the bowen street poems by Brian Bagdonas (1992)

 the bowen street poems

Brian Bagdonas 

Grime City Productions

Dayton, OH 

(c)1992

This was an Ebay find, have to say. 

Actually when I saw the image it was a deja vu moment, I felt I had seen the image before - had held the book before, but no, I had not. The cover of the booklet/chapbook was both cover and mailer. The other side, the "back cover" of the book, was actually designed to be for addressing and mailing the book out. 

This has GOT to be among the first things that Brian Bagdonas created. I researched a bit and found that: 

"Brian Scott Bagdonas has worked in the commercial print industry since 1992. He first got a taste for print and small "mom and pop" print shop culture as a result of making zines and record covers in support of his hometown underground music scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s."

and this book has all the markings of a creative should working out how to present a concept. He even created "Grime City Productions" with a Dayton, Ohio address. 

Very inventive, for the completist - this one is a must. Especially since this one is addressed and signed by Brian himself. 

 

EIK by M. R. Trower (2013)

 EIK

M R Trower

An Inkmaggot Comic!

(c)2013

Staple-bound chapbook sized comic. Never saw one of these before.

Black and White by Gilbert Sorrentino (1964)

 Black and White

Gilbert Sorrentino

Corinth Books/Totem Press

New York, NY

(c)1964

Cover art by Morton Leaks

Sorrentino did not the receive the attention he deserved. Great poetry here. Of the time and in the time. 

The Dial by Chris Nealon (2012)

 

The Dial

Chris Nealon

The Song Cave

(c) 2012

Part of a series. This is #55 of 100 printed. Signed by Nealon. Covers all the same pattern (must have been a thing for the series. Staple bound, unpaginated. Single poem. 

The Teacher's Mind Travels.... Also by B B Riefner (not yet published)

 Was at a poetry reading yesterday in Maryland and a gentleman read some poems by his 95 year old former teacher and he read : 

                                    Big bear paws

                                    Which hold the fist

                                     But could also hold

                                     The breasts of Time

                                     So easily

                                    She would gladly feed us. 

(my italics)

what? WHAT? What the absolute BLEEP is that supposed to mean? The breasts of time? I can't. It isn't. I won't. 

       

The Little Box Theater by Henry Crawford (2022)

 The Little Box Theater 

Henry Crawford

printF

(c)2022

I think Mr. Crawford and I both dabble in computerized language that anticipated the emerging AI "threat" to all things human. He has a method. I need a key code. I do not have it. Shrug.

Lizzie Red Bird and other unclaimed poems of resistance by Tom Pescatore (2021)

 

Lizzie Red Bird and other unclaimed poems of resistance

Tom Pescatore

Alien Buddha Press

(c) 2021

This press has been popping up frequently of late. As has Kelsey Books out in Utah. Good it see new publishers sprouting up as older ones fade and wither as is the nature of all things. Pescatore is a street/rebel poet who has spent time living in the elements. Off the grid. On the border between civilization and "the wilds". His work is true. And worth a read. 

Little Wars by W. Luther Jett (2021)

 Little Wars

W. Luther Jett

Kelsey Books

American Fork, UT

(c)2021

Full disclosure : I used to run a poetry series at a local library and Luther Jett was one of our featured poets in 2020/21 and he read most of the poems that are in this collection, thanking me afterwards for providing the space where he could read them aloud in front of an audience as he was formulating the idea that became this collection. 

So - I am a little biased in favor of it. All the same, this is a wonderful collection of poems produced well by Kelsey Books, an enterprise that was been doing great work of late. 

Little Spells by Emma Trelles (2008)

 Little Spells

Emma Trelles

Goss185-Casa Menendez

Bloomington, IN

(c)2008

It's a chapbook pretending to be bigger since it has a spine - too thin for text. The writing is good though. That's something. 

Waking on Water by Julie A. Selman (1992)

 Waking on Water : poems from the harbor

Julie A Selman

One Woman's Press

Juneau, Alaska

(c) 1992

I know nothing about this poet or this press, but it's an interesting piece notwithstanding. This particular copy does not contain "slate sand found on the shore of Gastineau Channel". But it is one of 500 copies printed on recycled paper. Remember this is 1992 - 

The poet and publisher are showing a depth of ecological awareness. It's a work tied to and defined by Juneau and its waterways. Glad to have found it. Definitely will be keeping it.