Omnivore
Allan Peterson
Bateau Press
Northampton, MA
©2009
One of the most handsome, well made chapbooks that I have seen to date. 20 pages. Handprinted cover. Good poetry, presented extremely well. Find it, buy it, read it!!!
Tony’s Scrap Book
Anthony Wons
Self published
New York City, NY
©1930
Back "in the day" of radio broadcasting in the 1920's - 1940's, Anthony Wons was a well-known and respected radio personality. So much so that he was the focus of a 1932 Time magazine article, from which comes "...One volume, however, called Tony's Scrap Book had sold 225,000 copies, was still going fairly strong last month when Publishers Reilly & Lee issued Tony's Scrap Book No. 2. These, along with another published last November with the title 'R' You Listenin'?, are the product of Anthony ("Tony") Wons, a radio performer who has broken all records of Columbia Broadcasting System for sustained fan mail (2,000 letters a week). Self-styled a "peptomist," Wons is regarded by a shuddering minority as the most offensive broadcaster on the air. To his enormous radio following, principally in rural regions, he is a comforter of rare understanding who drops in for a friendly chat. To his critics he is an intruder who slithers out of the loudspeaker, puts his arm across his listener's shoulder and assures him that "all is well."
Broadcaster Wons' books are collections of odds & ends which he recites alternate mornings in the "Tony's Scrap Book" period, and every evening on the Camel Quarter Hour between Morton Downey's ballads. The two called Tony's Scrap Books are anthologies of noble thoughts, snatches of homely humor, tributes to beauty, diligence, nature, perseverance, motherhood, home, etc. Some are from Edgar Albert Guest, Dr. Frank Crane, Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Many, of unknown origin, are favorites of listeners who send them in. Here and there are a few lines from Shelley, Browning, Whitman, A. E. Housman. Wons puts them through a microphone in a voice hushed, saponaceous, insinuatingly folksy, with an ingratiating "Are yuh listenin'?" or "Isn't that pretty?" 'R' You Listenin'? is a book of extracts from "Tony's Own Philosophy," sermonets which he sometimes broadcasts."
The copy I have is from 1930 which is curious as it is a chapbook filled with poems and anecdotes as well as photos of Mr. Wons. As he was receiving 2000 letters a week, it's not surprising that the image on the top of each page in this collection features letters and a scrap book. 58 pages. The most curious thing about this IS that it is a chapbook. 1930 is fairly early in the chapbook development in the United States. This copy is in excellent condition.
These Extraordinary People
Grzegorz Wroblewski
ebracce-press
Liverpool, UK
©2008
Contrast the previous chapbook with this seemingly Xeroxed collection. 32 pages, white paper. Nearly generic cover design. The poet is Polish, the work has been translated by three individuals. One of the blurbs on the back of the book is by the publisher, seems cheeky to me. The poetry itself is pretty good. I recommend reading this poet. But the chapbook, no great shakes.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, October 05, 2009
a matter of debate
Recently we moved to new digs, which is why it took so long for this entry to appear.
At the beginning of September, I was asked to participate in and to curate an hour for the Art in the Park festival put together by the Towson Arts Collective. One of those who organized the event was Christophe Casamassima who during the afternoon railed on a bit about being "DIY" and raising self publishing as the ultimate goal of everyone concerned. Well, I am a publisher as well as a poet, as well as a blogger, as well as - etc. and it was the publisher in me that took issue with the "anyone can do it for free" line that Casamassima was uttering. First of all, he had created a series of small chapbooks FREE, but they weren't free exactly : someone paid for their publication, it just wasn't Cassamassima. He was using the facilities of the college where he teaches. Someone paid for their making. The students through their enrollment? The fees charged? The college endowment? It wasn't free - it was just free to him.
Now, I say this as a first generation punk rock/DIY guy, someone who believes firmly in doing it myself whenever possible. But it all costs something. Even if you use a xerox machine. Nothing is FREE. The means of production have costs involved. I say this now as a publisher for over 10 years of Plan B Press. The idea of a "free lunch" is just an idea. One not based on reality, in any way shape or form.
