Sing, O Muse: The worst verse of CU By SPENCER HARRINGTON They assembled last night, perhaps 20 in all, amid the pomp and candle-lit glory of John Jay lounge. They'd dimmed the lights, brought out the tapers, and then stood under the ennobling inscription, "Hold fast to the/Spirit of youth/Let the years to come/Do what they may." But all that didn't matter. The Philolexian Society had assembled not to honor youth, or the passage of time, but instead bad poetry. Really bad poetry. To celebrate vile verse in the tradition of Joyce Kilmer, CC '08, the Philolexians first put up eyebrow-raising posters depicting two women in leather S&M garb to announce the First Annual Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest. They then enlisted Professor James Mirollo of the English Department to act as judge. After the reading, he said the atrocities he had heard were "ab- solutely awful. "I'm…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1986-10-31 →

OFF THE WALK Battle of wits: Philos declare war on Princeton's Whig-Clio group By Spencer Harrington * o In the grandiloquent manner that has come to characterize the literary society, the Philolexians on Saturday made a formal declaration of war against Princeton's literary group, the Whig-Cliosophics. The declaration came one hour after the 38-8 defeat of the Columbia Lions at the paws of the Princeton Tigers at Palmer Stadium, and was accompanied by the Society's kidnapping of Princeton's tiger mascot, and the storming of Whig- Cliosophic's office in Whig Hall. Thomas Vinciguerra, CC '85, refounder of the Philolexian Society and author of the declaration, said that the Philolexians declared war in conjunction with the Philomatheans of the University of Pennsylvania. The allied groups, known as the Matho-Lexian Society, has as early as February passed a resolution declaring…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1987-10-14 →

Poets Perform in Off-Beat Event BY KATHERINE HAENSCHEN Spectator Staff Writer "With their moles and their drolls and their hard luck lives/ Their greasy noses like curly fries/ They spark a twinkle in my eyes/ At least I am not them." The dulcet tones of Ben Kopit, CC 'O2, and the 15th Annual Alfred Joyce Kilmer Bad Poetry Contest, sponsored by the Philolexian Society, flowed last night from the Kraft Center. Students, alumni and guests battled for the honor of Poet Laureate —the award given to the worst poet of the night. Contestants read original works that were judged by four professors spanning the humanities department. 'This event is the best of Columbia," said Rachel KahnTroster, BC 'Ol, the evening's moderator. "It's serious and funny and really bizarre and it brings all aspects of the campus together." Former Philolexian Society member Thomas Vinciguerra gave an…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 2000-12-01 →

Only CU Students Can Make Bad Poe-Tree By Telis Demos Spectator Staff Writer ■ The Philolexian Society presented original works in a show so bad, it was good —jj In typically bizarre fashion, the Philolexian Society on Thursday paid homage to the great writers and rhetoricians of the Society's history: they awarded a prize to the aspiring bard who could write the best worst poem. The Society allowed the uninitiated a peek into their esoteric world at the 17th Annual Bad Poetry Contest last Thursday. It was exhibition of malapropisms and grandiose poems about irrelevant subjects—exactly what good bad poetry ought to be. Those involved said understanding the contest means understanding different types of "bad." Most bad poetry causes discomfort and induces little laughter, as the poem's author is largely unaware of his ineptitude. But the "bad" poetry sought by…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 2002-11-25 →

Thomas Vinciguerra '85, former managing editor of CCT and now deputy editor of The Week, helped organize [Philolexian's] revival, which is captured in the group's motto, "Surgam." Vinciguerra, who has been dubbed "avatar of the society" for his role in resuscitating the group, spoke about the Philos' two centuries of distinction. "Philo is diversity incarnate," he said. "No other campus group so readily accommodates more libertines, reactionaries and radicals, feminists and misanthropes, aesthetes and bohemians, the doctrinaire and the unorthodox."

Bicentennial article confirms Vinciguerra as the driving figure of the 1985 revival, dubbed "avatar of the society".

