Nick Wayte
The Ferry Press
London, UK
(c)1969
Never heard of this press nor this poet before. I found a webpage for this press and neither this book nor this author were listed as something the Press even brought out. Very curious.
At the time though, 1960s through mid-1980s, The Ferry Press did publish work by the likes of Lewis Warsh, Fielding Dawson, Tom Clark, J. H. Prynne, and others. Staple bound. Unpaginated. One of 350 printed. Somewhat oddly sized.
Joe Dunn with collages by Jess
White Rabbit Press
San Francisco, CA
(c)1968
This is an intriguing one to be sure. I knew who "Jess" (Collins) was, he was an artist in the Poetry scene in SF during the 'Renaissance' there prior to the arrival of the Beats. He was connected to the Jack Spicer circle somehow - I thought I remembered but I don't and as I collect more data, I wlll alter this posting - whereas Joe Dunn, who was involved with the same Jack Spicer group and was a founder of White Rabbit Press and verdant press, somehow has not been deemed important enough to have his own Wikipedia page. Go figure.
This book is stuffed with collages by Jess, one will spend a good deal of time studying them all. The poetry appears to have been created on a typewriter and feels very stream-of-consciousness, like floating across the page and then pulsating through the collage to begin anew on the next page of text. Red pages flyleaf between cover and text also adds a nice touch to the book. I also appreciate that the pages actually feel like something instead of many newer books that are so slick I feel the need to wash my hands after holding them just to feel something on my finger tips. Some books might as well be printed on plastic.
This one, however, is better than fine just as it is.
UPDATE ; I never do this but this time I have to. I reread this book and oh my god it is weird. Nonlinear text, collages that may or may not have anything whatsoever to do with the text. It startled me. I read it aloud. It didn't make any more sense that way than silent reading. Holy moly is it weird. How is this not better known? So original.
Julio Matas
Gabriel Arango
Havana, Cuba
(c)1958
This tiny booklet of poetry was written in 1953 and published in 1956. Written shortly after the coup that brought to power Bastisa and published toward the end of his reign. I do not read Spanish but I do know that an author signed copy of this book makes it pretty unique.
Additionally, this tiny book is not mentioned in any of the biographies or bibliographies that I have seen. It was signed by Mr. Matas apparently in Cambridge (Mass?)
Rare indeed.
