Receiver by Brandon Krieg (2021)

Receiver 

Brandon Krieg

Herring Alley Pamphlets

Kutztown, PA

(c) 2021

I happened to be in Kutztown, PA which is a quaint little college town in the midst of horse and buggy Amish world. There is a bookstore on the Main Street. There is a "Local Author" section in this bookstore and there was this interesting staple bound booklet there. I bought it. 

I bought it because I have a connection to the area and had seen the author on a community TV show read 30 minutes of his poetry. Okay, maybe it was less than 30 minutes since there was banter with the host but I listened to him read. And shortly after I see this book and bought it and am glad that I did. For one thing, the poetry is good. For another the poet is also the publisher and a college professor at that school in town named for the town (clues abound) 

Additionally the author/publisher also made the woodcut that graces the cover. It's a complete package of Brandon Krieg. How cool is that? Pretty stinking cool, actually. 

2 copies of The Almanac [ high school lit mag ] (1970 & 197other]

 These two surfaced in a library donation bin, and before I send them back to high school in New Orleans where they originally were produced at I wanted to acknowledge them. Pretty cool stuff. 

The Willie Lynch Letter and The Making of a Slave (1999)

 The Willie Lynch Letter and The Making of a Slave

Lushena Books Inc.

Bensenville, IL

(c) 1999

This "historic" booklet has in hindsight proven to be a partial hoax as the Willie Lynch part has been dismissed - yet as a completed image and text the booklet does attempt to represent the brutal nature of the American institution of Slavery. 

Bath by Jen Silverman (2022)

 Bath 

Jen Silverman

Driftwood Press

(c)2022

Let me be clear : this is a chapbook with a spine. Not staple-bound. A spine so thin that no text could appear and since the cover is primarily black that means that the spine is black and therefore is exactly the "thin slice of nothing" that I call chapbooks to begin with. It's a thin black line on a bookstore shelf. Only chapbook prospectors would even try to dig it out and take it off a shelf. 

The interview with the author by the publisher is nearly as long as the poetry in this book. That said, I look forward to reading more of what Driftwood presents. As should you. 

Boardwalk by Elizabeth Spires (1980)

Boardwalk

Elizabeth Spires

Bits Press

Department of English

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

(c) 1980

This is an interesting piece for several reasons. I found some of the poems in this thin hand sewn chapbook to be very good. Actual poetic language instead of "journal entries with spacing". For example, in her poem 'Grandfather' she has the line "In the cellar's cool dark" which I could feel as I was reading it. 

Other poems, to my "delicate" nature had way too many first person singulars in them but at least there was more poetic phrasing than I tend to be reading these days. 

The other thing, the more important thing chronologically is that there is no listing of this chapbook on her Wikipedia page. This chapbook mentions that her first full length collection Globe would be coming out in 1981 and her Wikipedia page started with Globe. When it should start with this one. 

And for what it's worth - the title poem is good as are the 3 poems inspired by Japanese prints.  

Processed World 12 (1985)

 Processed World 12

Processed World

San Francisco, CA

(c) 1985

Found this in a Goodwill shop next to a cool record store in South Street in Philadelphia earlier this week. Never heard of the publication before but it's extremely within my wheelhouse of anti-capitalism, "beware of technology" zeitgeist from the days just before the Internet became a "thing" in our world. Articles, poetry, images in a staple bound 65 paged bundle. If you are even slightly anti-globalist, you need to find these zines. Read them, keep them. 

How Our Laws Are Made by (1980)

 How Our Laws Are Made 

Edward F. Gillett, Jr, Esq.

Foreword by Hon. Peter Rodino

US Government Printing Office

Washington, DC 

(c) 1980

At the time this staple bound booklet was printed Peter Rodino was the Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary. Of course this type of booklet is more likely to be available in the DC area, where I live so it doesn't surprise me that I happened across it. 73 pages. It's a more serious take on how bills are past than the famous SchoolHouse Rock interpretation, but I do like that one better. It's got a song. This one is a tad dry. 

Milieu to the Stars by Fernando Reyes (2023)

 Milieu to the Stars

Fernando Reyes

self published

(c)2023

It meant to be something. Really it did. A self promotion tool? The illustrations created by this gentleman are far superior to his words. And though he meant the booklet to introduce himself to the publishing world ("publish my book"), it really only highlights his artistic side. Unfortunately, a poet he is not. Rather, to me, he is not. Others might feel differently. Maybe his goal will be achieved. But I think his goal ought to be what he draws and not what he writes. 

Latin American Soul: Bilingual Poetry by Edith Graciela Sanabria (1997)

Latin American Soul: Bilingual Poetry

Edith Graciela Sanabria

y Grace Press

Alexandria, VA

(c) 1997

The Press failed this project. Entirely.