Th Trancemigracion of Menzu by Charles Potts (1972)

Th Trancemigracion of Menzu
Charles Potts
Empty Elevator Shaft
San Francisco, CA
(c) 1972

Now here's a beautiful object. One of the reasons that I have been blogging about chapbooks is to acknowledge beautiful objects when I see them. This is one. I am aware of Charles Potts, but never heard of Empty Elevator Shaft press. I did a Google search for the press and it seems to have an active press in the early 1970's before disappearing - to resurface in special collections and as individual books for sale at high prices.

The copy I have is signed by Mr. Potts in 1974 and inscribed to a "Alta Kia".

I noticed that there was some corrections to the text using a different type font that the rest of the mss. Interesting to note. Broken english throughout. Maybe I should say brkn englsh thruout.

A fine representation of a "golden age" of chapbook making to be sure. Worth finding and adding to your collection.

DJ Spinoza's Dozen by Eugene Ostashevsky (2006)

DJ Spinoza's Dozen
Eugene Ostashevsky
Octopus Books
Lincoln, NE
(c) 2006

If Albert Einstein wrote mathematical formulas as poetic verse - it would be like this. The text could have used MORE equations though. Not quite mind altering enough for me.

I and My Chimney by Herman Melville (1856/2002)

I and My Chimney
Herman Melville
The Berkshire Historical Society at Herman Melville's Arrowhead
Pittsfield, MA

Nice bit of synergy here : the very location of this story is a museum dedicated to Melville himself. So, one could read this story while standing in the room and looking at the chimney written about. Good piece of marketing genius! B&W images of house, rooms, and Melville with arms crossed. Very well done.

The Ohio System by Jen Tynes & Erika Howsare (2006)

The Ohio System
Jen Tynes & Erika Howsare
Octopus Books
(c)2006

a 3rd helping of Octopus Books. A blended brew of two distinct writers working as one. They express it perfectly :

"There is another country underneath, bearing itself up.

If this is an emergency, cut it off. I would.

If I understood what she meant. Cut and cut."

Indeed so. Well played.

Perfect Villagers by Sueyeun Juliette Lee (2006)

Perfect Villagers
Sueyeun Juliette Lee
Octopus Books
Lincoln, NE
(c)2006

It isn't just one, it's a second of eight. All released at the same time, in the same binding. This one by poet Sueyeun Juliette Lee. This one of 300 printed in Lincoln, NE. Ms. Lee is a Korean-American poet and video artist. Some of her work appears on silentbroadcast.com. I became familiar with her poetry via one poem, Dear Margaret Cho which is the first poem in this tiny collection.

I also was familiar with her work from the 2007 Portable Press at Yo-Yo Labs chapbook Mental Commitment Robots. I am happy to have a signed copy of that chapbook which does not seem to have been mentioned in this blog prior, but wow - Ms. Lee can write! Amazing stuff. With amazing accompanying collages by Brenda Iijima herself.

THIS 28 page collection is equally astounding. Her sense of self; of two selves - one American in tone and language and the other, already split in half by ideology and blood, graphic beyond imagining.

The Knife-Grasses by Julie Doxsee (2006)

The Knife-Grasses
Julie Doxsee
Octopus Books
(c)2006

Octopus - 8 arms. Octopus Books - 8 chapbooks released at the same time, in one red binding. This is the first of them. The poet is a Canadian-American who has a few books out now. This might be her first.

It's a staple-bound chapbook. 23 pages. As with many chapbooks I have seen in a particular vein of post-post-modernist writing, the white space is occasionally interrupted with words. Oasis in the desert of white space. The Knife-Grasses is a single poem. Worth the indulgence of sipping at the oasis in the desert. No hurry. Sip slowly. It's worth every swallow.

Two Views of Pears by Michael Davidson (1973)

Two Views of Pears
Michael Davidson
Sand Dollar
Berkeley, CA
(c)1973

Hand sewn chapbook. Lovely chapbook. Beautiful words as well. A joy to hold (and behold)

Never heard of the poet or the press before but I did a bit of research and found out that the papers of Sand Dollar are in Buffalo, NY. The man behind this press was Jack Shoemaker who is still a publisher in California. The poet, Michael Davidson, is a poet with a wikipedia page that isn't all that informative but it's there is you want to read it. He has published 8 or so books. This seems to have been his first.

Blue Horses by a.m. ingram (1976)

Blue Horses
a. m. ingram
Vagabond Press
Ellensburg, WA
(c) 1976

When I picked this up outside of Philly I had no idea about the author, the Press or anything. It's a bit water damaged on the cover but that's okay. I got it because it was a chapbook in a huge bookstore that didn't really display chapbooks terribly well. Few bookstores do that, actually : display chapbooks well.

Upon closer inspection though I saw that it was brought out in 1976 and typed out on an electric typewriter (am familiar with the font). Then I noticed that Cindy Bennett was created with the cover art. Cindy Bennett.... John Bennett? Yeah, a few minutes of deeper research provided me with a trove of chapbooks produced by Vagabond Press going back to 1960. Not sure if that's the same Vagabond Press but John Bennett was pivotal to the success of Vagabond. Although the Press was located in Washington State a number of Cleveland, Ohio based poets were published by Vagabond.

This is chapbook #4 and consists of short stories by Alyce Ingram who was born in 1914 in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was her first book.

