when we were together in 1954 by Patrick Riedy (2012)

when we were together in 1954
Patrick Riedy
pressboardpress
Buffalo, NY
(c)2012

#55 of 80 made. 5" X 5" (how square). Riedy put down markers in Buffalo, NY which is a good place to do it in upstate out of New York City kinda way. We communicated with each other by mail and chapbook exchanges in 2013 after Ryan Eckes, who Plan B Press published in 2007, did a reading in Buffalo. Riedy has since moved on to Syracuse. Buffalo shakes off its poets, and more come to fill the void.

Letterpressed cover, hand sewn stitchery, unpaginated pages, and pages of few words. But of the words that are there! They float, flutter, and meander. A book with a title that includes a year does so, indirectly and inadvertently, like nailing a marker into the soft ground of memory. To many born in or around 1954 (including this sod), that isn't just a year - it is THE year, our year. It's a year that left a mark, a "before 1954" or "in 1954", followed by "after 1954". 1954? It's not an idle insufficient series of numbers.

It's the year that Rock and Roll began. The year the French lost Vietnam and American "advisors" took over. It's the year of polio shots and color TV sets, and frozen dinners. Matisse died. The first nuclear sub was launched. On The Waterfront. Senator McCarthy. Brown vs. Board of Education. Oppenheimer is stripped of his security clearance - cut out of the debate, America detonate bigger bombs over Bikini islands.

Riedy, without digging through historical documents, nonetheless brilliantly states :
when we were together
in 1954
we weren't born yet

which is both a truism and deeper statement about how every successive generation can not fully comprehend or appreciate the previous one. The Political columnist, Gail Collins, wrote that no one grows old in the country that they were born in. Sage brilliance. Because rust never DOES sleep. There is always some younger, smarter, generation of fresh faces and stupid responses pushing up from "the future". And the future itself is not a static collection of datum. It's happens right now - and then, now - and again right now - no, I mean, NOW (snap your fingers, you have already missed it)

and when he concludes "everything had meaning/nothing was worth nothing/and these words/meant something" he summed up a good deal more than he imagined.

Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel (HAPPY EASTER)

Why Jesus? Nicky Gumbel
religious tract

It's Easter Sunday and back when I was started Bardfest in Berks County, PA it was always tricky to have a 30 day poetry month with a poetry reading every day of the month when Easter fell in April which is why I am including this little tract. My first question is why green? Why is the cover and the lettering green? well, Green is the color of plant life, abundant in spring. It is used to represent the triumph of life over death. Green is the liturgical color for the Trinity season in some traditions, and may be used during Epiphany in others.

Ben Franklin and other early American printers stayed in business and prospered from the printing of religious tracts like this one. This particular one was printed in the UK. But no matter, it part of a long history of religious printing going back to the original Gutenberg Bible. It's likely that more religious items have been published since the invention of the Press than any other type of material.

It's not poetry to my ears, but it's designed to resinate with many a reader. Here's to publishing religious tracts!

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1993)

The Yellow Wallpaper
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Orchises Press
Washington, DC
(c)1993, (c)1891

I am writing about this story by Charlotte Gilman because it was published by Orchises Press which publishes primarily poetry which is the main focus of this blog. Orchises is the brainchild of George Mason University professor, Roger Lathbury.

This 16 page staple-bound story has this description from the Orchises catalogue: "This unforgettable tale of madness and repression, first published in The New England Magazine in January 1892, was praised by William Dean Howells as a tale to “chill the blood,” but it has also been viewed as a study in progressive madness, a text that destroys itself in the telling, and an early instance of feminist fiction."

Gilman was known for this story from the time it first appeared in print. However, these days she is also know for Herland. She wrote 4 volumes of poetry as well as several books and collections of essays.

Here is the original cover for the book for of The Yellow Wallpaper.

Orchises Press has been publishing since the early 1990s.

Cherry by Barbara Jane Reyes (2008)

Cherry
Barbara Jane Reyes
Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c) 2008
I liked the poetry very much in this small collection and decided to let her website speak for itself: "Barbara Jane Reyes is the author of Diwata (BOA Editions, Ltd., 2010), winner of the Global Filipino Literary Award for Poetry and a finalist for the California Book Award. She was born in Manila, Philippines, raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is the author of two previous collections of poetry, Gravities of Center (Arkipelago Books, 2003) and Poeta en San Francisco (Tinfish Press, 2005), which received the James Laughlin Award of the Academy of American Poets. Her fourth book, To Love as Aswang, is forthcoming from PAWA, Inc. She is also the author of the chapbooks Easter Sunday (Ypolita Press, 2008) Cherry (Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs, 2008), and For the City that Nearly Broke Me (Aztlan Libre Press, 2012).

