Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Vancouver Mainland Ice and Cold Storage by Bill Bissett (1974)



Vancouver Mainland Ice and Cold Storage

Bill Bissett

writers forum

Canada

(c) 1974

Uniquely original. 2nd printing. Not even listed on his Wikipedia bibliography page. Hard to describe other than it's worth collecting. Bissett is and has been a poet worth reading or "experiencing" to put it more accurately. 

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Throwing Spitballs at the Nuns by Rose Lesniak (1982)


 

Throwing Spitballs at the Nuns

Rose Lesniak

Toothpaste Press

Iowa City, IA

(c) 1982


This copy was signed by author and illustrator, the talented Ann Mikolowski who did in fact provide stunning images for this chapbook. Hand-sewn binding on hand made paper. Unpaginated. A beautiful piece of art in its own right. And the poetry is great as well. I love me some Toothpaste Press!

Monday, December 28, 2020

Cutis-Lee Mansion : The Robert E. Lee Memorial (1962)


 

Custis-Lee Mansion : The Robert E. Lee Memorial

National Park Service

1962

It took the events of 2020, in particular the knee on the neck of George Floyd, to crystallize a clearer vision of Americans. A realization among citizens that perhaps we ought to stop praising people who in fact were traitors to the United States. This booklet was part of that time and heaped a degree of awe when vile disgust would have been more appropriate. 

It was published by the National Park Service because it has been, for over 100 years now, a tourist destination. Perhaps separate from the Arlington National Cemetery which surrounds it now and in part because it attracts believers and deniers who wish to pay homage to the "noble cause" (enslaving black people). 

These 48 pages containing B&W photos of the well mannered house is nothing more than an advertisement for a slave plantation which overlooked lowly Washington DC from it's peak atop the hill. This plantation and honored resting place for our nation's war dead and an assassinated US President is at least a mixed metaphor and at worst is an encapsulation of the "Grand Experiment" which is the United States. 


Sunday, December 27, 2020

Imagine the South by George Woodcock (1947)


 Imagine the South

George Woodcock

The Untide Press

Pasadena, CA

(c) 1947

It is my contention that the poetry chapbook movement, if it could be called that, had an epicenter and that location was called Civilian Public Service Camp #56, outside of Waldport, Oregon where a group of conscientious objectors during World War II made a movement out of letterpress ink and staples and hand-sewn thread. 

This is not the earliest of these efforts but it is certainly one of them. 


There is a well written history of this collaborative effort that took place as Camp Waldport entitled Here on the Edge authored by Steve McQuiddy and published by Oregon State University Press. At the heart of this story and of the enterprise that grew out of it was William Everson. Some of the ideals that led to The Untide Press made their way to San Francisco and were incorporated into the "Renaissance" there which coincided with the birth of the Beat Generation. 

There may well be more than one birth site for the poetry chapbooks at the time of the second Great War but this place was better than most and had far most influence that any I am aware of. 

This particular item was published in 1947, after the war and once the Camp had closed. Those who made up The Untide Press had scattered hither and yarn but George Woodcock was one of the founders and was a Canadian at the Camp. The true begins of the "press" dates back to early 1943 as a newsletter distributed to other CO Camps across the country and grew into a "press" afterwards. 

One of 1000 printed. Unpaginated. And gorgeous!

follow-up with previous post

 the 1876 book I just mentioned was snatched almost instantly when I posted it on ebay for possible sale. I usually keep my chapbooks but this one was different. And poof - it disappeared. 

Saturday, December 26, 2020

Inaugural Ceremonies of the Freedmen's Memorial Monument to Abraham Lincoln, Washington City, April 14, 1876


 

Inaugural Ceremonies of the Freedmen's Memorial Monument to Abraham Lincoln, 

Washington City, April 14, 1876

   Levison & Blythe

   St. Louis, MO

  (c) 1876

  There are times that it just pays to follow a hunch. Today is the day after Christmas and I felt that it would be a good day to go thrifting. I believe I was right. 