First Touch by Glenn W. Cooper (2005)

First Touch
Glenn W Cooper
Bottle of Smoke Press
Dover, DEL
(c)2005

Just getting familiar with BOSP and they do some interesting work. Books in clamshell boxes. Specialized work. Famous poets (and lesser known ones) like this gent, Glenn W. Cooper. Oddly enough, I already wrote about a previous chapbook by this guy. Forgot about that one. This one is signed. One of 200 signed. I am not all that impressed with the work in this collection, sorry to say. It's difficult to separate the blogger/critic in me from the publisher in me from the poetry reader in me. Sorry, not loving this one. But I absolutely respect the work of this press and look forward to reading more of the books they publish.

I am San Francisco by A. D. Winans (2016)

I am San Francisco
A.D. Winans
Bottle of Smoke Press
(c) 2016

This tiny chapbook is a celebration of the life of Winans (he's still alive, just turned 80!) Handsomely done. Only 80 copies were made and all of them signed by Winans himself. Bill Roberts of Bottle of Smoke Press created this gem.

Desert Sequence by Miguel Gonzalez-Gerth (1956)

Desert Sequence
Miguel Gonzalaz-Gerth
Nonpareil Press
(c)1956

Tiniest little sliver of yellow, staple-bound chapbook. The Press seemed to publish a total of 5 books in 20 years of "operation" and most of those in the first 2 years. This chapbook was purchased in Rosemont, PA at the wonderful The Title Page. The author's bio reads like "Dr. Miguel Gonzalez-Gerth is a poet, translator, educator, and editor. He was born in Mexico City in 1926, the son of an army officer of Spanish descent and a musician mother of German descent. In 1940 he left Mexico for Texas, making the United States his permanent home. He received a B.A. from the University of Texas in 1950 and a Ph.D. from Princeton in 1973, and taught at the University of Texas in Austin for over thirty years, specializing in Hispanic literature. He has written numerous critical studies and works of poetry and has been published extensively in anthologies and magazines. He is the translator of Natural Selection (Host Publications), the collected works of Uruguayan poet Enrique Fierro."

This tiny chapbook is not mentioned in his bibliography. The author anchored in Texas, at the University of Texas, so how did this chapbook end up outside of Philly? Well, I happened across other copies of this chapbook on ABE and one was inscribed and signed by the poet to a woman with the identifier of Bryn Mawr (college) 1962. The poet had read at Bryn Mawr in 1962 and this copy had been floating about the Main Line burbs for years until I snagged it. This little chapbook has some history!

I am drawn to books about deserts as I was stationed in the California desert while in the USAF from 1975-1977. This chapbook has that feel, the coloring of the cover looks right, it's a fine little chapbook. Very happy to have it.

For Bears and Other Animals by Josie Davies (2005)

For Bears and Other Animals
Josie Davies
Feather Books
Shrewsbury, UK
(c)2005

I didn't expect much based on the cover art but I found the poetry in this slender volume surprisingly good. Not every poem in this collection is a grand slam (it's Baseball season) but many of them are at least singles. The quality of the chapbook seems to improve with every page, building - as it were - to a nice crescendo at the end.

Not sure who this chapbook was geared toward but the title and cover image undervalue the work. Too bad. The work deserves a bit more.

three poems by Tom Raworth / pushing water (part seven) by Charles Alexander (1998)

three poems / pushing water (part seven)
Tom Raworth / Charles Alexander
Chax Press
Tucson, AZ
(c)1998

what a delicious treat : a letter-pressed, hand sewn chapbook with hand-made paper separating the two different works. And my copy signed by both authors. A gem I am keeping, for sure.

television soup by Anthony Vitale (1995)

television soup
Anthony Vitale
Good Doggie Press
Brooklyn, NY
(c)1995

Not every tree should be felled for every cockamamie idea that passes through one's brain. Even if that idea is well intended, like - say a memorial for a beloved grandparent. This young man's grandfather died in 1994. In his grief, Mr. Vitale decided to write a book in honor of his grandfather. Unfortunately, he produced this book instead. It's not trashy. It's simply bad. Bad poetry. Bad cover design. It should never have left the bosom of the Vitale family. I regret the trees fallen for this absolute fiasco.

And if Good Doggie Press still exists : shame on you!

Three Dreams and an Old Poem by Paul Blackburn (1970)

Three Dreams and an Old Poem
Paul Blackburn
The Beau Fleuve Series
Number One
(c)1970

Staple-bound chapbook. Edited by Allen De Loach. Printed at SUNY Buffalo, where De Loach was teaching at the time. Unpaginated. Photo of poet by De Loach on back cover. One of 1,000 printed. Number one in the series. Great way to start off the series!

A Veil in the Sand by Susan Smith Nash (1994)

A Veil in the Sand
Susan Smith Nash
Room Press
White Plains, NY
(c)1994

This staple-bound chapbook contains poetry about Lawrence of Arabia. (T.E. Lawrence). Unpaginated. A bibliography printed on the last page is the only hint of what the book is about. The poems are okay. There ought to have been an explanation, an intro - something. Alas, not. The copy I have is signed by the author. That doesn't make it any more revealing than an unsigned copy though. Did I mention that the poems were okay?

Not familiar with the press either, Room Press, nor it's editor, John Perlman. But it's another day of learning.

after a trip to The Title Page in Rosemont, PA

I got a number of chapbooks there:

The Juggler of Our Lady (illustrated by Gus Uhlman), The Rose Valley Press, 1977. Hand sewn booklet.