Her work is published or forthcoming in Arroyo Literary Review, Asian Pacific American Journal, Boxcar Poetry Review, Chain, Eleven Eleven, Fairy Tale Review, Fourteen Hills, Hambone, Kartika Review, Lantern Review, New American Writing, North American Review, Notre Dame Review, Poetry, TAYO, Unpublished Narratives, xcp: Cross Cultural Poetics, among others.

An Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow, she received her B.A. in Ethnic Studies at U.C. Berkeley and her M.F.A. at San Francisco State University. She is an adjunct professor at University of San Francisco’s Yuchengco Philippine Studies Program, where she teaches Filipin@ Literature in Diaspora, and Pinay Lit. She has also taught Filipino American Literature at San Francisco State University, and graduate poetry workshop at Mills College, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Philippine American Writers and Artists (PAWA). She lives with her husband, poet Oscar Bermeo, in Oakland, where she is co-editor of Doveglion Press."

Completely worthwhile.

Now Poetry by Xerox Education Publications (1974)

Now Poetry
Xerox Corporation
Xerox Education Publications
Columbus, OH
(c)1971

This is an interesting and overlooked item. Overlooked in the sense that it should be in every chapbook collector's archives. This 63 pages booklet is as much a promotional tool for Xerox as it is a collection of poetry. The work included is concrete poetry as well as more formal styles but the eye-catching element is that there are images on every page. Xerox is showing off a bit but it works! Since this booklet is part of the Xerox Educational Publication services, the poems are actually primarily from kids. There are some poems by adults in here but it's primarily a collection of kid poems. Some of which are very good.

The booklet is produced on Xerox paper stock meaning it's thin and can be easily damaged. Yet this copy is in great condition. What better way to celebrate National Poetry Month than with kids' poetry!

Shards by Pat Sadowski & Al Nadolski

This is National Poetry Month in the USA so I am going to write about a poetry chapbook a day for the month. Ambitious? Perhaps a little, but it's worth doing. So here goes:

Shards
Pat Sadowski & Al Nadolski
publishing date unknown
unknown publisher

We'll start with a mystery. This one more than others IS a mystery. The ebay seller had no details about this book except that he thought it was made locally and locally for him was Milwaukee. Staple-bound chapbook. Unpaginated. Each poets few poems in this volume are good. Topical and geographical. Were I to guess, I would place this collection in the 1970s. Little more than unearthing a lost gem, really. I will return to this chapbook if I ever find out more.

Cyrus by Anna Burton-Wachter (2013)

Cyrus
Anna Gurton-Wachter
The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2013

Sometimes one just tries to do too much, spread themselves too thin. This tiny chapbook is an unfortunate example. It's not prose-poetry. It's surface writing. It lacks depth. I did not connect with the writing at all. SAVE A TREE.

Trailer Trauma by Robin Axberg (1995)

Trailer Trauma
Robin Axberg
Milwaukee, WI
(c)1995

This is one of the oddest chapbooks I have yet to find. It's a collection of poetry with B&W photo images and drawings done by friends of the poet and assembled - interestingly. At first I didn't know what to make of it and then I spied the dedication to "Larry and the Cafe Melange poets". Ah, a clue! Cafe Melange has a history! This can be seen as much as a historical document of Milwaukee history in the early 1990s as anything. Ms. Axberg signed to the book to a friend using her (then/NOW) married name. This chapbook is something alright. Glad I got it.

Fervent Remnants of Reflective Surfaces by Evelyn Reilly (2006)

Fervent Remnants of Reflective Surfaces
Evelyn Reilly
Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
(c)2006

This work, like so many books published by Yo-Yo Labs, has the fingerprints of Brenda Iijima all over it and that's not a bad thing. The work itself is a fun exercise in marginalia, reductionism, and playfulness. It is as though the author has gone outside after a significant snowfall and left her singular footprints in the white both for herself and her readers with a hot chocolate GLEE. Ms. Reilly incorporates some Moby Dick text in the second section (Lesser Levithans)to get Mr. Melville involved. It works well at every level. Unpaginated. All images by Ms. Iijima. Score one for the Labs!

the months since last posting

Sorry - overwhelmed by holidays and the remodeling of our house. Our front porch has become a mudroom/office. Whose office? well, mine actually and I am still going through my stacks and boxes and bins of chapbooks. It has been some time and now in the midst of WINTER the local school district doesn't know how to be ready for "winter" so my kids are home far more often than they should be.