  Not that this item leapt into my hands, mind you. My wife and I went looking for Christmas things that might have sold and we did find some stuff for next Christmas, but while we were there we also looking through the music and book section as well. I saw one of the employees wheel out a bin filled with books and noticed a couple "helping" this gentleman and unsurprisingly the couple had a book scanner with them (cheapers) and then they devoured the bin, finding whatever it was that their scanner said - it seemed. I checked out other areas of the store and doubled back to the book area, and the couple had by then depleted the bin of about half its contents and had started doing through a second cart. This gave me to opportunity to go through the bin myself and close to the bottom of the bin I saw this booklet. 

   I didn't need a scanner. It looked old. The cover image, the font used, the date on the cover. My only question was was it an original or a reprint? I opened the booklet and saw that it was printed in St. Louis by Levison and Blythe : Printers, Stationers, and Blank Book Manufacturers and that they were located at 219 Olive Street in St. Louis. 

   Okay, it's an original. 

   Printed the same year as the event discussed in the text of the booklet. A historically significant moment. 28 pages of history. And I was gingerly holding it in my hand. It belongs in a collection somewhere, or perhaps in the new Afro-American Museum in Washington, DC. 


Friday, December 25, 2020

Street Spiels by Julia Vinograd


 Street Spiels

Julia Vinograd

Earthsign Press


I have a number of chapbooks by Julia Vinograd who died nearly two years ago, but this one was published by a Press associated with a bookstore (maybe) in the Berkeley, CA area (reasonably certain) and like many of the books I have of hers, it's signed by Ms. Vinograd herself. Earthsign might have been the name of the bookstore that also had a publishing operation. 

There is no listing of Earthsign other than the current user of that name who is a female artist who makes public art. A listing of all of Ms. Vinograd's books on wikipedia does not offer a publication date for this chapbook either. A bit of a mystery. 

Sunday, December 20, 2020

These Hips by Tonya Maria Matthews (1999)


 These Hips (and other songs to Minista to a people's soul)

Tonya Maria Matthews

Black Words Poetry Series

Alexandria, VA 

(c) 1999

This seems like such a small and insignificant thing : a chapbook. Published by a small press that doesn't exist anymore. 40 pages of staple-bound insight. Except maybe in the details

Being : #1 - the Press imagined itself, in the statement about its own shadow at the end of this chapbook, to be "By the year 2k, we plan to be well on our way to becoming the Motown, or Def Jam, if you will, of Publishing" according to founder Kwame Alexander. 

Founded in 1995, the small press did have some early successes; publishing 360: A Revolution of Black Poets and Tough Love: The Life and Death of Tupac Shakur. But the success now belongs to Alexander himself who is a well published and respect author. 

Ms. Matthews, even at the time of this publication, was also pursuing a non-literary career in medicine. She now teaches at Wayne State University as Tonya M. Matthews. She is also the author of Blind Man's Map (2012), Still Swingin' (2005), as well as some compilations. 

Some of the poems in this collection were added to a larger reprint of Still Swingin'



Saturday, December 19, 2020

The Paul Simon Project by Karen Lillis (2017)

 


The Paul Simon Project

Karen Lillis

NightBallet Press

Pittsburgh, PA

(c) 2017

As concepts go, this isn't a bad one. But, the author seems to have not been aware of what Daniel Nester did with the entire Queen discography. Also curious about the cover image, but that's a minor point. 

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

The Whetting Stone by Taylor Mali (2017)


 The Whetting Stone

Taylor Mali

2017 Rattle Chapbook Prize Winner

Rattle 

(c) 2017

I have heard about and read about this publication for some time now and am familiar with this poet. Rattle is worth investigating. Mali is a spoken word artist. My belief is that spoken word artists ought to made CDs instead of books. The language is dead on the page. 

