oh please, no (1)

just one this time

March-and-Fiesta
Four Short Plays
Wade Savitt
Green Zone
New York, New York
©2008


This has to be one of the worst books that Green Zone has brought out in years. SAVE A TREE!

Chapbooks 22

mystic, Mystic
Joseph W, Wagner
Five Mile Publications
Rowayton, CT.
©1976

This unique chapbook, 8X8 with black & white photos interspersed with text, was the brainchild of Joseph Wagner who is credited with photography and design for this project. The text is a combination of the sea journal of Captain Joshua Slocum, from 1895, and poetry written by a distant relative of the Captain, Robert N Slocomb, Jr.

At the center of this collection is the town and myth of Mystic, Conn. It weaves itself through each page and every image. It’s a great collection and a wonderful concept. Worth the find.

My Dance is Mathematics
JoAnne Growney
Paper Kite Press
Kingston, PA
©2006

Paper Kite Press has been working hard over the past few years to perfect their own vision of what makes a quality chapbook. Here is one. Hand-stitched, this handsome 21 page chapbook is something to aspire to. The poetry is wonderful as well.

Afield
Anthony Hawley
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
©2004

This one is a bit smaller, 6 X 6, bound by twine in what I might call ‘typical ugly duckling fashion’. I happen to like the work presented by Ugly Duckling Presse, and this is no exception. It’s the first collection by Mr. Hawley. It’s reads like a single poem. It might be. There is no directive nor biographic material, must be something about the vagueness of New York City. No permanence or no background; something.

The cover is imprinted with the book’s title, done by linoleum cut, using wraparound cover art. It’s a quite handsome little collection. Hurray once again for Ugly Duckling Presse!

The following two chapbooks deal with the other thing that this blog is about, and that is the act of printing as nearly every chapbook I have written about in the 18 months or so that I have been doing this blog has been printed – some by hand-press, or letterpress, but all by the sweat of someone’s brow and I appreciate and applaud that effort in the name of PRINTING everywhere:

The Bookbinder in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg
C. Clement Samford
Williamsburg Craft Series
Colonial Williamsburg, VA
©1954

This tiny little chapbook was created at a time when Colonial Williamsburg was still being re-invented and revived from the ashes of history and neglect that had left it buried until Rockefeller money and interest brought back the area. The subtitle of this chapbook is ‘An Account of his Life & Times, & of his Craft’ as interpreted by C. Clement Samford, Master Bookbinder of Colonial Williamsburg’. Though a mere 32 pages long, this interesting book details the remarkable history of bookbinding and printing in the Colonial period prior to our Revolutionary War. What I find most remarkable is how precarious life and printing was then – how on the edge of the known world, of “civilized” world they were in Williamsburg, or Philadelphia, or Boston was then – how long they had to wait for printing presses to arrive from Europe, along with parts and supplies. Living on the edge. And now, some three HUNDRED years later, printers still live on the edge in this country. Printers who are attempting to keep the art form alive. Printers who view themselves as artists, craftsmen; magicians with machine and font. Their canvas is the blank page they are about to print onto. Their “paintbrush” is the bound letters prepared to be used.

Then consider how many books are published each year, double that number to account for these little “slivers of nothing’ and one can only marvel that anyone pays any attention at all to chapbooks, their authors, or their publishers. Yet, people do. Cause for celebration to be sure.

An Apology for Printers
Benjamin Franklin
Acropolis Books Limited
Washington D.C.
©1973

Important little book, every publisher should get a copy and read it. This edition was edited with an introduction by Randolph Goodman, prefatory notes by Philip Wittenberg, with engravings by John De Pol, and compiled with design by Harvey Sautenstein. Thanks to all involved in bringing this little book out. To me the most important words are those of Ben Franklin himself at the conclusion of this piece,

“I consider the variety of humors among men, and despair
of pleasing everyone; yet I shall not there leave off printing.
I shall continue my business. I shall not burn my press and
melt my letters.”