Desert Sequence by Miguel Gonzalez Gerth. Nonpareil Press, 1956. Staple-bound chapbook.

television soup by Anthony Vitale. Self-published chapbook, 1995.

Blue Horses by a.m. ingram. Vagabond Press, 1976. Staple-bound chapbook.

Wyoming by William Stafford. Ampersand Press, 1985. Staple-bound chapbook.

The Tears of the Blind Lion by Thomas Merton. New Directions, 1949. Staple-bound chapbook.
more details to follow

Diet Pepsi & Nacho Cheese by Nila NorthSun (1977)

Diet Pepsi & Nacho Cheese
Nila NorthSun
Duck Down Press
Fallon, NV
(c)1977

Pop quiz. Name 10 Native American writers. Any kind of Native American writers, how about just poets? How about naming 10 FEMALE Native American poets? Okay, how about 5? Can you name five? How about three? Can you name just 3? Oh, come on now. They have been here longer than European settlers who somehow created the "American Literary Canon". Of course they didn't write in English. They didn't write at all the way we have told that "writing" is.

Yeah, okay, you cheat and can name one - this one - Nila NorthSun. Not very difficult when it's staring you in the face. And that's part of the issue with having the ability to name Native American writers: they have been so marginalized that we seldom stare them in the face. Or see them at all. Unlike Afro-Americans or Hispanics, or any other minority in this country, Natives don't live among us. They were put onto 'reservations' a long time ago. And frankly I don't know how calling them 'reservations' instead of Concentration Camps allows us to sleep better at night.

That's part of the issue with Native American voices. They are different. Their experience in this country is that of a number of nations that were defeated and removed from their lands and their way of life, their religions, their very language by a relentless 500 year campaign by determined Europeans for the entire continent and everything that was here before their lily-white behinds landed here.

Native Americans' relationship with the Conquerors is complicated. And it's different for all three North American experiences. The peoples who lived in what is now Canada had a different experience than those in what is now the United States, and still different from what the Natives who lived in had been New Spain experienced even earlier.

I have read several Native American writers and poets including Alexie, Silko, Vine Deloria, Jr, Louise Erdrich, Joy Harjo (among the better known Native voices) but also Cheryl Savageau (Abenaki), Margaret Cesa, and Luci Tapahonso (Navajo). Nila's work is right there with them. Brilliant in its simplistic use of English while presenting the constant tension of being Native-born in a country that would rather forget you are even here.

This was Nila's first book. It was published in Fallon, Nevada which is significant since The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Indian Reservation is located there. A quick look into the back of this chapbook shows that Duck Down Press also published Gerald Locklin, Steve Richmond, John Bennett, and others.

Ms. NorthSun's only book of non-fiction is a history of that reservation and the peoples who live there. Diet Pepsi.. is a fantastic beginning to a well written life. Am honored to have it in my collection!

Civil Poems by Josephine Miles (1966)

Civil Poems
Josephine Miles
oyez press
(c) 1966

Staple-bound chapbook. oyez press which had a proud history and an ignominious end (so I have heard). Robert Hawley and Stevens van Strum started the Oyez Press in 1964. The last known book published came out in 1989. Josephine Miles was one of the forerunners of the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance. She was influential and a champion of younger poets. This thin volume gives a taste of her worth and work.

The Magdalene Syndrome Gazette Number Three (1967)

The Magdalene Syndrome Gazette Number Three
The Magdalene Syndrome Press
David Tammer & Nick Chavin, ed.
San Francisco, CA
(c)1967

This gem contains work by Clifford Burke, Eugene Lesser, Ho Chi Minh (hey it was 1967), Keith Wilson, Charles Potts and a slew of others. With some B&W photos. Blurred images. Staple-bound. Unpaginated. Great find. Complete with ads at the end of the book. One for Eugene Lesser's first mimeo-chapbook, Poems of an Acrophobic Steeplejack, another for the I/Thou Coffeehouse in the Haight, and two from other small presses.

Whetstone Almanac by Charles Tilder (1975)

Whetstone Almanac
Charles Tilder
Pulp Press
Vancouver, British Columbia
(c)1975

This is the other chapbook that I know of by Charles Tilder. It was published in 1975 in Vancouver. There are 12 poems here. Similar in theme and content as the earlier chapbook. Very good poems. The story here in the small Vancouver Press, Pulp. It seems that this press evolved into Arsenal Pulp Press in the 1980s although there is no trace of Tilder on the Wikipage. It was the 11th thing they published. I especially liked the 8th thing they published: a chapbook entitled Crimes, or I'm Sorry but We Do Not Sell Handguns to Junkies. The title alone makes me want to read it.

Straw Things by Charles Tidler (1972)

Straw Things
Charles Tilder
The Crossing Press
Trumansburg, NY
(c)1972

I had previously THOUGHT that I had written about The Crossing Press - but actually had not. The Crossing Press was located in Trumansburg, NY from the early 1970s until about 1980 or so. A press called Crossing Press came into existence on the west coast and published feminist literature from the 1980s on. One of the books that was published by THE Crossing Press was a book by Harold Norse.

