Friday, December 31, 2021

picking through the wreckage of another Pandemic year (2021)


 I do want to apologize for waddling through this year of collateral damage, supply chain interruptions and climate change disasters but there are still publishers making books and poets carving poems out of our shared experiences as though we, as humans, live beneath Mount Vesuvius as it begins to erupt. I will keep chronicling as we keep ignoring the DANGER signs flashing on the thin ice our civilization is built on. Maybe someone in the future will find these writings worthwhile. 

faster, faster by Stephanie Balzer (2009)


faster, faster

Stephanie Balzer

CUEeditions

Tucson, AZ

(c)2009

Prose poetry at its finest. (I know, but it's approaching midnight on a truly terrible year and I wanted to squeeze this in) 

Balzer is an extremely talented writer. CUE is a overachieving journal/press. Great things hiding in generically plain covers. It's worth the read, seriously



Tuesday, December 28, 2021

[Mary] by J. Hope Stein (2012)

 

[Mary]

J. Hope Stein

Hyacinth Girl Press

(c) 2012

Sometimes a chapbook is more than a fancy cover with a black ribbon, sometimes it is meant to be more and is in fact more. This is one of those times. [Mary] : is the 3rd installation of a mixed media project called “The Inventor’s Last Breath,” which includes a 10-minute film that premiered at the Henry Miller Library in 2011, and the chapbook [Talking Doll] : which was published Dancing Girl Press in 2012. 

“The Inventor’s Last Breath” gets its title from Thomas Edison’s last breath, which was supposedly captured in a test tube and is on display at the Ford Museum in Michigan. A future installation of the Inventor’s Last Breath may or may not have taken place on her website, jhopestein.wordpress.com (almost 10 years ago now, and the traces of her film have disappeared from the Net). 


It is fair to say that Ms. Stein has a highly creative mind as evidenced in her most reason book titled Occasionally, I remove your brain through your nose. 

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Twenty Grand :the fin de siècle poems by Guy Birchard (2003)

 


Twenty Grand : the fin de siècle poems

Guy Birchard

Pressed Wafer 

Boston, MA

(c) 2003

tiny book of sizable words. The poet lives in Saskatchewan. Or did in 2003 when this collection came out. I like the way Grover on Sesame Street says Saskatchewan. The poems here are thin and tasty. Wherever Moose Jaw is.....


Tuesday, December 14, 2021

in case/this way two things fell by Beau Beausoleil (1982)


 

in case/this way two things fell                                                 

Beau Beausoleil

Potes & Poets Press

Hartford, CT

(c)1982

Potes & Poets Press has had a long and influential history (1972- 1998) From the University of Connecticut library archives page :

"Potes & Poets Press was a small press founded by poet and publisher Peter Ganick.

Peter Ganick was a private piano teacher, poet, publisher, artst and resident of West Hartford, Connecticut. He was born on December 14, 1946 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents William (an executive in advertising) and Virginia (a legal secretary and pianist). Ganick was raised in Needham, Massachusetts, twelve miles from Boston itself. He attributed his passion for the arts to his parents and to having grown up in the Boston area, where he had access to many exceptional art museums and venues.  

His profession as a publisher began in the early 1970s. Roxbury Poetry Enterprises, his first poetry press, was used to publish his book, SOME POEMS. The press also published poets including Larry Eigner, Will Bennett, Clayton Eshleman, and Brad Pearson. 

Ganick founded Potes & Poets Press in 1980. An influential L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry publisher, Ganick printed and distributed the works of writers such as Charles Bernstein. Although the Press lacked a clear mission statement, Ganick always hoped to publish an array of writers whose work proved challenging. The press was ultimately given non-profit status and received four grants—two from the National Endowment of the Arts and another two from the Connecticut Endowment for the Arts. Ganick sold the Press in 2000, as he needed to focus on his own writing and newfound passion for visual art.

Peter Ganick died on April 16, 2020."