No printers should, ever.

Chapbooks 21

Some Natural Things
Glenn W. Cooper
Kamini Press
Stockholm, Sweden
© 2007

The beauty of this blog is when I happen across the “globalization” effect of small presses, take for example the new small press out of Sweden Kamini Press. Poet/artist and now publisher Henry Denander has created a new line of finely made chapbooks. One of the first two is by Australian poet Glenn Cooper. His poetry is well written. The chapbook is very handsome indeed. Cover art by publisher, overall completely worth checking out.

What I most appreciate about the whole thing is that a Swedish publisher brought out an Australian poet’s book that I found out about since this publisher greatly admires a poet that my Press, Plan B Press, just brought out (Mark Terrill’s ‘Something Red). The song “it’s a small world after all” is playing in my head.


First Lie
Ann LaBar Russek
Black Spruce Press
Anchorage, Alaska
©2000

Ann Russek is always writing about where she’s been years after leaving. This collection of poems was written and published in Alaska about her time in the Midwest. Her Alaska poems were written in Pennsylvania, 2 years later, when I met her. This handsome chapbook with a reproduction of the Adam and Eve story is full of fine poems. Well made chapbook, finely crafted poems. Worth finding.



The Unraveller Seasons
Eugene Ostashevsky
Self published
San Francisco, CA
©2000

This 18 page chapbook by Ostashevsky features work created and performed in San Francisco between 1998-1999. The cover was created by Eugene Timerman. It appears to have been self published. Good poems, Handsome chapbook.

Should I Wash My Hands Before or After Love?
Charles London Cyndian
Pygmy Forest Press
Springfield, Oregon
©2007

SAVE A TREE!

Shirazad
Collected Writings from Shirazad.com
Bowmansdale, PA
©2001

This anthology of work is the brainchild of founder and designer Alexandria Hartman. It represents the Harrisburg, PA region and represents it well. Many talented writers are within and tons of lasting images and catchy lines. (a couple of pieces in fact by a poet named stevenallenmay) It’s a time capsule of the late 1990s – a worthy effort brought off marvelously.

Thanks Alexandria, wherever you are!

The Beats (part 1)

I am more than a fan of the Beats, however loosely or broadly defined as you want to make it, I am also a collector of their works. Here again, I favor the chapbooks as they are more rare and often more interesting that full books but....


I will start out discussing :


Sapphobones
Kirby Doyle
The Poets Press
Kerhonkson, NY
(c)1966

Kirby Doyle is a mostly forgotten Beat era poet whose work deserves a second look. This is the first chapbook of his work, a fine chapbook published by The Poets Press with an unattributed illustration on front cover and inside. Pages not numbered. Apparently, the poems in this collection come from various magazine publications from the late 1950s into the 1960s. All of the poems in this collection later appear in The Collected Poems of Kirby Doyle (1983).

This is a well-made and RARE edition of Doyle’s work. Quite the item for collectors.

Empty Mirror
Allen Ginsberg
Totem/Corinth
New York, New York
©1961

Introduction by William Carlos Williams. 47 pages. Staple-bound. Cover image by Jesse Sorrentino. Early poems by Ginsberg. Printed by Totem Press in association with Corinth Books. Interesting to see this early collection, knowing as we do, what became of the young Mr. Ginsberg.

Beards and Brown Bags
Lenore Kandel
Stadtlichter Presse (in German)
Germany
© 2006

This tiny chapbook was sent to me by a German author and collector of Beat Generation books, he is involved with the Stadtlichter Presse, which produces German-language collections of Beat era books. He and I have been swapping books, and this is one that he sent me. I don’t have any of Kandle’s work prior, and now I have one entirely in German. I should have paid more attention to my high school German classes afterall!

11 pages short, illustration on front cover of naked lady in stockings and nothing else. #54 of 100 in this limited edition form. Originally published in Three Penny Press (1959) Illustration accompanied the piece when it first appeared.