Well known and loved poets have passed away over the past few months, including just a day about Philip Levine. His first few books were chapbooks/small press books. Rod McKuen passed away as well but I never liked his work and I don't believe he was published in chapbook form. More importantly to me, Allan Kornblum (Toothpaste Press) died in Fall. A generation of publishers is passing from the scene before our eyes. Their work remains and much be collected. That's where this blog comes in. That's what this blog has been about from the beginning, talking about people, publishers, Presses.

rushing to the end of the year

There is life after blogging too. Or perhaps, instead of blogging. Instead of capturing every second of one's life on some electronic devise or another. Not standing on every platform available. Not screaming in every direction at once.

I meant to write more about chapbooks this year but was overwhelmed BY the year. Too much happened, and blogging fell off the radar screen. Keep collecting, I did a good amount but writing about the treasures I did not do in the measure I meant to do.

I see them like snowflakes falling on ebay, some big fishnet in Minnesota pulling up entire schools of chapbooks posted there. Then put up individually with some odd priced numbers. I see these illuminated little fish from the deep forgotten unknown flashing across my momentary awareness; names and titles I never heard of. Like old signs along route 66 in the desert night. Surrounded by the hollow darkness of obscurity. Never remembered. Pages never opened. Poems never read.

And unlike the masked poster from Minnesota whose only in it for the quick buck, I try to uncurl the twisted logic of best intentions and the scrubbing away of time. Chapbooks, authors, presses. Swept clean from our morning brains like forgotten dreams.

A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard (1917)

A Message to Garcia
Elbert Hubbard
The Roycrofters
East Aurora Erie County New York
(c)1917

Hubbard was a member of the Roycrofter artisan community in New York state and died on the Lusitania (May 7, 1915). He lived in an Arts & Crafts community and two years after his death, this lovely handmade chapbook was created to honor Hubbard. It's a wonderful example of the Arts & Crafts movement in the US during this period. Handmade paperback, hand sewn binding. Very fine indeed. A bookworm also enjoyed it sometime in the past and I am now keeping it for the relic that it is since some of the text was literally devoured years ago.

My Lost Idols by Jackie Botterio (1967)

My Lost Idols
Jackie Botterio
twowindows press
san francisco, ca
(c) 1967

I was going to write about this chapbook in terms that I have before: size, page count, details and all that. But with this one I got caught up in that printed in November 1967 in an edition of only 130 copies and that the copies were only distributed to friends. Why? Well, the clue is found on the title page at the bottom:

Jackie Botterio
1942-1966

The young lady, all of 24 years old, died. This is her only book. Her remembrance. The fact that there are 5-10 copies posted online to be sold is heartbreaking. This young woman, this small press, deserves more than the briefest mention. I did a quick search of this blog and found a different chapbook by Twowindows Press : a 1987 chapbook by Joanne Kyger and Michael Rothenberg. By that time, the press was located in Berkeley. Apparently the press brought out close to 50 books over its lifespan. Not done digging but wanted to put this up.

Jamaica by Travis Cebula (2011)

Jamaica
Travis Cebula
pamphlet poets series no. 4
bedouin books
(c)2011

It's summer. Some folks like to think about going to the islands. Like Jamaica. It's the right time for it, you know? This tiny format chapbook is the perfect size for a quick read on a hot beach. The poetry captures a snapshot of a moment of a memory of an island few of us will ever reach. Very cool.

Vodka and Roses by Michael Irene Welch (1978)

Vodka and Roses
Michael Irene Welch
Toothpaste Press
West Branch,Iowa
(c)1978

Uniquely sized chapbook. Pink cover. Linoleum block images by Cinda Kornblum. Staple-bound. The more I collect Toothpaste Press books, the more interesting it becomes to see the evolution of the Press over time. From thin well crafted chapbooks toward books with a spine. Of course, one could conclude, this Press would evolve into something else - and it did - Coffee House Press!

Shaved Code by Frances Richard (2008)

Shaved Code
Frances Richard
Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2008

#53 of 130 printed. Unpaginated. Poems as collage as cover. Fragmented. Great chapbook. Simply said.