This staple-bound chapbook was by an ex-pat hiding out in British Columbia instead of dying in the rice fields of Vietnam. I enjoy the naturalist tone of the work here. A poet in nature. The beauty of that experience. Very fine writing here. I know that Tilder had another chapbook out; maybe that's all he was able to get out. Pity if that were true.

Poems of an Acrophobic Steeplejack by Eugene Lesser (1967)

Poems of an Acrophobic Steeplejack
Eugene Lesser
The Magdalene Syndrome Press
San Francisco, CA
(c)1967

mimeo! I love mimeos. This is a great example of the form. The only copies of this particular item that I found on the net were in institutional collections. The poetry in this mimeo is quite GOOD. I am impressed. He has not published much. The does have a new collection out of his work entitled The Eugene Lesser or current resident Story: Poems 1976-2015, San Francisco, Marin, Los Angeles and if it's anything like this first published work of his, it's got to be marvelous. (will be ordering a copy as soon as I post this entry) The Magdalene Syndrome Press deserves further investigation - so stay tuned! But, YES, read Eugene Lesser!!!

Dump Truck by Keith Abbott (1967)

Dump Truck
Keith Abbott
Polygon Paperbounds
Monterey, CA
(c)1967

The most important thing to know about this chapbook is that Clifford Burke designed and printed it. Burke was involved in the San Francisco area publishing community immediately after the Beat Generation explosion through his Cranium Press. He is a well known and established writer and printer. Currently he runs Desert Rose Press out of San Jose, NM.

There is a bit of confusion about this publication history, according to Abbott this first published work of his was published by Cranium. According to the chapbook I am holding, it was published by Polygon Paperbounds which could have been one of Burke's imprints. One of 500 printed.
The writing shows great promise which has, over the decades, become fulfilled by many published works. As this is Abbott's first book, it is both rare and valuable. Worth finding. Worth reading. Worth having.

Poems from My Mother's Womb by Preston Webster (1967)

Poems from the Womb
Preston Webster
The Willow Press
Sausalito, CA
(c)1967

Cover image by Ann-Marie Webster, and quite a cover it is! With additional images throughout. 32 pages. Staple-bound. Commenting primarily on the fact of this book's existence since I don't favor the work. It exists! There was a press once in Sausalito - I am sure that there have been many, actually. Hurrah and all that.

The Wedding and other poems of war by Carolyn S. Scarr (1991)

The Wedding and other poems of war
Carolyn S. Scarr
self-published
Berkeley, CA
(c) 1991

This is an even thinner than a typical chapbook. Self published affair. 6 poems.

The poet has a number of small chapbooks self-published over the years. These days she can be found on Twitter.

grundig : a zine

Another space loop back through the DIY sphere; this one leading to Portland, Oregon. To a store called "Q is for choir" and a time distant enough past that the dust only appears on the hand of the holder and not the pages themselves. Michael, whoever Michael was, made this zine happen. This is #2. At the beginning of this grand adventure. Into collage and zinedom. Into traveling and consequences. The world is a roadmap, a compass to follow, a north star to find. Zines like these need an archive too. Need to be collected. Replaced in the 21st century with blogs and twitter and "every-which-kinda-next-new-format-mattcha-you" but zines like these, staple-bound physical somethings are going quick into the heap of time. Like wall posters in busy city make overs. One week there and the next plastered over or stripped bare and painted over.All the same, "over" they are. Whatever was inside is forgotten by the end of the next news cycle. Our attention spans shrink to nothing. A zine like this, gone without notice. Someone lands a stash - posts on ebay - and a dunderhead like me decides to collect more relics of the past. 1980's - 2000's. Like I collect mimeos. Like I collect mix tape cassettes. Like I collect Punk/grunge era zines.

Letters to Proust by Barry Gifford (1976)

Letters to Proust
Barry Gifford
White Pine Press
Buffalo, NY
(c)1976

I have written before about White Pine via the trove of material I received from poet Steve Lewandowski. The Press had been in Buffalo and then moved. It's interesting to me that while most of the country thinks of Buffalo as a frozen waste, because of the college there - it really is the opposite of a wasteland for literary types. A number of small presses and well known poets have spent time there. Robert Creeley and then Charles Bernstein were there as teachers. Influential in their own ways.

This particular item was illustrated by Mike Neff. It's the 4th chapbook that White Pine put out. Unpaginated. Handsome little "sliver of nothing". Now it's quite possible that the name Barry Gifford is not unknown to you - he's a screenwriter and novelist. He wrote David Lynch's 'Wild at Heart' as well as the Sailor and Lula novels. This had to be an early work of his. Highly collectible.

Deeper Into Woody Chaos by Walt McLaughlin (1997)

Deeper into Woody Chaos
Walt McLaughlin
Wood Thrust Books
Burlington, VT
(c)1997

This 24 page chapbook by the guru of Wood Thrush, Walt McLaughin, shows all the promise of this small press. Glad to know that they are still around and doing great work. It's refreshing to write about a book so dedicated to the earth on Earth Day!

Life is a Joke by Joe Franke

Recently I noticed a listing on ebay for some punk zines and to me that's about as cool as it gets because the entire realm of punk zines is entirely DIY and the DIY universe is extremely awesome. This cat, Joe Franke, started his zine in 1989 while living in Northern California. He was in a punk band (he still is) and he formed Axis Records. He moved from Northern California to San Francisco to Southern Maryland to Las Vegas. Now, Punks in Vegas to me is just weird but hey - he made at least 10 issues of Life is a Joke, plus other one-timers or knock-offs.