Additionally, not every THING ought to see the light of day. Not everyone who has a collection of poems or a bit of prose should be in print. There is this thing called "editorial control". There needs to be some filtering. There needs to be someone at the brakes, and that person needs to pull the switch when necessary. At Plan B Press, we have to decline most of what we receive since it doesn't mean the standards we have set for ourselves and the work that would be imprinted by us that would represent our Press. Our running man doesn't just run like a chicken without its head. He has a direction, and so do we.
Other companies have different policies, but remember I just used to the words "companies" and "policies". To a lot of folks, publishing is a business. With a capital B. Some of these publish damn-near-everything. Some are indeed "vanity presses" (YOU pay for your work to appear in print). And on and on it goes.
The main reason that I have established a "SAVE A TREE" distinction in my rating system in this blog is because there are times that a book is so bad one wonders why a tree was killed for its making. As I said : not everything should be in print. I wish to GOD that someone had had the balls to stop Mein Kampf and to burn the copy sent to them!
Enough of this for now. It's an issue that I feel strongly about. The same way I feel about e-books and Michael Bolton (and John Bolton, come to think of it..)
These are the chapbooks I picked up or were handed at day in early September :
Ladies Love Outlaws.
Buck Downs
Edge Books
Washington, DC
(c)2006
Do they? Do ladies really love outlaws?
Unnumbered pages. Clipart cover. Very low tech production. eh (shrug)
Menagerie for Louis & Erza (Horse)
laa (Gary Snyder)
Incidents i-iv
End Lines
'Harmonium' by Wallace Stevens
truncated by
Christophe Casamassima
Four of Casamassima's "free-for-all" chaps. Various sizes. No publication info, no contact info. Stealth publishing (described above). Some of the work is interesting. I would like to hear the poet READ it aloud.
At the beginning of September, I was asked to participate in and to curate an hour for the Art in the Park festival put together by the Towson Arts Collective. One of those who organized the event was Christophe Casamassima who during the afternoon railed on a bit about being "DIY" and raising self publishing as the ultimate goal of everyone concerned. Well, I am a publisher as well as a poet, as well as a blogger, as well as - etc. and it was the publisher in me that took issue with the "anyone can do it for free" line that Casamassima was uttering. First of all, he had created a series of small chapbooks FREE, but they weren't free exactly : someone paid for their publication, it just wasn't Cassamassima. He was using the facilities of the college where he teaches. Someone paid for their making. The students through their enrollment? The fees charged? The college endowment? It wasn't free - it was just free to him.
Now, I say this as a first generation punk rock/DIY guy, someone who believes firmly in doing it myself whenever possible. But it all costs something. Even if you use a xerox machine. Nothing is FREE. The means of production have costs involved. I say this now as a publisher for over 10 years of Plan B Press. The idea of a "free lunch" is just an idea. One not based on reality, in any way shape or form.
Additionally, not every THING ought to see the light of day. Not everyone who has a collection of poems or a bit of prose should be in print. There is this thing called "editorial control". There needs to be some filtering. There needs to be someone at the brakes, and that person needs to pull the switch when necessary. At Plan B Press, we have to decline most of what we receive since it doesn't mean the standards we have set for ourselves and the work that would be imprinted by us that would represent our Press. Our running man doesn't just run like a chicken without its head. He has a direction, and so do we.
Other companies have different policies, but remember I just used to the words "companies" and "policies". To a lot of folks, publishing is a business. With a capital B. Some of these publish damn-near-everything. Some are indeed "vanity presses" (YOU pay for your work to appear in print). And on and on it goes.
The main reason that I have established a "SAVE A TREE" distinction in my rating system in this blog is because there are times that a book is so bad one wonders why a tree was killed for its making. As I said : not everything should be in print. I wish to GOD that someone had had the balls to stop Mein Kampf and to burn the copy sent to them!
Enough of this for now. It's an issue that I feel strongly about. The same way I feel about e-books and Michael Bolton (and John Bolton, come to think of it..)
These are the chapbooks I picked up or were handed at day in early September :
Ladies Love Outlaws.
Buck Downs
Edge Books
Washington, DC
(c)2006
Do they? Do ladies really love outlaws?