Beau Beausoleil is a poet and bookseller living in California. This chapbook is one of his earliest published collections. Published in a run of 300 copies in a famous Brooklyn print shop (The Print Center). Beau is best known now for being a founder of the Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition and the co-editor (along with Deema Shehabi) of the anthology Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here: Poets and Writers Respond to the March 5th, 2007, Bombing of Baghdad’s “Street of the Booksellers”


Wednesday, December 08, 2021

Harpsichord Hills by Merrill Gilfillan (2013)


 Harpsichord Hills

Merrill Gilfillan

Horse Less Press

Grand Rapids, MI

(c)2013

More interested in the history of this press than the words on the page with this one. Jen Tynes and crew are on a mission worth keeping track of. 

Monday, December 06, 2021

What Came First by Jennifer Campbell (2021)


 What Came First

Jennifer Campbell

dancing girl press & studio

Chicago, IL

(c)2021

Fairy tales meets 21st century media culture in this interesting blended collection. 

Monday, November 29, 2021

Ologies by Chelsea Biondoillo (2015)


 Ologies

Chelsea Biondolillo 

Etchings Press

Indianapolis, IN

(c) 2015

Published in 2015 by the University of Indianapolis' Etching Press, this small collection of prose pieces is unique in size and scope. I didn't know, for example, not that I am worldly wise but I have been to and through Indianapolis, THAT there is a University of Indianapolis. Or that this University has a press. Or that this Press published Ms. Biondolillo. But it's a handsome book to be sure. 


Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Dutch Baby Combo by Amber Nelson (2013)


 Dutch Baby Combo

Amber Nelson

dancing girl press & studio

Chicago, IL

(c) 2013

I continue to filter through a packet of seconds from this small press. By that I mean books that should have been pulped because they were defective but instead were bundled like dead fish for the unsuspecting boob willing to fork over money for a set of 5 (defective) books. 

I wonder how the poems were presented in Reb Livingston's No Tell Motel. They likely were presented better than this stinker. I have no faith in the quality of this press. 

Sunday, November 21, 2021

windowboxing by Kirsten Kaschock (2012)


 windowboxing

Kirsten Kaschock

Bloof Books

(c) 2012

At least for the 2012-2013 season Bloof Books printed a run of 100 numbered chapbooks and then released the text digitally. 

The chapbook has a subtitle, actually, which is kind of novel in that most do not. The subtitle is "A Dance with Saints in Three Acts" which corresponds with the cover. 

This collection is hand-sewn and has drawings throughout by Koen Kaschock-Marenda. Ms. Kaschock is a multidisciplinary artist who teaches at Drexel University in Philadelphia. The work here skirts the edges of many of those disciplines. It's a beautiful dance. 

This is print #39 of 100 made. 

Friday, November 19, 2021

Unknown Pleasures by Anne Vitale (2013)


 Unknown Pleasures

Anna Vitale

Perfect Lovers Press

Cincinnati, OH

(c) 2013

The concept is not a new one, really. Poet writing about song tracks of a particular album by a particular band and full disclosure - I got to know the poet who in my estimation has done the best job of this construct is Daniel Nester (whom I know) in his books God Save My Queen (Soft Skull Press, 2003) and God Save My Queen II: The Show Must Go On (Soft Skull, 2004) which covers the entire discography of Queen. Song by song. Essay by essay. 

Here - distortion to avoid copyright infringement is hardly worth it. I am more interested in the Xerox series of this unknown (to me) publisher than the work itself. 

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Small Pieces Loosely Joined by Buck Downs (?)


 Small Pieces Loosely Joined 

Buck Downs

self published

Washington, DC

Downs, the Mississippi transplant, the DC rebrand, the poet in the news currently in Washington, DC for his "poetry sticker" project made this hand sewn little chapbook more than a handful of years ago (I suspect). The paper reminds me of early computer paper. 

Buck produced a lot of work from the time he landed in DC. 