Zines, especially the work of an individual. The lay-out, the content, the name and images are all the work of one person. Twisted, illogical, awesome or scary: one person! These are the work of one person who delved in black humor. What writer of punk songs doesn't delve into black humor, I ask you? Well, Mr. Franke certainly does. Keep on keepin' on, Joe Franke. Kewl that.

Mountain Walks by Richard Hartigan (1979)

Mountain Walks
(images)
Richard Hartigan
Rootdrinker
Canton, NY
(c) 1979

A small chapbook of images of mountain terrane with haiku-like text(poems?) on opposite page. Beautiful little book.

Dragons of Mist and Torrent by Teo Savory (1974)

Dragons of Mist and Torrent
Teo Savory
Unicorn Press
Greenboro, NC
(c)1974

Unicorn Press has a storied past which I have to admit not being aware of until I went through a trove of chapbooks that I got last year and just am now researching. Any small press that began 60 years ago and is still going gets the tip of my hat, for certain. Al Brilliant and Teo Savory were the linchpins to this operation which began in Santa Barbara before moving to Greensboro, NC in 1972. What an incredible run of stellar work this tiny press has presented to the world! (Including work by Raymond Queneau!)

This chapbook is no exception. Japanese binding. Should be subtitled "The Canons of Hsieh Ho". Unpaginated. #278 of 450 pages (without signature). Beautiful chapbook.

3 books that got away (from Plan B Press)

I want to look like Henry Bataille
Michael K. Gause
Little Poem Press
Falls Church, VA
(c) 2006

I mentioned on the Facebook webpage that is associated with this blog that in addition to blogging ABOUT chapbooks, I run Plan B Press and in that capacity we read a lot of manuscripts. Some are incredibly good and some of are simply terrible. And some simply get away from us. We pass on them even though they are good or the poet has submitted to other presses as well as ours and someone else agreed to publish them before we even read the work - ah, simultaneous submissions! Here are three examples of some that got away from us.

First, I want to look like Henry Bataille which was published in 2006 by Little Poem Press. Apparently that press is now "misappeared" as my daughter would say. While I am happy that Michael Gause found a publisher for his book, I am disappointed with the appearance of it. The cover image is a pixelated mess. It has the feel of a Print-on-demand job which I can not find rewarding at all. And, as a publisher myself, having 15 completely empty pages at the end of the books is really unforgivable. So now the book is not a chapbook, per se, because it has a "spine". But there is no writing ON the spine, so why exactly did you create one? It's a little thicker "sliver of nothing".

The writing I liked very much. I still do. But the "it" of it? We could have done better.

Freaking Out the Neighborhood
Benjamin DeVos
Flutter Press
(c)2015

Okay, this one is more my fault since I didn't leap on the mss. the second I got it from Temple-grad Ben DeVos; my bad. He's a Philly boy and this book reeks of the city. Not in a bad way either. Just a great slice of the city. Like any book by Ryan Eckes or A Whole Armada of Loss by Blaine Martin, for instance. And there's the first line from his poem, The Painter, "A neighbor is not a nearby friend, but bystander" which is so deadly accurate to anyone who lives in a city (or for that matter in the burbs as well) Yet here again, the book is just wrong. The cover images does not reflect the book title or the work inside. It's another slick POD production (the cover is already curling and the book was printed in 2015) STILL, I can't complain because I am happy that he found a publisher right out of the shoot and, well, his second collection will be published by Plan B Press this season. If we screw it up, he has permission to kick my ass! I will have deserved nothing less.

Honey & Bandages
Katie Longofono & Mary Stone
Folded Word
Meredith, NH
(c)2015

This is a handsome chapbook that Plan B Press did not act on in a timely manner and the authors, a number of years later, found a better home for it at Folded Words. The work is very good. The presentation is lovely. My only observation is that the chapbook size was reduced to bulk it out a bit in order to justify a spine. Of course it is a spine with no text on it. Book title does not appear on the spine. But that's a minor grievance for a wonderful little chapbook. Something that only a publisher might note. It's a great little book.

A Puncher's Pen by Bill May (1995)

A Puncher's Pen
full of Poetry, Prose and Cow Ponies
Bill May
self published
Colorado (?)
1995

I got this one because his last name is my last name. I come from a family that had 8 generations of William May's. This guy ain't any of those guys. 89 pages of yellow paper. Illustrated by family members. This Bill May has two other volumes of his work. All the pieces here are hand-written.

It's sumptin.

Making Something With the Stars (1975)

Making Something With the Stars
Poems
Santa Fe Public Schools
1974-1975
Santa Fe, NM

Clever book for getting young teens interested in poetry, language, and visual arts. Even concrete poetry is represented here! 42 pages. I don't recognize any famous poets or artists within but that isn't what that was about. It was about turning on students to language arts. It's a noble effort.

The elusive Jean Stair

Sometimes the find are so unique that the internets provide no useful information whatsoever.

