Tribe of Two by David Spicer (2019)

 

Tribe of Two

David Spicer

Seven Circlepress

Seattle, WA

(c) 2019

This relatively new press has put a spine on a 21 pages chapbook. Like lipstick on a pig. It's still a chapbook. Cover art by poet's wife. He is a much published poet and lives in Memphis. 

Chin-Chin in Eden by Corey Mesler (2002)

 

Chin-Chin in Eden

Corey Mesler

Still Water Press

Galloway, NJ

(c) 2002

Corey Mesler is a publishing machine. Not Lyn Lifshin level but Mesler is a great writer as well as a book seller in Memphis, TN. He and his wife run Burkes Books which started operation in 1875. 

The production of this chapbook is a bit on the bland side but the work is good. 

Love in the Ruins by Gordon Osing (2017)

 

Love in the Ruins

Gordon Osing

Spuyten Duyvil

New York City

(c) 2017

They made it like a book with a spine but it's only 16 pages. It's a chapbook, that's for sure. It's my understanding that this gentleman has "been there" whether or not he has "done that" I can not say. Not familiar with this press either but when I turned the book over and saw this 

I cringed. Who thought this was a good idea? It's almost a wonderful wrap-around cover spoiled was the photo of the author and the oversized bar code. Lord have mercy on my eyes!

Red Land, Black Land by Tina Barr (2002)

Red Land, Black Land

Tina Barr

Longleaf Press at Methodist College

Stony Creek, CT

(c)2002

26 page staple-bound chapbook. Contest winning chapbook. Nice piece of writing.  

The Gatekeeper by William Page (1982)

The Gatekeeper

William Page

raccoon  Books, Inc.

Memphis, TN

(c) 1982

Several years ago now, my humble little press (Plan B Press) ran a "Beat" poetry chapbook contest and the winner was Corey Mesler for a section of a much larger work which was published as Following Richard Brautigan. The chapbook has a foreword written by the great poet ruth weiss who died in July, 2020. 

I wrote Corey not long ago about ruth's passing and our little chapbook in common (with the judge of that contest as well - William Brandon III who is now an accomplished author in his own right) and one thing led to another which resulted in me purchasing a number of chapbooks from his store in Memphis, the legendary Burkes Books. 

The first of these chapbooks that I will be writing about is this one. William Page's 1982 chapbook, The Gatekeeper, primarily because it was published by raccoon Books, Inc. and I never heard of this press before. They were (yes, were - apparently defunct now) a Memphis press which had a journal as well as a publishing arm. The operation started in 1979 and ended operation more recently. 

raccoon Books was associated with or was part of St. Jude Press in Memphis where the books were printed. William Page taught at Memphis State University and edited the Memphis State Review. 

Tactics of Survival by George Hitchcock (1964)

Tactics of Survival

George Hitchcock 

The Bindweed Press

San Francisco, CA

(c)1964

Bindweed Press was best known for their SF rock concert posters of the mid-1960s. Headed by Frank Westlake, the posters became synonymous with "the scene" and various SF venues. This handsome letter pressed book was published prior to that as George Hitchcock was just himself coming onto "the scene" in the poetry/playwright sphere.

The Bindweed Press started operation in 1962, publishing an earlier George Hitchcock book, Poems & Prints, with poetry by Hitchcock and illustrations by Adrian Wilson. 

 One of 700 printed. 8 drawings by Ann Parisi grace the pages. Handmade paper for cover stock. Staple-bound. 35 pages. Quite the item!

15-Second Plays published by Ugly Duckling Presse (2012)

15-Second Plays

curated by The Debate Society

....

I was in the local second hand shop which supports the local hospital, and I went to the book section and saw a "little sliver of nothing" colored green and I pulled it out and looked at the front and wondered 'what the hell is this?' and then I turned it over and 

went "ah ha" because Ugly Duckling Presse I was quite familiar with.  Now, 15 second plays by a slew of unfamiliar names, well - again, a curious selection ...

....

Ugly Duckling Presse

New York City, NY

(c)2012

.....