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Relation/Couch/Dreaming by Diane Schenker (2009)


Relation/Couch/Dreaming

Diane Schenker

Finishing Line Press

Georgetown, KY

(c) 2009


Finishing Line Press. Finishing Line Press. On repeat. Too much, darling, too much


 

Friday, December 11, 2020

Still and The Gift by Roland Flint (1984)


 Still and The Gift

Roland Flint

Friends of the Library

North Carolina Wesleyan College

(c) 1984

Inscribed and signed. A 2 poem booklet. A great rare item. 


Thursday, December 10, 2020

October by Frederic Koeppel (1987)


 October

Frederic Koeppel

Ion Books/raccoon 

Memphis, TN

(c)1987


I have been on a bit of a Memphis kick of late. I did get a number of chapbooks from my friend Corey Mesler who runs Burke's Books in Memphis and these were among that bouquet. I had no idea that there was a press called raccoon. Let alone that raccoon seems to have been the chapbook series of Ion Books. When it comes to Memphis, TN publishing community, I am the novice. 

The same David Spicer who I recently wrote about was involved in the cover design of this chapbook. I find it quite handsome. The writing here is quite good as well. Nice work all the way around. 

Tuesday, December 08, 2020

Tribe of Two by David Spicer (2019)


 

Tribe of Two

David Spicer

Seven Circlepress

Seattle, WA

(c) 2019

This relatively new press has put a spine on a 21 pages chapbook. Like lipstick on a pig. It's still a chapbook. Cover art by poet's wife. He is a much published poet and lives in Memphis. 


Saturday, December 05, 2020


 

Chin-Chin in Eden

Corey Mesler

Still Water Press

Galloway, NJ

(c) 2002

Corey Mesler is a publishing machine. Not Lyn Lifshin level but Mesler is a great writer as well as a book seller in Memphis, TN. He and his wife run Burkes Books which started operation in 1875. 

The production of this chapbook is a bit on the bland side but the work is good. 

Friday, December 04, 2020

Love in the Ruins by Gordon Osing (2017)


 

Love in the Ruins

Gordon Osing

Spuyten Duyvil

New York City

(c) 2017


They made it like a book with a spine but it's only 16 pages. It's a chapbook, that's for sure. It's my understanding that this gentleman has "been there" whether or not he has "done that" I can not say. Not familiar with this press either but when I turned the book over and saw this 


I cringed. Who thought this was a good idea? It's almost a wonderful wrap-around cover spoiled was the photo of the author and the oversized bar code. Lord have mercy on my eyes!


Wednesday, December 02, 2020

Red Land, Black Land by Tina Barr (2002)



Red Land, Black Land

Tina Barr

Longleaf Press at Methodist College

Stony Creek, CT

(c)2002


26 page staple-bound chapbook. Contest winning chapbook. Nice piece of writing.  

Tuesday, December 01, 2020

The Gatekeeper by William Page (1982)


The Gatekeeper

William Page

raccoon  Books, Inc.

Memphis, TN

(c) 1982


Several years ago now, my humble little press (Plan B Press) ran a "Beat" poetry chapbook contest and the winner was Corey Mesler for a section of a much larger work which was published as Following Richard Brautigan. The chapbook has a foreword written by the great poet ruth weiss who died in July, 2020. 

I wrote Corey not long ago about ruth's passing and our little chapbook in common (with the judge of that contest as well - William Brandon III who is now an accomplished author in his own right) and one thing led to another which resulted in me purchasing a number of chapbooks from his store in Memphis, the legendary Burkes Books. 

The first of these chapbooks that I will be writing about is this one. William Page's 1982 chapbook, The Gatekeeper, primarily because it was published by raccoon Books, Inc. and I never heard of this press before. They were (yes, were - apparently defunct now) a Memphis press which had a journal as well as a publishing arm. The operation started in 1979 and ended operation more recently. 

raccoon Books was associated with or was part of St. Jude Press in Memphis where the books were printed. William Page taught at Memphis State University and edited the Memphis State Review. 


