Shrivel and Bloom by Emily Murman (2021)

 

Shrivel and Bloom 

Emily Murman

dancing girl press & studio

Chicago, IL 

(c) 2021

Emily Murman is a poet & educator from Chicago. In April 2019, she was awarded the Gail DeHerder Memorial Prize in Creative Writing. She holds an MFA in poetry from National University. She is the author of two chapbooks, “SHRIVEL AND BLOOM" (Dancing Girl Press, June 2021) and “I want your emergency" (Selcouth Station Press, July 2021).

Some really good poems in this thin slice of heaven. 

Favored Daughter by Megan Kaminski (2011)

 Favored Daughter

Megan Kaminski

dancing girl press

Chicago, IL

(c) 2011

I have to say this is one of the best books I have seen from dancing girl. It's a bit of a shame that Ms. Kaminski doesn't mention her chapbooks published prior to 2012. There is a lot of good poetry before. 

Dutch Baby Combo by Amber Nelson (2013)

 Dutch Baby Combo

Amber Nelson

dancing girl press & studio

Chicago, IL

(c) 2013

I continue to filter through a packet of seconds from this small press. By that I mean books that should have been pulped because they were defective but instead were bundled like dead fish for the unsuspecting boob willing to fork over money for a set of 5 (defective) books. 

I wonder how the poems were presented in Reb Livingston's No Tell Motel. They likely were presented better than this stinker. I have no faith in the quality of this press. 

The History of a Lake Never Drowns by Julia Cohen (2008)

 The History of a Lake Never Drowns

Julia Cohen

dancing girl press

Chicago, IL

(c)2008

Perhaps it's because I just wanted a documentary about post-punk music but I am looking at chapbooks like DIY singles or cassettes. Except that most poets do not produce their own chapbooks and that many publishers are not also poets. 

dancing girl press, like a lot of indie record label is bootstrap tight on cash and start up floundering on recognition. This particular chapbook does no favors for the poet or the press (it feels like a copy that should have been pulped instead of added to a packet) 

Neverheart by Loren Walker (2021)

 Neverheart

Loren Walker

dancing girl press & studio

Chicago, IL 

(c)2021

No one is perfect. And I am starting with myself, I am a no one who is also not perfect. I am starting this little piece with a tiny bit of "me-ism" in the sense that I am a flawed person who, among my many pursuits and interests, collects and writes about chapbooks. And I have seen some amazing work done on this small scale production because - honestly - making chapbooks is not high end, large budget book production. It isn't for the faint at heart or for those with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. It's for the dedicated, the committed; those living and thriving on the banks of the literary river that comprise this art form going back to cuneiform. To Ur. To the beginning of humans writing down their thoughts and deeds at the dawn of our being on this planet. 

Kristy Bowen has created this press and puts on her Sisyphus skin every time she brings out a chapbook of a female artist (that's what dancing girl press does; work with female artists). I applaud her for that. 

But as a publisher myself, I would have hoped that after nearly 20 years of doing this, it might have evolved out of the Xeroxed production era and this one hasn't. The cover image is good but the paper stock is very Xerox. I know this paper stock since I have used it myself. The words on the page are somewhat demeaned by the quality of the paper the words are printed on. As El Lissitzky wrote back in 1931, The book must be the unified work of the author and the designer. As long as this is not the case, splendid exteriors will constantly be produced for unimportant contents, and visa-versa.