ATM by Christopher Salerno (2010)

 ATM

Christopher Salerno

Horse Less Press

(c) 2010

The limited exposure I have had with this press has been favorable. This one is a dud. 

Z " L : For the Family of CJ Martin & Julia Drescher (2013)

 Z " L : For The Family of CJ Martin & Julia Drescher

created during the summer 2013

assembled & printed by Ashsmith, NB TX

covers Letterpresses by Michael Cross Oakland, CA

with Special Thanks to : Michelle Detorie & Kyle Schlesinger

in Memory of Tommy Martin & Ann Davis

This is an intentionally Xeroxed (style) book that technically is not a chapbook because it is 73 pages long but is staple-bound, so I am splitting the difference here. 

The work of many people are captured here in Xerox artfulness and Chinese marker writing, but yet the cover is a mismatch with the near dispensable pages within. 

A very odd collection in that regard. I am not familiar with many of the people who lovingly submitted their work but there are few names I know - cheers to them. 

mistranslating Neruda by Matt Mason (2002)

 mistranslating Neruda

Matt Mason 

New Michigan Press

Tuscaloosa, AL

(c) 2002

I first wrote about this press (briefly noted) in 2011 when I acknowledged Stephanie Anderson's chapbook In the Particular Particular which was the 2006 chapbook contest winner for this press. 

I didn't write about the curiosity I had for a press with the name it has being located in Alabama, but since my writing in 2011 the press has moved to Arizona. Making additional sense (?)

I am going to paste here a longer review of this chapbook since the reviewer captures the essence of this book better than I : "…Mistranslating Neruda is Matt Mason’s homage to Pablo Neruda’s Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair. Not only does Mason mimic the sequence in length, but he also tries duplicating the inventive use of language: Like angel hair pasta waving goodbye to the boiling water, / the sausages from the refrigerator fly into your hands. // Innumerable hearts of the sausage / fortify inside the rare silences of young love. Equally emblematic for the rest of the sequence, Mason writes, early on: Body of a woman, white as flour, as egg whites, / you break into the world with the immediacy of warm cookies. Lines like these make Mason’s chapbook a hoot to read. While he actively tries to mimic Neruda, to “mistranslate” him, Mason’s own sense of absurdity takes off, pulling the reader along. These poems also display the depths of Mason’s imagination, but do they stand up to the master inspiring them? No, but they weren’t intended to, either. In his preface, Mason claims everybody has read a horrible act of translation, be it in high school English texts or elsewhere, and this chapbook was to be a satire on “mistranslations.” That doesn’t change the joy of language Mason revels in, and to this collection, that’s a gift.” –Rich Ristow, from https://richristow.wordpress.com/tag/mistranslating-neruda/

The Fight Is With Phantoms by Sy Kahn (1966)

 

The Fight Is With Phantoms

Sy Kahn

East & West, Inc. 

(c)1966

I found this volume at the unfortunately named "bookstore", The Avocado Pit, in Stauton, VA in March 2022. I would never recommend anyone going into that bookstore. It did have some (overpriced) gems like this one by a writer I never heard of before. Linked to his website above. 

Like the presentation of this volume, always appreciate a cover that feels like something. One of 750 printed. Very nice indeed.  

The Son by Carrie Enter (2009)

 The Son

Carrie Etter

Oystercatcher Press

Norfolk, UK

(c) 2009

Oystercatcher is the brainchild of Peter Hughes who started this press in 2008. I am not familiar with the majority of the poets published by this press but if the presentation of this chap is any indication of the effort involved, I recommend a closer examination by anyone interested. 

The Failure Age by Amanda Montei (2014)

 The Failure Age 

Amanda Montei

Bloof Books

somewhere in America

(c)2014

Bloof Books is a fascinating story of exploration and mystery. Their website features a police blotter of creative folks that the press has published throughout the years. This particular volume has a fuzzy bearskin rug on the front cover (no actual bear was harmed in the making of this cover) #32 of 100 printed. 

Handsewn. Oddly sized. Screams UNIQUE.