Friday, November 12, 2021

The History of a Lake Never Drowns by Julia Cohen (2008)


 The History of a Lake Never Drowns

Julia Cohen

dancing girl press

Chicago, IL

(c)2008

Perhaps it's because I just wanted a documentary about post-punk music but I am looking at chapbooks like DIY singles or cassettes. Except that most poets do not produce their own chapbooks and that many publishers are not also poets. 

dancing girl press, like a lot of indie record label is bootstrap tight on cash and start up floundering on recognition. This particular chapbook does no favors for the poet or the press (it feels like a copy that should have been pulped instead of added to a packet) 


Thursday, November 11, 2021

Ktaadn's Lamp by Andrew Schelling (1991)

Ktaadn's Lamp 

Andrew Schelling

Rocky Ledge Cottage Editions

Boulder, CO

(c) 1991

Andrew Schelling is a well known and established poet and translator who taught at the Naropa University outside of Boulder, CO which explains why "Rocky Ledge Cottage Editions" published this collection. The book was designed by Anne Waldman. 


Tuesday, November 09, 2021

Controller/Seedbed by Catherine Daly (2014)


Controller/Seedbed

Catherine Daly 

limited cycle press

Finland 

(c) 2014

Never heard of the press before. The poem in 30 parts is an interesting "projection-analysis" of the world we live in. Frightening and accurate. Good read. 

Update: I reached out to Ms. Daly and piece together the following information upgrade. I asked about the piece or pieces in the book and she said, "My original intent was to use this to control steering through texts (ex. jumping).  Each section is from a different nintendo game (from about 15 years ago)." 

I asked about the publisher (limited cycle press) and learned that it was "Jukka-Pekka Kervinen!  I first met him though Peter Ganick @ blue lion, but he'd published some chapbooks of mine (Daly's) online."

Monday, November 08, 2021

I Love You Forever, No Matter by Robert Fitterman (2016)


 I Love You Forever, No Matter

Robert Fitterman

Counterpath 

Denver, CO

(c) 2016

Full disclosure: I know Robert Fitterman. In fact he was the judge of one of our poetry chapbook contests years ago for Plan B Press, which I run. So when I saw this thin sliver of nothing in a second hand shop, I immediately recognized the name and added it to my stack. After I got the home, I contacted Robert and asked him about this particular venture and he informed me that it was that book is somewhat of a companion piece to No Wait. Yep. Definitely Still Hate Myself published by Ugly Duckling Press in 2014. Not many folks know about I Love Forever, No Matter--that chapbook series with Counterpath never really got off the ground. The chapbook is actually a chapter from a longer unpublished ms. called "The Emotion Wheel"

Sunday, November 07, 2021

Selected Tasty Shavers by Buck Downs (?)


 Selected Tasty Shavers

Buck Downs

self published

Buck Downs is in the news right now in Washington DC for a poetry sticker project that poetry haters are labeling "litter". Sad, really, that people who hate art so are quick to comment on things they don't understand. But it is in the cyber verse that we click in. 

Among the items I received from the poetry ephemera "trove" from Iowa were a number of Buck Downs self published poetry chapbook/booklets. This tiny formatted one is the first I will mention. Of course, I choose to mention within context as well. Downs is an outsider, not a DC native, but as so he sees through the hubris that breeds in our nation's capital. Coming as he does, from Mississippi

Wednesday, November 03, 2021

Twenty Grand by Guy Birchard (2003)


 Twenty Grand

the fin de siècle poems

Guy Birchard

Pressed Wafer Press

(c) 2003

rob mclennan's blog

Rob has written about the man, all I can say is that this thin sliver of nothing is worth the find. 

Tuesday, November 02, 2021

Eight Positive Trees by Karen Weiser (2002)


 Eight Positive Trees

Karen Weiser

Pressed Wafer 

Boston, MA

(c)2002

Even with a digital trail sometimes it's best to imagine where the shadow of a poet lingers now. After books published by the likes of Ugly Duckling Presse, a poet like this one can claim a space on the Academy of American Poets website and then not provide any info whatsoever. If you will, a white ghost instead of the traditional black. 

