chap*books

Among the Living by J. F. Connolly (2006)

2012-02-14T11:51:00.001-08:00

Among the Living
J. F. Connolly
The Comstock Writers' Group
Syracuse, NY
(c)2006

Winner of the 2006 The Comstock Review Jessie Bryce Niles Award.

Staple-bound chapbook. This chapbook seems to validate two points that I often make about chapbooks. #1 - quotes by poets on the back of books does not guarantee success. Especially if the poets quoted are as regional as the poet in question. Get outside of that region and few people care. #2 - regional poetry often does not hold up outside of the region where the book/Press/poet is from.

Another Ordinary Day by Subhankar Das (2011)

2012-02-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

Another Ordinary Day
Subhankar Das
Ten Pages Press
(c)2011

This thin chapbook was "published" as an e-book in 2011. I have no recollection how it landed in my stash. Considering the poet lives in Kolkata, India where he runs the Graffiti Kolkata bookstore, it isn't like he knocked on my door one day and hand-delivered it to me. Perhaps in my overactive dreamworld he did, but not in the waking hours.

12 pages, staple-bound. Cover drawing. The poetry is very nice and as I am writing this I am listening to a Ravi Shankar raga randomly selected for me by itunes. Very interesting indeed.

UPDATE: It was sent to me by a poet/friend of mine! Okay, that mystery is solved.

84 Card Tricks by Hugh Morris

2012-02-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

84 Card Tricks
Hugh Morris
D. Robbins & Co., INc.
New York, NY

(c)1936

(c)1964

Before poets embraced the chapbook form, hustlers and low-lifes and ne'erdowells were quite abundant in creating inexpensive booklets to promote, to educate, to inform, and to (sometimes) distract the reading public. Not being a card shark, I am more interested in this item as a FORM instead of delving into the merits of its worth. But the image is awesome and if I were interested in 84 card tricks, I would love to have this chapbook.

ground water by paul cultrera (1978)

2012-01-30T12:40:00.000-08:00

ground water
Paul Cultrera
Fathom Press
Chicago, IL
(c)1978

There are a few small presses that interest me enough to collect and write about them often. One of those is the under-appreciated Fathom Press as run by Robie Liscomb. The work of Fathom is as good as any I have seen/held in my hands/put on my shelves. During an exchange with Robie I had last summer, he outlined in the broadest (vaguest) strokes a history of Fathom. He also was kind enough to entrust me with a wonderful packet of Fathom and related chapbooks from which I have been ever so slowly been drawing. ground water is the most recent nibble.

Coming in at the unusual dimensions of 10.5" X 6.75", this hand-sewn chapbook is a wonderful example of the work created by Robie Liscomb (with help by Paul Cultrera). Made during the Fall & Winter 1977-78 in Chicago, IL, this chapbook was printed on Rives papers. Fathom was linked to Pentagram Press, with Michael Tarachow and others. Their works appear on each other's imprint. More to come!

In you enjoy this blog, you might enjoy....

2012-01-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

Mimeo Mimeo, the wonderful journal about the intersection of art books and the mimeograph revolution. Jed Birmingham and Kyle Schlesinger have done a marvelous job putting together the publication and the blog. It's a bit more academic than what I present, but it's in the same universe. Give it a whirl.

In Place & Out by Michael Tarachow

2012-01-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

In Place & Out
Michael Tarachow
Pentagram Press
Markesan, Wisconsin
(c) 1982

Full disclosure : I am also the head of Plan B Press.

The reason I bring that up is that one can tell a good deal about the journeys of a small press by what's listed on the title page. In our case, that would include addresses in Leola, PA, Philadelphia, and Alexandria, VA.

Pentagram Press moved more frequently than many a Press. This beautifully crafted, hand-sewn chapbook was produced in the small town of Markesan, Wisconsin in early spring 1982. The poet & published Robie Liscomb gave me a bit of a "virtual tour" of the Press when we corresponded last summer, but it's fair to say that they produced books in nearly every location where they settled for any length of time. There are graphics between each poem, and these were expertly done by Vickie Burton. The copy I possess is #106 of 123 made. Signed by both poet and illustrator.

This is a bloody gorgeous chapbook. Hand-made paper, attention to detail throughout. Just amazing. Printed by someone named Rich Hopkins (who lived in Markesan, perhaps?) at his Hill & Dale Typefoundry. Quite the collector's item.

Rock The Nation (1986)

2011-12-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

Rock The Nation
Black by Popular Demand
Students of the Genesis School, Inc.
Kansas City, Kansas
(c)1986

This staple-bound chapbook was sent to me a by poet-friend of mine who lives in the Midwest. It came from a library purge. Genesis school was/is an early charter school which presented an alternative educational experience. The poets in this collection are from the school. The wrap-around image on the cover is from a mural painted in the school.

The Hopi Indians by Ruth Deette Simpson (1971)

2011-12-21T06:45:00.000-08:00

The Hopi Indians
Ruth Deette Simpson
Southwest Museum
Los Angeles, CA
(c)1971

This is an informative 91 page chapbook with B&W photos and illustrations throughout. 3rd printing. Handsome, handy and nicely done. This easily could have been a book with a spine - that's an argument that I have made before - but in this case, no matter. It's a great little find. I suppose ideal for the intrepid adventurer keen on walking the lands where the Hopi once lived.

After Robinson Has Gone by Kathleen Rooney (2010)

2011-12-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

After Robinson Has Gone
Kathleen Rooney
Greying Ghost Press
Salem, MA
(c)2010

Staple-bound chapbook. Cover a movie poster folded and stapled, black plastic under-cover. I have received a packet from Greying Ghost in the past when purchasing one of their items. They are ephemeral-driven. Kitsch or classic, not sure. Intentionally historic or merely whiffing the past, not sure. Publishing good poetry, sometimes. These people are hopefully enjoying the heck out of their efforts, that much as the barest minimum. And they must be - every copy has a different movie poster cover!

#35 of 100 printed. This is less of a review than an acknowledgment. If you are familiar with Kathleen's work, you ought to get a copy of this chapbook!

christmas comes early

2011-12-19T05:40:00.000-08:00

i "won" a lot of books on ebay the other day. Treasure trove! I will be going through it for weeks!

thanks for tagging along on my meandering journey through the byways & foot paths of chapbook publishing and some of the incredible finds along the way. It's been more than fun.

stevenallenmay

Each H by Samuel Amadon (2009)

2011-12-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

Each H
Samuel Amadon
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2009

Small chapbook of poems, hand-sewn. Interesting poetry.

Faster Than the Limiteds by Thomas R. Bullard (1991)

2011-12-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

Faster Than the Limiteds
The Chicago-New York Electric Air Line Railroads and Its Subsidiaries
Thomas R Bullard
Privately Printed
Oak Park, IL
(c)1991

This is an oversized chapbook of 84 pages. It's staple bound, thus the distinction. The author of this book has done a marvelous job detailing the subject with graphs, B&W photos and illustrations of some of the electric train cars used. It's really a wonderful book for those train buffs who have an interest in this field. Bullard has one enthralled with the subject from the beginning. It is stuffed with facts and pictures, a joy indeed for the people reading it.

2011-11-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

"Spermy": A Story For Little Children
Lois B. Chesebrough
The Marine Historical Association, Inc.
Mystic, CT
(c) 1950

This is a darling little kids chapbooks about sperm whales. Nice illustrations. A very cute chapbook. Published in 1950, printed at Mystic Seaport, near the dawn of the mimeograph era. Yet this is not a cheaply made chapbook. It's been lovingly put together. And for kids who LOVE whales, this is a handsome little book indeed.

Rope as Witness by Melissa Tuckey (2007)

2011-11-25T07:37:00.000-08:00

Rope as Witness
Melissa Tuckey
Pudding House Publications
Columbus, OH
(c)2007

Tuckey was part of the group of Anti-Iraq & Afghanistan war movement in Washington DC that led to the formation of Split This Rock festival. Her work appeared in D.C. Poets Against the War(2004) and she served as Events Coordinator at the original Split This Rock festival in 2008. This collection is a great starting point to her work.

At the same time, I won't hide my disgust with anything published by Pudding House Publications. What they do is simply not my cup of tea. Blah! SAVE A FOREST!

Your Introduction to Sovereign Hill, printed in Australia

2011-11-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

Your Introduction to Sovereign Hill
Guide to the Goldmining Township
Ballarat Historical Park Association
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
(c)1987

This very handsome 56 page booklet is a historical account of the town and the region at the time of the goldmining operations that occurred there in the 1850's. It's a beautiful booklet. Many color and B&W plates. If one were to be visiting that part of Australia, and was at all curious about the local history : this is definitely the ticket!

Poet sending gifts (2)

2011-11-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

A poet/friend from the midwest sent me a packet of chapbooks that he managed to save from a potential purging. Two of the items deal with the same theme so I decided to speak about them as a group:

Beginnings Endings and Somewhere-in-Between
Judy Clouston
Potpourri Publications
Praire Village, Kansas
(c)1992

Plays by Young Artists
An Anthology
Young Artist Wordshops
De Pere, Wisconsin
(c)1988

Each of these chapbooks show the bravery of those dealing with disabilities as well as the commitment of the entities that published the work. I have a lot of respect for everyone involved.

3 chapbooks from Kamini Press

2011-10-31T08:39:00.001-07:00

Somehow the publisher of Kamini Press found out about me and began sending me review copies of his handsome chapbooks. Kamini Press splits its time between Sweden and an island in Greece. They have been around since 2007, I believe, and have published an array of interesting British and American poets. I like the look of each one with its unique watercolor cover image. The most recent that I have received are:

Battle Scars
John Bennet
(c)2010

The Poet Tree
t. kilgore splake
(c)2010

Out of the Woods into the Sun
Guy Beining
(c)2011

for complete information about the Press go to: Kamini Press

Igitur by Stephane Mallarme translated by Jack Hirschman (1974)

2011-10-25T12:01:00.001-07:00

A poet-friend of mine was purging some chapbooks recently and sent me two. They sat on a pile of things I needed to read, review, catalog, post for sale: something had to be done with this pile and yet it kept growing! Anyway, these chapbooks were in the pile and I was watching a film on Netflix called “The Cool School” about the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles and the artists shown there. The narrator mentioned an incident that took place in 1964 where the vice police arrested an artist whose work was on display at the Fergus, a Wallace Berman and – wait a minute, I thought, wait a cottonpickin’ minute – I frantically went through my pile and there it was :

Igitur
Stephane Mallarme
Translated into English by Jack Hirschman
With cover by W. Berman
Printed at the Press of the Pegacycle Lady
Los Angeles, CA
©1974

W. Berman! Wallace Berman! The father of west coast assemblage art! The bloke arrested in 1964 and found guilty! I have something with his name on it and a cover image he created! Limited edition! #343 of 500 printed! 21 pages, hand-sewn. Mallarme, Hirschman, Berman … all I need is the name of the printer and I will have a complete set!

some bio info on Jack Hirschman

some bio info on Wallace Berman

some bibliography info on The Press of the Pegacycle Lady

2 items picked up at Occupy Baltimore

2011-10-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

as it happened, in the midst of the political upheaval now spreading across the country, that I was in Baltimore overnight last week at a hotel within walking distance to the Occupy Baltimore site. There I found some FREE items. I donated some cash to the cause and took :

Queers Read This
published anonymously by queers
July, 2009

The Straight Mind & One Is Not Born a Woman
Monique Wittig
Pink and Black Distro

These both represent the anonymous nature of what I like to call Kinko's publishing. Publishing done on the most cheap. Nameless, faceless, mass produced information that would otherwise be overlooked or suppressed. The fact that Gay politics is being tied to the Occupy Wall Street movement has more to do with the multiple grievances that have not been given voice since the financial collapse of 2007.

Both of the "broadsides" are reprints of previously published material. The Monique Wittig one in particular is important in that introduces a new generation of Americans to her vital work.

two versions of "The Reach" by Robie Liscomb

2011-10-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

The Reach
Robie Liscomb
Pentagram Press
Wisconsin
©1979

The Reach
Fathom Press
©1977

Two version of the same poem, I happened to track down Robie Liscomb over the summer and from one of our correspondence comes this description of the versions, “At first I assumed that the version of The Reach that you have is the summer 1979 printing in Japanese paper wrappers containing just the one poem. This was printed by Michael Tarachow of Pentagram Press in Markesan, WI, as a going-away present for me, as my wife and I were about to leave Chicago to live in Taiwan.

