A Ship of Bells by George Hitchcock (date uncertain)

A Ship of Bells
George Hitchcock
Kayak
San Francisco, CA
date uncertain

I just got a huge lot of books and among the items is "a ship of bells" by George Hitchcock who also ran Kayak - his own imprint. There are woodcut prints by Mel Fowler throughout. The 61 page staple-bound chapbook does straddle the line as far as I am concerned regarding size but that's his decision as Publisher/Poet. Since is wearing both hats, more power to him. It was his first book. The is some guessing as to when this was published, the best guess seems to be 1969 but there is no date in the book itself and Google searches have been inconclusive. However, the book is beautiful. It's an incredible chapbook. The artwork by Mel Fowler is exceptional. Wow.

Sextuples Are Not Heavy by Danielle Roderick (2010)

Sextuples Are Not Heavy
DoubleCross Press
Single Sheet Series No. 4
Brooklyn, NY

3.5" X 4" tiny chapbook accordion-style printed Feb. 2010 at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Linocuts by Jeff Peterson. Overbeaten flaxabaca paper made at Lost Arch Papermill, Tuscaloosa, AL. Doublecross does some interesting work. I have noted them before when I wrote about Brandon Shimoda's little chap, The Grave on the Wall. This one is just as well done and handsome.

Obit for the Warehouse by Jaime Niedermeier (2006)

Obit for the Warehouse
Jamie Niedermeier
Duplex Press
(c)2006

I found this little nugget via ebay. It has led to an interesting bit of detective-ing in the sense that Ms. Niedermeier is present on the Net in various places. This thin booklet is her only book to date. I saw a short film she posted in 2012 of her in a temporary homeless situation - hopefully that's all changed now. She's living on-line. A lot of people do that. Not that she is doing it intentionally but that she is sharing her life on-line, likely as a way to promote herself as an artist. The film was pretty interesting, I have to say.

This is a single poem booklet. The poem is filled with interesting language. I appreciate it. I like it. The visual presentation is shit though. Separation of the visual from the linguistic is obvious. I can see this poem in a larger book should she get to that stage. However, text is not her primary medium. All the same, I like the poem. And wherever you are, Jaime, I hope you have landed on your feet!

Off Flaw by Dawn Pendergast (2009)

Off Flaw
Dawn Pendergast
dusie
(c)2009

tiny tiny tiny "chapbook" measuring in at 3.5" X 3". Braille-like cover. Experimental work and experimental design. This is her first chapbook. Sparse text for the small space. Interesting work. I have read an interesting review of this tiny tiny. Ms. Pendergast seems to be most present on Goodreads.com (personal preference?) I have riffed a poem from one of her lines, I will admit. Collectable!

it bears repeating....

It bears repeating: I am not a cheerleader. I am a publisher as well as a poet. I write this blog to acknowledge the work of publishers and poets and "one-time" presses that bubble to the surface through the existence of the work. If someone thinks I should only focus on the poems, they miss my point. Or rather, they are not aware of the quote by El Lissitsky that is a guiding principle of mine:

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.
El Lissitzky
from Do Not Separate Form from Content!(1931)

If a chapbook visually sucks but the words are good, I will say so. If the chapbook is stunning but the words are god-awful, I will also say so. No tree should ever be felled for tripe or self-serving navel-worshipping. If you have a friend whose work you like a lot and it doesn't matter to you what their chapbook looks like: that fine, but that's not my "job". I respect the people who have taken the time and considerable effort to make a thing of beauty. Putting out a book on the cheapest photo-copy paper available with the grainiest picture imaginable and touting it as your "work of art", I will decline climbing on your bandwagon.

Certain publishers from the past, say from the late 1970s through today, deserve to be recognized as establishing the structure by which "the bar" is placed, let alone raised. The truth is that they publishers cared what their chapbooks LOOKED LIKE as much as the words or images, or both, were INSIDE. I have listed some of these presses before but it is worth mentioning again: Toothpaste Press (Allan Kornblum), Perishable Press Limited (Walter Hamady), The Fathom Press (Robie Liscomb), The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs (Brenda Iljima), Pentagram Press (Michael Tarachow), and many others.

I would urge lovers of the chapbook form to image that there is a history to this all, that you are part of it, and that you haven't created the wheel. It's been done. Dozens of times over. Hundreds of times over and then some. There is a historical element to my blog that I perhaps haven't overtly presented but I think it's time that I did. We are all part of something that dates back to the 1940s. If you wish to consider the chap(ter) books that were published in England earlier, then we are talking about the 1600s.