Like these two - I got them from a Bookstore in Amherst, MA. The listing suggested they were Beat or New York School. I somehow doubt that. There is no publisher information which suggests to me that they were self-published. The Printer was located in Connecticut. They were both published in 1955. Whoever the poet Jean Stair was remains a mystery. There is no information about the elusive author here. This a mystery I will be attempting to uncovering for a long time.

the mystery of life and death (amongst old publishers and Presses)

everyone is getting up there in years. Since I started my chapbook blog in 2006, a handful of well known and established publishers have past into the reeds. Judson Crews, Allan Kornblum (toothpaste press), Bob Grumman (Runaway Spoon Press), Paul Foreman (Thorp Springs Press) and others. A few of them had actually written me notes on the blog, thanking me for remembering them and their presses. I think it's important for where we are to remember where we all came from. It's why I do this, I am part of the history and I am trying to both collect the history as well as contribute to it. Learning about the past and presenting works for the future. Thanks to all who have published, to all who are publishers, to all who were publishers.

Kowboy Poems by Stuart Z. Perkoff (1973)

Kowboy Poems
Stuart Z. Perkoff
The Croupier Press
Golden, CO
© 1973

I first learned of Stuart Perkoff by reading Venice West: The Beat Generation in Southern California by John Maynard, published in 1991 by Rutgers University Press. Even though I lived in Southern California in the 1970’s, I was unaware of the whole “West Coast Beat” scene. (I was in the Air Force, my mind was elsewhere at the time). I was intrigued about this voice, this Beat Generation voice, that I had not heard before.

As luck would have it, sometime after reading the Maynard book, I won a lot of poetry books on Ebay and among those books was Specimen 73 edited by Paul Vangelisti and published by the Pasadena Museum of Modern Art in 1973. In addition to poems by Perkoff are work by Bukowski, Jack Hirschman, Charles Wright, and others.

There are 7 poems in the staple-bound chapbook. The work was written in 1959-1960. It was one of 3 slim volumes to appear in 1973. He was gone by the end of July 1974. Puff of smoke gone. Living too hard for his body to take. Died of Cancer.

Cover drawing by John Fish. Photo on back by Eloy Hernandez. Quite collectible.

her cold martini: haiku by Marsh Muirhead (2013)

her cold martini
(haiku)
Marsh Muirhead
Arrow Publishing Co.
Bemidji, MN
(c)2013

45 pages of haiku. Slick cover. The poet was inspired from a Billy Collins reading in his town. It's a nice story. Better than the haiku that resulted. I can take haiku collections as well as I can take an entire album of steel drum playing - good in small doses. Beyond that - my eyes glaze over, my ears are screaming for me to leave the room. Happy to know that this book came out and am happy for the author. But I am not a fan. Sorry.

Jackhammer by Michael Miller (1972)

Jackhammer
Michael Miller
Helikon Press
NYC, NY
(c)1972

This is the second chapbook in the only 5 book run that Helikon Press had. The path by which it got into my hands is a longer story than the unpaginated staple-bound chapbook I am currently admiring.

It started a few years ago when I happened across a book published by Bellevue Press, which is not the same as the Bellevue Literary Press. This Bellevue Press was run by Gil Williams and his wife in Binghamton, NY. This first exposure to the Press was entitled "Paradise Valley" and it was written by Al Glover. I liked this chapbook, so I kept it.

A few years later I saw that a poet I knew from Philly was reading at State College in PA and I clicked onto the website of the place where he was reading and in the upcoming events section was a notice for a Steve Lewandowski. "Wait, I have one of his chapbooks!", I said. Yes, I had his Visitor from some other previous purchase. So, I searched him out and contacted him. He sent me a TROVE of stuff including something from The Bellevue Press which triggered me to find out more about that press, which in turn led me to the Williams' ABE page. I contacted them. I ended up buying one of every copy of their books and their postcards. YES, it turns out that they made a run of poetry postcards. Active poets whom they had either published or known at the time they made their run. One of the poem postcards was by a poet I never heard of, William Coakley, and it turned out that he and his partner had had a small Press in the 1970s called Helikon. I had not heard of that Press either, so I asked Mr. Coakley if he had anything by his press - and he sent me a Press copy of this delightful chapbook.

The poetry is tight, and urban. The cover and paper are handsome. It's a great piece. If you choose to google the author, I suggest you use Michael and not Mike. There is a Mike but he's kid compared to the elder Mr. Miller. Recommend!

sometimes a review is the best that can happen to you

Beat Attitude by John Burroughs

I often hear that bad press is really good press and that NO press is the worst of all. Not sure that's true though.

Some Body's Poems by Connie Sellers (2005)

Some Body's Poems
Connie Sellers
self-published
(c)2005

I wrote on my Facebook chapbook page (that's awkwardly phrased but...) "so, I don't mean to rail - okay, I do mean to rail against Print-On-Demand operations but also those misguided individuals who believe that if they self-publish a chapbook of their work that they will be discovered or something. I mean, it's the same as the Steve Martin character in The Jerk : just because you are in the phone book doesn't make you special. Just because you self-publish doesn't mean anyone will care, or see, or read your book. It's true. It's just that true. Besides, trees were felled for your piece of crap chapbook, you know. You killed a tree for that. Congrats."

To which someone took exception to my negative tone, but really that person has never come here to read my entries or they would know that negative comments is part of what I present but I feel strongly about a chapbook, as I sometimes do. This chapbook, for example, is dreadful. Just dreadful. I can acknowledge the existence of it without offering the slightly bit of praise for it. SAVE A TREE!