I wrote the poem on Jan. 1, 1977, in Chicago and it was first published in what I remember as the first piece published by my Fathom Press (in collaboration with Richard Lin Bodien) in spring of 1977. That little book, identified as “journal II sp 77/baolin books/fathom press” contained poems by Richard, me and Stephen Field. Actually, now that I think of it, your email probably references THIS chapbook rather than the later printing of the poem.

I got to know Richard as he was the husband of Carol Lin Bodien who has a graduate student in Indian art history at the University of Chicago, where my wife, Kathlyn, was a grad student in Chinese art history. I was starting my press and had just purchased a little Kelsey tabletop press and some type and Richard and I wanted to collaborate on a printing project. Stephen Field was a friend of Richard’s as was Sarah Burnham Mertz, whose limited-edition etching was used as the wraparound cover.

The typeface is Century Old Style, the only type I had on-hand, as it came with the press, which I bought from the daughter of a printer whose father gave it to her as a present. The text paper is something called Tweedweave that we found at a local paper supplier’s warehouse. I’m not sure whose awkward calligraphy is reproduced. All in all, I consider this to be a rather pedestrian effort, except for the etching, which I quite like.”

And that’s about all one has to say about that – seek and collect! These are incredible chapbooks!

coincidence is the better part of mystery

2011-09-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

Noting these two chapbooks: hope you see the same pattern on cover as I have.

The Reach
Robie Liscomb
Petagram Press
Wisconsin
(c)1979

A Calendar
Robert Creeley
Morning Coffee Chapbook Five
West Branch, Iowa
(c)1984

So, my curiosity was piqued when I looked at these books - one was buried in a lovely stack of books sent to me by Robie Liscomb and the other, a recent find on Ebay, one of the few chapbooks produced during the transition from Toothpaste Press to Coffee House Press. The Reach came first. It's just interesting to me that both publishers used the identical cover stock. One horizontal and the other diagonal.

2 Poems by Jeffrey Wright (1982)

2011-09-11T08:42:00.001-07:00

2 Poems by Jeffrey C Wright
Drawings by Yvonne Jacquette
The Toothpaste Press
West Branch, Iowa
(c)1982

Very handsome chapbook with ink drawings by Yvonne Jacquette. Signed by author and illustrator. #73 of 375 printed. Designed and printed by Allan Kornblum.

from an email exchange I had with Allan Kornblum, founder of Toothpaste Press & Coffee House Press, "I’m also particularly fond of 2: Poems by Jeffrey Wright and Drawings by Yvonne Jacquette. I finished the latter just before a book fair. The ink coverage was so intense, that we actually baked the pages in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour, to help dry the ink so we could sew them up and bring them to the fair." Beautifully done, rare and worth the search!

Here By Choice Agnetha Falk (1980)

2011-09-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

Here by Choice
Agnetha Falk
Trigram Press
West Yorkshire, England
(c) 1980

It was nearly a year ago now that I discovered Asa Benveniste and his work. I almost launched into posting info about him and his Press again here when I Google-checked myself. Instead, I will write about a book that I came across sometime later, this chapbook published by Trigram Press! Agnetha Falk was Asa's partner and this book came out in 1980. I got it from a gentleman in England, where Asa lived most of his adult life and where he is buried.

This was Agnetha's first published collection of poems. The image on the front cover comes from a drawing by Ms. Falk. 24 pages. Staple-bound. Ms. Falk originally came from Stockholm. From the publisher Henry Denander I learned that Agnetha was also married to Jack Hirschman. He had met them in Stockholm at a reading once.

Almost Perfect Forms by Michael Stewart (2009)

2011-09-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

Almost Perfect Forms
Michael Stewart
Dossier Series
Ugly Ducking Presse
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2009

The Dossier Series is a relatively new direction for UDP to venture into. This particular effort looks like a dossier in fact. Visually interesting. However, I think the effort is wasted on the subject matter. The word "and" as constellations? really? patterns on the page or in the sky or ???? Not sure.

The work here might have made its way into Stewart 2011 book The Hieroglyphics published by Mud Luscious Press. I can't rightly say. Best to check it out yourself

Annick Press, Ltd. Willowdale, Ontario, CANADA

2011-09-01T05:13:00.000-07:00

Henry and the Cow Problem
Iona Whishaw & Chum McLeod
Annick Press
Willowdale, Ontario, Canada
(c)1995

Jonathan Cleaned Up-The He Heard A Sound
Robert Munsch & Michael Martchenko
Annick Press

(c)2002

The Paper Bag Princesss
Robert Munsch & Michael Martchenko
Annick Press

(c)2003

I found these three mini booklets in the bottom of a bag of books that had been donated to the local library. Wonderful little kids books. 3 1/2 X 3 1/2. Fully colored illustrations. All of them were in their multiple reprintings. Great little booklets.

Somewhere Music, Somehow Song (1981)

2011-08-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Somewhere Music, Somehow Song
Michael Tarachow
The Fathom Press
Chicago, IL
(c)1981

A few months ago I won a lot of small press books on Ebay and one of the items was by Robie Liscomb. It was published by Fathom Press. So, I sought out and found Robie Liscomb and he gave me a taste of the history of Fathom Press and shortly after indulged me greatly with a fantastic packet of work by Fathom Press which Liscomb was intimately involved with. Among the items sent to me was this fantastic little chapbook by Michael Tarachow.

Beautifully made using a letterpress in February 1981, this book was done by Tarachow and Liscomb using handmade paper and images of pressed plants from around "the house". Money from NEA was used in the making of this chapbook and I must say it was money well spent. The backstory involving the participants, their mutually interwoven Presses, and their histories will be told in greater detail as I go through the treasure trove of chapbooks received from Liscomb.

Handmade green endsheets. Unpaginated. One of 240 made. It's an incredible find.

Totemic by Deirdra Baldwin (1983)

2011-08-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

Totemic
Deirdra Baldwin
Burning Deck
Providence, RI
(c)1983

Great chapbook. Unpaginated. Not familiar with this poet but very familiar with the Press. I did a quick Google search and found that she is currently a Yahoo contributor and is a published poet with five books, including Gathering Time, The Emerging Detail, An Occasional Suite, Totemic, and Inside Outside, with poems by Deirdra Baldwin and drawings by artist Gene Davis, and ninety individual poems published by regional literary presses, magazines, and journals including Ploughshares and New Directions. She is the recipient of a Wurlitzer Foundation Fellowship and honorary positions as a Poet in the Schools in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. She has served on the editorial board of Washington Writer's Publishing House and The Word Works, a poetry publishing house and literary organization of which she is a founding member. She has experience in film, video, and audio production, has produced and directed several independent dramatic projects, as well as radio advertising campaigns, and is currently marketing a novel called EDGY, while working on a second. She lives in Taos, New Mexico, because everyone waves to one another and says hello.

Burning Deck is the handiwork of the Waldrops, Keith and Rosemarie. They founded the Press in 1961. Known for publishing innovative poets, Burning Deck also publishes two series of translation: Serie d'ecriture presents a new book of contemporary French poetry each year; Dichten= presents an annual volume of contemporary German writing

This chapbook is #236 of 500 printed. Prose poetry.

North Ridge Lore (1981)

2011-08-11T05:39:00.000-07:00

North Ridge Lore
Rosalind Bovey, Chairman
North Ridge Citizens Association
Alexandria, VA
(c)1981

72 page chapbook of local history. Wraparound photo on front cover. Filled with B&W images, maps, and remembrances throughout.

Local histories do well in the chapbook format. I have been collecting them for awhile. There is interest in them from collectors. This one is 62 pages of history with 3 pages of ads, which are now dated, signifying a moment in time. The area involved is a section of Alexandria between Duke Street and King St. (route 7) which was developed in the 1920s. This history is fairly extensive and important for anyone interested in the history of Alexandria as well as Northern Virginia. Worth the while!

The Complete Failure of Everything Jose Padua (2008)

2011-08-10T06:16:00.001-07:00

The Complete Failure of Everything
Jose Padua
The Apathy Press Poets
Baltimore, MD
(c)2008

In addition to being a blogger on the subject of chapbooks, I am a publisher and I have been handed my share of Rap/ Spoken Word/ Slam poetry over the years. My response has been that most of the poets who work in this field ought not have a book but need a CD so that the "reader" can appreciate the work as it is performed. Mostly the poets who live in this world think of their work on the page as secondary to their performance of the work on stage. For cash prices. I remember the scene in the film 'Slam Nation" in which an editor at St. Martin's Press is commenting on the lack of sales worthiness that slam poets are on the page. I have to agree to a point. I haven't seen a book of poetry that does justice to the performative nature of a good Spoken Word poet.

This brings me to the wonderful poet Jose Padua who is not being served well by the 2008 chapbook The Complete Failure of Everything. The quality of the chapbook is minimal, to be kind. Jose needs a CD to capture him at his best. His voice is just incredible. His work when spoken makes the experience nearly perfect. On the page, on the page as presented by The Apathy Press, I would not be interested in his work. They don't present him well. If I didn't know who he was, I wouldn't bother finding out anything else about him. However, I do know his work and have heard him read and that experience is incredible! A must for any lover of poetry.

Medieval Scenes by Robert Duncan (1978)

2011-08-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Medieval Scenes
Robert Duncan
The Kent State University Libraries
Kent, Ohio
(c)1978

Preface by author, Afterword by Robert Bertholf. Unpaginated. Staple-bound chapbook. Containing material from the 1950 publication as well as work from 1959. Much has been made of this collection. A definite "find".

Toothpaste Press, Ugly Duckling Presse, Fathom Press

2011-07-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

plenty of chapbooks to discuss including fabulous chapbooks by Toothpaste Press and until recently unknown Press, Fathom Press, and one of its foremost persons in Robie Liscomb, as well as a stack of newly published chapbooks by Ugly Ducking Presse.

coming up soon!

Swarming Buzzwords for the HoneyBlood (2006)

2011-07-13T07:15:00.001-07:00

Swarming Buzzwords for the HoneyBlood
Marvin Scott Marvin
self published
Las Vegas, NV
(c)2006

32 page staple bound chapbook. Others have expressed admiration for this one. I don't see it. The quality of the presentation is god awful. The poetry isn't very good. SAVE A TREE!!!

Now I Become Myself by May Sarton (1992)

2011-07-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

Now I Become Myself
May Sarton
rumble press
Burlington, VT
(c)1992

Hand printed. Designed, set, printed and bound during the winter of 1991-92 by Bruce Conklin. This is number 334 of a run of 400. Unpaginated. Purple hand made cover paper. Beautiful chapbook.

Two From the Book by Hal W. Trovillion (1956)

2011-07-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

Two From the Book
Hal W. Trovillion
Trovillion Private Press
Herrin, IL
(c)1956

Staple-bound chapbook. Christmas gift by printer Hal W. Trovillion to friends of his and his wife, Violet. This copy is #32. Unpaginated. Yellow cover stock. Extremely rare item.

The Scottish Cafe by Susanna H. Case (2002)

2011-06-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

The Scottish Cafe
Susanna H. Case
Slapering Hol Press
Sleeping Hollow, NY
(c)2002

The cover is a perfect representation of a composition book. 37 page chapbook well-made by Slapering Hol Press, the imprint of the Hudson Valley Writers Center. The chapbook was the winner of their annual contest. All the same, it's glaring to see that her name was misspelled on the cover, title page, and throughout : It's Susanna, not Susan. Yet there it is: neon flashing MISTAKE MISTAKE MISTAKE.

Land's End by Gwen Worley (1976)

2011-06-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

Land's End
Gwen Worley
The Four Oceans Press
Maplewood, NJ
(c) 1976

8 page Lesbian story. Chapbook from a very small press. Not much known about author. Cover design handsomely done by Philip Coppola.