My particular focus is poetry chapbooks of the second half of the 20th century and now into the 21st.

Cadastral Map by Jill Magi (2005)

Cadastral Map
Jill Magi
The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2005

When a shorter work, say this one, evolves into a larger one, like the 2011 full sized book by the same title published in Great Britain by Shearsman Books, something in the immediacy of the chapbook form is lost. But the quality of the work certainly remains.

What attracted me to this piece was the language and the space between. And the explanation. I liked the explanation in the chapbook. The explanation has e-or-devolved into an essay at the end of the full book. The text was part of a larger manuscript that had a different working title back in 2004-2005 but with the publication of the chapbook and the response to that chapbook, the title slid into line with this chapbook. It's a great piece, it's a beautiful chapbook.

Second Story of Your Body by Angela Hume (2011)

Second Story of Your Body
Angela Hume
The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2011

This is yet another of the handsome chapbooks published by Yo-Yo Labs under the direction of Brenda Iljima. Angela Hume is the author of 2 books of poetry, this being the first. It was well received upon its publication.

Strap/Halo by Jamie Townsend (2011)

Strap/Halo
Jamie Townsend
The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2011

Unpaginated staple-bound chapbook beautifully put together by Brenda Iljima. Challenging poetry worth the find.

Heroes and Monsters by Kate Schapira (2009)

Heroes and Monsters
Kate Schapira
The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2009

Unlike most entries in this blog about chapbooks, this one comes with a backstory. In 2010 AWP met in Washington, D.C. which is my town these days. I attended as Plan B Press and sat in the huge rooms with publishers, poets, organizations and writing programs from across the country. At one table sat one woman with a few "tiny-tinies". I was intrigued by the smallness of the chapbooks and their production. Only later did I read through it, a tiny Kate Schapira chap called Magpie's Box If it could even properly be called a chap. It was definitely tiny though. And I had become a fan!

Kate Schapira is a lecturer at Brown and the author of three collections of poetry as well as a number of chapbooks. Her name is so familiar now that when I see it, even in a photograph of an ebay book lot being offered from someone in Georgia, it's enough to make me close the deal. I got 10 chapbooks from The Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs and am taking the other 9 chapbooks as a learning curve.

This is a prose poetry collection with cover art by Brenda Iljima. 32 pages. The work is very good. It's a beautiful chapbook. It's a pleasure to read.

Brenda Iljima and the Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs

Brenda Iljima and Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs will be the subject of the next handful of entries. A bit of a tease here though - back in 2011, in December 2011, I got a lot of material from someone via ebay. I admit I scored big, it was a big lot of things including 4 chapbooks by someone named Brenda Iljima.

I was intrigued. New person - new voice - four distinctively different chapbooks from 4 different presses. The seller was Boston-based so were most of the items that I received. So, Brenda had been in Boston for a period of time. Then she moved to Brooklyn where she runs Portable Press of Yo-Yo Labs. That's where the latest thread of this woven tale comes in. Earlier this year, a person in rural Georgia posted a number of small press items - including a lot of 10 chapbooks from Portable Press of Yo-Yo Labs. I recognized one of the names, Kate Schapira, so I bid and won the lot. Now I had tons more to write about! Have as well as had.

Time Out of Kilter by Jerry Selman (1978)

Time Out of Kilter
Jerry Selman
Self Published
(c)1978

54 page self-published chapbook. Not thrilled with the work. Some times because you can doesn't mean you should. SAVE A TREE!!!!

The Ann Scales Postcards (1976)

The Ann Scales Postcards
Joseph Gabe/Mary Jean Kenton/Ann Chapman Scales
Printed Matters Inc.
New York, NY
(c)1976

I have seen more recent versions of a postcard themed/sized book but this is the earliest one I can recall. It's an odd duck. It's dimensions are that of a large postcard and the text is in hand-scroll of the "author" yet the text is a combination of lines by well known authors and some of Ms. Scales's own. Ok, so what is the point? Why was this book produced? It lacks any images that propel or enhance the reading experience. The text is peppered with quotes by John Cage, Robert Creeley, et al. Fine and dandy but, what IS the point of this book? I don't know. It's journal writing. It's nice that someone would publish it - however, it's not my cup of tea.