Above Us Only Sky : Atheist Poetry (2003)

Above Us Only Sky: Atheist Poetry
edited by Michelle Rhea and Anita Barnard
Incarnate Muse
Sanata Barbara, CA
(c)2003

100 page anthology, which is a staple-bound chapbook, is like a ducked billed platypus (what kind of odd bird is this?) A chapbook that is 100 pages is not a chapbook. All the same, the poetry is mixed. Some familiar names. Some decent poems.

A Ship of Bells by George Hitchcock (date uncertain)

A Ship of Bells
George Hitchcock
Kayak
San Francisco, CA
date uncertain

I just got a huge lot of books and among the items is "a ship of bells" by George Hitchcock who also ran Kayak - his own imprint. There are woodcut prints by Mel Fowler throughout. The 61 page staple-bound chapbook does straddle the line as far as I am concerned regarding size but that's his decision as Publisher/Poet. Since is wearing both hats, more power to him. It was his first book. The is some guessing as to when this was published, the best guess seems to be 1969 but there is no date in the book itself and Google searches have been inconclusive. However, the book is beautiful. It's an incredible chapbook. The artwork by Mel Fowler is exceptional. Wow.

Sextuples Are Not Heavy by Danielle Roderick (2010)

Sextuples Are Not Heavy
DoubleCross Press
Single Sheet Series No. 4
Brooklyn, NY

3.5" X 4" tiny chapbook accordion-style printed Feb. 2010 at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Linocuts by Jeff Peterson. Overbeaten flaxabaca paper made at Lost Arch Papermill, Tuscaloosa, AL. Doublecross does some interesting work. I have noted them before when I wrote about Brandon Shimoda's little chap, The Grave on the Wall. This one is just as well done and handsome.

Obit for the Warehouse by Jaime Niedermeier (2006)

Obit for the Warehouse
Jamie Niedermeier
Duplex Press
(c)2006

I found this little nugget via ebay. It has led to an interesting bit of detective-ing in the sense that Ms. Niedermeier is present on the Net in various places. This thin booklet is her only book to date. I saw a short film she posted in 2012 of her in a temporary homeless situation - hopefully that's all changed now. She's living on-line. A lot of people do that. Not that she is doing it intentionally but that she is sharing her life on-line, likely as a way to promote herself as an artist. The film was pretty interesting, I have to say.

This is a single poem booklet. The poem is filled with interesting language. I appreciate it. I like it. The visual presentation is shit though. Separation of the visual from the linguistic is obvious. I can see this poem in a larger book should she get to that stage. However, text is not her primary medium. All the same, I like the poem. And wherever you are, Jaime, I hope you have landed on your feet!

Off Flaw by Dawn Pendergast (2009)

Off Flaw
Dawn Pendergast
dusie
(c)2009

tiny tiny tiny "chapbook" measuring in at 3.5" X 3". Braille-like cover. Experimental work and experimental design. This is her first chapbook. Sparse text for the small space. Interesting work. I have read an interesting review of this tiny tiny. Ms. Pendergast seems to be most present on Goodreads.com (personal preference?) I have riffed a poem from one of her lines, I will admit. Collectable!

it bears repeating....

It bears repeating: I am not a cheerleader. I am a publisher as well as a poet. I write this blog to acknowledge the work of publishers and poets and "one-time" presses that bubble to the surface through the existence of the work. If someone thinks I should only focus on the poems, they miss my point. Or rather, they are not aware of the quote by El Lissitsky that is a guiding principle of mine:

The book must be the unified work of the author and the designer. As long as this is not the case, splendid exteriors will constantly be produced for unimportant contents, and visa-versa.
El Lissitzky
from Do Not Separate Form from Content!(1931)

If a chapbook visually sucks but the words are good, I will say so. If the chapbook is stunning but the words are god-awful, I will also say so. No tree should ever be felled for tripe or self-serving navel-worshipping. If you have a friend whose work you like a lot and it doesn't matter to you what their chapbook looks like: that fine, but that's not my "job". I respect the people who have taken the time and considerable effort to make a thing of beauty. Putting out a book on the cheapest photo-copy paper available with the grainiest picture imaginable and touting it as your "work of art", I will decline climbing on your bandwagon.