Pantomime by Wayne McNeill (1974)

2011-06-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

Pantomime
Wayne McNeill
Catalyst
Scarsborough, Ontario, Canada
(c)1974

Unpaginated. Staple-bound chapbook. Nice little collection of poems, I especially like "The Reading". Rare chapbook.

the silver book by Jen Bervin (2010)

2011-06-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

The Silver Book
Jen Bervin
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
©2010

It seems a simple enough chapbook to write about : this book represents the physical manifestation of an installation by Jen Bervin entitled Mississippi, or does it? I wanted to make sure that I sound the least bit intelligent when writing about the chapbook so I contacted Ms. Bervin who told me that chapbook was a “through-line” more than a representation of another work, like, say the installation. He

This confusion or hesitation on my part comes from the timing of receiving a packet of chapbooks for reviewing from Ugly Ducking Presse at roughly the same time that Plan B Press was releasing the first chapbook by Paul Fauteux entitled “The Best Way to Drink Tea”. Fauteux’s chapbook is basically a Play Bill for a performance piece created for the poem “The Best Way to Drink Tea” by Paul Fauteux. He collaborated with his mates Ben Nicholson and Spencer Leach to create a multimedia conceptual piece (film + reading + music). Having witnessed the performance piece and published the text for it as a book, I was interested in how Ms. Bervin and Ugly Duckling Presse handled a similar situation with her The Silver Book .

I received a review copy from UDP which I found wanting. The cover was white with silver lettering, stating the title and words REVIEW COPY at the bottom. At the end of the copy were the publisher info and description of the book which included the following: “the covers are printed on the same silver paper used in bervin’s installation, the river, 230 ft. panoramic scale model of the Mississippi river composed of handsewn sequins, silver paper, and thread”. Okay, fine, I suppose I was suppose to imagine the cover and the installation while reading the text – since the text was all that was present in front of me.

But knowing that there was more I needed to see the “whole package”, the chapbook was it was released to the world. I bought a copy – silver paper cover with letter pressed title on front cover. Otherwise, it looked nearly identical to the review copy. Okay, there was one noticeable difference: the paper stock was marginally better. I now reference Ms. Bervin’s own description of the text as a “through-line”. It is not an exact representation of the installation nor was it meant to be. I have to contrast this with “The Best Way to Drink Tea” which uses a still from a film by Nicholson for the piece: the visualization of the poem, itself altered to include a teabag in water, tinted blue, added by the Creative Director of Plan B Press.

What I am curious to examine in these cases is how one medium is presented in another. How is an installation “presented” on the page, how a performance piece can be “presented” in book form. Do they capture the other art form or merely document the existence of the other? Can words alone describe images, visual arts?

Greying Ghost Press

2011-06-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

During the summer of 2010, I discovered Greying Ghost Press and got a small booklet from them. I didn't just receive a booklet however. I got a packet of material. Some that made sense and some truly bizarre pieces of ephemeral. Theirs is an interesting tale, you should check it out here:

Greying Ghost Press

afterlife 9 by s. c. virtes

2011-06-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

afterlife 9
s. c. virtes
self published
(c)2006

The chapbook proves (again) that anyone with a computer and printer can produce a chapbook. It looked better on ebay than it does in hand. Photocopy express, I'm talking! SAVE A TREE!

37 Psalms from the Badlands McCreesh (2008)

2011-06-02T05:41:00.000-07:00

37 Psalms from the Badlands
Hosho McCreesh
Kendra Steiner Editions #85
San Antonio, TX
(c)2008

Staple bound chapbook. Single sided poems. Poorly designed booklet, done on the cheap. The poetry isn't bad. McCreesh is worth reading.

parrot on a motorcycle (1924/2010)

2011-05-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

Parrot on a Motorcycle : On Poetic Craft
Vitezslav Nezval
translated by Jennifer Rogers
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2010

I have a soft spot for Ugly Duckling Presse. I got to witness one of their "anti-readings" in 2002 and found it refreshingly unpredictable. I have favored their chapbooks and enjoyed their aesthetic, as best as I understood it. This short essay on the "craft of poetics" was originally written in 1924 and was included in Nezval's book Pantomima along with plays, prose pieces, and music. It appears in this form in English and Czech. The cover is a brightly colored image of a bicycle tire. It looks good.

But let me go back to an earlier statement of mine; "I......enjoyed their aesthetic, as best I understood it". I don't see that this very short piece, regardless of the accuracy of its translation and its visuality is worth the effort. Nor the price. As an outsider to their collective effort and mind-set, I don't "get it". So be it. I am not familiar with the work of Nezval and this piece doesn't do much to enlighten me. However, for those who love the work of Ugly Duckling Presse, you ought to find a copy of this one as well.

Two Books by Idiots' Books

2011-05-16T06:14:00.000-07:00

Facial Features of French Explorers
Idiots’ Books
Volume 1
Robbi Behr and Matthew Swanson
Chestertown, MD
©2006

The Vast Sahara
Idiots’ Books
Volume XIV
Robbi Behr and Matthew Swanson
Chestertown, MD
©2008

What a bunch of Idiots! This tag-team of illustrator and writer has produced an interesting line of books that are beautifully made and visually astounding. I met these Idiots at the AWP convention in Washington, DC in Feb. 2011 and was immediately drawn to their books are a great example of the synthesis between image and text. A wonderful blend. Captivating. I recommend you check out their wares at www.idiotsbooks.com

Joel Colton/Randal Rupert (1979)

2011-05-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

The Night Becomes Thick and Comfortable
Joel Colton/ Randal Rupert
Philadelphia Eye and Ear
Philadelphia, PA
©1979

This unpaginated chapbook is a nearly perfect merging of text with image. Joel Colton was a poet and photographer who died at Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. He was well known and respected in Philadelphia and had collaborated with a number of artists in an effort to present his work in a greater artistic context. Here, the handwritten text with images by Randal Rupert completely captivate the imagination and broaden the range of the possible in terms of how poetry can be SHOWN on the page.

This brave chapbook was printed at the Print Center in Brooklyn. The publisher’s name indicates the direction that the Press was aiming toward. It’s a direction I fully appreciate. The “Stay-at-Home” division of Plan B Press is also interested in pursing visual work with text and poetry with images. The interesting thing about this Colton/Rupert collaboration is that each spread is completely different and unique within the book. The handwriting on some spreads is like calligraphy. On other spreads, it’s like someone’s hand written letter to their mother.

I first heard of Colton from Philly poet Jim Cory who mentioned him in one of Cory’s poem. That was in 2002. Since Joel died, his work has been fading into the dustbins of time. The work deserves wider recognition. Hopefully these brief words will help in that effort.

Here is a spread from the book :

Sorcery Part 2 Hugh & Mary Behm-Steinberg (2007)

2011-04-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Sorcery
A second Book of Days
Hugh & Mary Behm-Steinberg
Dusie.org
Switzerland
(c) 2007

This is a follow-up to Sorcery Part 1 which was written in 1997-98. Hugh provides the text and Mary creates the images. This book was laid out in Word, which Hugh acknowledged was very difficult indeed as there are a least two images on every page. Unpaginated. 5 1/2" X 8 3/4". Green cover. Staple-bound chapbook. Meant more as an experiment than for a wider audience. The chapbook retains a sense of book creation in the late 1990s - early Internet period. The countless images, all Black & White apparent clip-art versions of highly colorized Medieval images, are either overly dark or washed out. This does not take away from the writing but it doesn't enhance the experience in a way that I am certain that the Behm-Steinbergs intended either.

The Jack Kerouac Upper Peninsula Diary (1998)

2011-04-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

The Jack Kerouac Upper Peninsula Diary
T. Kilgore Splake
Angst Productions
Calumet, MI
(c)1998

I first became aware of T Kilgore Splake's work from some broadside published by Alpha Beat Press of New Hope, PA. I wrote to "Splake" and he replied with a letter and some of his other work. One of those items was this chapbook.

42 page diary, staple-bound book with B&W images. The writing, in the manner of Jack Kerouac, is interesting. For myself, the enlightening - the peeling back of the onion skin - is itself part of the back story which is something I am always eager to find. For example, one of the presses that brought out some of Splake's books is called enigma press in Philadelphia. I lived in Philadelphia for two years and was in charge of the chapbook section at the venerable Robins Bookstore and I never saw anything by enigma. In fact, I never heard of enigma until I looked over the material I received from Splake over a decade ago.

I found a wikipedia page on Splake which indicates that he is editor in chief of Angst Productions. Angst Productions just happens to be a publishing company that has produced a number of his books. I am just saying....

Magpie's Box by Kate Schapira

2011-04-22T04:38:00.000-07:00

Magpie's Box
Kate Schapira

This is one of the smallest books I have yet seen or received. 2 1/2" X 2 1/4" booklet. Good poetry. Interesting cover and tiny format. Wow!

Emily Dickinson: Profile of the Poet as Cook (1976)

2011-04-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

Emily Dickinson:Profile of the Poet as Cook
with Selected Recipes
multiple authors
Amherst, MA
(c)1976

Fascinating subject! I had never thought about Emily Dickinson in this regard. The authors were all connected to the Dickinson Homestead in the Bicentennial year. A well researched and illustrated chapbook. 28 pages. Staple-bound. Text mingled with recipes. Pretty awesome indeed.

2011-04-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

Twenty-Five Poems of Protest
Rewi Alley
The Caxton Press
Christchurch, New Zealand
(c) 1968

This fairly rare chapbook published in the midst of the Vietnam War, in the critical year 1968. These poems were written in China by the author who has spent a good portion of his life living there. 41 pages. Cover of unknown origin. Possible woodcut of Chinese or Vietnamese solider waving. Fascinating look at "life during wartime" from a different perspective.

Poetry Baltimore: poems about a city

2011-04-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

Poetry Baltimore: poems about a city
Sam Schmidt and Virginia Crawford, editors
WordHouse
Baltimore, MD
©1997

The backstory here is this : I was attending a poetry reading in Annapolis the same week that a reading had taken place in Baltimore for the 10 year anniversary anthology of Beltway Poetry Journal, edited by Kim Roberts. I had met Kim three years previously and we had exchanged infrequent emails during most of that period, until she contacted me about the possibility of Plan B Press publishing an anthology. Our meetings turned into a series of proposals and counter-proposals leading to the creation of Full Moon on K Street: poems about Washington D.C. (Plan B Press, 2010)

It became obvious to me that the anthology was going to hit the space in Washington, D.C. when an article on Kim and her anthology appeared in the February 7, 2010 edition of the Washington Post. Moreover, Kim had researched earlier anthologies of Washington DC poetry and had posted her findings in an incredible entry on her website - Kim Roberts on DC Poetry Anthology

I had never attended a reading in Annapolis but there were a few featured poets that night I wanted to hear, so I went. Earlier that same week, a piece appeared in the Baltimore City Paper about the tie-in reading occurring in Baltimore for Full Moon. In the piece the reporter bemoaned the fact that there was nothing like Kim’s anthology for Baltimore. I mentioned what this reporter had said to a couple I had met that evening, and they got very dejected. It turned out that the couple I was saying this to was the couple who had put together Poetry Baltimore : poems about a city in 1997. They were understandably a bit upset by the exchange and I offered them a copy of Full Moon…

A few weeks later I received a very nice copy of Poetry Baltimore in the mail. This handsome book contained 30 poems by poets with a connection to Baltimore including Lucille Clinton, Barbara DeCesare, A. V. Christie, Linda Pastan, and Kim Roberts – wait, that Kim Roberts? Yes, it turns out that Kim was friends with Sam and Virginia. Had attended their wedding.

This anthology is 36 pages long, in the universe of chapbooks, but perfect bound. The publisher, WordHouse, Inc. was a new organization in 1997 when this anthology came out. It was one of a handful of books that were brought out by WordHouse. However, there are faint traces of them on the internet. Like so many good ideas, things happened.

I am glad that Virginia Crawford was able to track down a copy of this great little collection. Copies are scarce. But isn’t collecting at least half the search? It’s worth the find!

poemns by Bob Grumman

2011-03-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

poemns
Bob Grumman
the Runaway Spoon Press
Port Charlotte, FL
(c)1997

unpaginated. 4 1/4" X 5 1/2". This is a 1997 reprint of a book that was originally created over 30 years previously. Grumman was and is affected by ee cummings. It shows. For any fan of cummings and spatial poetics, this short collection is a MUST. It's akin to visual poetry without attempting to be cute or obtuse. It's a great little book, go forth and get yourself a copy!