Saturday, November 28, 2020

Tactics of Survival by George Hitchcock (1964)






Tactics of Survival

George Hitchcock 

The Bindweed Press

San Francisco, CA

(c)1964

Bindweed Press was best known for their SF rock concert posters of the mid-1960s. Headed by Frank Westlake, the posters became synonymous with "the scene" and various SF venues. This handsome letter pressed book was published prior to that as George Hitchcock was just himself coming onto "the scene" in the poetry/playwright sphere.

The Bindweed Press started operation in 1962, publishing an earlier George Hitchcock book, Poems & Prints, with poetry by Hitchcock and illustrations by Adrian Wilson. 

 One of 700 printed. 8 drawings by Ann Parisi grace the pages. Handmade paper for cover stock. Staple-bound. 35 pages. Quite the item!


Thursday, November 19, 2020

15-Second Plays published by Ugly Duckling Presse (2012)


15-Second Plays

curated by The Debate Society

....

I was in the local second hand shop which supports the local hospital, and I went to the book section and saw a "little sliver of nothing" colored green and I pulled it out and looked at the front and wondered 'what the hell is this?' and then I turned it over and 


went "ah ha" because Ugly Duckling Presse I was quite familiar with.  Now, 15 second plays by a slew of unfamiliar names, well - again, a curious selection ...

....

Ugly Duckling Presse

New York City, NY

(c)2012

.....

Unpaginated staple-bound chapbook, one of 1000 printed. The generous (but likely befuddled) volunteers at the shop posted it for sale at .50 cents. I could afford that. And it is an interesting collection of plays if something 15 seconds short can count. Not surprisingly, it is out of print. 


Pushing Out the Envelope by Tsaurah Litzky (1992)



Pushing Out the Envelope

Tsaurah Litsky

Apathy Press Poets

Baltimore, MD

(c)1992


I found this woman's first chapbook on a small online bookselling presence, kind of like a virtual street corner shop, and bought it primarily because I was familiar with the image on the front cover. Turns out that Tsauarh Litzky is alive and living in NY. 

It seems that long ago Apathy Press hosted a reading series in NY and Ms. Litzky attended these readings and the folks at Apathy Press offered to publish her - first chapbook, in fact. 

I will have to research more about Apathy Press Poets and Ms. Litsky

Monday, November 09, 2020

THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON THE LAMB OF GOD Morgan Press anthology (1974)

 


There Ain't No Flies on the Lamb of God

Morgan Press

Milwaukee, WI

(c) 1974


Unique book comprised of poems by poems and images of artists associated with or chosen by publisher Ed Burton. Plywood back cover. One of only 50 copies made. Hand printed with teak and hand woven wool cover. Jim Sorcic is among those presented in this collection. Jim Gibbons, Lyn Lifshin, Paul Grillo, and others round out this handsome and extremely rare book. 

Thursday, November 05, 2020

Where's My Mommy? by Jim Sorcic (1991)


Where's My Mommy?

Jim Sorcic

Morgan Press

(c) 1991

Published the same year as his large book, This Could Lead to Dancing, this small unpaginated book used the same cover stock for both books. This book is dedicated to Rachel Orvino. Short prose pieces, basically about single parenting his daughter. Something I can relate to - differently. 

The tale and the trail of this family through literary collapse continued for a time beyond This Could Lead to Dancing with the 1992 Morgan Press version of Jim's 1972 book one day, one long day...  and his 1994 book Small Handbook for the Heart: The Adoption Poems because Jim adopted a (or two) young Vietnamese boys. 

Two other things I would like to add here about Morgan Press. Morgan Press was Ed Burton and Jennifer Roanhouse and possibly others. It existed from the early 1970s into the 1990s. It began in Ed's basement in Milwaukee where he had an old letterpress and he made chapbooks, postcards and posters. According to Jim Gibbons. Gibbons' first book, Prime the Pump, was the first book printed by Morgan Press in 1970. Ed Burton had a wife, Vickie. 

I know that jennie orvino moved to California. I don't know what became of Rachel Orvino. I hope she is happy and is doing well. 