Columbia College Today — vol. 43 (2002), Philolexian bicentennial dinner report →

Thomas Vinciguerra '85's foundational Society-history article, published in CCT Spring/Summer 1987, covering the 1802 founding lineage from the King's College Literary Society (whose members included Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris) and the Columbia College Society for Progress in Letters; the 1985 revival cohort of six (Vinciguerra + Kaufmann, Marubio, Maschio, Arle, Hansson); the modernization decisions (dropping the 1899 40-member cap and the freshman ban, admitting women for the first time); the origin of Columbia blue in Philolexian blue vs. Peithologian white; and the 'jocoserious' philosophy borrowed from Penn's Philomathean Society. Also announces Philolexian's admission to the Association of American Collegiate Literary Societies at Rhetor '86 and describes the First Annual Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest (1986).

Columbia College Today — vol. 29 (Spring/Summer 1987), 'Contemporary Civilization Meets Monty Python' by Thomas Vinciguerra '85 →

Thomas Vinciguerra '85, '86J, '90 GSAS wrote: 'I have just made an interesting discovery in Spectator's newly digitized archives. In the year of your graduation, an attempt was made to revive the Philolexian Society by the assistant to the dean, Robert Pinckert '52, himself a former member of the society... But I now see that Bob named two of your classmates to Philo's ranks.' Those esteemed undergraduates were John Alexander and Vic Wolfenstein.

CCT vol. 54 Class of 1962 class-notes item, quoting Thomas Vinciguerra's email about the 1962 Philolexian revival that Robert Pinckert '52 (assistant to the dean, and himself a former Philo) attempted, naming John Alexander and Vic Wolfenstein as his 1962 inductees. Secondary attestation reinforcing the primary Spec cs19620216-01.2.9 citation. Also notes: Vinciguerra revived Philolexian in 1987 (though his own 1987 CCT essay described the revival as beginning in fall 1985); as of the ~2013 date, 73 students were members and 400+ had joined since re-inception.

Columbia College Today — vol. 54 (~2013), Class of 1962 class notes — email from Thomas Vinciguerra '85 recounting Spec archive discovery →

Thomas Vinceguerra '85, former managing editor of CCT and now deputy editor of The Week, helped to revive the Philolexian Society in October 1985 and still helps to maintain and lead it... In the Columbia archives, Tom discovered the Philolexian Society's original membership scroll. From it, he could tell that, between Philos' original founding in 1802 and its 1985 revival, it was revived twice. The first revival was in 1944 and involved Walter Wager '44, who nowadays is that year's class correspondent. The second was in October 1947, and among the signatures from that time were those of Vincent Carrozza '49, Jason Epstein '49, and Theodor [sic] Melnechuk... Tom sent me a list of members of our class who were members of the Philolexian Society when it was revived in 1947. They included Sylvain Bromberger, the late Barry Decker, Herbert C. V. Feinstein, the late Allen Ginsberg, Donald…

Melnechuk's class-notes column names Thomas Vinciguerra as discoverer of the original membership scroll in the Columbia archives that established this history — cross-checked against Thomas Vinciguerra's 1980s discovery of the original Philolexian membership scroll in the Columbia archives, which lists the members who signed at the October 1947 revival. Two-source confirmation of Society membership: (a) the physical scroll signature, and (b) Vinciguerra + Melnechuk's transcription.

Columbia College Today — vol. 44 (Nov 2002 / Jan 2003), Class of 1948 alumni class notes by Ted Melnechuk →

Thomas Vinciguerra · Confidence: CERTAIN

Thomas Vinciguerra · Confidence: CERTAIN

printed "(RE-FOUNDER)" after name · Confidence: CERTAIN

sender of the original message assembling a definitive roster of Philolexian alumni of the last 75 years · Confidence: CERTAIN

addressee · Confidence: CERTAIN

addressee of the letter, as donor · Confidence: CERTAIN

addressee of the letter, as donor · Confidence: CERTAIN

addressee of the letter, as donor · Confidence: CERTAIN

struck through by hand · Confidence: CERTAIN