Black is Black Blues
Ray Bremser
The Beau Fleuve Series #4
Intrepid Press
Buffalo, NY
© 1971

This tiny chapbook was created by Allen De Loach, editor of Intrepid. Photo on back cover by De Loach. One of 1000 printed. Unnumbered pages. Written in Jan 1970, NY. Much history with the Press, De Loach, Bresmer, and this series. Rare little item indeed.

honey spoon
ted joans
Handshake Press
Paris, France
© 1993

Handshake Press is the workings of poet & writer Jim Haynes, who has lived in Paris for the past 40 years. He became a friend of Ted Joans and published a number of Joans’ work, including this 6” X 5 1/4” book. Published in 1991 by Handshake Press and reprinted in 1993 (this copy is the reprinted one) in Vilnius, Lithuania. There is a photo of a much younger Joans inside back cover and illustrations in the beginning and end of the text. 75 pages. My copy is signed by Joans inside front.

Gasoline
Gregory Corso
Number Eight
The Pocket Poets Series
City Lights Books
San Francisco, CA
© 1958


4 1/4” X 6 ‘14” City Lights edition of ‘Gasoline’ with introduction by Allen Ginsberg. 48 pages. Cover red with white lettering. #8 in series. Great copy of great book.

Sandy Crimmins (1951-2007)

I have not written about any of the chapbooks that Plan B Press has produced, focusing instead on the wide variety of work coming out across the country, and around the world. I must make an exception for String Theory by the late Sandy Crimmins.

We got to know Sandy in Philadelphia, and discussed the possibility of bringing out her first collection as early as 2004. 'String Theory' was a collaborative effort of Sandy and our lay-out and cover design guru, Katy Jean. The book design is similar to the the Harold and the Purple Crayon books except there is a string running throughout the 39 pages. The book is 7" X 5 1/2" with a wraparound cover image of a string that becomes the earth. From there, the combined talents of Sandy and Katy Jean produced a book that launched an entire division at Plan B Press, Stay-At-Home Press. S-A-H is our "art book/book art" division and 'String Theory' is responsible for moving us in that direction.

It was our distinct pleasure to have worked with her, and to become her friend. Shortly after her sudden and untimely death in July, 2007, we decided to establish the Sandy Crimmins award for a first chapbook with strong visual presence, with the initial award being presented in the Fall 2008 season. More details will appear over the next few months on www.planbpress.com website.

Chapbooks 20

The Kimnama
Kim Roberts
Vrzhu Press
Washington, DC
©2007


The Kimnama is the among the first two chapbooks published by this new publisher, Vrzhu Press. The other book is More Than Anything by Hiram Larew. Kim Roberts is a hyper-involved individual in the Washington DC poetry community where she edits the Beltway Magazine. The Kimnama was written during Kim’s travels in India a few years ago, and appropriately enough means ‘the history of Kim’.

I found the writing crisp and approachable. While I am not a big fan of POD (print-on-demand) books, this one is well made and very professional looking. It’s a great book and well worth finding – best way through the Press’s website – Vzrhu Press.



The Good-Neighbor Policy
Charles Ardai
A Midsummer Night’s Press
New York City
©2007


This is an the first offering from a new Press. It is 6 X 4 1/4” mini book, well made (in Spain) 28 pages long. If you are familiar with the author’s work, then I recommend you add it to your library.



Three Poems for Charles Boyer
Joyce Odam
Banshee Press
Philadelphia, PA
©2003


This “chapbook” is actually a 3 poem, as the title suggests, a form of a pamphlet. It’s a well made pamphlet. Perhaps it was offered as a thank you gift or something. There is no price on the cover.



Unbegun
Lisa Alexander Baron
Encircle Publications
Sagamore Beach, MA
©2002


This is a 33 page chapbook, with a clip-art butterfly on the front cover. Although well made, it is not a collection that I can read more than once. HOWEVER, that is merely my own matter of taste. I can see this collection being read by others, and as an early work in the writing career of Ms. Baron, it is worth having.