Unpaginated staple-bound chapbook, one of 1000 printed. The generous (but likely befuddled) volunteers at the shop posted it for sale at .50 cents. I could afford that. And it is an interesting collection of plays if something 15 seconds short can count. Not surprisingly, it is out of print. 

Pushing Out the Envelope by Tsaurah Litzky (1992)

Pushing Out the Envelope

Tsaurah Litsky

Apathy Press Poets

Baltimore, MD

(c)1992

I found this woman's first chapbook on a small online bookselling presence, kind of like a virtual street corner shop, and bought it primarily because I was familiar with the image on the front cover. Turns out that Tsauarh Litzky is alive and living in NY. 

It seems that long ago Apathy Press hosted a reading series in NY and Ms. Litzky attended these readings and the folks at Apathy Press offered to publish her - first chapbook, in fact. 

I will have to research more about Apathy Press Poets and Ms. Litsky

THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON THE LAMB OF GOD Morgan Press anthology (1974)

 

There Ain't No Flies on the Lamb of God

Morgan Press

Milwaukee, WI

(c) 1974

Unique book comprised of poems by poems and images of artists associated with or chosen by publisher Ed Burton. Plywood back cover. One of only 50 copies made. Hand printed with teak and hand woven wool cover. Jim Sorcic is among those presented in this collection. Jim Gibbons, Lyn Lifshin, Paul Grillo, and others round out this handsome and extremely rare book. 

Where's My Mommy? by Jim Sorcic (1991)

Where's My Mommy?

Jim Sorcic

Morgan Press

(c) 1991

Published the same year as his large book, This Could Lead to Dancing, this small unpaginated book used the same cover stock for both books. This book is dedicated to Rachel Orvino. Short prose pieces, basically about single parenting his daughter. Something I can relate to - differently. 

The tale and the trail of this family through literary collapse continued for a time beyond This Could Lead to Dancing with the 1992 Morgan Press version of Jim's 1972 book one day, one long day...  and his 1994 book Small Handbook for the Heart: The Adoption Poems because Jim adopted a (or two) young Vietnamese boys. 

Two other things I would like to add here about Morgan Press. Morgan Press was Ed Burton and Jennifer Roanhouse and possibly others. It existed from the early 1970s into the 1990s. It began in Ed's basement in Milwaukee where he had an old letterpress and he made chapbooks, postcards and posters. According to Jim Gibbons. Gibbons' first book, Prime the Pump, was the first book printed by Morgan Press in 1970. Ed Burton had a wife, Vickie. 

I know that jennie orvino moved to California. I don't know what became of Rachel Orvino. I hope she is happy and is doing well. 

 

The Cost of Living by Jim Sorcic (1980)

The Cost of Living 

Jim Sorcic

Morgan Press

Milwaukee, WI

(c) 1980

 A short story with some shadowing of the author's real life, imaged perhaps, or fictionalized to a degree but all the same : Sorcic has dropped any hint of the "orvino" part of his life. 

Awake by jennie orvino (1975)

 Awake

Jennie Orvino

Milwaukee Feminist Printing Collective

Milwaukee, WI

(c) 1975

This chapbook is a collection of, as the poet stated herself, "scraps" of poetic output from 1973 - 1975. 

Work that was produced during a critical time in her life. Here shown on back cover with her "special friend", Barbara. This chapbook is dedicated to her daughter, Rachel, as well as Barbara and to her mother who she is convinced will never read this booklet. 

Fascinating time piece.  

The Human Songbook by James Sorcic (1974)

The Human Songbook

Jim Orvino-Sorcic

Morgan Press

Milwaukee, WI

(c)1974

Within the saga of this marriage coming apart while raising a daughter separately/together, in 1974 Jim was still publishing as "Orvino-Sorcic" even though this chapbook is dedicated to a different woman. It is an oddly sized book to be sure. The poems tell of the upheaval and disintegration of a relationship found to be "faked" with bitter consequences as must be lived. It's heart-wrenching and truthful. As good writing needs to be. 

like a tree by jennie orvino

like a tree

jennie orvino

Gunrunner Press

Milwaukee, WI

This thin sliver of nothing seems to be the next in chronologic order, an undated brief sex poem illustrated by a Jim Forest. One of 250 printed. 

one day. one long day. a child looked over all that was. & was not pleased. at all. by jim sorcic (1972)

one day. one long day. a child looked over all that was. & was not pleased. at all

Jim Orvino Sorcic

Interabang Books 

(c)1972

Published the same year as Jennie Orvino's The Fish, the Virgin, and the Lion, this handsome chapbook is dedicated to their daughter Rachel. Jim has adopted his wife's name as his middle name (akin to John Ono Lennon) but there is no additional mention of her in this collection. 