Certain publishers from the past, say from the late 1970s through today, deserve to be recognized as establishing the structure by which "the bar" is placed, let alone raised. The truth is that they publishers cared what their chapbooks LOOKED LIKE as much as the words or images, or both, were INSIDE. I have listed some of these presses before but it is worth mentioning again: Toothpaste Press (Allan Kornblum), Perishable Press Limited (Walter Hamady), The Fathom Press (Robie Liscomb), The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs (Brenda Iljima), Pentagram Press (Michael Tarachow), and many others.

I would urge lovers of the chapbook form to image that there is a history to this all, that you are part of it, and that you haven't created the wheel. It's been done. Dozens of times over. Hundreds of times over and then some. There is a historical element to my blog that I perhaps haven't overtly presented but I think it's time that I did. We are all part of something that dates back to the 1940s. If you wish to consider the chap(ter) books that were published in England earlier, then we are talking about the 1600s.

My particular focus is poetry chapbooks of the second half of the 20th century and now into the 21st.

Cadastral Map by Jill Magi (2005)

Cadastral Map
Jill Magi
The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2005

When a shorter work, say this one, evolves into a larger one, like the 2011 full sized book by the same title published in Great Britain by Shearsman Books, something in the immediacy of the chapbook form is lost. But the quality of the work certainly remains.

What attracted me to this piece was the language and the space between. And the explanation. I liked the explanation in the chapbook. The explanation has e-or-devolved into an essay at the end of the full book. The text was part of a larger manuscript that had a different working title back in 2004-2005 but with the publication of the chapbook and the response to that chapbook, the title slid into line with this chapbook. It's a great piece, it's a beautiful chapbook.

Second Story of Your Body by Angela Hume (2011)

Second Story of Your Body
Angela Hume
The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2011

This is yet another of the handsome chapbooks published by Yo-Yo Labs under the direction of Brenda Iljima. Angela Hume is the author of 2 books of poetry, this being the first. It was well received upon its publication.

Strap/Halo by Jamie Townsend (2011)

Strap/Halo
Jamie Townsend
The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2011

Unpaginated staple-bound chapbook beautifully put together by Brenda Iljima. Challenging poetry worth the find.

Heroes and Monsters by Kate Schapira (2009)

Heroes and Monsters
Kate Schapira
The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2009

Unlike most entries in this blog about chapbooks, this one comes with a backstory. In 2010 AWP met in Washington, D.C. which is my town these days. I attended as Plan B Press and sat in the huge rooms with publishers, poets, organizations and writing programs from across the country. At one table sat one woman with a few "tiny-tinies". I was intrigued by the smallness of the chapbooks and their production. Only later did I read through it, a tiny Kate Schapira chap called Magpie's Box If it could even properly be called a chap. It was definitely tiny though. And I had become a fan!

Kate Schapira is a lecturer at Brown and the author of three collections of poetry as well as a number of chapbooks. Her name is so familiar now that when I see it, even in a photograph of an ebay book lot being offered from someone in Georgia, it's enough to make me close the deal. I got 10 chapbooks from The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs and am taking the other 9 chapbooks as a learning curve.

This is a prose poetry collection with cover art by Brenda Iljima. 32 pages. The work is very good. It's a beautiful chapbook. It's a pleasure to read.

Brenda Iljima and the Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs

Brenda Iljima and Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs will be the subject of the next handful of entries. A bit of a tease here though - back in 2011, in December 2011, I got a lot of material from someone via ebay. I admit I scored big, it was a big lot of things including 4 chapbooks by someone named Brenda Iljima.

I was intrigued. New person - new voice - four distinctively different chapbooks from 4 different presses. The seller was Boston-based so were most of the items that I received. So, Brenda had been in Boston for a period of time. Then she moved to Brooklyn where she runs Portable Press of Yo-Yo Labs. That's where the latest thread of this woven tale comes in. Earlier this year, a person in rural Georgia posted a number of small press items - including a lot of 10 chapbooks from Portable Press of Yo-Yo Labs. I recognized one of the names, Kate Schapira, so I bid and won the lot. Now I had tons more to write about! Have as well as had.

Time Out of Kilter by Jerry Selman (1978)

Time Out of Kilter
Jerry Selman
Self Published
(c)1978

54 page self-published chapbook. Not thrilled with the work. Some times because you can doesn't mean you should. SAVE A TREE!!!!

