"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)

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

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)

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.