It's a pretty heavy chapbook, actually. The poem series is about George Armstrong Custer and a massacre that he is involved in, told from a child's point of view and dedicated to his newly born daughter. Heavy stuff. Beautifully created chapbook though. All the credit in the world to the publishers. The name INTERABANG lives on as a bookstore name in Dallas, Texas but I am not willing to say that the publisher in 1972 and the bookstore today are in any way connected. 

the next one in the saga was already written about

 January 14, 2019. The Fish, The Virgin, and the Lion by Jennie Orvino. Seems to have been self-published in 1972 with B&W photos by Barbara Gibson. Jennie has given birth to a daughter, Rachel, and is coming to terms with a side of herself that she had not previously felt - a lesbian nature. Barbara was more than a photographer in this scenario. As the poems in the collection reveal, and a page of photos of the two of them on a bed, innocently looking at the camera and then each other, this coming out was captured in real poetic time. 

The collection was dedicated to daughter and husband but Barbara did get a special notice. In her bio on her website, all these years later, Jennie Orvino mentions that she lived in Milwaukee for 10 years. But that's all she mentions. No husband. No daughter. No coming out. Just the time she spent in the city. Scrubbed of their importance in her live. Or why she moved to California, where she still lives. 

A Year from Yesterday by James Sorcic (1970)

A Year from Yesterday

James Sorcic

Vertigo Publications

Wales, UK

(c)1970

Following some level of a chronologic order, this would be the next. A very thin chapbook printed in Wales in 1970. The interesting thing about this one is that the back cover has a write-up BY jennie orvino.  

So, they were involved by 1970. The book is dedicated to and almost all the poems mention jennie orvino. (married? the booklet is dedicated to jennie orvino sorcic)

One of the poems contains the line "jennie give me my son". Ironically, they had a daughter. But that's a thread for another book and another posting. 

meandering

       Back in July I wrote that I would be discussing a relationship through the published works of two poets and then promptly started and meandered off topic as the Summer burned through now into the Fall. Jennie Orvino and James Sorcic. A relationship grows and collapses chronicled through a series of chapbooks. 

Five Luminous Towers by Carol Barton (2001)

Five Luminous Towers

Carol Barton

Popular Kinetics Press

Philadelphia, PA

(c)2001

Oddly sized booklet. Appears to be a student's final project at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Spiral bound.  Images corresponding to each piece. Interesting conceptual book. 

Letters to Lady Ruth, Queen of the S.S. System, Board 46 by James Sorcic (1969)

 Letters to Lady Ruth, Queen of the S.S. System, Board 46

James Sorcic

Gunrunner Press

Milwaukee, WI

(c) 1969

This is actually pretty important document. It's an anti-VIETNAM - war (draft) poetry blast. It harkens back to the time before the all volunteer military force. I almost said before endless war (with a nod to Daniel Collins) but the truth of the matter is that this country has been "at war" with someone or another since it's beginnings and two hundred years before that. Since the first European set foot on this continent. And prior to that, the Native peoples were at war with each other. So it goes back to the humans on this land mass, per se. 

Also, it's the same James Sorcic who I mentioned two entries ago. Part of that thread of history through chapbooks that he and his wife had. 

This is one of 300 copies printed at the time. 

Entertainment for Parents by J. M. Allen (2020)

 

Entertainment for Parents

J. M. Allen

self published

(c) 2020

No information on the author nor the press, seems to have been a POD self published piece of work. I am not a fan of rhyming poetry. The collection is entirely composed of rhyming poetry. Next!