Spider Byte by Victor Perrotti (2014)

Spider Byte
Victor Perrotti
Weblines Design
Virginia Beach, VA
(c)2014

This tiny chapbook shows promise. The author is also the publisher and he handles his jobs well. Perhaps we will see more of this imprint in the future.

something else the music way by Eric Baus (2004)

something else the music was
Eric Baus
braincase Press
Northampton, MA
(c)2004

This is one of most handsome chapbooks I have to date seen. As it happens, braincase Press is the brainchild of the very talented poet Noah Eli Gordon. The Press began in 2003 outside of Boston but now can be found in Denver. One of the features of the chapbooks that I am most drawn to is that each one has a wrap-around cover. They are all very well made and quite stunning to look at. Can I get an AMEN?

The author is also publisher of Minus House Chapbooks. The work here is very good. It's complete package. Well worth the search.

hi, once again : my address, in case you want to send me some chapbooks

my address is:


Steven Allen May
chap*book
2714 Jefferson Dr.
Alexandria, VA 22303

hi folks, sorry about that!

It's March and I have only written 3 entries for the year. I am remiss. Sorry. Yesterday at the local library I hold a second chapbook exchange to an empty room and while I should know better, I have left things to autopilot and autopilot doesn't do well (actually, it doesn't do anything at all) SO, I apologize. I will get back on the schtick and do better for the rest of the year. I promise.

So. Yeah, I held a chapbook exchange and exhibition in our local library which was a big mistake - not because chapbooks are non-literary but maybe because the local library patrons are. I have chapbooks from England, India, and now Spain on display but the only ones seeing them are my wife and kids (and they have seen them already, groaningly)

A local library in the boonies only works if a number of publishers live in the area and want to hob-nob. All the publishers I invited live in the city, and don't usually travel to the boonies for such - yawn - affairs. It would be like having a book fair in an area with a population in the dozens and have expectations. I had no expectations. If I had had expectations, I might have heaved the mighty boulder up the mountain with greater glee but as it was, I left things to chance but Chance is the cousin of Autopilot, and you know how that works.

As it is, I have a lump of chapbooks from Yo-Yo Labs to review as well as one which arrived yesterday from Blue Bathtub Books in Spain. Plus others I have been sitting on. I will stand up now and move them off my seat. Till Soon stevenallenmay

The Grave on the Wall by Brandon Shimoda (2010)

The Grave on the Wall
Brandon Shimoda
Double Cross Press
Tiny chapbook published in 2010 by Double Cross Press. Single Sheet Series #5. Letterpressed at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts during March and April of 2010. Hand-sewn stitching. Unpaginated. Purple waxy hand-made paper cover stock. Unique item made shortly before the poet "blew up" with two major collections in the following two years. Definite collector's item. Illustrated throughout by the author.

There is/was a Press and the Press does/did have a blog but its restricted. Intriguing.

Meditation on a Hyacinth (and other quiet things) by Victoria Hamilton (1977)

Meditation on a Hyacinth (and other quiet things)
Victoria Hamilton
Blue Heron Press
Grand Rapids, MI
(c)1977


I found this very thin slice of nothing at a local bookstore, the thin slice of red gave it away. It reminds me of early Blue Mountain book in the stylings of Susan Polis Schutz. Hand lettered "pieces". Not sure I would came the pieces poetry. Interestingly, while researching this tiny chapbook I found out that Howard Fast had an imprint in New York City from 1952-1956 to publish several editions of his book Spartacus and most other writings of his. Didn't find much out about the Grand Rapids imprint though.

winter's been cold

so cold my fingers don't work so cold

The Village Painters by David Chorlton (1990)

The Village Painters
David Chorlton
Adastra Press
Easthampton, MA
(c)1990

Handsome chapbook with illustrations by author. Unpaginated. Green cover with image of village on front. Some of these poems first appears in Poets Lore. Nice find.

November Fires by Tillie Friedenberg (1998)

November Fires
Tillie Friedenberg
WordHouse, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
(c)1989

This is the second printing of this chapbook. 29 pages. A slightly larger chapbook in size. WordHouse is known in Baltimore for some of the chapbooks they have created. Being Tillie's first book, this is as much testament as document considering that she published this later in her life. Shadows of the Holocaust hang over each page, a past not entirely survived. A remembrance sweet as lemons. Powerful writing.

Nancy's magazine : The Mood Issue

Nancy's Magazine: The Mood Issue
San Francisco, CA

Interesting zine. Unpaginated. Pretty cool indeed. Staple-bound.