Staring at the Welder’s Flame
Marlene Dembinsky Rowe
Self published
©1996


Staring at the Welder’s Flame is the first collection of work by Marlene Rowe and it is self published. As such, the only editor is the poet, and often the poet doesn’t know when to stop. This 83 page collection is more a book than a chapbook. The staple-binding looks a bit strained. Much of the work inside is in fact quite good, but again….too much can sometimes be simply too much.



However, the book is also very handsome with illustrations by Martin Heffron. I got my copy from the poet when it was fresh off the presses, and a few years before starting Plan B Press. Ms. Rowe has been very involved in the poetry activity of the coal regions of Pennsylvania where she help to found the Stray Dog poets. I respect what she has accomplished and applaud her book. Looking forward to a follow-up in the near future.

Chapbooks 19

Irritant
Kostas Anagnopoulos
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
© 2007

This is a great little book. Ugly Duckling Presse continues to impress. Anagnopoulos comes at us with 38 bits of poetic observations, short blasts of reality/absurdity. So this is where the New York school is now. Packaged beautifully in this compact punch. Kudos to Ugly Duckling.


Becoming
Emma Rossi
Green Zone Editions
Brooklyn, NY
© 2007

This odd sized book is a wonderful thing. Ms. Rossi writes prose poetry, and writes it well. With an interesting cover by Kate Parnell, hey cover design is hard work!, this book is a great addition to any collection. AND Green Zone actually has its address in the book so one can contact them and thank them for all their wonderful books.



a familiar album
erica kaufman
The New School Chapbook Series
New York, New York
© 2006

It’s great to see a chapbook coming out of the New School Chapbook series. Ms. Kaufman has written a moving, personal tribute to her family is an interesting treatment on the whole notion of ‘the family album’. For me, however, there needed to be more images or none at all. The black & white photos were a tease. As this was one long prose poem, perhaps that determined the number of photos in the book. Yet, the format could have been ‘toyed’ with a bit more.

I also want to note that Ms. Kaufman is involved with running the Belladonna series in New York which has produced many fine chapbooks over the past few year. Bless you, Erica for all your hard work; your rewards await you in heaven.


a gravure and five drawings with text
Elaine Galen & Edward Colker
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
New York, New York
© 1963

This is less a ‘chapbook’ as a loose collection of drawings with text. As the title suggests. The text was provided by Elaine Galen with the etchings by Edward Colker. It’s a beautiful experiment. One that works. One of only 100 made.

Bird in the Overhang
Jennifer Gittings-Dalton
Springfed Chapbook Series
Foothills Publishing
Kanona, NY
© 2007

I must defer to El Lissitzky who wrote in 1931 "The book must be the unified work of the author and the designer. As long as this is not the case, splendid exteriors will constantly be produced for unimportant contents, and visa-versa." Unfortunately, that’s what has happened here. The wonderful poems by Jennifer Gittings-Dalton are wrapped in a frankly boring cover which does no justice to the work. I understand that this is the publisher’s decision, and as this particular volume is number 65 in this series but - he has been milking the cover design for all it is worth. Seriously, invest in hiring someone who can do something ELSE with the covers. PLEASE!!!!!


Hot Water Review 1981
# 4
Peter Bushyeager, editor
Philadelphia, PA
©1981

Bright pink cover with red lettering, Hot Water Review 1981. This is a great collection of text with images, well ahead of its time, featuring Philadelphia legend Joel Colton, who died at Mount St. Helens eruption, along with the editor, Peter Bushyeager, Andrei Codrescu, Richard Kostelanetz, Ron Padgett, and others. It’s a shame that sometimes the most interesting work has the shortest lifespan. This is a great volume. I would imagine rare as hell to find, but – FIND A COPY! (no, you can not have my copy)