Dream Rim Instructions by Tina Darragh (1999)

Dream Rim Instructions
Tina Darragh
Drogue Press
(c)1999

48 page chapbook brought out by Drogue Press. It's a signed copy. I got to know Ms. Darragh by attending a rare reading by two other LANGUAGE poets: Bruce Andrew and P. Inman a couple of years ago in Georgetown at Bridge Street Books. This book came out the year I first "logged on": 1999. She was talking about "cyberdreams" and Cyborg language and I had quite independently come to the notion that it wouldn't take long for there to be "Cylish" (cyber english).

While researching the SOUP anthology which may/may not ever come about, I got to meet and talk a few times with Ms. Darragh and found her to be warm and quite generous with her time and resources. Her involvement with Some of Us Press came later on in the existence of the Press and, as with all things SOUP, through Michael Lally. She helped to work on some of the last releases of the Press and still lives in the DC area. She works at Georgetown (the university) in fact. What I appreciated about this particular work is the visuality of it. She has experimented with image. While some of the poems in this collection are fairly straight forward, others are visual chaos. (stop making sense) Very much, in some way, to the work of Susan Howe who also "plays about" with collaged text and stolen lines, twisted to a point only she fully appreciates. Even Ms. Darragh's notes at the end are entitled "Annotated Bibliography" and deal exclusively with this one book and it's text. I am very much talent with it. It foreshadowing nearly 20 years of writing "in the future tense" as writing in the computer age truly is. It's thought-provoking and challenging at the same time. After all, she is considered one of the founders of LANGUAGE poetry herself for a reason!

find, and buy!

what Santa Claus brought me for Christmas

yes - a chapbook rack

on the cutting edge by Margaret Gibson (1976)

on the cutting edge
Margaret Gibson
Curbstone Press
Williamtic, Connecticut
(c)1976

A few years ago, perhaps two years ago now, I was reading an on-line article about the influence of Michael and Lee Lally on the publishing community of Washington, DC and at the bottom of the article were some comments and one of them wondered where the anthology of Some of Us Press was. I looked around and noticed that there wasn't one. In addition to all this chapbook blogging I do, I also run Plan B Press and I thought it might be a good idea to purse such an anthology. (I should have read Don Quixote first!)

Most of the poets who were published by SOUP are still alive but due to the fact that the Press only existed for 3 years in the early 1970's, most of those published are well beyond the reminiscing phase of their lives. One of those is the poet Margaret Gibson who has lived in Connecticut most of her adult and has been published most often by Louisiana State University. I had a brief conversation with her while researching the SOUP anthology project but she was overwhelmed with the care of her ailing husband. She was polite enough but greatly disinterested in the project. She did say that she was published by SOUP due to the asking of Michael Lally who seems to have been the linchpin to the organization of the press as well as the primarily talent scout.

Her first chapbook, the one published by SOUP was entitled Lunes and it came out in 1973. The one I am writing about might have something to do with where Ms. Gibson ended up: on the cutting edge was published by Curbstone Press of Williamtic, Connecticut in 1976. (It's not even listed on her Wikipedia page)

The poetry here is strong with slight hints of something in the air at that time: the beginnings of LANGUAGE poetry. Poems like 'Apples', 'on the cutting edge', and 'A Grammar of the Soul' should a range of images and emotions. A Solid early book of her work.

For a variety of reasons I decided to drop the SOUP anthology project. It didn't feel like it was mine to do, frankly. At the same time, I do feel that I owe the poets whose work I did collect some notice for books that came out over 40 years ago, as I shall be doing very soon.

corrections needed for Chapbook 28 (1/17/2009)

I was commenting on

Dying to be Released
Francis Davis
Word of Mouth chapbook series
Meridian Writers Cooperative
Philadelphia, PA
©1994

and I got a few things wrong.

The Francis Davis who wrote this book is not the same person as the Francis Davis who writes about Jazz and is married to Terri Gross. So, I am going to alter my posting shortly. Also, I heard from one the founders of the Meridian Writers Cooperative, Denise Larrabee, who informed me that the Press only made 6 chapbooks. 4 from the series that the Davis chapbook was from and two others. I have to find out who the others were. Interested.

Additionally, I wanted to add the image of the chapbook here.

Sheenjek & Denali : Alaska Poems by Ed Zahniser (1990)

Sheenjek & Denali: Alaska Poems
Ed Zahniser
Atlantis Rising Communications
Shepardstown, WV
(c)1990

This lovely chapbook, illustrated by Grace Oehser, was the work of one of the many co-founders of the poetry collective, Some of Us Press, which was instrumental to the founding and expanding of both LANGUAGE poetry and feminist poetry through the work of the individual poets involved. Michael Lally, Lee Lally, Bruce Andrews, P. Inman, tina darragh, Margaret Gibson, and others were at the forefront of these movements before they were even movements. And the Press was located in Washington, DC! Ed Zahniser was basically the financial "guru" (such as that word applied to poets) who oversaw the humble beginning of the Press.

This collection of Alaska poems was published by a small West Virginia press. The poems are touching in a Thoreau kind of way. Natural and earth-bound. The only zingers are delivered by Nature itself. Unpaginated. Great images. Great little book. Recommended.

I will be writing about Ed, and SOUP, again soon.