 

The Cost of Living by Jim Sorcic (1980)


The Cost of Living 

Jim Sorcic

Morgan Press

Milwaukee, WI

(c) 1980

 A short story with some shadowing of the author's real life, imaged perhaps, or fictionalized to a degree but all the same : Sorcic has dropped any hint of the "orvino" part of his life. 

Wednesday, November 04, 2020

Awake by jennie orvino (1975)


 Awake

Jennie Orvino

Milwaukee Feminist Printing Collective

Milwaukee, WI

(c) 1975


This chapbook is a collection of, as the poet stated herself, "scraps" of poetic output from 1973 - 1975. 


Work that was produced during a critical time in her life. Here shown on back cover with her "special friend", Barbara. This chapbook is dedicated to her daughter, Rachel, as well as Barbara and to her mother who she is convinced will never read this booklet. 


Fascinating time piece.  

Tuesday, November 03, 2020

The Human Songbook by James Sorcic (1974)


The Human Songbook

Jim Orvino-Sorcic

Morgan Press

Milwaukee, WI

(c)1974

Within the saga of this marriage coming apart while raising a daughter separately/together, in 1974 Jim was still publishing as "Orvino-Sorcic" even though this chapbook is dedicated to a different woman. It is an oddly sized book to be sure. The poems tell of the upheaval and disintegration of a relationship found to be "faked" with bitter consequences as must be lived. It's heart-wrenching and truthful. As good writing needs to be. 

Monday, November 02, 2020

like a tree by jennie orvino



like a tree

jennie orvino

Gunrunner Press

Milwaukee, WI


This thin sliver of nothing seems to be the next in chronologic order, an undated brief sex poem illustrated by a Jim Forest. One of 250 printed. 

Sunday, November 01, 2020

one day. one long day. a child looked over all that was. & was not pleased. at all. by jim sorcic (1972)


one day. one long day. a child looked over all that was. & was not pleased. at all

Jim Orvino Sorcic

Interabang Books 

(c)1972

Published the same year as Jennie Orvino's The Fish, the Virgin, and the Lion, this handsome chapbook is dedicated to their daughter Rachel. Jim has adopted his wife's name as his middle name (akin to John Ono Lennon) but there is no additional mention of her in this collection. 

It's a pretty heavy chapbook, actually. The poem series is about George Armstrong Custer and a massacre that he is involved in, told from a child's point of view and dedicated to his newly born daughter. Heavy stuff. Beautifully created chapbook though. All the credit in the world to the publishers. The name INTERABANG lives on as a bookstore name in Dallas, Texas but I am not willing to say that the publisher in 1972 and the bookstore today are in any way connected. 


the next one in the saga was already written about

 January 14, 2019. The Fish, The Virgin, and the Lion by Jennie Orvino. Seems to have been self-published in 1972 with B&W photos by Barbara Gibson. Jennie has given birth to a daughter, Rachel, and is coming to terms with a side of herself that she had not previously felt - a lesbian nature. Barbara was more than a photographer in this scenario. As the poems in the collection reveal, and a page of photos of the two of them on a bed, innocently looking at the camera and then each other, this coming out was captured in real poetic time. 

The collection was dedicated to daughter and husband but Barbara did get a special notice. In her bio on her website, all these years later, Jennie Orvino mentions that she lived in Milwaukee for 10 years. But that's all she mentions. No husband. No daughter. No coming out. Just the time she spent in the city. Scrubbed of their importance in her live. Or why she moved to California, where she still lives. 

A Year from Yesterday by James Sorcic (1970)


A Year from Yesterday

James Sorcic

Vertigo Publications

Wales, UK

(c)1970

Following some level of a chronologic order, this would be the next. A very thin chapbook printed in Wales in 1970. The interesting thing about this one is that the back cover has a write-up BY jennie orvino.  