Unnumbered pages. Clipart cover. Very low tech production. eh (shrug)
Menagerie for Louis & Erza (Horse)
laa (Gary Snyder)
Incidents i-iv
End Lines
'Harmonium' by Wallace Stevens
truncated by
Christophe Casamassima
Four of Casamassima's "free-for-all" chaps. Various sizes. No publication info, no contact info. Stealth publishing (described above). Some of the work is interesting. I would like to hear the poet READ it aloud.
Monday, September 07, 2009
address to send your chapbooks
if you are interested in having your chapbooks reviewed, discussed, mentioned :
please send to :
stevenallenmay
chap*books
2714 Jefferson Dr.
Alexandria, VA 22303
thanks!!!
please send to :
stevenallenmay
chap*books
2714 Jefferson Dr.
Alexandria, VA 22303
thanks!!!
Thursday, September 03, 2009
chapbooks 37
Chapbooks 37
This time I will be discussing two chapbooks, both with an Ann Michael connection:
St. Andrew’s Head
Kevin Pilkington
Camber Press
Bronxville, NY
©2003
I got this over the summer from Ann Michael in a significant packet of material. Pilkington is an award-winning poet who has taught in New York City area colleges, and the Press has been in operation since 2003 so this may have been one of their first chapbooks.
30 pages, quite handsomely done.
Nervous Halo
Patrick Porter
The Academic & Arts Press
Pueblo, CO
©2001
Patrick Porter is an American singer/songwriter, novelist, poet, and painter. He began as a musician and has drifted toward the written word. He has recently been described as the best minimalist writer in America today. This is his second book, published by Paul Dilsaver’s The Academic & Arts Press.
This copy is pristine. It doesn’t appear to have been opened. 36 brilliant pages. Staple-bound. Mixed media collage image on front attributed to Gilles Brenda. This is a stunningly well made chapbook. However, I learn from Ann Michael that Dilsaver died in 2001, shortly after this excellent chapbook was produced. A tragic loss to the fellowship of small press publishers everywhere.
Porter, on the other hand, has grown into something of a modern “renaissance” man. I don’t know if Patrick has taken to sculpture or performing ballet, but I also won’t put it past him.
This time I will be discussing two chapbooks, both with an Ann Michael connection:
St. Andrew’s Head
Kevin Pilkington
Camber Press
Bronxville, NY
©2003
I got this over the summer from Ann Michael in a significant packet of material. Pilkington is an award-winning poet who has taught in New York City area colleges, and the Press has been in operation since 2003 so this may have been one of their first chapbooks.
30 pages, quite handsomely done.
Nervous Halo
Patrick Porter
The Academic & Arts Press
Pueblo, CO
©2001
Patrick Porter is an American singer/songwriter, novelist, poet, and painter. He began as a musician and has drifted toward the written word. He has recently been described as the best minimalist writer in America today. This is his second book, published by Paul Dilsaver’s The Academic & Arts Press.
This copy is pristine. It doesn’t appear to have been opened. 36 brilliant pages. Staple-bound. Mixed media collage image on front attributed to Gilles Brenda. This is a stunningly well made chapbook. However, I learn from Ann Michael that Dilsaver died in 2001, shortly after this excellent chapbook was produced. A tragic loss to the fellowship of small press publishers everywhere.
Porter, on the other hand, has grown into something of a modern “renaissance” man. I don’t know if Patrick has taken to sculpture or performing ballet, but I also won’t put it past him.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
chapbooks 36
Ernest Hemingway : A Critical Essay
Nathan Scott, Jr.
William B Eerdmans /Publishers
Grand Rapids, Michigan
©1966
46 page tract looking into the Christian values and views expressed in the works of Hemingway. You know, I have never thought of Ernest Hemingway as a redeemable Christian, nor a role model in any sense of the word. Aren’t Christians against suicide?
A tree was felled for this booklet, what a waste of a tree!
Big Game Animals
Bill Stevens
Federal Cartridge Corporation
Minneapolis, Minnesota
©1971
23 page color booklet of animals that can be killed by hunters. Oh Boy!! What fun!! The publisher is also a company that makes bullets that, um, kill the animals listed in the booklet. A tree was cut down for this? Horrible.
