Kenward Gray Elmslie (April 27, 1929 – June 29, 2022) was an American author, performer, editor and publisher associated with the New York School of poetry.

Elmslie's first work performed was the lyrics of the spring varsity show during his senior year at St. Mark's, his preparatory school.

Among his theatrical works are adaptations of Truman Capote's novel The Grass Harp and Lola, both projects in collaboration with Claibe Richardson.

Truman Capote first granted Elmslie and Richardson the rights to make a musical of his novella in 1963, but it was not produced until 1971, and lasted only seven performances.

[7] His poetry and prose is often combined with the work of painters and other visual artists, most notably black and white comics drawn by Joe Brainard, his "26 Bars" depicted by Donna Dennis, and full color collaborations with Trevor Winkfield.

When Tropicalism was published in 1976, John Ashbery described Elmslie's poetry as being like the notes of "a mad scientist who has swallowed the wrong potion in his lab and is desperately trying to get his calculations on paper before everything closes in".

In a 1973 review of The Orchid Stories in The Atlanta Constitution, Edith Blicksilver wrote that Elmslie "has created a potpourri of unusual impressions and experiences.

The press was revived briefly during the late 1990s to issue several single-poem chapbooks, including, in 2000, Sun on Six by Jeff Clark, with a linocut by Jasper Johns.

The Z magazine issues printed works by a wide range of authors, from poets associated with "the New York School" to personal essayist Phillip Lopate, and art features by Ian Hamilton Finlay and Donna Dennis, among others.

Apart from the magazine, Z Press primarily published works by other New York School writers and artists (many of them Elmslie's friends) including John Ashbery, Ron Padgett, James Schuyler, and perhaps most extensively, long time partner Joe Brainard.