The Ann Scales Postcards (1976)

The Ann Scales Postcards
Joseph Gabe/Mary Jean Kenton/Ann Chapman Scales
Printed Matters Inc.
New York, NY
(c)1976

I have seen more recent versions of a postcard themed/sized book but this is the earliest one I can recall. It's an odd duck. It's dimensions are that of a large postcard and the text is in hand-scroll of the "author" yet the text is a combination of lines by well known authors and some of Ms. Scales's own. Ok, so what is the point? Why was this book produced? It lacks any images that propel or enhance the reading experience. The text is peppered with quotes by John Cage, Robert Creeley, et al. Fine and dandy but, what IS the point of this book? I don't know. It's journal writing. It's nice that someone would publish it - however, it's not my cup of tea.

Spider Byte by Victor Perrotti (2014)

Spider Byte
Victor Perrotti
Weblines Design
Virginia Beach, VA
(c)2014

This tiny chapbook shows promise. The author is also the publisher and he handles his jobs well. Perhaps we will see more of this imprint in the future.

something else the music way by Eric Baus (2004)

something else the music was
Eric Baus
braincase Press
Northampton, MA
(c)2004

This is one of most handsome chapbooks I have to date seen. As it happens, braincase Press is the brainchild of the very talented poet Noah Eli Gordon. The Press began in 2003 outside of Boston but now can be found in Denver. One of the features of the chapbooks that I am most drawn to is that each one has a wrap-around cover. They are all very well made and quite stunning to look at. Can I get an AMEN?

The author is also publisher of Minus House Chapbooks. The work here is very good. It's complete package. Well worth the search.

hi, once again : my address, in case you want to send me some chapbooks

my address is:


Steven Allen May
chap*book
2714 Jefferson Dr.
Alexandria, VA 22303

hi folks, sorry about that!

It's March and I have only written 3 entries for the year. I am remiss. Sorry. Yesterday at the local library I hold a second chapbook exchange to an empty room and while I should know better, I have left things to autopilot and autopilot doesn't do well (actually, it doesn't do anything at all) SO, I apologize. I will get back on the schtick and do better for the rest of the year. I promise.

So. Yeah, I held a chapbook exchange and exhibition in our local library which was a big mistake - not because chapbooks are non-literary but maybe because the local library patrons are. I have chapbooks from England, India, and now Spain on display but the only ones seeing them are my wife and kids (and they have seen them already, groaningly)

A local library in the boonies only works if a number of publishers live in the area and want to hob-nob. All the publishers I invited live in the city, and don't usually travel to the boonies for such - yawn - affairs. It would be like having a book fair in an area with a population in the dozens and have expectations. I had no expectations. If I had had expectations, I might have heaved the mighty boulder up the mountain with greater glee but as it was, I left things to chance but Chance is the cousin of Autopilot, and you know how that works.

As it is, I have a lump of chapbooks from Yo-Yo Labs to review as well as one which arrived yesterday from Blue Bathtub Books in Spain. Plus others I have been sitting on. I will stand up now and move them off my seat. Till Soon stevenallenmay

The Grave on the Wall by Brandon Shimoda (2010)

The Grave on the Wall
Brandon Shimoda
Double Cross Press
Tiny chapbook published in 2010 by Double Cross Press. Single Sheet Series #5. Letterpressed at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts during March and April of 2010. Hand-sewn stitching. Unpaginated. Purple waxy hand-made paper cover stock. Unique item made shortly before the poet "blew up" with two major collections in the following two years. Definite collector's item. Illustrated throughout by the author.

There is/was a Press and the Press does/did have a blog but its restricted. Intriguing.

Meditation on a Hyacinth (and other quiet things) by Victoria Hamilton (1977)

Meditation on a Hyacinth (and other quiet things)
Victoria Hamilton
Blue Heron Press
Grand Rapids, MI
(c)1977


I found this very thin slice of nothing at a local bookstore, the thin slice of red gave it away. It reminds me of early Blue Mountain book in the stylings of Susan Polis Schutz. Hand lettered "pieces". Not sure I would came the pieces poetry. Interestingly, while researching this tiny chapbook I found out that Howard Fast had an imprint in New York City from 1952-1956 to publish several editions of his book Spartacus and most other writings of his. Didn't find much out about the Grand Rapids imprint though.

winter's been cold

so cold my fingers don't work so cold

The Village Painters by David Chorlton (1990)

The Village Painters
David Chorlton
Adastra Press
Easthampton, MA
(c)1990

Handsome chapbook with illustrations by author. Unpaginated. Green cover with image of village on front. Some of these poems first appears in Poets Lore. Nice find.