Speaking of horrible……
Smallum opus of edwin schur
ninth street press
new york, NY
©2005
Edwin Schur is an emeritus professor of Sociology at NYU. He is the author of several nonfiction books. He began to write “poetry” at the age of 67. He frequented the West Chester University Poetry Conference. His “poetry” is primarily epigrams. He mentions the work of J V Cunningham, whom I am familiar with as I have a small collection of Cunningham’s books.
This 21 page self published chapbook is a dread to look at and the truth is I am not a fan of epigrams. These are not particularly good epigrams. It looks like a Xerox special. More trees died to fluff this author’s ego. A shame, really.
Manhattan Poetry Review #6
Winter-Spring 1985-86
Manhattan Poetry Review
New York, NY
© 1986
67 pages. Staple-bound. Grey cover. Featuring established poets as well as a 30 page section of new poets. What I find fascinating is the range of poets within as well as the fact that none of the “new poets” are ones that, 23 years later, I have ever heard of. Those I have; David Ignatow,
Diane Wakoski, Duane Locke – their work is mostly very good. There are some interesting typos throughout and a few missing bios in the back of the book but as a timepiece, this collection is quite worthwhile.
Nathan Scott, Jr.
William B Eerdmans /Publishers
Grand Rapids, Michigan
©1966
46 page tract looking into the Christian values and views expressed in the works of Hemingway. You know, I have never thought of Ernest Hemingway as a redeemable Christian, nor a role model in any sense of the word. Aren’t Christians against suicide?
A tree was felled for this booklet, what a waste of a tree!
Big Game Animals
Bill Stevens
Federal Cartridge Corporation
Minneapolis, Minnesota
©1971
23 page color booklet of animals that can be killed by hunters. Oh Boy!! What fun!! The publisher is also a company that makes bullets that, um, kill the animals listed in the booklet. A tree was cut down for this? Horrible.
Speaking of horrible……
Smallum opus of edwin schur
ninth street press
new york, NY
©2005
Edwin Schur is an emeritus professor of Sociology at NYU. He is the author of several nonfiction books. He began to write “poetry” at the age of 67. He frequented the West Chester University Poetry Conference. His “poetry” is primarily epigrams. He mentions the work of J V Cunningham, whom I am familiar with as I have a small collection of Cunningham’s books.
This 21 page self published chapbook is a dread to look at and the truth is I am not a fan of epigrams. These are not particularly good epigrams. It looks like a Xerox special. More trees died to fluff this author’s ego. A shame, really.
Manhattan Poetry Review #6
Winter-Spring 1985-86
Manhattan Poetry Review
New York, NY
© 1986
67 pages. Staple-bound. Grey cover. Featuring established poets as well as a 30 page section of new poets. What I find fascinating is the range of poets within as well as the fact that none of the “new poets” are ones that, 23 years later, I have ever heard of. Those I have; David Ignatow,
Diane Wakoski, Duane Locke – their work is mostly very good. There are some interesting typos throughout and a few missing bios in the back of the book but as a timepiece, this collection is quite worthwhile.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
chapbooks 35
Up to now I have kept myself within the "adult" parameters of chapbook offerings, but I found this cool 1968 Golden Book which is within the chapbook ideal so I wanted to acknowledge it.
The Cowboy Book
Mel Crawford
Golden Press
New York, New York
(c) 1968
Unnumbered pages, color images throughout. Okay, it's the shape that got me. It's very cool and I am sure that kids loved it when it came out. There isn't a "story" here but it's an early reader so having a story is less important than reading the words. Really interesting all the same!
Brats
X. J. Kennedy
Illustrations by James Watts
The Trumpet Club
New York, New York
(c)1991
A collection of poems for young readers, with illustrations by James Watts. 42 pages. Staple-bound.
Aleutian Islands: The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II
George L MacGarrigle
U.S Government Printing Office
Washington, DC
(c)1992
26 page history of the US assault on the Aleutian Islands during WW II to drive out the Japanese is here presented with color maps and B&W photos. Great for World War II buffs.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
need chapbooks to review
need new material - shucks I have written about so many already, my supply has been diminished! (or I could simply venture out into the cruel world of second hand stores in hope for the best)
sigh
s - a - m
sigh
s - a - m
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