A Life of Stephen Dedalus by James Liddy (1969)

 

A Life of Stephen Dedalus 

James Liddy

White Rabbit Press

San Francisco, CA

(c)1969 

Lovely chapbook. Great detail to cover design and production. The poetry is also noteworthy. Oh - and my copy was inscribed and signed by the poet. It's a keeper.

Serving Up Liberty by Jacquelin Dougan Jackson (2018)

Serving Up Liberty

Jacqueline Dougan Jackson

Beloit City Press

(c)2018

One of a series of books brought out by Ms Jackson. The author has been bringing out a book a year since 2005. (reminds me of Julia Vinograd), Different type of work than Ms. Jackson and the cover image here could easily have gotten the author and press is serious copyright issues, but hey....I am here to acknowledge. 

Stop! Don't Hit Me by Boom Box Editions of the CYPM (1994)

 Stop! Don't Hit Me

Children and Young Poets Movement

funded through the San Francisco Arts Commission

(c)1994

Poems and artwork created under the Poet Teacher Chaski who also edited this collection and provided the graphic design. This copy was exposed to moisture and it unfortunately a bit "wobbly" It is, all the same, a noble effort.  

The Prez Who Swatted a Fly by Garrett Murphy (2019)

 

The Prez Who Swatted a Fly

Garrett Murphy

self-published

(c)2019

Mr. Murphy reminds me of a certain Berkeley based poet (Julia Vinograd) for the tenacity with which they approach presenting their work and churning out books. 

Mr. P. Squiggle's Reward by Dennis McCalib (1948)

 Mr. P. Squiggle's Reward by Dennis McCalib

the alley printshop

Pasadena, CA

(c)1948

Dennis McCalib was known for his poetry and printing techniques. Much of his work has been collected in the Smithsonian Institution and elsewhere. His work has also been written about in various publications including Brown University. 

Additionally, Mr. Squiggle was a well known Australian children's character who was on "the tele" from 1959 - 1999. Quite a run indeed. However, this booklet was published 11 years before the Australian character came into being, and it also predates any listing of any book that Dennis McCalib brought out. Making it quite unique. Additionally, it was signed by Mr. McCalib - making it extremely rare. And I found it at the bottom of a box of donated books at a local library. Karma can be kind. 

Native Life in South Africa by South African Tourist Corporation (no date given)

Native Life in South Africa

South African Tourist Corporation

Printed in London but created in South Africa. 

This a handsome book of propaganda. It was made during Apartheid rule in South Africa. Beautifully illustrated of "native people" in the attire of their pre-colonial existence. So, by all means, travel to South Africa and support their white-rule. I did mention that it was "handsome", right?

Scattered Seeds - First Month (1899)

 

Scattered Seeds

Monthly journal 

volume 31, No. 1

24 page, staple bound, 1899 monthly journal of stories and poetry with illustrations. Definite time capsule material. 

fissure by dt marilyn west (2017)

 fissure

dt marilyn west

anarchist daughter productions

Oakland, CA

(c)2017

small format booklet. Staple bound. Might have been present at an anarchist book fair held out there, uncertain. I am certain that the author and I would have progressively louder conversations about what constitutes a "poem" in the 21th century. 

Catalyst: A Collection of Poetry by Hanan Seid (2020)

Catalyst: A Collection of Poetry by Hanan Seid

Handmade Storybooks

Arlington, VA

(c)2020

While the poetry within is the work of Ms. Seid, the presentation here is all Sushmita Mazumdar and it is gorgeous. 

Time and Other Birds by Mary Shumway (1976)

 

Time and Other Birds

Mary Shumway 

Konglomerati Press

Gulfport, FL

(c) 1976

I have mentioned this press before, their unique interpretation of the word 'magazine' consisting of a handful of "visual poems" in a paper binder, each poem free and loose for the holding or sending. 

I wanted to know if they actually made bound books and I found this hardcover 'chapbook' with poetry by Mary Shumway and calligraphy by Margaret Rigg. It's a beautiful book. Well conceived and executed. 

Happy to have it. 

Taft "wickedest city in America" by Deb Davis-Quitt (2001)

 

Taft "...wickedest city in America..."

Deb Davis-Quitt

self-published 

(c)2001

As often as not, what I am writing about here is an acknowledgment of the existence of both a writer and a book. That is the case here. I just found this "sliver of nothing" in a large book donation at the local library. I retrieved it. Saved it, more than likely. And so, I am making you aware of the existence of Deb Davis-Quitt who lived and wrote and died in 2024. 

It may well be that the link to her obit will also disappear - but she lived and wrote and here is something that she self-published. 

Taft seems as though it was not a good place to settle down in. 

Ultimatum by Glen Coffield (1943)

 

Ultimatum

Glen Coffield

Untide Press

Camp Angel, OR

(Conscientious Objector camp)

(c)1943

I never expected to have a copy of this booklet, even a reproduction of this booklet, in my hands ever. But to me it's the true starting point of both the modern poetry chapbook movement and the mimeograph revolution. 

As it happened, the person responsible for the recreation also wrote the book about the camp where all this took place and the men involved and who then also explored some of the initial ripples that were caused by the making and exchanging of these "simple things". 

I have been assembling material for a book about poetry chapbooks and after reading multiple accounts of the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance it became clear to me that something happened before the 1950s, something had happened to a handful of the men who made their way to San Francisco after WWII and I learned that this same handful had spent the war as COs (Conscientious Objectors) confined to a camp in Oregon. That camp, Camp Angel, was designated to have a Fine Arts Group complete with a mimeograph machine. 

In addition to Glen Coffield at the camp were William Everson, Kenneth Patchen, William Eshelman, George Woodcock and others. Several of these COs went to become poets or printers who started their own presses, or influencers in other fields. 

I am extremely excited to have this item. It serves as the starting point for me, and now I can plunge in. 

Women the Children the Men by Roberta Metz (1979)

Women the Children the Men

Roberta Metz Swann

Laughing Bear Press

Woodinville, WA

(c) 1979

This is an interesting book but not necessarily meant at a positive. I like the poems, for the most part, but the presentation is somewhere between confusing and just blank OFF. I do understand that it is a chapbook and there are various limitations in that, but to shrink some poem's font size to a reading needing to use a magnifying glass to read it is a bit absurd. 

As it is/was (published in 1979 so the very existence of the book in my hand is both present and past tense) the chapbook is 63 pages and the paper stock is a grade up - perhaps - from transparencythin. I suppose some secret sauce might be revealed in the Laughing Bear Newsletter I have linked above. 

I do credit the production of this book for using different typewriter fonts (1979, so I am imagining the use of one of those semi-circular "heads" one could pop onto one of those new-fangled typewriters of the period) but shrinking the font size of a poem to fit it on a single page when it's already over 60 pages doesn't seem practical to me. {yes, I am also a publisher}