November Fires by Tillie Friedenberg (1998)

November Fires
Tillie Friedenberg
WordHouse, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
(c)1989

This is the second printing of this chapbook. 29 pages. A slightly larger chapbook in size. WordHouse is known in Baltimore for some of the chapbooks they have created. Being Tillie's first book, this is as much testament as document considering that she published this later in her life. Shadows of the Holocaust hang over each page, a past not entirely survived. A remembrance sweet as lemons. Powerful writing.

Nancy's magazine : The Mood Issue

Nancy's Magazine: The Mood Issue
San Francisco, CA

Interesting zine. Unpaginated. Pretty cool indeed. Staple-bound.

The Cruelty of the Desert by Michael Wurster (1989)

The Cruelty of the Desert
Michael Wurster
Cottage Wordsmiths
Pittsburgh, PA
(c)1989

Handsome cover to this 48 page chapbook. Cottage Wordsmiths is still around, believe or not, not certain about the quality of their other books but this is a good one. According to a listing I found they do "Miscellaneous publishing". Diverse, perhaps.

I am not a fan of author photos in books, not really convinced that they help at all to "sell" the work. This book has one and no, it doesn't. Some of the poetry is good. Worth finding for the cover art alone.

Familiar Sounds by Marjorie Sadin (2011)

Familiar Sounds
Marjorie Sadin
self published
(c)2011

51 page Kinko's special staple-bound chapbook. On the cheapest paper available. Lord in Heaven!!

Any chapbook that flirts with 50 pages becomes awkward. I can't imagine many copies of this one were printed. The poetry is okay, not stellar. No tree should have been felled for the making of this chapbook though.

The Gynecologist by Joan Lyons (1989)

The Gynecologist
Joan Lyons
Visual Studies Workshop Press
Rochester, NY
(c)1989

29 page staple-bound chapbook. The following was taken directly from her website "Fanciful historic gynecological representations of women are juxtaposed with a contemporary patient / doctor interview, which reveals the authority a traditionally male medical culture holds in describing and prescribing for an individual body; in this case female. Aspects of the text will be familiar to most women. This book was based on several years of research and was in danger of becoming a ponderous document before I edited it down to what I know best—an artist's book. It echos the structure of historical printed books, with its small text block and illuminated margins."

The work fascinates me. It clearly is an artist book as well as a "historical" document. I am nearly as interested in the Visual Studies Workshop Press as I am in the artist. Ah, they are one in the same. Joan founded VSW in 1971. The Press is still operational. Making fantastic books. A publisher of artist books is rare indeed.

Quite the find!

Greatest Hits 1977-2003 by Mark DeFoe

Greatest Hits 1977-2003
Mark DeFoe
Pudding House Publications
Columbus, OH
(c)2004

This is number 227 in Pudding House 'Greatest Hit's series. Think about that for a second. 227 "Greatest Hits" from poets I have never heard of. 227 self-indulgent masterpiece/train wrecks. "Greatest Hits" my feather-duster! Trite, dribble, a complete and utter waste of tree life UNLESS you are a friend or family member of one of these 227 individuals whom I have never heard of. Mind you, I read a fair amount of poetry, so that's saying something that I haven't heard of these folks. Pudding House exercises zero editorial control, it seems.

This chapbook is 30 pages long. Staple-bound. Cookie-cutter unoriginal cover. But, for folks who know Mr. DeFoe, this one is for you!

Lemon Red by Cralan Kelder (2005)

Lemon Red
Cralan Kelder
Coracle
South Tipperary Ireland
(c)2005

Handsome little chapbook from a charming little publisher nestled on a farm in rural Ireland. How idyllic! Coracle is the brainchild of Erica Van Horn and Simon Cutts. They have making these lovely chapbooks since the late 1990s. Brilliant! #150 of 300 printed.

Exertions by Scott Glassman (2006)

Exertions
Scott Glassman
Cy Gist Press
(c)2006

Cy Gist Press is edited by Mark Lamoureux. This is a string-bound chapbook.

(here is Scott Glassman reading with copy of book behind him) Unpaginated. 8 3/4" by 6 7/8"(a differently sized chapbook)

The LANGUAGE in this collection is postmodernistic language to be sure but as a reader AND a publisher I often wonder if the use of "i" is the glue, the anchor word. I find it unnecessary to interject the "i" unless the poems are lifted directly from the author's diary. I doubt that's the case here but that feels like the result.
If you like his work, this is a collection for you!

