, gossips about the New York art and poetry worlds, and recounts his daily life. Though a beloved friend and well-regarded writer and artist, Brainard was not without his complexities and these letters reveal a side of him that does not always line up to his reputation for niceness"--