Fire in the Sun by James Sorcic (1968)

Fire in the Sun

          James Sorcic

          Gunrunner Press

          Milwaukee, WI

         (c)1968

This story through many poetry books begins here, with Jim. Before Jennie. Jim, before Morgan Press. Before his draft notice, before parenthood, before before before. Before - before Jim, there was Gunrunner Press. I need to learn more about that but I can see how Gunrunner was already in place and printing before Jim. 

This 24 page staple-bound mini sized chapbook was the start of his publishing "career". And the beginning of this story as well. 

 

Jennie Orvino / James Sorcic

The next handful of posts will be dealing with the collective works of these two poets who were married and had a daughter and then separated all of which played out and was chronicled in a series of poetry chapbooks published between the late 1960s into the mid 1990s.

The C.C.C Camps in West Virginia 1933-1942 by Milton Harr (1998)

The C.C.C Camps in West Virginia 1933-1942
Milton Harr
self published
West Virginia
(c)1998

Subtitled A Record of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Mountain State 1933-1942 this booklet is packed with useful information on the subject. 50 pages. Staple-bound.

Just Universes by Diana Smith Bolton (2016)

Just Universes
Diana Smith Bolton
L+S Press
Washington, DC
(c)2016

32 page chapbook. Really fine poetry. Don't know terribly much about the press but the poet has been a poetry facilitator in the DC community for a number of years now.

A Week with Beijing by Meg Eden (2015)

A Week With Beijing
Meg Eden
Neon Books
(c)2015

Why is it "with" and not "in"? Because, in this fine collection of poems, Beijing is a person. A woman. A woman who, at least in one of the poems, foreshadows the terrible events we are now living through by talking about not using a cough mask. The city and the woman and the country merge into one overlapping and color swirl of mess. Worth the read, worth collecting.

Telephone Company Repairman Poems by Barbara Moraff (1983)

Telephone Company Repairman Poems
Barbara Moraff
Toothpaste Press
Iowa
(c) 1983

#294 of 400 printed. Signed by poet. Another incredibly handsome book by this inventive and influential press. Unpaginated. Letter pressed. Hand sewn.

One can see the effort and can imagine the frustration at the same time. Frustration in the sense that these delicate books were never going to make their way onto a bookstore shelf and be properly displayed. This book is thick enough to have a spine with text but doesn't because it was hand sewn without any spine cover at all. So beautiful, so delicate. It's not surprising that the following year, 1984, is when Toothpaste transitioned into Coffee House Press. Ironically, on the CHP website there is no mention of Toothpaste Press whatsoever. Even though they say the press started in 1972 in Iowa as a letterpress operation. Well, yes, that is true. To a point. But give credit where it was due. Coffee House began in Iowa AS Toothpaste Press. They moved to the Twin Cities and rebooted as Coffee House Press to make books with spines that could get onto book shelves across the country! At least be honest about it!!

I happen to like the efforts of Toothpaste much more than Coffee House. While I do understand who Allan Kornblum made the decision that he did, I still mourn the loss of the special quality that the chapbooks lost in the transition to perfect bound books. sigh

Stanzas in Imitations by Gina Myers (2007)

Stanzas in Imitations
Gina Myers
New School Chapbook Series
New York, NY
(c) 2007

It's always a treat to read someone's earlier or earliest published work. This booklet was the 2005 competition winner for the New School chapbook contest as selected by Olena Kalytiak Davis. 21 pages. A slight "boo-boo" on cover, the "s" at the end of Stanza(s) was added in pen since it was missed in printing.

Robert Hawley (oyez press) 1929 - 2017

A decade ago now I posted a piece about a chapbook of Josephine Miles work that was published by Oyez Press. Sometime later a gentleman named Curtis sent me a comment about my posting, it read :

"Hawley's little bookshop moved from Albany to a place on Shattuck Avenue for a while, but Bob became very ill (the rumor was lung cancer), and he closed it soon after, the elegant bookcases ending up at another ill-fated bookshop ("Books by Jerome"), which also closed within a couple of years. I don't know what happened to those magnificent cases!

