twist riffs and stiff hits by Buck Downs (2008)

twist riffs and stiff hits

Buck Downs

self published

Washington, DC

(c)2008

The dude is that and more. 

Plague Love by Louisa Schnaitmann (2021)

 Plague Love

Louisa Schnaithmann

Moonstone Press

Philadephia, PA

(c)2021

A collection of poems based on an on-line romance that becomes a life partnership. Refreshing and timely - otherwise ruined by slap dash production by the publisher. Sad. 

A Guide to the Lizards of the Granite Mountains by Winfred F Frick (????)

 A Guide to the Lizards of the Granite Mountains

Written by Winifred Frick

Illustrated by Katie Tillotson

and that literately is all she wrote - publication date, no publication location. 60 pages of staple bound lizards on pages that were not trimmed. Kind of amazing and kind of helpless. 

Enigmas by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (2015)

 Enigmas

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz

Senal #2

BOMB magazine/ Ugly Ducking Presse

(c) 2015

Second volume that is part of a series done by this collaborative effort. Translated by Stalina Emmanuelle Villarreal. 25 pages. Bilingual edition. Afterword by translator. 

The Sky is a Well by Claudia Smith (2007)

 The Sky is a Well and other stories

Claudia Smith

Rose Metal Press

Brookline, MA 

(c) 2007

Well written collection of short stories and other "short-shorts"

Man of Moderation by Michael McClure (1975)

 Man of Moderation 

Michael McClure

Frank Hallman

New York, NY

(c)1975

Unpaginated staple-bound chapbook. Two poems. Dedicated to Anne Waldman. Lovely item. 

We Know Better by James Aswell (1927)

We Know Better by James Aswell. 

Gordon Lewis Publisher 

Charlottesville, VA

(C) 1927

On 9/16/23 our family was in Philadelphia and went to the Italian Market in South Philly, and there was a bookstore there - Molly’s Books and Records - so we went into it. Our kids were interested in vinyl and ended up buying some 45s while I looked around, and looked around, and then looked up between the top of the bookshelf that hosted the poetry section there and the ceiling and there were a few larger books that didn’t fit on the shelves arranged just out of my reach - one of which caught my eye though. 

It was a black cover with what looked like woodcut letter pressed words but I couldn’t make it out from the distance I was from the book, so I got the employee’s attention and asked to see that book and it was We Know Better by James Aswell. Instantly I knew I was dealing with something unique because this book was published in Charlottesville, VA - in 1927. 

So, what makes it unique? Well, the “black cover” that first attracted my eye was a cardboard box, a clamshell cover, for a staple-bound book of poetry with woodcut images throughout by Don Millar. 

It’s 72 pages, but it’s staple bound. And I had never seen a book published in 1927 be presented like this before - so, yeah, unique. And it was signed by James Aswell. 

I haven’t found much about the author but of the publisher - Gordon Lewis was an owner of Charlottesville's landmark bookstore The New Dominion Bookshop from at least 1923 as well as a contributor the University of Virginia Magazine in the 1920s.

Perhaps he published other uniquely presented books as well. 

Sor Juana y otros monstruos by Luis Felipe Fabre (2015)

 Sor Juana y otros monstruos

Luis Felipe Fabre

Senal / BOMB magazine

(c) 2015

Senal is a chapbook series for contemporary poetry from Latin America in transition, published collectively by BOMB magazine, Libros Antena Books, and Ugly Duckling Presse. Translated by John Pluecker. This is the first book in that series. In Spanish and English. 

Poems of Osip Mandelstam - Translated by Peter France (2014)

 Poems of Osip Mandelstam

Translated by Peter France

New Directions Poetry Pamphlet #16

New Direction Books

(c) 2014

The book is not a pamphlet, for goodness sake it's 72 pages long. But it is staple-bound so..... and I didn't have anything by Osip Mandelstam before. Now I have this. 

Falling Backwards into the World by Stephen Dunn (2012)

 Falling Backwards into the World 

Stephen Dunn

Jane Street Press

New York City

(c) 2012

I am always intrigued when beginning to research a recently found book and realize that there are rabbit holes leading to rabbit holes leading to hours of possible reviewing and investigating when all I wanted to say was "small formatted staple-bound chapbook from a previously unknown press". 

And yet, that is no longer sufficient to say because I do know more. Jane Street Press began in the early aughts as the brainchild of poet Douglas Goetsch. Several of the first books published by this press were collections of his work. If you go the website for this press you will find a link to his personal website. Don't bother clicking, the link is no longer up. Dead end. 

But this is a fine small collection of Stephen Dunn's work. For a Dunn completist, it's worth getting. 

Sleepwalk by Ingrid M. Calderon-Collins (2023)

 Sleepwalk 

Ingrid M. Calderon-Collins

resurrection press

(c) 2023

Not to be confused with a Catholic Church related press. 

This one is a spin off of resurrection magazine, also run by Ms. Calderon-Collins. This item, brilliantly collaborated with artist mark m. mellon, blends his collage with her text for a haunting/surreal collection. 