The Cruelty of the Desert by Michael Wurster (1989)

The Cruelty of the Desert
Michael Wurster
Cottage Wordsmiths
Pittsburgh, PA
(c)1989

Handsome cover to this 48 page chapbook. Cottage Wordsmiths is still around, believe or not, not certain about the quality of their other books but this is a good one. According to a listing I found they do "Miscellaneous publishing". Diverse, perhaps.

I am not a fan of author photos in books, not really convinced that they help at all to "sell" the work. This book has one and no, it doesn't. Some of the poetry is good. Worth finding for the cover art alone.

Familiar Sounds by Marjorie Sadin (2011)

Familiar Sounds
Marjorie Sadin
self published
(c)2011

51 page Kinko's special staple-bound chapbook. On the cheapest paper available. Lord in Heaven!!

Any chapbook that flirts with 50 pages becomes awkward. I can't imagine many copies of this one were printed. The poetry is okay, not stellar. No tree should have been felled for the making of this chapbook though.

The Gynecologist by Joan Lyons (1989)

The Gynecologist
Joan Lyons
Visual Studies Workshop Press
Rochester, NY
(c)1989

29 page staple-bound chapbook. The following was taken directly from her website "Fanciful historic gynecological representations of women are juxtaposed with a contemporary patient / doctor interview, which reveals the authority a traditionally male medical culture holds in describing and prescribing for an individual body; in this case female. Aspects of the text will be familiar to most women. This book was based on several years of research and was in danger of becoming a ponderous document before I edited it down to what I know best—an artist's book. It echos the structure of historical printed books, with its small text block and illuminated margins."

The work fascinates me. It clearly is an artist book as well as a "historical" document. I am nearly as interested in the Visual Studies Workshop Press as I am in the artist. Ah, they are one in the same. Joan founded VSW in 1971. The Press is still operational. Making fantastic books. A publisher of artist books is rare indeed.

Quite the find!

Greatest Hits 1977-2003 by Mark DeFoe

Greatest Hits 1977-2003
Mark DeFoe
Pudding House Publications
Columbus, OH
(c)2004

This is number 227 in Pudding House 'Greatest Hit's series. Think about that for a second. 227 "Greatest Hits" from poets I have never heard of. 227 self-indulgent masterpiece/train wrecks. "Greatest Hits" my feather-duster! Trite, dribble, a complete and utter waste of tree life UNLESS you are a friend or family member of one of these 227 individuals whom I have never heard of. Mind you, I read a fair amount of poetry, so that's saying something that I haven't heard of these folks. Pudding House exercises zero editorial control, it seems.

This chapbook is 30 pages long. Staple-bound. Cookie-cutter unoriginal cover. But, for folks who know Mr. DeFoe, this one is for you!

Lemon Red by Cralan Kelder (2005)

Lemon Red
Cralan Kelder
Coracle
South Tipperary Ireland
(c)2005

Handsome little chapbook from a charming little publisher nestled on a farm in rural Ireland. How idyllic! Coracle is the brainchild of Erica Van Horn and Simon Cutts. They have making these lovely chapbooks since the late 1990s. Brilliant! #150 of 300 printed.

Exertions by Scott Glassman (2006)

Exertions
Scott Glassman
Cy Gist Press
(c)2006

Cy Gist Press is edited by Mark Lamoureux. This is a string-bound chapbook.

(here is Scott Glassman reading with copy of book behind him) Unpaginated. 8 3/4" by 6 7/8"(a differently sized chapbook)

The LANGUAGE in this collection is postmodernistic language to be sure but as a reader AND a publisher I often wonder if the use of "i" is the glue, the anchor word. I find it unnecessary to interject the "i" unless the poems are lifted directly from the author's diary. I doubt that's the case here but that feels like the result.
If you like his work, this is a collection for you!

Still Life by Alan Catlin (2007)

Still Life
Alan Catlin
Black Buzzard Press
Austin, TX
(c)2007

This is the first time mentioning this particular Press. Not sure if they are still in operation. Their last web(foot)print was in 2010. Small operation nonetheless. This was one of their 2007 offerings. Unpaginated.

Learning POEM about Learning about being a POET by Michael Basinski (2012)

Learning POEM about Learning about being a POET
Michael Basinski
PressBoardPress
Buffalo, NY
(c)2012

I prefer to call this chapbook "Oink! Moo!" since that's what on the front cover but this handsome letter-pressed chap is worth the reading and the finding to be sure. Patrick Riedy has done a lot of good work in a brief period of time up by Lake Erie, and he and his press deserves note.