"I've seen Hawley and his wife three times in the last year over at the El Cerrito Re-Cycling Center by the dumpsters beside the book turn-around. I mentioned to him that he should consider placing his publisher's archive somewhere, but he seemed oblivious. I think he must be in his late 80's."

well, I missed his passing. Sorry to see someone of renown in our little world go into the reeds.

Eleven : Eleven by Liz Worth (2008)

Eleven : Eleven
Liz Worth
Trainwreck Press
Gulf Islands, BC, Canada
(c)2008

In the summer of 2018 I found myself in Toronto and, having never been there before, tried to make a mad dash around town taking in as much bookstores and record shops as one can on a family vacation. One of the items I picked up was Amphetamine Heart by Liz Worth. I liked what I read on the flight home (I was returning with about a dozen books from Toronto) and decided to write Ms. Worth who graciously sent me a copy of each of her chapbooks. She's known these days in Toronto as a Tarot card reader but she's probably best known for her Treat Me Like Dirt book which is an oral history of the punk scene in Toronto (and elsewhere) dealing with the years 1977-1981.

The earliest of Ms. Worth's published work was the 2008 Eleven : Eleven which was published by Trainwreck Press. The current website does not list her book but that's likely because the Press rebooted a few years ago. Eleven : Eleven is a 24 page short fiction book of extremely well written prose which might be consider a series of prose poems or just damn good writing. I was reading it today while listening to a mix tape of unknown origin that I inherited along the way. A cassette mix tape, mind you, not exactly punk music but period for the time frame I imagine this book covers. It made the reading experience more relevant, I thought.

I don't suspect that this would be easy to find in the States and could be extremely difficult to find - period - but it clearly shows the talent that was later highlighted in Amphetamine Heart. There are references to Tarot cards and related themes in Eleven : Eleven so it shouldn't surprise one that she went back to her first love when she wrote herself out (if in fact that is what she did)

I highly recommend reading her.

Ignoble Daydreams for the Impudent Minds by Randy Boone (2005)

Ignoble Daydreams for the Impudent Minds
Randy Boone
self-published
(c) 2005

One should never self-publish when angry. Not that the author didn't have a right to be angry but that one tends to only see things through the prism of anger. So, Mr. Boone had a bad experience with a publisher who reneged on a contract to publish Mr. Boone's book of poems. The result was a rather defiant middle finger to publishers and contracts and all. The name of his self-publishing "company" was I'm-More-Violent-Than-You-Think-and-if-You-Steal-My-Ideas-I'll-Smash-Your-Face-Up=With-a-Hammer Publishing. Just saying, a little defiant and tad bit angry.

A Wreath of Christmas Poems New Directions (1972)

A Wreath of Christmas Poems
A New Directions Book
(c) 1972

Edited by by Albert M. Hayes and James Laughlin. Illustrated by Jose Erasto. A quaint seasonal chapbook. Handsomely presented.

writing during the season of death : a global pandemic to be observed, witnessed

This is where we are - just noting it - me and my family are sheltering in place here in Northern VA

Upheaval and staying healthy, home schooling and trying to absorb "the new normal" which won't ever feel normal.

and so, now we continue....... be damn skippy already!

At Least A Glint by Harry D. Eshleman (1996)

At Least A Glint
Harry D. Eshleman
Eshleday Specialday Press
Kutztown, PA
© 1996

In 2019, while on the way to a quick weekend vacation in Ocean City, MD, I made a quick stop in Trappe, MD (a small truck-stop of a town) at the incredible Unicorn Book Shop and there found this book which definitely belonged in Berks County, PA.