3 tiny chaps by Caleb Puckett

2011-03-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

Homecoming
Caleb Puckett
The Feral Press
Oyster Bay, NY
©2010

Runoff
Caleb Puckett
The Feral Press
Oyster Bay, NY
©2010

Combatants
Caleb Puckett
The Feral Press
Oyster Bay, NY
©2010

Caleb Puckett is a poet on the move, many seeds planted in the rich soil of the Plains. He’s been poetry editor of Nimrod Magazine, has had several books of various sizes published in the past 5 years (including Desertions by Plan B Press) and is expecting his first child later this year.

These tiny chaps were published by Feral Press which is the brainchild of John Digby and his wife, Joan. John Digby's collages have been exhibited widely in the UK, France, USA and Korea. All of his work is exclusively black and white and composed of archival papers and pastes. The Feral Press is a small press publishing unique stories, essays and poetry, illustrated in black and white by a variety of artists working in various media. Both his studio and press are in Oyster Bay, New York.

These items are quite collectible as both the poet and artist/publisher will be around for some time to come.

In the Particular Particular by Stephanie Anderson

2011-03-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

In the Particular Particular
Stephanie Anderson
New Michigan Press
Grand Rapids, MI
(c)2007

38 page standard chapbook. Unfamiliar with author and Press. I liked some of the poems quite well. It's a decent find.

Plants of Sun and Sand (1939)

2011-02-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

Plants of Sun and Sand
The Desert Growth of Arizona
Stanford Stevens
Illustrated by Gerry Peirce
The Print Room
Governor’s Corner
Tucson, AZ
©1939

My wife found this unique 48-page chapbook in the discard section of the Philadelphia Library a few years ago. It’s unique primarily due to the fact that the cover is made of wood. Plywood. There are B&W illustrations throughout but the plywood is what I keep coming back to. I had read that some Futurist books were made with tin covers, I have never seen one of those but this was 1939 – Arizona. Not what I would call the “cutting edge” in any way, but there it is (was), a beautifully made chapbook. The topic of the book is cacti, native plants of the desert Southwest. It’s an interesting and unique book, a real find.

Leaving by Dennis Cooley

2011-02-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

Leaving
Dennis Cooley
Chapbook #8
Turnstone Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba
©1980

This is the first collection by Manitoba-based poet Dennis Cooley. One of the driving forces behind Turnstone Press, Cooley has gone on to publish 13 books of poetry. Turnstone Press began in Manitoba in the 1970s and is still in operation. This book is 31 pages long. #8 in the series.

This is a must-have for any completist, a rare first chapbook by this prolific poet.

Only as a Body by Jennifer Young

2011-01-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

Only as a Body
Jennifer Young
Bateau Press
Northampton, MA
(c)2010

I love Bateau Press. I love that they are ecologically friendly, that their books are made with soy ink and that their offices are powered by renewable energy. I love the look and feel of their books. What's not to like?

Well, content; there's that. The whole El Lissitzky thing, his quote about how a book has to have good content as well as good visual presence. Yeah, well..... Jennifer Young won the Bateau Press 2009-2010 BOOM chapbook contest for this collection. However, to me it's a glorified batch of journal entries. I am not impressed. I tried reading the pieces aloud: no, still journal entries!

I am certain that my view is a minority one, but it's mine and I will stick to it - this is a wasted opportunity from a otherwise outstanding small press. SAVE A TREE!

Later by Robert Creeley (1978)

2011-01-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

Later
Robert Creeley
The Toothpaste Press
West Branch, Iowa
(c)1978

Unpaginated. Beautifully made chapbook. Cover and title page drawings by Louis Picek. Hand-made paper. Hand-bound with string. This is clearly The Toothpaste Press at full stride as a maker of unique chapbooks. Later in this form was the first printing of the single poem by this title. It was published as a full book by W.W. Norton in 1979 and by Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd (UK) in 1980. It was the first of two collaborations between Creeley and The Toothpaste Press; the second being Echoes in 1982.

rare - worthwhile - collectible.

a god-awful waste of paper

2011-01-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

St. Elmo's Coffee Pub Anthology 2000
Jeanne Butler & Jean Leyman, editors
self published
Alexandria, VA
(c) 1999

This is a chapbook anthology of persons who had read at the St. Elmo's Coffee Pub from 1997-1999. The work is not in any way exceptional. Live trees were felled to make this self-indulgent bit of crap. It would be of interest to cultural archivists in the Alexandria, VA community but I doubt anyone else, other than friends and family, would be the least bit interested in this rubbish. SAVE A TREE!

Heartbreak Hotel by Tom Clark

2011-01-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

Heartbreak Hotel
Tom Clark
Toothpaste Press
West Branch, Iowa
©1981

Unpaginated. 5” X 5” , handmade paper. Hand sown binding. #294 of 500 signed copies. Very handsomely made chapbook, which was the trademark of Toothpaste Press. 5 very short stories with illustrations. Wonderful little book. By collection Toothpaste Press books, one can observe the variation of styles and appearance as publisher Allan Kornblum tinkers with the form of the books he is producing. It is no wonder that he reached a decision within 5 years of this chapbook to recreate his press as Coffeehouse Press and to produce full collections. There are physical restrictions to the chapbook form, not to mention financial considerations, that lead a publisher to change course. STILL, this is a beautiful chapbook. A real find.

Dakota Country by Dakota Dan Holsworth

2010-12-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

Dakota Country : The Pioneer Years
1966-1971
Dakota Dan Holsworth
Pine Hill Press
Freeman, South Dakota
©1972

This 20-page chapbook appears to be representative of the work published by Pine Hill Press. The Press was founded in 1952 and is currently housed in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Press specializes in Short Run books (some may see the word Vanity Press flashing before their eyes), but it’s been successful enough in what they do to be around for 58 years which is quite an accomplishment by any standard.

There is a Dan Holsworth in Madison, South Dakota who might be the same person. The chapbook itself sports two photos of the author on front and back. I found the poetry itself to be, I have to say, unremarkable. As an object, it is worth acknowledging but as literature – well, it ain’t all that.

I will say this : If I were a collector of regional material, I would want this in my collection.

Teeny Tiny & other microscopic booklets

2010-12-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

A poet I know recently sent me a packet of chapbooks and ephemeral material and among the items was

I Wasn't There When it Happened
Christopher Wells
Teeny Tiny
Edmonds, WA
(c)2006

I looked at it for a few seconds and remembered that I had previously become acquainted with Teeny Tiny publications and its founder, Amanda Laughtland. Back in 2007 I happened across her somewhere, perhaps on the net, and contacted her. She responded by sending me

FREE
Amanda Laughtland
Teeny Tiny
March 2007
second edition

Teeny Tiny
#10
March 2007

These are indeed "teeny tiny" booklets, 4 1/4" X 3". We are talking small. We are also talking interestingly created and very under the radar. Using clip-art and stampers to adorn the booklets, the folks behind Teeny Tiny have made an array of interesting "one-of-a-kind" booklets. The Wells booklet is a little better assembled - it has cover stock - while the others were made entirely out of copy paper. All of them fit comfortably into an envelope.

While we are on the subject, there are two other "microscopic" booklets I have and would like to discuss:

A POEM
M. Yankelevich
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
(c) 2001

12 short ones
Barbara Torode
enoch flower publishing
Philadelphia, PA
(c)2003

These are tinier still: A POEM measures 2" X 2" and contains a very short little poem, two words per page. This is very early in the development of Ugly Duckling and in the publishing career of M. Yankelevich. It's nearly too small to keep and completely worth while. "12 short ones" by Philadelphia based designer/poet is slightly larger, 2 3/8" X 2 3/8". The Torode cover is color and complex. It uses accordion style printing and uses both sides for her poems. Handsome LITTLE book. #26 of 100 hand-made booklets.

Flowers of Foam by Carol Wight

2010-12-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

Flowers of Foam
Carol Wight
F. B. & F. P. Goss
Hyannis, MA
©1936

5” X 4” staple-bound chapbook, likely letterpressed. 16 pages. 11 poems. Every other page is blank. This is a called a “Cape Cod Idyl”. It appears to have been originally published in 1892. If so, then this small chapbook, which was signed by Ms. Wight, came out 44 years after it originally was published. She would have been a significantly older woman. It was signed to “Ted and Pan”. There is an owner’s plate inside front for Theodore Johnson.

The printers/publishers, F. B. & F. P. Goss, seem to have been most active during the early decades of the 20th century and well known by Historical societies in the state of Massachusetts. This book was printed on Cape Cod. It’s an early chapbook, I was not aware of staple-bound chapbooks being made as early as 1936, but here is one. It’s in surprisingly good condition. The cover illustration is by someone with the initials of ASW. No information is available about whom that was; nor did I glean anything from a Google search for “Carol Wight”.

The poetry is certainly not of a form that I favor, but if it was first published in 1892 then it clearly is from a different time. As a collectible, it’s quite rare and handsome. Well worth the search.

Theatre by David Curry

2010-12-05T14:09:00.001-08:00

Theatre
David Curry
The Best Cellar Press
Crete, Nebraska
(c) 1973

Unpaginated. Handsome little chapbook. This press seems to have most active in the 1970s. Published something by Ted Kooser and Wendell Berry. The editor was Greg Kuzma who teaches at the University of Nebraska. A very good writer himself and a darn good publisher by the looks of this chapbook. The Poet, David Curry, has published short stories and poems in The American Review, Black Warrior Review, Crab Orchard Review, North American Review, Ohio Review, Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah and elsewhere. His second book of poetry, Contending to be the Dream (New Rivers Press, 1979) received Special Distinction in the 1979 Elliston Book Awards for books of poetry from small, independent presses.

He received a writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1979. For 10 years he edited and published the little magazine Apple from Springfield, Illinois.

Theatre seems to have been among his earliest chapbooks, can't determine where it falls in his bibliography at this time. Will post any updates I received. This is a decent find! (this entry was ably assisted by Caleb Puckett, thanks Caleb!)

In Fee Simple by Gene Kimmet

2010-11-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

In Fee Simple
Gene Kimmet
Stormline Press
Urbana, IL
©1986

Representative of the work published by Stormline Press, this 39 page collection by first time author Gene Kimmet shows the strong regionalism that this Press featured. While the poems are a mixed blessing, the sense of place all the same permeates through the work.

Stormline seems to have been most active in the 1980s and published a number of Midwestern poets, writers, and photographers. This is the first book by this Press that I have happened across. It’s a very decent find. The regional voice is strong and sure. You feel the land right there in front of you. Illinois. Heartland. America.

The Healing Green by David Newall

2010-11-19T08:48:00.000-08:00

The Healing Green
David Newall
Armaus Publishers
Luton, Bedfordshire, England
P. R. MacMillan
Cambridge, England
(no year stated)

This 34 page chapbook is quite the enigma. The author is unknown. The publisher is unknown. The printer might be P. R MacMillan, Cambridge (England). I do know that this collection does have 34 stated pages and that the poems were written in English and printed in English. Sorry if I seem a bit flippant but it feels like a ball of flummox holding this virtual unknown commodity.

These poems are largely about nature. Upon clearer inspection, these poems also have some typos that someone corrected in pencil. There is no owner name, The Press had an address of Luton, Bedfordshire, England which is the home of a college and it also states on the printer info page that the book was printed in England. SO - there is that.

But little else. The cover is green. The book is staple-bound. It's a legitimate chapbook. I am guessing that it was a student's early publishing effort as it has a dreadful rhyme scheme that bores me to tears. I am leaning toward SAVE A TREE for this one. I might have to pulp this copy myself - but I am almost intrigued to find out more about this book before being "rash". Anyone out there know anything about it?

Commenting on two Plan B Press chapbooks

2010-11-12T06:44:00.000-08:00

Without
Richard Erdmann
Plan B Press
Stay-at-Home Press
©2007

The Mutual Life
Relationships, Colonization and Other Accidents
A Manual of Reference
James Thomas Stevens
Plan B Press
©2006

I haven’t written before in this blog about any chapbooks published by Plan B Press since I am the co-founder and head of Plan B Press. Felt like a conflict of interest. However the thrust of my comments here have to do with the books published by one of our divisions : Stay At Home Press. Not that that matters terribly much except that I have a bit less to do with this division than our “running man” division of the Press.