This limited run chapbook is a great example of that. Meanwhile, Michael Basinski is quite the Every-ready Bunny in Buffalo, where he works as the Curator of the Poetry Collection at the University of Buffalo and has made contributions in both poetics and curation for several years now.

There is an even more limited run of this limited run chapbook which has flyleaves designed by Basinski and signed by both the poet and the book designer. That's my next goal !!!

Cries of Flesh and Stone by Richard O'Connell (1962)

Cries of Flesh and Stone
Richard O'Connell
Atlantis Editions
Philadelphia, PA
(c)1962

When I first discovered this little chapbook in rural Pennsylvania, I figured a lost book by an unknown poet. Little did I know.....whatever else, this small imprint, Atlantis Editions, was around for over a decade. The only name associated with the imprint was Richard O'Connell. He did publish a good deal, it does appear. All the same, by the time I moved to Philly in late 2001, his name was not known - this is the first book by the Press that I ever saw or read.

A handsome 7" X 4.75" blue covered chapbook, 32 pages. Staple-bound. The poems are short. They are also good.

This chapbook was published in 1962. Earliest bit of small press happenings in Philly that I am aware of. Who did this poet know, where did he read? Was he part of a group? Where did they meet? (so many questions)

Blastin' Out of Abilene by Elliot Richman (1988)

Blastin' Out of Abilene
Elliot Richman
The Windless Orchard Press
Fort Wayne, IN
(c)1988

Unpaginated staple-bound chapbook. With illustrations by Bruce H. Gurly. Interesting little item. I like the illustrations better than the poetry. It happens.

feedback & etc.

one of the positives that I have gotten from this blog is the interaction with poets and publishers who I mention. It's a small field and with few and very determined individuals involved. It's rewarding to me when some of them take the time to respond. I am certain it's rewarding to them to be remembered.

Taking Notice by Marilyn Hacker (1980)

Taking Notice
Marilyn Hacker
Out&Out Books
(c)1980

Produced at the Print Center,Inc. Brooklyn, NY. In arrangement with Alfred Knopf. 25 page staple-bound chapbook taken from the hardbound collection by the same name published in 1980 by Knopf. A chapbook version of a hardbound book published the same year with permission of that larger publisher? Interesting. I had not heard of that happening. Yet, here tis.

What I find most interesting is that this small chapbook by a press that has no online presence (so when did it go POOF?) was able to do this chapbook and get the author to sign the copy I have! Ms. Hacker teaches in New York and this chapbook was published in Brooklyn. And from the back cover comes a bit of explanation "This is the sixth in a series of pamphlets documenting ideas important in the evolution of lesbian/feminism" Okay, what were the previous 5 pamphlets?

Seventh Sense by Paul Economos (1981)

Seventh Sense
Paul Economos
The St. Andrews Press
St. Andrews Presbyterian College
Laurinburg, NC
(c)1981

Chapbook was part of the Bunn-McClelland Memorial Chapbook Series. Illustrated by Laura Ellis (another Laura Ellis connection)32 page staple-bound chapbook. Part of the North Carolina lot I received a few months ago. Getting to see the work of Laura Ellis, not surprising that she's become a graphic artist talent! The poetic "work" here does not resinate with me, however.

The Name Poems by Yvonne Mason (1978)

The Name Poems
Yvonne Mason
St. Andrews College Press
Laurinburg,North Carolina
(c)1978

25 page staple-bound chapbook. Beautifully illustrated by Laura Ellis. The 1978 winner of the Alan Bunn Memorial Poetry Prize. This chapbook was her first publication.

Book As Art XIII (2001)

Artists' Book About Artists
Books As Art XIII
The National Museum of Women in the Arts
Library and Research Center
Washington, D.C.
Jan. 22 - May 13, 2001

Exhibition booklet with text by Krystyna Wasserman. 20 pages. B&W images throughout with description of some of the featured work presented during the exhibition. Including pieces by Carol Schwartzott, Elizabetha Gut, and my favorite, Gloria Persiani. Very fine indeed.