Having moved to the DC area in 2004, I was unaware of his passing until I did some researching after bringing this book home. I have done a slight edit on his obit, but wanted to present it for those who didn’t / couldn't have known him :

“Harry David Eshleman, 85, died peacefully surrounded by his loving family May 10, 2015, in the Kutztown Manor. Born in Chicago, IL, to Paul and Selina Eshleman on October 4, 1929, he was raised in Lititz, PA. He was a graduate of the University of Chicago and received his Master’s from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a Veteran of the Army, having served in Korea.  He was a member of St. John’s UCC, Kutztown. He retired from Kutztown University in 1989 following 25 years of teaching.  He taught communication courses and was also a professor of journalism and served as advisor for the school newspaper and yearbook.  In addition to writing poetry, he was actively involved in promoting poetry.  He served on the board of the Wallace Stevens Poetry Society and was President from 1995-1999.  He hosted “Poet’s Pause” on BCTV for many years.  He served as editor of Bookends, the publication for the Berks County Library Association.  He published a large number of works ranging from poetry to essays.”

What was missing from the obit was that he had his own imprint : Eshleday Specialday Press. I haven’t found anything on the Net about the press but I suspect that he published a few other folks as well as his own work after retiring from Kutztown University.

I got to know him at the time he was President of the Wallace Stevens Chapter of the Pennsylvania Poetry Society and I was making noise leading up to the formation of the Berks Bards and the BerksBardfest poetry festival. I was on his poetry program a few times as well. Always well dressed and a bow tie.

Poetically, we are definitely from different generations but because of Eshleman, and poet Harry Humes, Berks County did have poetry flowing through the trees decades before Bardfest came along.

Holding Up the Wall by Julia Vinograd (1987)

Holding Up the Wall
Julia Vinograd
Cal-Syl Press
Oakland, CA
(c)1987

Never heard of or found anything about Cal-Syl Press, maybe it was a print shop? Another in the annual output of Julia Vinograd. Photo by Harold Parish. 42 pages.

Street Spices by Julia Vinograd (1973)

Street Spices
Julia Vinograd
Thorp Springs Press
Berkeley, CA
© 1973

Thorp Springs Press was the publishing child of Paul Foreman who named the press for a location in his native Texas west of Fort Worth. He started the press while studying at Berkeley and published a few of Julia Vinograd’s early chapbooks.

This is one of those. It was published in 1973. Unpaginated. Staple-bound. Filled with her street level observations and witticisms. Cover photo by David Soffa.

Lot of My Sister by Alison Stine (2001)

Lot of My Sister
Alison Stine
The Kent State University Press
Wick Poetry Chapbook Series Two
Kent, OH
(c)2001

This is the tenth chapbook in the 2nd series. Ms. Stine's chapbook was the Wick Student Prize winner of that year. The Wick Poetry series was really something in the early "Aughts". 25 pages of incredibly rich poetry.

We Are Gentlemen of Leisure by Dense Lens, Brian Marley and Asa Beneveniste (1975)

We Are Gentlemen of Leisure
Dense Lens, Brian Marley and Asa Beneveniste
Trigram Press
London, UK
(c)1975

I read a story online about a famous bookstore in Salt Lake City that was going to be forced to close within the year due to some downtown renovation project which happens all too often when a bookstore doesn't know the space they operate in, and so I did a bit of research and found that the bookstore, Ken Sanders Rare Books, had an inventory so I went through it, especially the poetry listing, and saw this item. Now, I have had a different item by Asa Beneveniste that I traded to a fellow poet for a book of poetry bumperstickers. Yeah, I am thinking about the cow and magic beans too. But at the time I felt like I should since I felt like I got that item under false pretenses. The seller had misspelled Asa's name..... and I scored the purchase for .99 cents. Anyway, I was familiar with Trigram and actually met Tom Raworth in Washington DC not longer before he passed away.

It's a great booklet. Unpaginated. The 3 poets wrote all the poems in this collection within 6 months of the publication of the book. Glassine dust wrapper. This is one of only 500 printed.

I suggest that you might want to check out Ken Sanders' online inventory before he's forced out of his foothold in the city.

the Bay area takes another loss

Chris Trian, who illustrated many of Julia Vinograd's books, died the other day. Another loss to the Bay area literary and art community. And so it goes.

Canciones by Antonio Machado (translated by Robert Bly) 1980

Canciones
Antonio Machado
translated by Robert Bly
Toothpaste Press
West Branch, Iowa
© 1980

What was it about Robert Bly? I mean, really? He seems to have been the translator of first approach. I love the books created by Allan Kornblum which is why I got this beautiful item. But I am ambivalent about Bly.