The concept behind Stay–at-Home Press is the attempt to wed image with text in a more realizable way. And to do this in the “book” format, not relying on or hiding behind the non-conventions of the e-book. To produce something a person can hold : a book. This, of course, was only the most basic reason for developing this new division of the Press. One of the statements that our Press tries to adhere to came from El Lissitzky who in 1931 wrote: “The book must be the unified work of author and the designer. As long as this is not the case, splendid exteriors will constantly be produced for unimportant contents, and visa-versa.

Our first attempt was Richard Erdmann’s chapbook Without. This chapbook melded text with image and image with text on. It was more of an experiment than a finished project, in hindsight I say, and as often happens – the poet disappeared into this “day clothes”. It happens. What remains is the chapbook - what has been lost is the meaning or the attempted meaning of the work.

The project that SHOULD have been the first Stay-at-Home Press book was James Thomas Stevens’ 2006 chapbook The Mutual Life . Stevens took much of the language as well as the illustrations that exist in the chapbook and the recreated cover from the original 1901 Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York: Accidents, Emergencies, and Illnesses published BY The Mutual Life of New York. The chapbook itself was the second phase of the work; it was created in 2004 for a writers convention and then published by Plan B Press as the fullest expression of its potentiality (complete with use of same font headings, etc.) before landing in a more neutered state with his 2007 Salt Publishing full book entitled A Bridge Dead in the Water. (the version that exists in that book is devoid of illustrations and the font matches the rest of the book) Besides being the most true expression of the merging of image with text, it presented the most compelling argument for the creation of the Stay-at-Home Division to date. However, Without was not successful as the first effort.

There will surely be more to come from this division as manuscripts continue to come our way with stronger visual elements. At the same time, there are entire publishing firms that dwell only in the e-book universe which challenges the dimension and understanding of what “text” and “book” will mean in the 21st century.

Oranges From Palestine by Mike Maggio

2010-11-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

Oranges From Palestine (and other poems)
Mike Maggio
Mardi Gras Press
Harvey, LA
(c) 1996 2nd printing

This 31 page chapbook is a beautiful love bouquet from a poet to a great love, as well as the Middle East that she came from. It's an wonderful gift.

In The War by Jennifer Jean

2010-10-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

In The War
Jennifer Jean
Big Table Publishing Co.
(c) 2010

Big Table Publishing Co. seems to be located somewhere in Massachusetts, although they are reluctant to state exactly where. I find that curious for a publishing company. Really? You don't want people to know where you are located? How does that work for you? I mean, you have to send an email to them in order to submit poems for consideration through the mail. What? They email you back their mailing address? Weird, weird, and more weird.

It may well be that this book is about the Vietnam War through the eyes and memory of a little girl whose lost her father (twice?) to that horror. But it's as much about something else. Different/other things. It's an Odyssey across America. One girl's maturity coming with haunting shadows of sorrow. Perhaps; yet it can only give what a girl much too young to understand the HELL of what that jungle war did to her father, and every father/son/husband/spouse went through simply to survive it; little more than glimpses through a prism.

I am a veteran of the era although I served my four years (1975-79) state-side. Unless one lived through it, one has no real point of reference to it. The "it" lingers just off the page throughout this book. It's a valid effort to be sure, and as an effort it has, I do hope, helped the author to come to terms with things beyond her comprehension as a child.

Asa Benveniste

2010-10-16T06:09:00.000-07:00

As recently as a few days ago I had no idea who Asa Benveniste was, nor Ray DiPalma, nor had I ever heard of Doones Press. Then I saw a listing on ebay for a chapbook entitled "Listen" and there was a photo and I looked at the photo of this chapbook and decided to investigate a little.

Asa Benveniste was born 1925 in New York, which he left in 1948 'after being pursued by a doppelganger in the same furnished coven in Irving Place which Madame Blavatsky inhabited several decades earlier.' Between 1948 and 1950 he lived in France and Tangier co-editing the literary magazine ZERO. From 1950 he has lived in England 'learning English, straightening ice cream bricks on a conveyor belt, character acting in the provinces, market gardening, rearing chickens and pedigree dogs, editing books and publishing poetry.'

The following list was lifted from Cuneiform Press Blog (list was assembled by Kyle Schlesinger)

ASA BENVENISTE: A CHECKLIST (in process)
Arranged by year, this checklist includes books and a few ephemeral items by poet and publisher of Trigram Press, Asa Benveniste. It includes collaborations and co-publications with other authors, but does not include appearances in periodicals. Corrections and additions welcome at any time. Items followed by ‘ns’ are those that I have ‘not seen’ in person. – K.S. (12.20.09)

Poems of the Mouth (London: Trigram Press) 1966. [book]

A Word in Your Season: a Portfolio of Six Serigraphs w/Jack Hirschman (London: Trigram Press) 1967. [book]

Count Three (San Francisco: Cranium Press) 1969. [book]

The Atoz Formula (London: Trigram Press) 1969. [book]

Umbrella (London: Larry and Ruby Wallrich) 1972. [ephemera]

Time Being w/ Tom Raworth, Ray DiPalma; printed and illustrated by Elisabeth Brandfast (London: Trigram Press) 1972. [book]

Blockmaker’s Black illustrated by Ralph Steadman (London: Steam Press) 1974. [ephemera] ns

Certainly Metaphysics (Bowling Green, OH: Blue Chair Press) 1974. [broadside]

Edge (London: Joe Dimaggio) 1975. [book]

Dense Lens w/ Brian Marley (London: Trigram Press) 1975. [book]

Listen (Bowling Green, OH: Doones Press) 1975. [book] ns

A Part Apart (Osterley, UK: The White Dog Press) 1976. [book] ns

Loose Use (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Pig Press) 1977. [book] ns

Colour Theory image by Marc Vaux (London: Trigram Press) 1977. [ephemera]

Language: Enemy, Pursuit w/ note by David Meltzer (Berkeley: Poltroon Press) 1980. [book]

Throw Out the Life Line Lay Out the Corse: Poems 1965-1985 (London: Anvil Press Poetry Ltd) 1983. [book]

Pommes Poems cover by Agneta Falk (Lancashire: Arc Publications) 1988. [book]

Textural (London: Turret Books) 1989. [ephemera] ns

Invisible Ink (Philadelphia: Singing Horse Press/Branch Redd Books) 1989. [book]

Hadrian's Dream images by Ken Campbell (London: Circle Press) 1990. [book] ns

Besides being a poet, Asa also worked as a printer, a typographer, and as a book designer. In London during 1965, he co-founded and managed the Trigram Press, which published work by Tom Raworth, Jack Hirschman, J. H. Prynne, David Meltzer, B S Johnson, Gavin Ewart and Lee Harwood amongst others.

In the 1980s Benveniste and his partner Agnetha Falk moved to Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire where they operated a secondhand bookshop. When he died in 1990, Benveniste was buried in the graveyard of Heptonstall church.

Doones Press began as a small literary magazine, Doones, published by Raymond DiPalma, at Bowling Green State University in 1969. DiPalma began editing and publishing works of poetry as Doones Press in 1970. Doones seemed to run from 1969-1976. DiPalma's wikipedia page deals with his accomplishments as a published poet and his several books; No mention currently is there of his work as a publisher. Interestingly enough.

DiPalma is associated with the LANGUAGE poets. He now lives in NYC.

In the process, I discovered this wonderful recording by Roy Fisher of his poem, At the Grave of Asa Benveniste

PA local anthology

2010-10-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

Winning Voices
The Summit Arts Fellowship
Poetry Awards Anthology
Fall 1995
Summit Station, PA
(c)1994

This oversized anthology, edited by Kate Potter, is a great representation of the poetic voices to be found in the coal region during the mid-1990s. Among the nearly 30 poets represented here is Deborah Filanowski, whom was published by Plan B Press in 2005. 32 pages. Nice central PA collector's item.

Spring Wanderings by "J. H. Martin"

2010-09-29T10:37:00.001-07:00

Spring Wanderings
J. H. Martin
Rivers & Lakes Press
People's Republic of China
(c) 2009

I found this book in an antique shop in rural PA about a month ago. It's a beautifully made book that by my calculations ought to be a "chapbook" but isn't. The publisher, Rivers & Lakes Press, is located in China. The book was printed there in 2009. There seems to be a website for the press but it's as vague as the material about the press and the author IN the book.

The poetry itself is beautiful and mysterious. It reflects the country that the work is about (China). The "biographic notes" about the author lend much to vague generalities and vapor trails. The "bio" ends :

"Wherever he is, whatever he is doing I wish him good luck and hope that, somehow, he may
see this slim volume one day."

Indeed so.

Visitor by Steve Lewandowski

2010-09-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

Visitor
Steve Lewandowski
White Pine Press
Buffalo, NY
(c) 1976

This is a thin chapbook; all of 18 pages. The cover image is echoed inside without credit. There is an image of a tree, possibly a white pine, on the back cover along with the words "white pine 8". There is little else in the collection to go on - I was able to locate White Pine Press online. The press began in 1973 and is well respected for having published poets and fiction writers of note. (Robert Bly, Neruda, James Wright)

This particular collection is an earlier chapbook of theirs. Staple-bound. Mint green cover. No info about the poet. Street address in Buffalo that likely hasn't been the Press's for over 25 years. The poetry has an air of the Asian, of mystery and sustained breathing to it. It's a pleasant change.

I contacted and heard back from Dennis Maloney, who is the publisher/editor of White Pine Press. He said that this book was published in a quantity of 150-200 copies as was the range that they published back then.

Josephine Miles

2010-09-02T06:19:00.000-07:00

Fields of Learning
Josephine Miles
Oyez
Berkeley, CA
(c) 1968

Not enough can be said of Josephine Miles as a catalyst for the development of the "Beat Generation" as well as the San Francisco Renaissance. Her importance lay both in her own work and in her position at U Cal - Berkeley, but additionally as a mentor and sponsor for a number of younger poets who were gathering in the Bay area during the late 1950s and into the 1960s.

This small collection, 25 pages, focused on some of her experiences in academia. While not written in a "Beat style", her questioning mind and rich use of metaphor does provide linkage to the Beats. Josephine was written about in acclaimed 1996 Women of the Beat Generation by Brenda Knight.

The following is a history of Oyez Press which I took from the Thomas Dodd Research Library archives page concerning their holdings of Oyez Press books; "Robert Hawley was born in 1929 in Stockbridge, Wisconsin. He was a student at Black Mountain College in 1956, shortly before that institution closed its doors. Although he already had an M.A. in English and was an aspiring poet, Charles Olson discouraged him in this regard, but suggested to Hawley that he give publishing a try. By 1957, Hawley was in Berkeley, California, working as a bookseller specializing in Western Americana at the Holmes Book Company.

In 1964, Robert Hawley and Stevens van Strum started the Oyez Press by soliciting poems from noteworthy American poets to be published in a series of broadsides, effectively pioneering this publishing medium for poetry. This initial series consisted of ten broadsides, by such poets as William Everson (Brother Antoninus), Gary Snyder, Charles Olson, Michael McClure, and others. The first Oyez book was a collection of poetry by David Meltzer. It was during this period that Hawley began his business relationship with printer Graham Mackintosh. The Oyez poetry editions were well regarded for the simplicity and elegance of their designs. Although not all Oyez books were designed by Mackintosh, several of his designs did receive awards, including an edition of William Everson's Single Source that was selected as one of the 50 books of the year by the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

By the late 1960s, Oyez was publishing about ten books a year, even after Stevens van Strum departed the concern (around 1968), and even though Hawley continued with his day job at the Holmes Book Company. Although the print runs of Oyez books were limited at the cost of the books was kept low, the press did well so long as it had standing orders from universities and book stores with an interest in poetry and rare books. However, inventories began to mount and the cash reserves of the press began to dwindle in time. Hawley eventually turned over the distribution of the Oyez titles to Serendipity Books.

In 1978, Hawley opened his own book shop, the Ross Valley Book Company, in Albany, California (near Oakland). Even though the Oyez press continued to publish sporadically during the next few years, money troubles seriously limited the pace of Hawley's publishing projects. While a collection of poems by Samuel Charters was published in 1992, it is the only book-length project put out by Oyez since 1987. However, friends of the press have also received periodic keepsakes and pamphlets with the Oyez imprint over the years."