So, they were involved by 1970. The book is dedicated to and almost all the poems mention jennie orvino. (married? the booklet is dedicated to jennie orvino sorcic)

One of the poems contains the line "jennie give me my son". Ironically, they had a daughter. But that's a thread for another book and another posting. 

Saturday, October 31, 2020

meandering

       Back in July I wrote that I would be discussing a relationship through the published works of two poets and then promptly started and meandered off topic as the Summer burned through now into the Fall. Jennie Orvino and James Sorcic. A relationship grows and collapses chronicled through a series of chapbooks. 

Five Luminous Towers by Carol Barton (2001)



Five Luminous Towers

Carol Barton

Popular Kinetics Press

Philadelphia, PA

(c)2001


Oddly sized booklet. Appears to be a student's final project at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Spiral bound.  Images corresponding to each piece. Interesting conceptual book. 

Thursday, September 10, 2020

Letters to Lady Ruth, Queen of the S.S. System, Board 46 by James Sorcic (1969)



 Letters to Lady Ruth, Queen of the S.S. System, Board 46

James Sorcic

Gunrunner Press

Milwaukee, WI

(c) 1969


This is actually pretty important document. It's an anti-VIETNAM - war (draft) poetry blast. It harkens back to the time before the all volunteer military force. I almost said before endless war (with a nod to Daniel Collins) but the truth of the matter is that this country has been "at war" with someone or another since it's beginnings and two hundred years before that. Since the first European set foot on this continent. And prior to that, the Native peoples were at war with each other. So it goes back to the humans on this land mass, per se. 


Also, it's the same James Sorcic who I mentioned two entries ago. Part of that thread of history through chapbooks that he and his wife had. 


This is one of 300 copies printed at the time. 

Wednesday, September 09, 2020

Entertainment for Parents by J. M. Allen (2020)

 

Entertainment for Parents

J. M. Allen

self published

(c) 2020


No information on the author nor the press, seems to have been a POD self published piece of work. I am not a fan of rhyming poetry. The collection is entirely composed of rhyming poetry. Next!

Friday, August 07, 2020

Fire in the Sun by James Sorcic (1968)

Fire in the Sun

          James Sorcic

          Gunrunner Press

          Milwaukee, WI

         (c)1968


This story through many poetry books begins here, with Jim. Before Jennie. Jim, before Morgan Press. Before his draft notice, before parenthood, before before before. Before - before Jim, there was Gunrunner Press. I need to learn more about that but I can see how Gunrunner was already in place and printing before Jim. 

This 24 page staple-bound mini sized chapbook was the start of his publishing "career". And the beginning of this story as well. 

 

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Jennie Orvino / James Sorcic

The next handful of posts will be dealing with the collective works of these two poets who were married and had a daughter and then separated all of which played out and was chronicled in a series of poetry chapbooks published between the late 1960s into the mid 1990s.

Friday, July 10, 2020

The C.C.C Camps in West Virginia 1933-1942 by Milton Harr (1998)


The C.C.C Camps in West Virginia 1933-1942
Milton Harr
self published
West Virginia
(c)1998

Subtitled A Record of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Mountain State 1933-1942 this booklet is packed with useful information on the subject. 50 pages. Staple-bound.

Monday, July 06, 2020

Just Universes by Diana Smith Bolton (2016)


Just Universes
Diana Smith Bolton
L+S Press
Washington, DC
(c)2016

32 page chapbook. Really fine poetry. Don't know terribly much about the press but the poet has been a poetry facilitator in the DC community for a number of years now.

A Week with Beijing by Meg Eden (2015)


A Week With Beijing
Meg Eden
Neon Books
(c)2015

Why is it "with" and not "in"? Because, in this fine collection of poems, Beijing is a person. A woman. A woman who, at least in one of the poems, foreshadows the terrible events we are now living through by talking about not using a cough mask. The city and the woman and the country merge into one overlapping and color swirl of mess. Worth the read, worth collecting.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Telephone Company Repairman Poems by Barbara Moraff (1983)



Telephone Company Repairman Poems
Barbara Moraff
Toothpaste Press
Iowa
(c) 1983

#294 of 400 printed. Signed by poet. Another incredibly handsome book by this inventive and influential press. Unpaginated. Letter pressed. Hand sewn.

