Victor Contoski
Northeast/Juniper Books
La Crosse, WI
(c)1972
This was my first encounter with Victor Contoski but not with Juniper Books. This was an early book in their publishing lives but already they had published books by George Hitchcock and John Judson. It's a slightly larger sized staple bound book. Cover image by Anne Swan. Poems of the era.
Paul Zimmer
Slow Loris Press
Pittsburgh, PA
(c)1981
I find it curious that the book is dedicated to the publishers of all of his books. I never heard of Slow Loris Press, but found this online ; "The Slow Loris Press was an independent non-profit venture headed by Anthony and Patricia Petrosky. The Slow Loris Press focused on publishing a poetry magazine called the Rapport that evolved into a wider format with the start of the Slow Loris Reader (SLR) in 1978. The press also published poetry anthologies of various authors, as well as, the Rapport and SLR which drew upon numerous poets' work. The Slow Loris Press originated in Buffalo, New York, where Anthony Petrosky (also called Tony) taught at the Free School of Buffalo. When Anthony received a position at the University of Pittsburgh in 1975 the couple and magazine headed there. In February of 1978 the couple had a child named Matthew. By 1978 and the launching of the SLR, Patricia (also called Patty) Petrosky controlled most of the press's operations, including the editorship.
Stephen Cosgrove
Illustrated by Robin James
Price/Stern'Sloan
Los Ángeles, CA
(c)1974
Best known for publishing Mad-Lids they expanded their company into the world of children's literature under the "Serendipity Book" imprint. This was one of those. Beautifully illustrated by Robin James. Lovely staple-bound booklet.
Linda Lerner
March Street Press
Greensboro, NC
(c)2004
I don't claim to have met many of the poets whose books I write about here but I did meet Linda Lerner when I was the events coordinator at a famous Philadelphia bookstore a year or two before this book was published.
She did a good reading as I recall but what I most remember about her visit was her overheated entrance, she has been walking much further than she thought she would be, and she was a bit the worse for wear.
She name-drops a time or two in this collection, but so did I by dropping hers. It's a good read.
Duncan Glen
Akros Publications
Lancashire, UK
(c)1976
Apparently there was once a magazine called Akros and from it arose (and later sank) a publishing operation called Akros Publications. I mention this because AI wants me to go to some current named entity that bares no resemblance in publication with the original whatsoever. Other than the fact that the original disappeared and so did the control over the name and thus a new company has claimed the name.
Now that that is a clear as mud : this numbered and signed copy is extremely interesting in that is was written and published within three months back in 1976 and the poems were printed on different colored paper stock throughout. Really cool. Darn one say "innovative". I dare.
Joseph J Stone & Co.
Greensboro, NC
(c) 1935
It's a misnomer to say that poetry chapbooks started in the 1940s. There will always be gems like this that appear if for no other reason than to contradict prevailing narratives.
This frail 41 page hand sown book was made in 1935. It has some condition issues, The poetry is true to the period. Well, the language is more of a regional dialect - hey, I bet that's why ...... yeah, it's actually a good representation of a regional dialect. If it weren't so fragile, I would read it with vigor and energy - and it would disintegrate in my hands.
I won't do that. I am glad to add it to my collection.
Total Eclipse
Bruce Holsapple
Contraband Press
Portland, ME
(c)1977
I will admit that before I even started writing this I had no idea who this poet was nor who the publisher was (spoiler alert: they are the same person). Never heard of the Press, nor the poet, nor did I consider the possibility that Portland Maine was ever a cool creative dot on the map.
I am glad to be wrong on all accounts. Contraband Press started out as a magazine created, primarily, by Bruce Holsapple himself. If you are curious to learn more, seek out articles by Dana Wilde about that time period (the mid-1970s) in Portland since he was there and witnessed it, took it all in, was part of that creative community as a teen.
This book was included in a lot I purchased online from someone with whom I have had dealings with in the past, and what caught my eye with this one was the amount of visuality in the cover. Pretty stunning for a book cover from a small press in Portland MAINE.
Really glad to have it. But again, read Dana Wilde's articles - they are easy enough to find online and really fill in the story more accurately than I ever could.
Open Thread / Encyclopedia Destructica
Pittsburgh, PA
(c)2009
Staple bound book. Open Thread is a 3 state poetic conglomerate featuring the writings of poets from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. It seems that before settling in Buffalo, NY where has made his mark in multiple ways (in particular the Silo Reading series - goggle them), Noah was a product of the state of Ohio. He was an elementary school teacher in Dayton.
This crossword themed collection is interesting. The production of the book was underwritten by the Sprout Fund. Fun little project.
Tom Plante
crosscut saw press
Berkeley, CA
(c)1977
I want to mention the press first. I never heard of them but they were definitely "a thing" in the 1970s & 1980s. By the time this book came out they have published two books my Andy Clauser, one collection by Jack Hirschman, and this second book by Tom Plante.
Plante was known as the editor and publisher of Exit 13 magazine, as well as for his own writing and books.
The smaller format of this book allowed for it to be a perfect bound book. Unpaginated.
