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}

Our Mother Blooming by Jim Bodeen (1986)

Our Mother Blooming

Jim Bodeen

Blue Begonia Press

Yakima, WA

(c)1986

Jim Bodeen is a poet. And a printer. And a publisher. And a fixture in the Yakima, Washington artistic community. 

This handsome oversized book is a fine example of his work. I have included the publisher's page since it includes the time of year when the book was completed : "...as the first crocus emerged through the snow in last February". 

Handsewn. This is everything I love about chapbooks; the care to detail is exquisite. 

Apologies by Tony Mancus (2019)

Apologies 

Tony Mancus

Reality Beach, NY

(c)2019

Reality Beach is a foregone conclusion. It doesn't seem to have made it into the 2020s. I am aware of it because I was gifted (at Christmas 2025 - by a masked Santa) with this book. 

I know and admire the work of Tony Mancus. However, the presentation of this book does not fill me with awe. It does not feel that much effort was put into the production of this book. I hope that Tony finds a different home for these poems. It would be unfortunate if this was their final destination. 

4 poetry booklets from the 2021 Ledbury Poetry Festival (2022)

 

After Everything

Ruzanna Voskanyan

The Trapeze Heart

Volha Hapeyeva

Probable Landscapes

Danae Sioziou

Preludes

Eleni Cay

         I admit I am not up on my international poetry festivals and never heard of this one but someone who seems to have attended no longer had the interest in keeping these and tossed them all into a donation bin which I then scooped up. Handsome booklets. Obviously part of a well oiled operation. Each booklet has poetry in original language and then English. 

         Great addition to my collection

24: I mean this thing [by multiple poets] (2011)

24 : I mean this thing

6X6 series 

Ugly Duckling Presse

New York City

(c)2011

This copy has a flat tire (if you will). The pages are bound by a large rubber band but this one, the band broke so the pages are loose and free. This issue contains poems by Bill Cassidy, Helen Dimos, Par Hansson, Aaron Kunin, Kyle Schlesinger, and Rebecca Wolff. 

I have been intrigued by and have followed the trajectory of Ugly Duckling since they were founded. They are so worth supporting.