What I do know is that this chapbook by the now deceased and discontinued Pressed Wafer is on a table in front of me: half smiling. The booklet is divided into two sections, actually. "Out of the Body there are Planned Things" for Fanny Howe is first, a crash course for those (like me) unfamiliar with Ms. Weiser's work and then the somewhat misleading titled section "8 Positive Trees" taking it's name from a sculpture by Menashe Kadishman. (there are only 7 poems)

I love the brevity of her work here. It's refreshingly deep and subtly so. The words don't have to scream their message, the flow is more of a trickling creek - not the Mississippi River emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. 

Saturday, October 30, 2021

Historical Highlights About Colored Folk by Theodore S. Boone (?)


Historical Highlights About Colored Folk 

Theodore S. Boone

National Church Press

Albion, MI

This tiny (and I mean tiny) booklet is a reference booklet listing the accomplishments of Afro-American individuals through history. There were several editions and printings of this booklet. This particular copy has a pink inner page between the cover and the text. Maybe that's how they decided to tell the editions apart (?)

Friday, October 29, 2021

Midnight Antelopes by Darlene Gold (2003)

 


Midnight Antelopes

Darlene Gold

Pressed Wafer Press

(c) 2003

It's impossible to write about any book published by Pressed Wafer without mentioning William Corbett, the co-founder of the press who died in 2018. Pressed Wafer ended when he did. Sadly. 

The cover image of this chapbook was provided by Brenda Iijima. 

The torch has been passed, not extinguished. 


UU got hold of Tao by MMGK (?)

 

apparently this individual has written a number of these items, I am acknowledging that I found a few of them and took this one home to "review". However, the paper was wasted. The effort is unmerited. And that's all I have to say about that. (Forrest Gump)

Thursday, October 28, 2021

13 Poems by Zack Haber


 13 Poems

Zack Haber

self published

undated

I actually have some history with this poet. I only found this particular "little sliver of nothing" in the Reston Used Bookshop in Reston, VA on 10/24/21 while I was was too early for a poetry reading that I was one of the features for. And there on the bottom shelf of the poetry section, blocked by two stacks of books on the floor in front of the bottom shelf and I recognized the name immediately. "Wait a minute!"

In 2008 I started a poetry series in a funky (but ultimately poorly managed) art space called the Soundry. The series was called "Poetry Lab". It ran for a few years. One of the earliest poets to read as part of that series was a young man named Zack Haber. He had a book out entitled To Carry You Being which was published locally by Jan Holton. The book was published in Reston. It was Haber's hometown. It stated that To Carry You Being was his first book. But this earlier, undated, little sliver of nothing seems to have that honor. 

Shortly after reading in Vienna, Va for me at the Poetry Lab, Haber moved out to the Bay. He now teaches and lives in Oakland, CA. 


Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Tele Trance by Ross Priddle (2012)


 Tele Trance

Ross Priddle

oma darlin' press

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

(c) 2012

Mini-sized chapbook I had to write about because, com'on ! oma darlin' press? Huckleberry Hound? Clementine?

Ross Priddle has the Bentspoon Blog in Calgary. It's mini-mighty-fine indeed. 

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

I4000 Facts by Norma Cole (2009)


 I 4000 Facts

Norma Cole

a + bend press

Davis, CA

(c) 2009

It could be read as a single poem per page but since there are no titles nor a page count, it could also be read as a single poem with deliberate pauses between verses. It works as both, I believe. Intriguing all the same. 

Friday, October 22, 2021

Post Nativity by Joe Hall (2012)


 Post Nativity 

Joe Hall

Publishing Genius

Baltimore, MD

(c) 2012

Tiny booklet, interesting words. 

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

9 poems by Cate Peebles (2014)


9 poems
Cate Pebbles
Eye for an Iris Press
Brooklyn, NY 
(c)2014

Inventive wordplay and images makes this unique little item completely worth the find. Honestly. 



 

Monday, October 18, 2021

History by Chris Martin (2014)


 History

Chris Martin

Coffee House Press

(c)2014

10 page staple bound single poem small sized chapbook. (try saying all that in one breath) Fairly unique and terribly rare. 

hYh? by Gary Barwin (2012)


 
Inside the envelope that was from Factory Hollow Press was this even smaller item from a Gary Barwin and "phafours" of Ottawa, Canada. This item is smaller than a postcard and highly visual. It's not the sort of item that finds its way into collections generally, it's easily lost in transport. Could be used as a bookmark. 