My own copy came from a collection that was purchased by a comics and used books dealer in San Francisco. It's a very simple chapbook, staple-bound, type-written pages as was the style of the times, and devoid of any info about the Press or the author.
Nonetheless, it's a valuable slice of late 1960s poetics.

Dorrance Publishing = vanity press

2010-08-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

a collection of thoughts and feelings after nineteen years
john michael hohl
Dorrance & Company
Philadelphia, PA
(c) 1971

I found another "chapbook" (hardbound book of 50 pages with a dust jacket) in a second-hand shop and decided to look it over. The poetry is journal entry level. The production is unremarkable. I have seen the name Dorrance around but never had a legitimate poetry book title nor a respected poet's name associated with or printed by this press.

Avoid books published by Dorrance (now located in Pittsburgh, PA) and this book should not have ever been published, blah! SAVE A TREE!!

the shadowy little "Vigilance Society"

2010-08-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

Several months ago, I found a small chapbook online called "Priest" by Andrew Rippeon. The booklet/chapbook had no other identifying features other than the image of an eye on the inside back cover with the words Viligance Society 1917-2009 beneath the image. That was it.

It's a beautifully made mystery indeed. An intentional question mark.

I was, of course, intrigued. I wrote the author, Andrew Rippeon, and he responded;

"Thanks for the contact, and I'm glad PRIEST made it into your hands.

Sad to say, I can't offer much more than you've already got on the Vigilance Society. I've been receiving their (its?) items for about two years now--little chaplets and broadsides with work by Rob Halpern, CJ Martin, Craig Dworkin, Eli
Drabman. The most recent to arrive was by David Brazil.

I get one about every 4 or 5 months, and I've noticed that the postmark always shifts (I've been interested in them for a while, too!). Some are marked on the west coast, some on the east coast, and some have been posted (or post-marked) in
places like Colorado and Nevada.

After receiving their booklets for about 18 months, I got an email--it was something like "vigilance@- or vigilance-ed@..."--asking for short work and giving me a hard deadline (10 days!), after which my response would then be ignored. I sent off the PRIEST poems, and the books I got in response are simply exquisite! (my copies posted from Seattle, by the way).

I wish I could say more, but that's about as much as I know--I'm fascinated by the press, and I've gotten used to looking for the card-sized envelopes in the mail at this point. PRIEST is 2009, to answer the only other question I can."

he also directed me elsewhere, "you might also check this post from Ron Silliman some years back:Rob Halpern, Vigilance

I'd just started reading Rob's work (Rumored Place) when I came across this post and, shortly after, received one of my very first Vigilance chaps in my mail here at Buffalo. (The poems there have since been published in Rob's excellent book,
Disaster Suites)".

I found and contacted Mr. Halpern via Facebook without much success. The mystery remains, albeit a beautiful one

The Hour by Javier Sologuren

2010-08-23T13:57:00.001-07:00

The Hour
Javier Sologuren
(translated by Elizabeth Dooman Kauffman)
Lagniappe Series
La Yapa Editores
Maryland
© 1990

Peruvian poet and editor Javier Sologuren is widely known and published. This 33 page chapbook contains the poem “The Hour” in English and in Spanish. The cover image was created by Luis Rebaza-Soraluz. This copy is #54 of a limited publication quantity of 70. It is also signed by the author.

The only critique or observation I have is that the English translation could have benefited from spell-check. There’s a glaring “de” instead of “the” on page 8 of the English text of the poem. Minor point, but there it is.

Rare chapbook by an underappreciated poet.

What Remains by Bernadette Geyer

2010-08-10T06:08:00.000-07:00

What Remains
Bernadette Geyer
The Argonne House Press
Washington, DC 20009
©2001

To his credit, R.D. Baker, the force behind Argonne House Press, has published a number of Washington DC based poets in this chapbook series. Along with several collections of his own work, it should be noted. The chapbooks are stylistically formatted and unoriginal. The concept of having photos of the poet on the cover doesn’t necessarily speak to the work within but does say something of the intent of the publisher.

This 34-page collection is visually undermined; the work is much better than the presentation. Bernadette Geyer can flat out WRITE!

And in all honesty, who hosts a poetry press on www.angelfire.com? That’s so late 1990s.

the non-chapbook chapbook

2010-08-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

Obbligato
Barbara Crooker
Linwood Publishers
Stone Mountain, GA
(c) 1991

A bit of a disclaimer: I know Barbara Crooker. When I was booking poetry readings at Robin's in Philadelphia, I brought in Barbara to read back in 2002. She also served as the judge for the 2010 Plan B Press chapbook contest. We seen each other at events, I have gone to see her at readings.

This "chapbook", Obbligato, was her 6th collection. I have written in the past how fictitious it is to call a chapbook with a spine a book and yet some publishers determine that for whatever reason, that's exactly what they decide to do. Since I knew Barbara, I wrote her to get her take on this book.

When I asked what her intention as the author was for the book, she replied, "Oh, yes, it's definitely a chapbook, and was always intended to be a chapbook. It's possible the publisher wasn't aware of the difference, and/or he liked the elegance of the spine. I have quite a few chapbooks in my own collection that do have spines, for what it's worth. . . .". Indeed, the dilemma is here stated, authors are very aware of books that are outside of the form but also are very particular about what they envisioned with their work. Elsewhere Crooker wrote "but I have no idea why it has a spine (wasn't my idea, that much I do know)".

I mentioned to Barbara that there seemed to have been some issues with the lay-out, some pages where missing or mis-spaced. She was very aware of that situation as well, "Also, you might notice that the title poem has a "pasted-in" page after the first page. That's because he left page two out! I got him to fix it, I thought, but when I "inherited" the remaining copies, I found that they were all still blank. So I ran off some extra pages, and rubber-cemented them all in."

When I spoke about authors have little control over what a small press publisher might decide to do to represent the work, Barbara responded in a way that all poets who have dealt with publishers know all too well, " As for why/how anything gets done in publishing, don't ask the writers! We have no power! Sometimes, you don't know there are going to be problems until the end, when it's too late to do anything. . . ." Ain't it the truth!

Spaceships of the Soul

2010-07-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

Spaceships of the Soul
Stanley D. Trefren
self published
Tigard, Oregon
(c) 1958

I found this on ebay. Unnumbered pages. Inscribed and signed by author. Not much in the way of history for this one. I contacted the seller who told me it was part of a lot of books she bought from someone in Portland, Oregon. That would make sense. It was published in 1958 : the year after Sputnik. The idea of Spaceships was fresh on people's minds. I sense that this collection was written by a preacher. It's very Christian and "sermony". Syrupy, perhaps.

If one were a collector of Christian poetry chapbooks, one ought to add this to their collection. It is well made and handsome.

a good friend updated this post by writing "He was a Methodist pastor in Richmond Beach, WA in the 30's through the 70's. He was born 1903 in Idaho and died in 1991. He was married to Hazel Bartlett. This appears to be the only thing he ever published." And in fact, the dedication to the collection is addressed "To my wife, Hazel...". So there you go!

updating chap*book blog

2010-07-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

The following comes from an email exchange I recently had with Allan Kornblum, founder of Toothpaste Press and later Coffee House Press :

“Many thanks for your kind words. Actually our last Toothpaste book, Makeup on Empty Space, came out in January 84, and our first Coffee House season was fall 84. We opened with a book of stories by Keith Abbott, a novel by Bobbie Louise Hawkins, and a poetry/art collaboration by Ntozake Shange and her friend, Wopo Hollup.

With regard to the last chapbook printed under the Toothpaste imprint (emphasis his)—that’s an interesting question. I’ll have to do a little research on that one to check it out.

When we began Coffee House, I was hoping to continue printing chapbooks in addition to trade books, and we published about fifteen or twenty chapbooks under the Morning Coffee imprint, before the trade book side of things became so overwhelming that I had to drop the letterpress books entirely. I was sad about it, but proud to see the attention our trade books were getting, and the difference those books made in the lives of our authors.”

I did not know that Coffee House had a chapbook imprint in the beginning and after Googling it, no one else seems to know much about it either. More research will be needed.

Anne Waldman

2010-07-06T04:32:00.000-07:00

Recently I came upon

Cabin
Anne Waldman
Z Press
Calais, VT
©1984

Anne Waldman has been much published in the small press world and this is a perfect example of it. 21 pages, staple-bound. Cover photo of Ms. Waldman holding a book. It’s a great collection of work. On the last page of the chapbook is a listing of her previously published work, and the last item on that listing is Makeup On Empty Space. This collection is credited as the last book produced by Toothpaste Press in 1984.

Earlier I posted a link to an interview with Allan Kornblum, the editor of Coffee House Press who had previously founded and was the editor of Toothpaste Press. In the interview he mentioned how Makeup on Empty Space was the last book produced by Toothpaste Press. I got a copy of that book and was a bit surprised to be holding a perfect bound book of 75 pages.

Toothpaste Press ended and Coffee House Press began and the transition had actually taken place earlier than the Waldman book, I haven’t been able to pinpoint the exact moment (yet) but at some moment along their publishing path, Kornblum and his staff ceased producing chapbooks in favor of books with spines. “Normal” books. I understand that for financial reasons it makes perfect sense to make the leap to perfect bound books. But what is lost along the way is the immediacy of a chapbook.

Coffee House Press books are slick by comparison. In this, “slick” is not a compliment. A certain degree of integrity is lost when a publisher abandons a style that has made them unique for one that makes them profitable. While I seek out and collect Toothpaste Press chapbooks, I don’t do the same for Coffee House books. Even this final book on Toothpaste, this Waldman book, has character. The cover is matte pink cover stock with a letterpress feel to it. The tell-tale Toothpaste Press logo appears for the last time on the back cover. It’s an end of an era. And in the words of Kurt Vonnegut, “so it goes”.

And so it goes, new presses spring forth with new energy. On into the future!

A Bundle of Sticks by Jim Mancinelli

2010-06-28T06:54:00.001-07:00

Prior to Plan B Press publishing Jim Mancinelli's chapbook IN DEEP in 2004, he had self-published one chapbook; Primer , and 2 broadsides. Both of his broadsides were particularly political. One was entitled "A Bundle of Sticks". It was published by Squirrel Baby Press in 2002.

A Bundle of Sticks deals with the homophobic period of time as the new Republican regime took over the nation with George Bush, the younger, established as President and Congress held by Republicans in both houses. The right wing regime was now in place and with the post 9*11 patriotic hysteria rampant across the country, those who sought equality for minorities, however that word is defined, were being marginalized and silenced. In this atmosphere leading up to the invasion of Iraq, Mancinelli fumed about the treatment of gays across America and how little attention was given to their brutalization by their "fellow citizens". (recall if you will, the name Matthew Shepard)

This led to the vomiting of that outrage on paper, to the creation of this broadside. Starting with Walt Whitman's "hearing America sing", the song that Mancinelli hears is hate-filled and venomous. It echoes another time in another country (Germany from 1933). It is not the land that Jim Mancinelli grew up in; it is not a land of love and tolerance but one that recoils from its own hideous shadow. A nation that kills what it does not understand. A nation seething in self-loathing.

In the midst of the new wave of "the culture wars" being waged in America over gay rights - still, to this day - this broadside is an important reminder that the era of turning the other cheek has not secured the rights that people who dare to love their "fellow man" (or fellow women), are deemed unnatural by those who can not maintain their own monogamous married states (consider how many of the leading Conservative blowhards in the US have been divorced - more than once!!!)

This is an important statement being made, a must read.

Judson Crew & the origins of Coffee House Press

2010-06-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

I have wrote in the past about my admiration of Toothpaste Press which was active in the 1970's, here's an interview with it's founder, Allan Kornblum Publisher talks about Coffee House Press, who also went on to "jump trains", essentially changing Toothpaste Press into Coffee House Press.