A New Cold by Judith Soucek (1970)

A New Cold
judith soucek (illustrated by abigail pope)
University of North Carolina YMCA-YWCA
(c)1970
The Pitcher Poetry Pamphlet series #1

Interesting blending of illustrations by abigail pope with poems by judith soucek. They handled it well. 40 page staple-bound chapbook. First chapbook (pamphlet) in series. Ms. Soucek seems to have been most productive in 1970 when she had two books out on the same Press (UNC-YMCA YWCA) and not much since. The Press itself is not in operation currently. Perhaps it was her press or she was one of the founders of the imprint. In either case, the trail disappears in the underbrush of time.

a chapbook exchange in Alexandria, VA on Nov. 23, 2013

There will be a chapbook exhibition, conversation, and exchange at the Martha Washington library, 6614 Fort Hunt Rd. Alexandria, VA 22307-1710 featuring a number of small presses from the Northern VA/Washington DC area. A display of unique and distinctive chapbooks will be available for viewing from 11AM-12:45PM with the exchange, discussion, etc. beginning at 1PM across the hall.

Open to the public, free of charge.

contact steven.allenmay@gmail.com for more details.

Tar River Poets

Tar River Poets
Regina Kear, Vernon Ward, John Woods
East Carolina University Poetry Series No.9
Greenville, North Carolina
publication date unknown

This chapbook is part of a series of work produced or read on the campus of East Carolina University during the 1960s into the 1970s. I have never heard nor previously read any of these poets. All were connected to the University. 26 pages. Staple-bound. This came from my North Carolina lot a few months ago.

Electric Banana by Mary Beach (1975)

Electric Banana
Mary Beach
Cherry Valley Edition
Cherry Valley, NY
(c)1975

This is a prize for some of us collectors. Mary Beach was an American artist much forgotten in her homeland. This chapbook is a collection of cut-ups she put together in a similar fashion to William S Burroughs, who wrote the intro to this chapbook. Mary Beach was also the shadow behind "Beach Books, Texts and Documents" which printed a paperback version of Minutes to Go in 1968. In fact, many of Burroughs work in the 1960s were translated into French BY Mary Beach and her press published a few additional works as well.

This particular chapbook was published by Cherry Valley Edition which is the imprint for Charles Plymell. His press started in 1974 so this is an early chapbook. It's printed on brown paper. Some merging of mimeo with "standard chapbook formatting"?

My poet/friend Michael Gushue sent me a link to Lost Recordings which lists and describes The Lost Tapes of Carl Weissner, Claude Pélieu and Mary Beach, 1967-1969. There is a 12 minute recording of Mary Beach reading from Electric Banana and it's interesting to try and read along with the text only to notice that the text was published differently than on tape. Ms. Beach's name ought to be better associated with Burroughs at least (except that Burroughs never met a woman he liked, that he didn't shoot in the head). The link with the Beach and other recordings was set up and is run, nominally, by Jeb Birmingham who additionally is the cofounder of Mimeo mimeo.

Nine Men Against America by Rosalie M. Gordon

Nine Men Against America
Rosalie M Gordon
America's Future, Inc.
New Rochelle, NY
(date unknown)

23 page anti-government pamphlet. Before "birtherism", around the time of the rise of the John Birch Society, came this lovely little booklet suggesting that the Supreme Court was anti-American. I seem to have heard that recently, in fact. There was something in the water in New Rochelle. Something very distasteful.

3 forms by Marten Clibbens (2012)

3 forms
Marten Glibbens
Buffalo Ochre Papers
Buffalo, NY
(c)2012

This tiny booklet was created for a reading at Rust Belt Books in downtown Buffalo on 12/16/12. The reading showcased the collective work of the author and Edward Gates, Anne Reed, and Richard Scharff. One of 250 printed. 3 poems short. Collectible, rare, and very Buffalo.

Brief Weather & I Guess a Sort of Vision by Anthony Robinson (2006)

Brief Weather & I Guess a Sort of Vision
Anthony Robinson
Pilot Books
Lewisburg, PA & Portland, OR
(c)2006

Pilot Books came and went. It's gone now. It started in Lewisburg, PA at the college there; Bucknell. This book was among the first things they created. It's akin to a flip book. It was designed by August Herling. Unpaginated. Staple and tape bound. All the pieces were created in 2006. #36 of 200 printed. I like the concept, and wish they had managed to survive. However, they have gone puff. Look for the poet elsewhere, he's out there and worth finding. In 2006 he was an editor at The Northwest Review and lived in western Oregon.

Death Angels by Alan Catlin (2004)

Death Angels
Alan Catlin
Four-sep Publications
Friendship, Indiana
(c)2004

43 page staple-bound chapbook. This publishing firm has brought out at least 4 collections by Alan Catlin, a bartender/writer. Fairly standard in design. Uncertain what to call the text; Prose with poems? Poems ladened with prose? I didn't connect with it. Sorry to say.