One can see the effort and can imagine the frustration at the same time. Frustration in the sense that these delicate books were never going to make their way onto a bookstore shelf and be properly displayed. This book is thick enough to have a spine with text but doesn't because it was hand sewn without any spine cover at all. So beautiful, so delicate. It's not surprising that the following year, 1984, is when Toothpaste transitioned into Coffee House Press. Ironically, on the CHP website there is no mention of Toothpaste Press whatsoever. Even though they say the press started in 1972 in Iowa as a letterpress operation. Well, yes, that is true. To a point. But give credit where it was due. Coffee House began in Iowa AS Toothpaste Press. They moved to the Twin Cities and rebooted as Coffee House Press to make books with spines that could get onto book shelves across the country! At least be honest about it!!

I happen to like the efforts of Toothpaste much more than Coffee House. While I do understand who Allan Kornblum made the decision that he did, I still mourn the loss of the special quality that the chapbooks lost in the transition to perfect bound books. sigh

Saturday, May 09, 2020

Stanzas in Imitations by Gina Myers (2007)



Stanzas in Imitations
Gina Myers
New School Chapbook Series
New York, NY
(c) 2007

It's always a treat to read someone's earlier or earliest published work. This booklet was the 2005 competition winner for the New School chapbook contest as selected by Olena Kalytiak Davis. 21 pages. A slight "boo-boo" on cover, the "s" at the end of Stanza(s) was added in pen since it was missed in printing.

Thursday, May 07, 2020

Robert Hawley (oyez press) 1929 - 2017

A decade ago now I posted a piece about a chapbook of Josephine Miles work that was published by Oyez Press. Sometime later a gentleman named Curtis sent me a comment about my posting, it read :

"Hawley's little bookshop moved from Albany to a place on Shattuck Avenue for a while, but Bob became very ill (the rumor was lung cancer), and he closed it soon after, the elegant bookcases ending up at another ill-fated bookshop ("Books by Jerome"), which also closed within a couple of years. I don't know what happened to those magnificent cases!

"I've seen Hawley and his wife three times in the last year over at the El Cerrito Re-Cycling Center by the dumpsters beside the book turn-around. I mentioned to him that he should consider placing his publisher's archive somewhere, but he seemed oblivious. I think he must be in his late 80's."

well, I missed his passing. Sorry to see someone of renown in our little world go into the reeds.

Wednesday, May 06, 2020

Eleven : Eleven by Liz Worth (2008)


Eleven : Eleven
Liz Worth
Trainwreck Press
Gulf Islands, BC, Canada
(c)2008

In the summer of 2018 I found myself in Toronto and, having never been there before, tried to make a mad dash around town taking in as much bookstores and record shops as one can on a family vacation. One of the items I picked up was Amphetamine Heart by Liz Worth. I liked what I read on the flight home (I was returning with about a dozen books from Toronto) and decided to write Ms. Worth who graciously sent me a copy of each of her chapbooks. She's known these days in Toronto as a Tarot card reader but she's probably best known for her Treat Me Like Dirt book which is an oral history of the punk scene in Toronto (and elsewhere) dealing with the years 1977-1981.

The earliest of Ms. Worth's published work was the 2008 Eleven : Eleven which was published by Trainwreck Press. The current website does not list her book but that's likely because the Press rebooted a few years ago. Eleven : Eleven is a 24 page short fiction book of extremely well written prose which might be consider a series of prose poems or just damn good writing. I was reading it today while listening to a mix tape of unknown origin that I inherited along the way. A cassette mix tape, mind you, not exactly punk music but period for the time frame I imagine this book covers. It made the reading experience more relevant, I thought.

