Saturday, July 04, 2026

Total Eclipse by Bruce Holsapple (1977)

 



Total Eclipse

Bruce Holsapple

Contraband Press

Portland, ME

(c)1977

             I will admit that before I even started writing this I had no idea who this poet was nor who the publisher was (spoiler alert: they are the same person). Never heard of the Press, nor the poet, nor did I consider the possibility that Portland Maine was ever a cool creative dot on the map. 

             I am glad to be wrong on all accounts. Contraband Press started out as a magazine created, primarily, by Bruce Holsapple himself. If you are curious to learn more, seek out articles by Dana Wilde about that time period (the mid-1970s) in Portland since he was there and witnessed it, took it all in, was part of that creative community as a teen. 

             This book was included in a lot I purchased online from someone with whom I have had dealings with in the past, and what caught my eye with this one was the amount of visuality in the cover. Pretty stunning for a book cover from a small press in Portland MAINE.  

             Really glad to have it. But again, read Dana Wilde's articles - they are easy enough to find online and really fill in the story more accurately than I ever could. 


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