I could not easily reproduce the name of this item, it's second "letter" is an upside down 'h'. Curiouser and curiouser. 

Valley Visions : Writings and Art from the Rio Abajo (2007)


 Valley Visions

Writings and Art from the Rio Abajo 2006-2007

University of New Mexico Valencia Campus

(c)2007

College students writing and art. Where are they now? 

Sunday, October 17, 2021

private party by Heather Christle (2013)

 

private party

Heather Christle


this mini-sized staple bound chapbook has no publication history at all anywhere in it. It's like she doesn't exist..... but, 


She does exist - at least on Tumblr

https://heatherchristle.tumblr.com


update : 10/18/21

I was going through the large packet of items I received from Iowa State and found an envelope from "Factory Hollow Press" which I promptly researched and in their catalogue from 2013 was - aha! - private party by Heather Christle. 

Friday, October 15, 2021

poemas de Juan Ramon Jimenez (no year stated)

 

poemas de Juan Ramon Jimenez

editoriol horizonte

Medellin, Columbia

no stated year

Little sliver of nothing, printed in Columbia. In Spanish. Handsome staple-bound oddly sized number as well. 


Pete Hoffman Days by David Harrison Horton (2003)






Pete Hoffman Days

Pinball Publishing 

Portland, OR

(c) 2003

David Harrison Horton is a Beijing-based writer, artist, editor, and curator. He is the author of the chapbooks Pete Hoffman Days (Pinball) and BeiHai (Nanjing Poetry). His poetry has recently appeared in In Parenthesesswifts & slowsSpittoon, and Otoliths.

This is one of the bios for the poet. I want to focus a bit more on the layout and design of the book itself though since it is uniquely sized with a open cover I have not seen before. So I want to acknowledge Laura Brian and Austin Whipple of Pinball for this design. Very well done. 


Thursday, October 14, 2021

Eunoia by Michael Nicoloff & Alli Warren (2011)


 Eunoia

Michael Nicoloff & Alli Warren

Abraham Lincoln Press

Ashland, OR

(c) 2011

Both of these poets have been achieving a "rep" : 

ALLI  WARREN’s first book, Here Come the Warm Jets, was published by City Lights. Previous chapbooks include Grindin’ (Lew Gallery), Acting Out (Editions Louis Wain), and Well-Meaning White Girl (Mitzvah Chaps). With Michael Nicoloff, she wrote Eunoia (Abraham Lincoln Press) and Bruised Dick. She edits the magazine Dreamboat, co-edits the Poetic Labor Project and formerly co-curated The (New) Reading Series at 21 Grand. Alli lives in Oakland. 


MICHAEL NICOLOFF is the author of the chapbooks "Punks", Mixed Grill (Monologue Version), and I Hope You Die, as well as the CD "Punkses" (After Ketjak). With Alli Warren, he wrote Bruised Dick and Eunoia. Formerly a curator of the (New) Reading Series at 21 Grand and Artifact, he presently serves on the board of Small Press Traffic and is an organizer with the Bay Area Public School.


I found nothing about this apparently micro-press, Abraham Lincoln Press. 


These two poets have merged their work so seamlessly in this collection I have no idea who's words are whose. If words have ownership, which they don't. Interesting chapbook. 




Neverheart by Loren Walker (2021)


 Neverheart

Loren Walker

dancing girl press & studio

Chicago, IL 

(c)2021


No one is perfect. And I am starting with myself, I am a no one who is also not perfect. I am starting this little piece with a tiny bit of "me-ism" in the sense that I am a flawed person who, among my many pursuits and interests, collects and writes about chapbooks. And I have seen some amazing work done on this small scale production because - honestly - making chapbooks is not high end, large budget book production. It isn't for the faint at heart or for those with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. It's for the dedicated, the committed; those living and thriving on the banks of the literary river that comprise this art form going back to cuneiform. To Ur. To the beginning of humans writing down their thoughts and deeds at the dawn of our being on this planet. 