5 part investigation (Cape Cod) V

Finding Her Voice.....
Jadene Felina Stevens
Salt Winds Press
East Harwich, MA
(c)1996

The fifth series of clues are found in the last of the chapbooks from this lot. I found Jadene Stevens to be an alum of Cape Cod Community College. There is a listing of 6 collections of poetry, several from Salt Winds Press. East Harwich is on the Cape. Most importantly, the inscription to "Mark" mentions the Community College. So, "Mark" was at the Community College, as a teacher.

At this point I do some serious Googling and find the Mark in question. Mark Doty.

This chapbook is a study in Lavender and Pink. I had not seen a chapbook so PINK before. The author admits in her inscription that some of the poems were "far from finished" (so, why include unfinished poems?) Perhaps Ms. Stevens was directly involved in the operation of Salt Winds, that's a different puzzle.

I understand the need to purge, even gifted items, as a person needs to get to moving weight somehow. It's unfortunate that anything had to be jettisoned, but I know that feeling. Not everything can be saved. No one has THAT much room in their house (lives).

5 part investigation (Cape Cod) IV

Little Ideas About Roads
Jonathan Wilks
Stop Light Press
Bronxville, NY
(c)1989

This is the fourth part of my little chapbook lot investigation, this one a chapbook by Jonathan Wilks who doesn't seem to have a presence online, nor does "Stop Light Press". Unpaginated. Cover image that doesn't relate to the title, or the work. Chapbook is dedicated to a Mike Heller. Inscription is the key again; inscribed to Mark alone. Not much else here. The work is thin.

5 part investigation (Cape Cod) III

Gamelan
Sarah Randolph
Cosmos Press
Provincetown, MA
(c)1991

Small (5 1/2" X 4 1/4") hand-sewn booklet, very nice indeed. 8 haiku. Single sided. Not much in the way of history about the Press or the author. The inscription is to "Mark & Wally". Mark & Wally again. Provincetown, Cape Cod. Also in the inscription, "from the poetry table" - hmm, a book fair? Unknown. I do know what a gamelan is: "an Indonesian orchestra of gongs and chimes: its insistent, reverberating music". Learn something new every day, right?

5 part investigation (Cape Cod) II

a Cardboard Suitcase Full of Ghosts
:the bad city & suicide poems
joshua m. wilson
jumping bad press
Seattle, Washington
(c)2000

Presentation-wise, this chapbook is every bit the wreck that the first one was. The clip art of an Ark filled with animals relates to the title of book NOT AT ALL. Here is what happens when the technology for anyone who can make a book does so - there were no brakes or editorial control exhibited anywhere in the 49 pages of self-indulgence. There is an introduction by J. Wesley Fullerton who has been published since 2000 but the author seems to have "misappeared" into the fog of time.

The clues again are in the inscription, this time to Mark alone. The author was a student of Mark's in Prague. Okay, so now we are getting somewhere. Prague. Mark taught a class in Prague. Earlier than 2000. Also, jumping bad press was in Seattle and Fullerton lives in Washington State. So there are a couple of clues. Fullerton and someone named Mark.

5 part investigation (Cape Cod)

A Slim Volume of Banal Carnalites
Jon O. Smith
self published


I open my 5 part investigation into a 5 chapbook lot that I got from someone on ebay with all items having a connection (or several) to one another. This particular dud should never have been printed. It's horrid. A waste of the life of a tree. Ugh!

Yet there are clues here, none about the author nor the details of the production of this piece of crap but it introduces us to "Mark and Wally" who the book is inscribed to, and there is a copyright mark of 1991. So, there's a year and two names. Apparently the author knew the gents he adds a note to. The person I got them from was located in Massachusetts, this person confirmed that the 5 chapbooks came from a bookstore on Cape Cod that had closed a few years earlier. So, there's a Cape Cod connection.

One can easily see that this item was self published: a line of poetry was hand written on the last page of the book (apparently forgotten)Ooops. Yeah, that's how I feel about the chapbook itself - SAVE A TREE !

back stories

Every chapbook has one - or many. Every author has one, every publisher has another. Every artist whose image or work adorns a chapbook cover has a different one. Books are often dedicated to someone, they each has one as well. Many people list the places where individual poems have previously appears, be it journal or magazine. Guess what? Each of those publications have their own back stories to tell. Publications as run and edited by people with different lives than the poet. Ripples across a still pond. And then you, the reader, pick up a chapbook and flip through it or study the cover or see if it's signed or written in at all. Layers of complexity, endless things to note or think about, or research.