Also, I have recently written about obtaining a copy of the first chapbook by Judson Crew. Well, someone posted on my blogger page that Crew died on May 17, 2010. Rest in Peace, Mr. Crew (and your hatful of aliases), may ALL of your personas glide off into the sunset.

chapbooks 43

2010-06-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

Sonnet Sequences
A monthly magazine publishing the
Modern American Sonnet
Murray and Hazel Marshall (ed.)
#350 & #355
July & Dec. 1957
Bladensburg, MD

Each “issue” of this magazine is unnumbered with a stiff paper stock cover. They retailed for a quarter. #350 is entirely made up of 12 translated sonnets by Paul Verlaine. The translations were done by Murray Marshall.

There is precise little on the Net currently about Murray L Marshall, his wife Hazel S. Marshall, or their publication, Modern American Sonnet. M.A.S. appears in special collections now online and in various libraries. A very few copies appear for sale on the standard online platforms. Not much to go on.

#355 has sonnets in it by Margaret G Hindes, Bessie Berg, Alfred Leland Mooney, Mildred W. Bradley, Bonnie May Malody, and Joseph Upper along with Murray L Marshall. Now at least I was able to find something on these people – they were more than NAMES. They had recorded lives!

Margaret G. Hindes was married to Osmond Molarsky in 1971 until her death in 2002. They lived the San Francisco area. Ms. Hindes had been a social worker and poet. Molarsky had been an author and radio personality.

Bessie Berg’s work appeared throughout the 1950s in publications like Desert Magazine. She lived in Rio Linda, California.

Alfred Leland Mooney was an educator and a poet whose work appeared in newspapers and magazines in his day. He died in 1977 at the age of 70.

Joseph Upper had a piece in the Poets Lore – that was issue #33 – in 1922.

Mildred W Bradley was the author of the collection Living and Gleaning published in 1977 by Prairie Poet Books.

Bonnie May Malody lived in California and wrote haiku as well as sonnets.

each chapbook is a story in itself

2010-06-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Each chapbook is a story in itself - the publisher, the poet/author, the designer/illustrator - each has a story and a history. Along the way, I have found many tales and yarns. Some fascinating and others truly pitiful. Part of the reason I write this admittedly infrequent blog is that these authors - these publishers - these people need to be remembered in some fashion. Their chapbooks alone acknowledge their existence as people. Their names live on, however delicately, through their "thin slivers of nothing" (the weight of a chapbook when stacked on a shelf with various TOMES between)

It takes people like me to find and collect them. It takes others to create them and others to bring them to a weary public, forever put upon to be amazed at the new next wave of material splashing against the shoreline of their attention span. The shoreline is always in recession.

It's not so much a matter of locating a priceless gem of a chapbook but simply to find one whose author and publisher and illustrators have disappeared from our consciousness. And to bring them back to life - just by mentioning the details .... the very EXISTENCE .... of the chapbook again.

I have up until now, presented the details as clinically as possible, when merited I have gone into a bit of detail more but not much. My purpose has to been to acknowledge the chapbooks themselves. Sometimes it was been to bemoan the making of a dreadful creation, sometimes trees should not have fallen for a book's making. But for the most part, I have been incredibly surprised by the backstory of some presses and some authors.

Even the recent finds of chapbooks by a Pegasus Buchanan proved worthwhile although I would never had purchased them for their literary merit (don't like that style of poetry, I am afraid) but for their production quality and thoughtful creation. Someone was thinking about the presentation of the work - I admire that.

Instead of writing about groups of 4 or 5 chapbooks at a time, I am going to see if I can write more about a single chapbook at a time and see how that goes. I do have a small and committed audience (thank you) and I won't try and bore anyone.

Look for something different tomorrow!

till then,

stevenallenmay

Pegasus Buchanan

2010-06-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

I found 2 chapbooks by a Pegasus Buchanan on ebay for very little money. Never heard of her, the seller lived in California. Why not? What I got when they arrived were two rather interesting enigmas.

River Path
Pegasus Buchanan
self published
Ponoma, California
(c) 1965

Chestnut Street
Pegasus Buchanan
self published
Ponoma, California
(c)1965

Pegasus Buchanan is as much "from another generation" as poets in the 1850's would have been to her. She is what I would call a "watercolorist" as a poet. Her poems, not surprisingly, were often published in various US magazines in the 1950s & 1960s. Each of her chapbooks were illustrated by someone named Jane Forsyth.

Ms. Buchanan was born in 1918 and died in 2006. In her adult life she was known as a mainstay of the California Federation of Chaparral Poets. She had served as President of this organization over many years and sat on their annual poetry contest committee.

She was a third generation poet. Her mother and grandmother each were poets. (how rare is that in America? Three generations of women poets in the same family???!!)

While this is commendable, her work is trite and trivial. It's "safe". It's Saturday Evening Post - safe. The exact type of poetry that modern and post-modern and the Beat poets were revolting against. And the rhyme schemes? SO dull and predictable that I was bored early on in each book, I don't believe I actually read through either. Honest, not my cup of tea. I actually like TEA in my tea. Something to taste. Not simply "Isn't that nice" sentimentality. (because, of course, it isn't nice!!)

Think Woman's Club socials and after church gathering in the village green - that's what this is. Double ugh.

they came from Indiana

2010-05-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

On the first Friday of April, two poets blew into town from Bloomington, Indiana. Tony Brewer and Joseph Kerschbaum. Together they comprise half a the Reservoir Dogwood poetry troupe. Individually, their output is also intense. Here is a brief sampling of some of the work I came away with that evening :

Dead Starts Have No Graves
Joseph Kerschbaum
Pathwise Press
Erie, PA
©2006

a single long poem, 36 pages. Done on extremely nice paper. Fine quality work. Silver lettering on black cover stock. Very cool chapbook.

Yet to be dismantled
new poems
Joseph Kerschbaum & Tony Brewer
Matrix Magazine
Bloomington, IN
publication date unknown

an interesting little tease booklet of some new poems and artwork.

Reservoir Dogwood
Indiana Poetry Tour booklet
Kerschbaum Brewer Jackson Ammerman

a single poem by each member of the troupe with photos and a tour schedule on the back.

Your Casual Survival
(the air and the echo)
Joseph Kerschbaum
Plan B Press
Alexandria, VA
©2010

Cover art by Amy Casey. 30 pages, various poetry styles explored in this collection. All with two titles (2titles).

Much of Kerschbaum’s work sparkles off the page. He also has two spoken word CDs and 3 previous books. It was quite an evening and quite a haul. Keep an eye on this one, he's got the stuff to make people notice and the talent to get them in the house!

Save A Tree

2010-04-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

In this case the tree was felled in 1971 or '72. The chapbook is 8 1/2 X 5 1/2". Yellow cover with drawings by the author. The chapbook is entitled Haiku and other poems by Sam B. Field. It was self published in Marlborough, MA.

The poems are not Haiku. They are like Haiku or styled to resemble Haiku, but they are simply terrible. The drawings are better than the poems. The copy I have was signed by the author's brother...... the purpose of which is unknown to me as he was neither a co-writer nor the illustrator.

This unfortunate chapbook goes straight to the pulper. Ugh! Save a tree!!!

chapbooks 42

2010-03-28T10:56:00.001-07:00

Chapbooks 42

I have been fortunate enough to meet Tony Mancus, one of the founders of Flying Guillotine Press who has relocated to Northern VA. As a connoisseur of the chapbook form, I recognized right away the uniqueness of each of their chapbooks and the uniqueness of their concept (among other things, they only make 74 copies of any of their books) Read more about this press Here. A sampling of their work:

The Saint’s Notebook
Kate Schapira
Flying Guillotine Press
© 2009

The smallest of the 3 chapbooks, sown design on burlap material. 4 ½ x 5 ¾ “. Unnumbered pages. The poetry is good. The choice of cover material does make this item one that need to be unhandled – or one that will quickly disintegrate. Either way, it’s very cool.

Circus
Michael Robins
Flying Guillotine Press
©2009

5 ¾ x 5 ¾ “. Cover paper cover with photo of flower on front cover. Photo is held on by photo corners, very old school. Poetry is good.

All the Little Red Girls
Angela Veronica Wong
Flying Guillotine Press
©2009

Vellum covering over red cloth ribbon. Finger print in upper right corner of front cover. 8 ½ x 5 ½ “. The most standard sized chapbook of the batch.

Gathering Down Women
Michael Gushue
Pudding House Chapbook Series
Columbus, Ohio
©2007

The poetry here is fantastic. A great collection, bound by title and theme extremely well; a fine chapbook. As far as substance, yes. As far as style or originality of design; NO. This is not the doing of the author. Pudding House books look like, well, Pudding House books. Same paperstock. Same bewildering image selection. Same introductory note/disclaimer on back of title page. I have to say I am not a fan of Pudding House Press. At the same time, I am a fan of Michael Gushue’s work. Look past the appearance and feast on the words. They are wonderful words.

Book Collecting : A Primer
Thomas C. Hamm, editor
C. Dickens
Atlanta, Georgia
©1996 , 9th printing

At 75 pages, this chapbook straddles the line between forms, and formats. My own feeling is that this ought to be have been a book with a spine. While it’s beautifully made and went through several printings, its size is still more in the book world and less in the chapbook world. Great resource for those beginning book collectors.

chapbooks 41

2010-02-27T08:25:00.001-08:00

Sad-Faced Men
William Logan
David R. Godine
Boston, MA
©1982

Previously I have discussed briefly the seeming non-literal interpretation of the word “chapbook” to include nearly anything. Case in point is this hard-bound “chapbook” with a dust cover and a photo of Logan on the back.

Yes, this is an incredibly handsome book. 40 pages of fine paper. Nice endpages. Binding tight. Part of a 4th series of “A Godine Poetry Chapbook” line of books. I would argue that this is not a chapbook. It’s the Godine version of an Easton Press book. A highly collectible book, certainly. But it’s laughable to compare this “chapbook” with something made by any number of actual fine small presses. This is not –despite its name – a chapbook.

Cattails Knee-Deep in Water
Patricia Wild
self published

This seems to have been a “beginner” book, a test run. NO publisher info, no year of publication. NO author info. NO pages count. Poems that span pages and multiple poems to other pages. It’s a mess. SAVE A TREE!!!

Party of Black
Truth Thomas
mouth mark
United Kingdom
©2006

Well-made chapbook. 41 pages. Staple-bound. Author has a connection to Washington DC, which is where I found it. Great find!

The Southern Temper
Judson Crews
Motive Book Shop
Waco, Texas
©1946

This is the first chapbook by Judson Crews. The Cover is blank, front and back. 32 pages. An illustration is on the last page. Written in August 1944. Motive Book Shop was run by Crews. After the publication of this chapbook, he moved his operations to Taos, New Mexico. This is a rare chapbook from a relatively unknown author. However, an increasing amount has been written about Judson Crews , some of which is here included:

Judson Crews, poet, editor, publisher, and book dealer, was born June 30, 1917, in Waco, Texas, to Noah George Crews and Tommie Farmer Crews. In 1947 he married Mildred Tolbert, a photographer and writer who also contributed to her husband's early publications and works. They had two children, Anna Bush and Carole Judith, before divorcing in 1980. Crews received both the B.A. (1941) and M.A. (1944) in Sociology from Baylor University, and during 1946-1947 studied fine arts at Baylor. In addition, Crews did graduate study at the University of Texas, El Paso in 1967. He has worked as an educator at Wharton County Junior College, New Mexico (1967-1970), the University of New Mexico, Gallup Branch (1971-1972), and at the University of Zambia (1974-1978). He has also been involved in social work. After two years in the U. S. Army Medical Corps during World War II, Crews moved his family and business, Motive Press, from Waco, Texas, to Taos, New Mexico, where he began his writing and publishing career in earnest.

Judson Crews was a prominent figure in the Southwest poetry scene as a poet, editor, and publisher of contemporary poetry and art magazines. Crews is known as an original and innovative poet applying the 20th-century poetic techniques of poets like Pound, Williams, and Wallace Stevens in an idiosyncratic way. Since 1935 he has contributed to a large number of little magazines, journals, and anthologies. These include Beloit Poetry Journal, Evergreen Review, Poetry Now, Wormwood Review, City Lights Anthology (1974), Poems Southwest (1968), and An Uninhibited Treasury of Erotic Poetry (1963). His published chapbooks include A Poet's Breath (1950), Come Curse the Moon (1952), The Wrath Wrenched Splendor of Love (1956), The Ogres Who Were His Henchmen (1958), and The Stones of Konarak (1966). Crews' more recent works include the chapbook, Nolo Contendere (1966), edited by Joanie Whitebird and a 1982 collection of poems, The Clock of Moss, edited by Carol Bergé.
Crews admittedly wrote under numerous pseudonyms. Of these pseudonyms, Willard Emory Betis, Trumbull Drachler, Cerise Farallon (Mrs. Trumbull Drachler, maiden name Lena Johnston), and Tobi Macadams have been clearly identified. In the instance of these, and possibly many other pseudonymous names, Crews created a fantasy world of writers to encompass, perhaps, the breadth of his literary ambitions.