Blonde red Mustang ... by Art Stein (2005)

Blonde red Mustang...State Trooper
Art Stein
Slate Roof
Northfield, MA
(c)2005

This is a 29 page chapbook formatted in a way which allows it to have a spine. (but it's still a chapbook). Slate Roof is/was a publishing collective located in Western Mass. This collection of short poems has the feel of haiku without quite achieving - so close. It's worth having if you collect chapbooks from small presses of New England. The poems are not bad.

a lot of small presses, a lot of slivers of nothing

Small presses making chapbooks are as numerous a leaves in autumn. I have been attempting to focus on, or perhaps just acknowledge some of them. Some of the authors have gone onto greater things. In other cases, the chapbook was the pinnacle of their writing careers. The same has been true of some of the Presses. But I continue the search and love the adventure.

Over the summer I was able to secure a trove of material from Gil Williams who did Bellevue Press for a long time. I haven't written about any of those books yet. I am easily sidetracked (it's called "life"). Will try to do better as the year winds down.

Breathing In Breathing Out by Rhona Morton (2001)

Breathing In, Breathing Out
Rhona Morton
Foothills Publishing
Kanona, NY
(c)2001

Hand-sewn chapbook. Unpaginated. While I actually enjoyed many of the poems, having explanations prior to each one is both limiting and space fluffing. Feels more like a personal journal than a collection. Ho Hum.

two chapbooks found in a DC bookstore

Poems by Peppino
self published
Fairfax, VA
©1998

One of the poems in this 29 page collection is entitled “Everyone is Born a Poet”. There are more letters of certificate in this staple-bound nightmare than poems. And no, dear poet, you are wrong: not everyone is born to be a poet any more than everyone is born to walk on the moon. And I am being generous to this author. My guess is that he wrote most of his life and wasn’t really taken serious as a poet except by poetry societies around the country. But as Groucho Marx famously observed, “I would never be a member of any organization that would have me as a member.” (Okay, I am slightly paraphrasing). But, alas, I will acknowledge the man. He probably was a dear man at that. His kind of poetry is a disservice to modern poetics all the same and I pulped this chapbook the moment I posted this.


Voices from the Struggle
Poetry from the Movement to End Poverty
Published on the University of Pennsylvania campus
©1996

Poems from homeless and former homeless people in the greater Philadelphia region representing a number of End Poverty organizations. It’s an interesting object. The poems come from the gut and the street. They are raw. There is no polish, no attempt at refinement. That’s not what this is about : it’s a call for action. Unfortunately, the action that is what is called for is unlikely to be achieved without a revolution and that won’t end poverty either, really. It is the treatment of the poor that needs to change. These are not lepers, they are fellow citizens who for whatever reason have slipped off the grid. The Wall Street crowd may dismiss them as “takers”, the way Mitt Romney did during the last Presidential campaign but they are like any other citizen of this country – only poorer. Poverty is not in and of itself a sign of failure any more than wealth is a sign of success. Many wealthy people were born into that privilege. It’s a matter of birth. It ought not to be inherited but it is. In the same way, helping people out of poverty ought to be a priority of the policy makers in Washington, DC. but it isn’t. Special interests rule the day. That’s the saddest commentary I can make on this tiny chapbook, it needs to be remade every year! EVERY SINGLE YEAR

2 from the shelves of a public library....

It's an odd thing to find chapbooks on the shelves of a public library since they are little slivers of nothing and who on earth (besides me, apparently) looks for them? The two I found in Alexandria, VA have been languishing in their nearly invisible state for 13 years or more. I am likely the first person to take them out in a decade. I am surprised they weren't purged, honestly. It must be that they were local and gifted to the library. and they are :
Coming Through the Wry
Viette Sandbank
Praying Mantis Press
Alexandria, VA
(c) 1982

A local author on a local press. Never heard of Praying Mantis Press before. Could be that the author was also the publisher. 1982 is a long time ago now. This copy is signed by the author. 30 page staple-bound chapbook. No meat on the bone here. Am acknowledging the existence of the book.

Ingeborg at St. Elmo's
Ingeborg Carsten-Miller
self published
(c) 1999

This chapbook was created for a specific reading which took place at St. Elmo's (coffee house) in the Del Ray section of the city of Alexandria, VA. So, another local author on a local press. There is nothing rewarding within. It meant something to the author since in 1999 St. Elmo's was a new swinging thing. It isn't anymore. The poetry is very vanilla pudding. There's a poem in the chapbook for the nursing house that the author lived in. YYYYYYYYYEAH.

Ezra Pound: A Critical Essay by Marion Montgomery (1970)

Ezra Pound: A Critical Essay
Marion Montgomery
William B. Eerdmans/Publisher
Grand Rapids, MI
(c)1970

Part of the publisher's "Contemporary Writers in Christian Perspective" series of booklets made during that period of time. 48 pages. Staple-bound.
Ah, yeah, there are and have been so many different topics covered in countless chapbooks. This is yet another. I am acknowledging the existence of this particular one so that I can immediately pulp it. Done, and done!

In the Fold of a Hill by Desire Vail (2000)

In the Fold of a Hill
Desire Vail
Foothills Publishing Kanona, NY
(c)2000

This one of 3 chapbooks published by Foothills of Ms. Vail's work. Like many Foothills chapbooks, this one is hand-sewn and unpaginated. Foothills has grown beyond its Upstate New York origins. Unfortunately, it suffered a devastating loss a few years back when a fire burned down Michael Czarnecki's house. They have rebounded and continue to produce work to this day. They have been part of that under-acknowledged Upstate NY publishing community. However, I find their choices similar to those made by Finishing Line. Not always keen on the books they bring out.