The work here is by Antonio Machado who published these poems in 1930 in a large collection entitled Nuevas Canciones which was published in Spanish.

Love the presentation of the work and yet, I can see how Allan was willing to transform Toothpaste into a different press making perfect bound books (Coffee House Press). A tiny item like this gets lost onto standard bookshelves. Slivers of nothing indeed.

updating Jean Stair

I was going through my bins of chapbooks and re-discovered the two books by Jean Stair which re-sparked my curiosity about her so I posted something on Facebook and someone posted a link to the piece I wrote here in January of 2016 about her originally - only while looking at it, did I see that someone had posted additional information. It seems that "Jean Stair" was really Mrs. Grace Stair, who was a painter and poet, and wife of Professor Bird Stair who taught at CCNY for many years and died in 1957.

The two books I have were published in 1955 and printed in Connecticut. I haven't found out anything else about Grace. No images of any of her paintings. These might have been the only books that were ever published of her poetry. She was not part of the Beat generation of the New York School. The obituary for her husband was a bit dismissive of her. After all, she was only his wife.

I will keep searching.

Pam's Chapbook by Pam Coulter Blehert (1999)

Pam's Chapbook
Pam Coulter Blehert
self published
(c)1999

Primarily known as a painter, and married to a poet, Ms. Blehert thin chapbook is a pleasant reminder of the early days of online printing. Although technically published by Words & Pictures East Coast LLC, this is a nice compliment to her other artistic endeavors. Another tiny gem from the Northern Virginia literary community which is constantley surprising me.

3:33 Infinity Heart by Stacy Blint (2019)

3:33 / Infinity Heart
Stacy Blint
adjunct press
Milwaukee, WI
(c)2019

There's a new player in the small press community of Milwaukee. A husband wife and cat team known as "adjunct" press. They aren't entirely familiar with the history of the small presses of Milwaukee past but they aren't completely ignorant of them either. And they are making a splash all the same. The one I chose to read and perhaps mention was this one : Stacy's Blint's 3:33 Infinity Heart. I like her usage of the language and the flow of her work. The production is minimal which does not subtract from the quality of the word. It allows for the poems to be the focus. And it that sense, it's perfectly presented. I expect we will be hearing a good deal more from adjunct press in the future. I certainly hope so, at least.

Selected Poems by Gil Orlovitz (1960)

Selected Poems
Gil Orlovitz
Inferno Press Editions
(c)1960

When I first arrived in Philly and found myself in the folds and aisles of Robin's Bookstore on 13th Street, and got to know and learn the history of literary Philadelphia from the one and very only Larry Robin himself, one of the stories he shared with me was that of Gil Orlovitz. Apparently, Gil was part of a writer's community that hung out at Horn and Hardart in Philly. Larry's father knew Gil and the other writers of that group. Gil, legend had it, died on a street in New York City in 1973. I became familiar with his work without ever purchasing any of it. His novels were out of print (and the few copies that were listed on the internet were pricey). I was less familiar with his poetry. Adn then years later, I see this one - floating on the internet. 50 pages.

The seller and I haggled a bit; not on price but whether or not it was a "pamphlet", which it isn't. But I am extremely happy to have it. Mostly sonnets. I do have one other piece of writing of his, actually, that I found in an publication called 'Circle' and the particular issue was #7-8 published in 1946. Circle was published in Berkeley, CA and this volume also contained work by Bern Porter, Henry Miller, Kenneth Patchen, Anais Nin, Robert Duncan and others.

ho! watchman of the night ho! by lee ver duft (1944)

ho! watchman of the night ho!
lee ver duft
Gemor Press
New York City
(c)1944

On a recent trip to Ocean City, Maryland along rt. 50 I had the pleasure of spending a good 45 minutes at Unicorn Bookshop in the small "town" of Trappe. There really isn't a town as I think of such places but a number of buildings lining the main road (rt. 50) in a mostly rural region of the state but boy - this was a bookstore to make sellers and collectors salivate. Tens of thousands, if I could guess, of books and maps and all sort of ephemera. I found 4 items (had to limit myself) and one of them was this beat up copy of ho! watchman of the night ho! which was written by someone I never heard of and published by a press I never heard of. It turns out that the Press is the one that Anais Nin ran from 1942 - 1947. Now, I knew that name and vaguely was aware that she had a press since I recall a photo of her operating a printing press while wearing heels. (can't locate the image right now)