I don't suspect that this would be easy to find in the States and could be extremely difficult to find - period - but it clearly shows the talent that was later highlighted in Amphetamine Heart. There are references to Tarot cards and related themes in Eleven : Eleven so it shouldn't surprise one that she went back to her first love when she wrote herself out (if in fact that is what she did)

I highly recommend reading her.

Tuesday, May 05, 2020

Ignoble Daydreams for the Impudent Minds by Randy Boone (2005)


Ignoble Daydreams for the Impudent Minds
Randy Boone
self-published
(c) 2005

One should never self-publish when angry. Not that the author didn't have a right to be angry but that one tends to only see things through the prism of anger. So, Mr. Boone had a bad experience with a publisher who reneged on a contract to publish Mr. Boone's book of poems. The result was a rather defiant middle finger to publishers and contracts and all. The name of his self-publishing "company" was I'm-More-Violent-Than-You-Think-and-if-You-Steal-My-Ideas-I'll-Smash-Your-Face-Up=With-a-Hammer Publishing. Just saying, a little defiant and tad bit angry.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

A Wreath of Christmas Poems New Directions (1972)


A Wreath of Christmas Poems
A New Directions Book
(c) 1972

Edited by by Albert M. Hayes and James Laughlin. Illustrated by Jose Erasto. A quaint seasonal chapbook. Handsomely presented.

writing during the season of death : a global pandemic to be observed, witnessed

This is where we are - just noting it - me and my family are sheltering in place here in Northern VA

Upheaval and staying healthy, home schooling and trying to absorb "the new normal" which won't ever feel normal.

and so, now we continue....... be damn skippy already!

Friday, March 27, 2020

At Least A Glint by Harry D. Eshleman (1996)


At Least A Glint
Harry D. Eshleman
Eshleday Specialday Press
Kutztown, PA
© 1996

In 2019, while on the way to a quick weekend vacation in Ocean City, MD, I made a quick stop in Trappe, MD (a small truck-stop of a town) at the incredible Unicorn Book Shop and there found this book which definitely belonged in Berks County, PA.

Having moved to the DC area in 2004, I was unaware of his passing until I did some researching after bringing this book home. I have done a slight edit on his obit, but wanted to present it for those who didn’t / couldn't have known him :

“Harry David Eshleman, 85, died peacefully surrounded by his loving family May 10, 2015, in the Kutztown Manor. Born in Chicago, IL, to Paul and Selina Eshleman on October 4, 1929, he was raised in Lititz, PA. He was a graduate of the University of Chicago and received his Master’s from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a Veteran of the Army, having served in Korea.  He was a member of St. John’s UCC, Kutztown. He retired from Kutztown University in 1989 following 25 years of teaching.  He taught communication courses and was also a professor of journalism and served as advisor for the school newspaper and yearbook.  In addition to writing poetry, he was actively involved in promoting poetry.  He served on the board of the Wallace Stevens Poetry Society and was President from 1995-1999.  He hosted “Poet’s Pause” on BCTV for many years.  He served as editor of Bookends, the publication for the Berks County Library Association.  He published a large number of works ranging from poetry to essays.”

What was missing from the obit was that he had his own imprint : Eshleday Specialday Press. I haven’t found anything on the Net about the press but I suspect that he published a few other folks as well as his own work after retiring from Kutztown University.

I got to know him at the time he was President of the Wallace Stevens Chapter of the Pennsylvania Poetry Society and I was making noise leading up to the formation of the Berks Bards and the BerksBardfest poetry festival. I was on his poetry program a few times as well. Always well dressed and a bow tie.

Poetically, we are definitely from different generations but because of Eshleman, and poet Harry Humes, Berks County did have poetry flowing through the trees decades before Bardfest came along.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Holding Up the Wall by Julia Vinograd (1987)


Holding Up the Wall
Julia Vinograd
Cal-Syl Press
Oakland, CA
(c)1987

Never heard of or found anything about Cal-Syl Press, maybe it was a print shop? Another in the annual output of Julia Vinograd. Photo by Harold Parish. 42 pages.