Kristy Bowen has created this press and puts on her Sisyphus skin every time she brings out a chapbook of a female artist (that's what dancing girl press does; work with female artists). I applaud her for that. 

But as a publisher myself, I would have hoped that after nearly 20 years of doing this, it might have evolved out of the Xeroxed production era and this one hasn't. The cover image is good but the paper stock is very Xerox. I know this paper stock since I have used it myself. The words on the page are somewhat demeaned by the quality of the paper the words are printed on. As El Lissitzky wrote back 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.



Wednesday, October 13, 2021

"prime cuts" by Hot Whiskey Press (2006)


 "prime cuts"

Hot Whiskey Press 

Boulder, CO

(c) 2006

My apologies to those involved with this anthology. I take it to be an anthology. It lists poets and states that some of the poems were previously published elsewhere. It is a unique item to be sure. I am apologizing for titling the collection "prime cuts" since that is what it appears to be showing in the cover image and it does not actually list a title that I have seen anywhere. I hope my temporary title will suffice in the moment. 

This is indeed an interesting hand sewn anthology of work published by Hot Whiskey Press, a press I had not heard of before. A handful of the poets I have heard of and have read before : Linh Dinh, Elizabeth Robinson, Clayton Eshleman, Lisa Jarnot - but some were new to me. Wonderful mix. 

Saturday, October 09, 2021

Sri Kundalini Sakthi - Serpent Power by Late Y. Subbaraya Sharma (1992)


 Sri Kundalini Sakthi - Serpent Power

Late Y. Subbaraya Sharma

Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Ashram

Bangalore, India 

(c) 1992

One of only 1,000 copies printed. This is a chapbook in the sense that it is staple-bound and of the dimensions of a chapbook but it is also 102 pages, which means it NOT a chapbook and yet I am including it because the language is exquisite and the images as beautiful. It is a profoundly charming book. 

Friday, October 08, 2021

Phylum by Laura Goldstein (2013)


 
Phylum

Laura Goldstein

Horse Less Press

Grand Rapids, MI

(c)2013


Ms. Goldstein added another 'a' to her first name since I knew her in Philadelphia. Nice wraparound cover effect. Good writing. hand sewn booklet. Worth the read. 

Thursday, October 07, 2021

Stories and Articles of Eastern Native Americans by Reed Runk (2003)


 Stories and Articles of Eastern Native Americans

Reed Ruck

N&R Publishing 

St. Thomas, PA

(c)2003





More accurately this title should include A Compliation of Articles from Gene Niswander's Historical Indian Newsletter of Franklin County and Surrounding Area. Franklin County, PA. Informative collection of articles about the Native Americans encounters and then forcibly relocated from their lands by the descendants of those chronicling these tales. 52 pages. The tales are well written and yet thoroughly heartbreaking when you realize the outcome that led to them. The book might as well have been titled "white men remember those they killed off to take their land from". Such a tragedy. Such a loss. 

Spit-Curls by Keith Waldrop (1999)


 Spit-Curls

Keith Waldrop

duration press

(c) 1999

This one is special in the sense that it is duration press's first chapbook (stated on back as "duration.number.one.1999" and it one of only 200 printed. 31 pages of language gymnastics at its best. 

Monday, October 04, 2021

street mystery by Julia Vinograd (1985)


 street mystery

Julia Vinograd

J/S Press

(c) 1985

Through the arc of her publishing career, with the visual effects of her changing body as shown with her annual book release with corresponding cover photo; a sort of Dorian Gray in real time with written work that continues to become more perfected while she wanes due to the toll she pays for the life she chose to live; all represented in this 1985 chapbook published 40 page blast by a mysterious publisher who left no trace - puff of smoke. 