I also had no idea who this lee ver duft was until I started researching, and was surprised to find out that he was an artist who switched from paints to words. It was only after finding out more about him that I sat down and read the poems in this collection, and to be honest, some of the phrases he used in these pieces written during 1943 were VERY pre-Beat. I was like "wow". Serious WOW. I have to read the other books that I wrote. There's some great stuff here.

The book itself is in rough shape. Unlikely to ever sell it. Only 300 copies were printed by Anais Nin's press and the 'history' of ver duft on the page I have linked here is inaccurate as it pertains to this book. They have different dates for the release of it. But it clearly states 1944 in the Gemor book I am holding. There are only 30 pages in the book but it has a spine. So it is truly a chapbook or not?

It's a great read, and that's what matters in the end.

In the Beginning and the End by Siddharta Beth Pierce (2012)

In the Beginning and the End
Siddharta Beth Pierce
Writing Knights Press
Cleveland, OH
(c)2012

Trees were cut down and turned into paper to make this chapbook, and it was not worth it. Not at all worth it.

Her BMW and Other Poems by Neva Herrington (2008)

Her BMW and Other Poems
Neva Herrington
Pudding House Publications
Columbus, OH
(c)2008

Updated 2/17/24

I was too harsh. Mrs. Herrington  was an educator and a poet whose work was not well represented in this chapbook. Sadly, as happens all too often with people, particularly creative souls, her entire poetry library was donated to a local library - one I happen to be the book sale coordinator for - and I managed to secure three boxes of her personal library (I only managed to secure two boxes of Norman Pritchard's stuff but that was long ago and far away)

Diana Press / Lee Lally controversy

I was researching Lesbian presses of the early 1970s for a different subject and found this - 1971 ad promoting the sale of the bootlegged version of Lee Lally's book These Days. It still grinds my socks.

The Fish / The Virgin / and The Lion by Jennie Orvino (1972)

The Fish / The Virgin / and The Lion
Jennie Orvino
Milwaukee, WI
(c) 1972

IN the many years now that I have been writing about chapbooks I have never before seen on that spun on itself like a whirling top quite like this one from 1972. First of all, I never heard of the poet nor of the Press she and her husband were associated with in Milwaukee. Second of all, I never had an appreciation that Milwaukee HAD a literary community at all - let alone a small press community. Thirdly, I never held and read a book that changed as I read it in quite the same way as this before. It is a condensed history of a transformation from a heterosexual woman to a liberated gay woman - while also giving birth to a daughter and starting out as a dutiful wife. It's more like a bullet ride than a rollercoaster. The life that this condensed book covers in all likelihood doesn't do justice for what the poet was thinking/feeling for most of her life. I don't mean to read too much into her verse, but there are also 3 photographs in the book, one in the front and two at the end which emphasize the transformation that occurs through the book. It's just astounding.

It's all in a new year - 2019

So, how did that happen? Where did that time go? 13 years now since I started to blog about chapbooks. People, publishers, Presses, and the poetry itself. And I feel like I have only scratched the surface. Hardly gotten a handle on any of it. Every city of size had more than one small press operating and I don't have more than the tiniest percentage of any of those.

What has come of it mostly is the reenforcement of the idea that in this market economy that we live in in the United States, that art (however broadly defined) is a "commodity". People tend not to consider the work involved in creating the work, but just how much "it's worth". That's disheartening for the artist and for the publisher (or gallery; whomever else is involved in the artistic endeavor that is being measured strictly in monetary terms)

I have been working on a book dealing with what artists in this country have to deal with, and I will be spending a good deal of time with those practitioners of the chapbook form for their contribution to the overall "success" of certain poets and writers.