Still Life by Alan Catlin (2007)

Still Life
Alan Catlin
Black Buzzard Press
Austin, TX
(c)2007

This is the first time mentioning this particular Press. Not sure if they are still in operation. Their last web(foot)print was in 2010. Small operation nonetheless. This was one of their 2007 offerings. Unpaginated.

Learning POEM about Learning about being a POET by Michael Basinski (2012)

Learning POEM about Learning about being a POET
Michael Basinski
PressBoardPress
Buffalo, NY
(c)2012

I prefer to call this chapbook "Oink! Moo!" since that's what on the front cover but this handsome letter-pressed chap is worth the reading and the finding to be sure. Patrick Riedy has done a lot of good work in a brief period of time up by Lake Erie, and he and his press deserves note.

This limited run chapbook is a great example of that. Meanwhile, Michael Basinski is quite the Every-ready Bunny in Buffalo, where he works as the Curator of the Poetry Collection at the University of Buffalo and has made contributions in both poetics and curation for several years now.

There is an even more limited run of this limited run chapbook which has flyleaves designed by Basinski and signed by both the poet and the book designer. That's my next goal !!!

Cries of Flesh and Stone by Richard O'Connell (1962)

Cries of Flesh and Stone
Richard O'Connell
Atlantis Editions
Philadelphia, PA
(c)1962

When I first discovered this little chapbook in rural Pennsylvania, I figured a lost book by an unknown poet. Little did I know.....whatever else, this small imprint, Atlantis Editions, was around for over a decade. The only name associated with the imprint was Richard O'Connell. He did publish a good deal, it does appear. All the same, by the time I moved to Philly in late 2001, his name was not known - this is the first book by the Press that I ever saw or read.

A handsome 7" X 4.75" blue covered chapbook, 32 pages. Staple-bound. The poems are short. They are also good.

This chapbook was published in 1962. Earliest bit of small press happenings in Philly that I am aware of. Who did this poet know, where did he read? Was he part of a group? Where did they meet? (so many questions)

Blastin' Out of Abilene by Elliot Richman (1988)

Blastin' Out of Abilene
Elliot Richman
The Windless Orchard Press
Fort Wayne, IN
(c)1988

Unpaginated staple-bound chapbook. With illustrations by Bruce H. Gurly. Interesting little item. I like the illustrations better than the poetry. It happens.

feedback & etc.

one of the positives that I have gotten from this blog is the interaction with poets and publishers who I mention. It's a small field and with few and very determined individuals involved. It's rewarding to me when some of them take the time to respond. I am certain it's rewarding to them to be remembered.

Taking Notice by Marilyn Hacker (1980)

Taking Notice
Marilyn Hacker
Out&Out Books
(c)1980

Produced at the Print Center,Inc. Brooklyn, NY. In arrangement with Alfred Knopf. 25 page staple-bound chapbook taken from the hardbound collection by the same name published in 1980 by Knopf. A chapbook version of a hardbound book published the same year with permission of that larger publisher? Interesting. I had not heard of that happening. Yet, here tis.

What I find most interesting is that this small chapbook by a press that has no online presence (so when did it go POOF?) was able to do this chapbook and get the author to sign the copy I have! Ms. Hacker teaches in New York and this chapbook was published in Brooklyn. And from the back cover comes a bit of explanation "This is the sixth in a series of pamphlets documenting ideas important in the evolution of lesbian/feminism" Okay, what were the previous 5 pamphlets?

Seventh Sense by Paul Economos (1981)

Seventh Sense
Paul Economos
The St. Andrews Press
St. Andrews Presbyterian College
Laurinburg, NC
(c)1981

Chapbook was part of the Bunn-McClelland Memorial Chapbook Series. Illustrated by Laura Ellis (another Laura Ellis connection)32 page staple-bound chapbook. Part of the North Carolina lot I received a few months ago. Getting to see the work of Laura Ellis, not surprising that she's become a graphic artist talent! The poetic "work" here does not resinate with me, however.

The Name Poems by Yvonne Mason (1978)

The Name Poems
Yvonne Mason
St. Andrews College Press
Laurinburg,North Carolina
(c)1978

25 page staple-bound chapbook. Beautifully illustrated by Laura Ellis. The 1978 winner of the Alan Bunn Memorial Poetry Prize. This chapbook was her first publication.