Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. – AL I:40
When I [J. Edward Cornelius] released RED FLAME No.1 The Poetry of Grady McMurtry back in 1994 we had yet to discover this little gem of a newsletter known as Nepenthe, which contained a rare poem and drawings by Grady McMurtry. The magazine was published shortly after World War II but unfortunately it contains no copyright information or year. It was simply released by Earl Singleton of the M.I.T. Graduate House in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since we know that Grady McMurtry registered as an undergraduate at the University of Berkeley in 1947 it is presumed that he made connections during this period, which enabled him to submit the poem.
According to ZineWiki, Singleton published the first volume (cover pictured below) in December 1940. The same article claims that Grady did the illustrations (thougth not the pictured cover art) for that issue.
Grady also contributed to the second and (sadly) final issue of Nepenthe–which ZineWiki says was published in Spring of 1941.
Cover

Publication Page

Contributors Listing

Grady's Poem in Nepenthe Issue 1--"Aw Hell"
AW HELL
With all the creeds from wich to pick
how can I tell wich one to chose?
Or upon which my faith to stick,
This is a game one shouldn’t loose!
Now Kipling sez that should we fall,
Gehenna’s Portal open wide.
Aw, he’s just kidding us, that’s all.
Hmm, I don’t feel so good inside.
Mohamet sez that when we bow
And tread down to the many-names,
Lilith is there to stroke our brow
And feed us to the licking flames!
The greatest show of all is here,
Just step right up, Gents and Ladies.
A one-way ticket, paid with beer,
Takes you to the Land of Hades.
Now when our time has come to roll,
Will we descend to ring the bell
Of the bottomless pit of Sheol
Or the Urdeutsch — Frozen Gates of Hell?
To live a jolly life is fun,
I pay the preacher to be worried.
Perhaps I’ll wish I’d made no pun
When it is me who’s being buried!

Love is the law, love under will. – AL I:57