That's where I end up going : into the rabbit's hole. Peeling onion skin layers down to the nub of nothingness. To this thin slice of nothingness that chapbooks are anyway. This is my endeavor which I have opened up for others to observe, witness, and possibly connect with. I am surprised by what is responded to, and what isn't. I guess most publishers feel the same way; it's a crapshoot. One really doesn't know what is going to "sell" or be written about, or connect with people.

This is especially true of the small presses that specialize in chapbooks and the poets who work best in that form. Allan Kornblum was great at it when he started Toothpaste Press. He ran that pony as far as it would go and then re-imaged the Press right into Coffee House Press. There are so many others. The guys behind Mimeo Mimeo do an incredible service in helping to name names and list small presses. Still....I wonder when the actual "revolution" began - which is the first press or operation to use the mimeograph for poetry? How did that all start?

We are the children of those first innovators. Those of us who collect, read, publish chapbooks. We walk a path that they blazed.

Axe by Charles Tillman (2002)

AXE
Charles Tillman

(c)2002

One of a kind, 6" X 4.5" hand-made, single-sided item. Not exactly a chapbook. Not exactly a booklet. Hard to define but not hard to appreciate. This item was made same year as his Trade Names chapbook which I first encountered in Philadelphia during a Ugly Duckling Presse/Loudmouth Collective event.

Similar to that book, this one uses randomized text, hand-written (sometimes smudged) on unidentical pieces of paper. Hole punched, bound by a piece of denim jeans, knotted with contact info on back. Perfectly primitive. This item is part of a long tradition of self-made books that predated the Mimeographic Revolution. Much of this "print primitivism" has been lost since many were single copies which disappeared over time.

Charles Tillman is an artist of diverse interests and completely worth following. As with many artists who cross genres and interests, sometimes the results are murky. While I don't completely understand the puzzle of words here, I greatly appreciate the effort.

All the Aldas by Daniel Kane and Gillian Kane (2002)

front and back covers of All the Aldas
All the Aldas
Daniel and Gillian Kane
Evil Twin Publications
New York
(c)2002

Evil Twin Publications - unique/bizarre tag-team of Amber Gayle and Stacy Wakefield Forte - making primarily "artist" books although a quick glance on their website showed books with dogs on the cover (umm....) The one I have and wish to mention is Daniel and Gillian Kane's twisted effort called All the Aldas. Collage images throughout. Fold-out pages as well. Design difficulties not scored well by the East German judge but really a very engaging effort. Bizarre path to take but worth the time in getting there.

The Nailed Down Cloud by ben tibbs (1979)

The Nailed Down Cloud
ben tibbs
Stovepipe Press
(c)1979

I had not heard of nor read ben tibbs before receiving this chapbook. Nor had I heard of or have found anything about this Press, Stovepipe, prior. ben tibbs seems to have been much published. This particular chapbook is not so much a collection of poems as a miscellany of one liners. I know that Mr. Tibbs is deceased and as far as I can tell the Press was a one-time blip. There is no address listed nor any other publisher information. I am here to say it exists. That's about it.

"Lipsmack! A Sampler" edited by Diane Borsenik (2012)

Lipsmack!
A Sampler Platter of Poets From Nightballet Press
Year One 2012
edited by Diane Borsenik
Nightballet Press
Elyria, Ohio
(c)2012

The world sometimes flows into my hands, like this little chapbook, and all I can do is write. I don't have a lot of information about the small Press out of Elyria, Ohio. I have this chapbook. I am taking the time to write about it because it's an tiny anthology worth finding. It's some talent in it that I am familiar with. Ralph LaCharity of Cincinnati. Alex Gildzen who apparently grew up in Elyria. Lyn Lifshin who hasn't met a single small press she didn't want to be published in. She is the Queen of the Small Press for a reason!

Nightballet Press has been around since 2011. So, they are newbies. But this is quite a collection so they are also talented and one needs to acknowledge Diane Borsenik who is the driving force behind the Press. She seems to be the "do-all, be-all" of the Press. But Elyria, Ohio as a publishing capital of Ohio?

Yes! I remember now! Crisis Chronicle Press! John Burroughs! They came from there. They are all over Northern Ohio and into Western Pennsylvania. Burroughs is also a force to be reckoned with/acknowledged. So this town has given birth to two small presses. How literate they are in Elyria!

If this anthology is any indication, I would wager a bright future for Nightballet!

must atone for a single posting in April

busy - distracted - lazy

sorry


promise to do better


stevenallenmay