Crews' fiction and non-fiction writing includes two unpublished novels and numerous essays. Crews was a crusader in various causes related to his writing and publishing activities. These causes include such topics as obscenity and censorship, freedom of sexual expression, and women's reproductive issues including abortion, contraception, and forced sterilization. Other essays include literary criticism, such as book reviews, as well as regional topics as found in The Southern Temper (1946), and Patocinio Barela: Taos Wood Carver (1955). In 1976 Crews began an extensive memoir which remains unpublished.
Crews' publishing activities began in earnest after his move from Texas to the Taos area. He started the Este Es Press in 1946, which remained in operation until 1966. The little magazines with which he was involved from 1940 to 1966 include The Deer and Dachshund, The Flying Fish, Motive, The Naked Ear, Poetry Taos, Suck-Egg Mule: A Recalcitrant Beast, Taos: A Deluxe Magazine of the Arts, and Vers Libre. Together with Scott Greer, he was co-editor of Crescendo: A Laboratory for Young America, and worked with Jay Waite on Gale. Crews published not only his own chapbooks and magazines but also those of his friends and colleagues, including the Zambian poet Mason Jordan Mason, among others. In conjunction with this printing activity, Crews operated the Motive Book Shop which became a focal point for the dissemination and advocacy of avant-garde poetry, important little magazines and literary reviews, as well as so-called pornographic materials. The material that Crews sold ranged from literary classics such as the works of D. H. Lawrence and Henry Miller, to hard-to-obtain domestic and foreign avant-garde journals, and nudist magazines. Crews was also a friend as well as an advocate of Henry Miller and continued to sell Miller's works after they were banned in the United States.

The text below is from an interview was first published in Mesechabe: The Journal of Surregionalism. In the words of Robert Cass: "Judson Crews was one of the first people to write to me. There was a black poet over there, that had a couple of poems in here, that wrote crazy, really good stuff. Mason Jordan Mason. You ever heard of him? He was living in Taos at that time, I don't know where he is now. He was black. And there was in that one yellow issue of Neurotica, they've got two little ones in there of his: Redbone Legends.I wish I'd a had some of those. I printed whatever Judson sent me. And I literally just got stuff from people I knew."

Judson Crews (born 1917) is an American poet, bookseller and small press publisher.
Crews was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, where he first opened his Motive Bookshop and issued his first Motive Press publications. In 1947 he moved both concerns to Taos, New Mexico. In addition to writing poetry, Crews' activity in Taos over the next three decades included editing the poetry magazines Suck-egg Mule, The Deer and Dachshund and The Naked Ear (which published poetry by Robert Creeley, Stuart Z. Perkoff, Vincent Ferrini, Larry Eigner, LeRoi Jones, Jack Anderson and Diane Di Prima, among others); and issuing his own work and work by his friend Carol Bergé, among others, through his Motive Press and Este Es Press. He has been a frequent contributor to Poetry Magazine, and has had work published in many other literary journals. Besides operating his bookshop and press, he worked in newspaper production, as a teacher (including as a lecturer at the University of Zambia, 1974-1978), and as a social worker and counselor, until his retirement.
Crews has written and published under a number of pseudonyms, including Cerise Farallon and Charley John Greasybear. It has been speculated that work published under the name Mason Jordan Mason is also Crews's, but he has never acknowledged this.

A long-time proponent of the work of his friend Henry Miller (a reprint of Miller's Maurizius Forever was one of Motive Press's earliest publications), Crews has been a lifelong activist against censorship in publishing. Much of his own output as an independent, small press publisher has been short-run, inexpensively produced literary chapbooks and magazines, making him a notable figure in the 1960s-70s movement known as the Mimeo Revolution.Select Bibliography
The Southern Temper (Waco, TX, 1946) No is the Night (Taos, NM, 1949) Patrocinio Barela, Taos Wood Carver (with Wendell B. Anderson and Mildred Crews, Taos, NM, 1955) Inwade to Briney Garth (Taos, NM, 1960) A Unicorn When Needs Be (Taos, NM, 1963) Selected Poems (Cleveland, OH, 1964) Three on a Match (with Wendell B. Anderson and "Cerise Farallon," Taos, NM, 1966) Nolo Contendere (Houston, TX, 1978) Songs (as "Charley John Greasybear," Boise, ID, 1979) The Clock of Moss (Boise, ID, 1983) Against All Wounds (Parkdale, OR, 1987) Dolores Herrera/Nations and Peoples (Las Cruces, NM, 1991) The Brave Wild Coast: A Year with Henry Miller (Los Angeles, 1997)

chapbooks 40

2010-02-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

kayak 55
George Hitchcock, editor
Santa Cruz, CA
©1981

Lucky to have found and been able to (gingerly) hold this fantastic journal. I have run across the name George Hitchcock before but didn’t connect him to kayak.

[the gingerly stuff has to do with the dangerous staples jetting up from the spine, intentionally lethal? ]

kayak 55 has work by Sharon Olds, Robert Bly, Ursula Hegi, Wislawa Szemborska, and others with incidental illustrations by Thomas Wiloch. This is a great find, if one can locate any copies of kayak – do so! They are wonderful (just watch the spines for staple/spears)

Between Two Rivers:
Ten North Jersey Poets
Higginson & Harter, editors
From Here Press
Fanwood, NJ
©1981

48 page chapbook (with spine but… it’s only 48 pages). Drawing of water tower on front cover. Contains poems by ten North Jersey poets who I have never heard of. The work isn’t memorable. If one is interested in the Press itself, you might wish to venture to http://fhp.2hweb.net/contents.html

PinchPenny
The Prose Poem: an anthology
Miner & Goossens, editors
Sacramento, CA
©1984

Interesting 40 page issue dealing with prose poetry with letters from contributing poets along with a piece of prose poetry, and illustrations throughout. Featuring the work (and letters from) Shelia Murphy, Gerald Locklin, Kirby Olson, Greg Geleta, Thomas Wiloch and others. Very cool collection!

Democracy and Other Problems
David M. Harris
SRM Publisher LTD
Unity, Maine
©2002

SRM is known for their series of fantasy/sci fi books so this chapbook is a bit of a curveball. There is no mention of this book on their website. It must have been a “one-timer”. 43 pages. Generic cream cover. SAVE A TREE!!!!!!

Expulsion of the Acadians
George Frederick Clarke
Brunswick Press
New Brunswick, Canada
©1955

A handsome, well made chapbook published to commemorate the 200th anniversary of this particularly sad piece of Canadian history : the forced removal of French-Canadian population from the Acadian village of Grand Pre in Nova Scotia.

31 pages, chapbook like new. Great find

Chapbooks 39

2010-01-31T10:52:00.000-08:00

Love Is No Stone on the moon
Lawrence Ferhlinghetti
ARIF Press
Berkeley, CA
©1971

This tiny chapbook by Lawrence Ferlinghetti is extremely rare and incredibly interesting or a complete joke, depending on one’s take on spontaneous creation and extreme use of marginalia. Unnumbered pages. Original text from unknown source, Ferlinghetti scrawls in magic marker his “poem” across the width of the pages. As though anarchist, as though felon. As though mischievous child with a new destructive toy. The original text simply paper for his creation. As stated on the first page of chapbook, this is an automatic poem. It was written in June 1971.

I see this as a fantastic experiment, the sort of thing he might have done while at Sorbonne. It’s incredibly interesting. While it is unclear if the text was offered to him for manipulation or he arrived at this text and creation on his own is not answered by the author nor the publisher. There are a grand total of 8 pages of Ferlinghetti prose/poetry in the chapbook. The back of each page is blank.

The chapbook merely is, it exists. It is part of some of Ferlinghetti’s bibliographies and is omitted by others. The final passage, part VIII, is most telling : “Be like a white bird/in the snow”. Absolutely!

Apocalypse Rose
Charles Plymell
Dave Haselwood
San Francisco, CA
©1966

Introduction by Allen Ginsberg. Unnumbered pages. Cover design uncredited. First collection by author. Plymell came from Witchita, Kansas – part of the Witchita Vortex as Gingberg described it.
The work feels very “surface” to me and a bit dated. At the same time, it’s his first collection and that is extremely notable which is why I did it twice.

Two Torch Singers
Gerald Locklin
Kamini Press
Stockholm, Sweden
©2010

love these little books from Sweden, signed. Watercolor covers. Handsome little books. This one is a New Year’s Greeting from the press. Nice touch.

Sketch Book
Tom Kryss
Kamini Press
Stockholm, Sweden
©2009

Number 5 in the poetry series by Kamini Press. Unnumbered pages. Watercolor cover by Henry Denander. Kryss, also known as T L Kryss was a comrade of d a levy in Cleveland, Ohio. This small chapbook came with a hand tinted signed print (of a rabbit) by the author.

Poet, artist and rabbit master T.L. Kryss is the publisher of the poetry series Black Rabbit Press. He published, with rjs, the groundbreaking anthology of d.a.levy's work, ukanhavyrfuckinciti bak (1967). His poems have recently appeared in Abraxas, Death Row, Measured Steps, The Outsider, Unarmed Poetry Journal, et al. Books and broadsides include Current Outsider (Vagabond Home Page), Downwind from the Fires of Nothingness and Spring into Winter (Kirpan Press), Sunflower Wars (Bottle of Smoke Press), Just Blue Skies: Poems for & after d.a.levy (an electronic chapbook appearing on the d.a.levy homepage, Light & Dust Anthology of Poetry) and The Search for the Reason Why (Bottom Dog Press)

The Poets Press

2009-12-31T05:39:00.000-08:00

I once bought a copy of Kirby Doyle's chapbook published by the Poets Press but I couldn't stand it (think of the annoying woman's voice in "Singing in the Rain"). So, I sold it. But I now had no chapbooks published by the Poets Press and I do want at least one, at least one book that Diane di Prima was involved with making. And as it happened, I went back to the same bookstore where I got the Doyle and bought three chapbooks :

John's Book
Alan Marlowe
Introduction by Robert Creeley
The Poets Press
New York, NY
©1969

Cover photo of Marlowe, Creeley, and di Prima taken by Daniel Entin. It's curious to read any book written and published in the 1960's, as the poets attempt to be "new and different" by reviving literary traditions from the Middle Ages. The wearing of robes, for example, on the cover is a curious image as well but very fitting of the times. The poems here are mostly personal and not "telling of universal thoughts". My sense is that Marlowe and di Prima were involved in more than a professional way. Not certain that these poems on their own would warrant publication otherwise. It's a rarity, it's in fantastic condition. It's quite a find.

Earthsong
Poems 1957-1959
Diane di Prima
The Poets Press
New York, NY
©1968

The poems in this collection were chosen by Alan Marlowe from notebooks. Unnumbered pages. Cover drawing by George Herms. Great poems.

Seven Love Poems from the Middle Latin
Diane di Prima (translator)
The Poets Press
New York, NY
©1967 (2nd printing)

unnumbered pages, in Latin and English. Cover drawing by Brett Rohmer. From the esteemed collection of Mark Greene, Philadelphia. Chapbook is nearly perfect condition.

chapbooks 38

2009-11-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

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.

a matter of debate

2009-10-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

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.

address to send your chapbooks

2009-09-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

if you are interested in having your chapbooks reviewed, discussed, mentioned :

please send to :

stevenallenmay
chap*books
2714 Jefferson Dr.
Alexandria, VA 22303

thanks!!!

chapbooks 37

2009-09-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

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.

chapbooks 36

2009-08-25T04:57:00.000-07:00

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.

chapbooks 35

2009-08-13T05:54:00.001-07:00

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.

need chapbooks to review

2009-08-06T05:27:00.000-07:00

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