Sunday, October 03, 2021

Packing by Hailey Higdon (2012)


 Packing 

Hailey Higdon

Bloof Books

(c) 2012

This chapbook was well received and reviewed upon it's release in 2012. I remember reading with her at a rather bizarre event outside of Towson, Maryland a few years ago. It was a odd meddling of country fair with absurdist/difficult poetry being read in a building but it might as well have been a freak show tent to the blue hairs who wandered in. I remember Hailey reading well that day whereas some of the other poets attended seemed determined to "shock and awe". 


This is #86 of the 100 numbered copies that were printed. Bloof has done good work presenting quality writing and this is an early example of that. I mean, I could quote heavily from one of those reviews but we are talking about a chapbook that is almost a decade old and has been digitalized for on-line consumption. But you can't feel the cover electronically, and I do enjoy holding a book that actually feels like something. Not slick plastic that makes me want to wash my hands afterward to remove the slickiness of the cover. Be that as it may, the writing is good here and the presentation is worthwhile and e-books are just texts, aren't they? 

Saturday, October 02, 2021

Concrete Meat by Julia Vinograd (1981)


 

Concrete Meat

Julia Vinograd

Arc Press

Berkeley, CA

(c) 1981


Due to the nature of Ms. Vinograd's life and publishing history (a book a year for most of her life) we can to see the ever observant poet watching the world from street level while we also watch her age and wither year by year. At least until her sister began to provide the cover art for her annual missives. This is no exception. It is as she describes at the beginning of 'The Mirror's Edge' :

                          "We scare the monsters but not too far away"

no, indeed not. Otherwise, what would we write about?

Friday, October 01, 2021

Easter Sunday by Barbara Jane Reyes (2008)


 

Easter Sunday

Barbara Jane Reyes

ypolita press

(c) 2008


Back in 2015 I wrote a detailed accounting of this poet and her book printed the same year by Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs. Reyes had two books out the same year (Cherry). Pretty cool. This one came courtesy of a gentleman at Iowa State who was downsizing his massive chapbook collection (he works in that department and scores of items have ended up in his files over the years). Some of the pieces remind me of the work in Cherry , the chapbook printed by Brenda Iijima's press. Spatially, at least. It would not surprise me at all if the work in both of these 2008 chapbooks were merged in a book with a spine sometime later. 

Good stuff !


Complete Thought by Barrett Watten (1982)


 Complete Thought

Barrett Watten

TUUMBA 38

TUUMBA Press

(c) 1982

TUUMBA Press is one of those small presses that does not disappoint. Lyn Hejinian, who started the press in 1976, has done an incredible job creating a very distinctive series of poetry booklets. And this one just dazzles. 


Thursday, September 30, 2021

2 Poets by Robert & Charles Bodner (2020)

 

I am giving this chapbook a title and an image here but nothing more. 

It definitely qualifies as a "no tree deserves this ending" item. 

Tough year plus

 I haven't posted much, sorry. The pandemic has shifted my focus from one place to another and back and I just remembered that I have this platform to use (not abuse) and here I am - not ready to discuss any specific chapbook just yet but to thank those who have posted useful and informative comments - as in the case of Carl W who revealed the "mystery" of Jean Stair. Thank you, kind sir.


I don't know if any of you are aware of or have been published by dancing girl press out of Chicago but they are NOT on the up & up. I paid for a 5 chapbook bundle from them in June and never received anything. Not a thank you for your purchase, nothing. When I wrote the owner - I didn't even get crickets back. BE WARNED. 



Wednesday, February 03, 2021

Firewater & Pixie Dust by Karen Lillis (2013)


 

Firewater & Pixie Dust

Karen Lillis

Words Like Kudzu Press

Pittsburgh, PA

(c) 2013

There is a history here - both of a small "micro" press and the poet helmswoman in charge of it. 2 years before this item appeared, in a review of a previous book published by WLK, a reviewer mentioned Ms. Lillis's background and her time spent in Austin, Texas. 

I will save those details for another time, should I have the opportunity to review Emergency Room Wrestling by The Dirty Poet. 

I want to say that this story, illustrated by Nate McDonough, is quite something in its own write. The story was originally published in Trip City while Words Like Kudzu Press started in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC in 2000 to publish experimental work by women and "other outsiders".