Subway Issue 11 Fall 2019

 Subway

Issue 11

Fall 2019

A staple-bound zine. Interesting. 

36th & Samson : Book 5 by Na Kim (2023)

 36th & Samson (Book 5)

Na Kim

First Last Booklet Series

Philadelphia, PA

(c) 2023

Quoting an insert 

"This series of images was created as a sketch for Na Kim's installation. FFC on 6, 7,  8 she brings her two dimensional investigations to life in space and at architectural scale. The installation is inspired by architect Adele Maude Santos' original vision of ICA's building, which embraced the potential of its location as a nexus where the Penn campus meets the city, using large glass windows to connect people with the art inside and life on the street. Bringing renewed attention to the building's gridded structure. FFC on 6, 7, 8 spans from the eastside windows into the lobby, mezzanine, and beyond, animating what Kin describes as the "social conscious' of ICA. 

I am glad to have had that insert in the booklet : I thought it was a poor knock-off of Mondrian. 

Appreciate the correction. 

 

The New Believers : Welcome to the Amazing World of Crystals

 

The New Believers: Welcome to the Amazing World of Crystals

Philadelphia, PA

I went to an event in the Crane Building in the Northern Liberties in Philadelphia recently and ran into a book seller there and chose to support their effort by buying a few things. This was one of them.

The best thing I can say about it is that I like that they were trying out a stitching machine. 

It is a booklet of random images intended to tell a story visually about, my take at least, the rise of new age religion in the US during the 1990s (harkening back to the 1970s?)

I am mentioning it to acknowledge it. I can not recommend it. It's a clusterfuck in fine stitching. 

Les Averses by Christopher Edgar (2012)

 Les Averses

Christopher Edgar

The Song Cave 

Northampton, MA

(c) 2012

I found a very thorough review of this chapbook Here.

I can neither add to this review nor would I be willing to try. I am writing about it because it exists, I have a copy of it, it is signed by the poet and that's it. There are days like this and this one of those days. 

The Lynching of Elizabeth Taylor by Jean Williams (1966 - assumed)

 The Lynching of Elizabeth Taylor

The Press of the Territorian 

Santa Fe, NM

assumed 1966 publication

Number 11 of a Series of Western Americana

40 page historical record of the lynching of this particular Elizabeth Taylor and her brother, Thomas Jones,  in 1885. The west was wild and untamed as were the people who "claimed" it. Brutal is a more likely description. It's useful to remember that "lynching" came from a judge. Judge Lynch. Justice at the end of a rope is not justice at all. 

Natural Selection by Robert Mezey (1995)

 

Natural Selection

Robert Mezey

Robert L Barth 

Edgewood, KY

(c) 1995

I visited the Baldwin Book Barn in West Chester, PA recently and found a number of chapbooks all published by this small enterprise. I opted for this one because it had a poetry postcard inside that I have yet to send out but that's another story. 

Now, I have done just enough research to link to this Robert Barth individual as well as the author of this collection. 

The Blue Guitar Vol. 2 No. 1 edited by Rick Kearns (date unknown)

 The Blue Guitar Vol. 2 No. 1

Rick Kearns, editor

Harrisburg, PA

(date unknown)

This a a glimpse at a journal in transition. The editor wasn't throwing in the towel but also wasn't committing all his energy in making this guitar play either. I got it because I am familiar with a number of the poets whose work in included in this "crossroads" issue. Lamont Steptoe, Aaron Yeatts Perry, Barbara Crooker, Martin Espada, Jack Veasey among them. 

A journal like this is a time capsule showing a melding of Philadelphia with poets from Central and Eastern PA in one staple-bound booklet. A treasure indeed. 

Shutdown Strategies : Citizen Efforts...... by Joseph Kriesberg (1987)

 Shutdown Strategies : Citizen Efforts to Close Nuclear Power Plants

Joseph Kriesberg

Critical Mass Energy Project

Washington, DC

(c) 1987

Full disclosure: I am an anti-nuker. I marched against. I protested against. I am still committed to decommissioning all nukes. I was Green Party material before it was popular. 

This booklet is 68 pages of strategies that obviously have not stopped the Nuclear industry. Three Mile Island was the closest thing that we have experienced in the US to a "full stop" moment. That was 1979. In fact, ironically, I had gone to a late night viewing of the movie "the China Syndrome" the night before and I woke up to that news. It suddenly didn't seem like an only in the movies moment. 

beauty beauty .....beYOUty by Richard Henry Lee (1975)

beauty beauty beauty beauty beauty beYOUty

Richard Henry Less

acorn publishing 

Newburyport, MA

(c) 1975

There was a Richard Henry Lee who wrote and lived from 1732-1794

This is not him. This is poetry of a strong Christian and moral nature that comes across as homespun and folksy. Spiral bound. Oddly sized. 

War on a Lunchbreak by Ana Bozicevic (2011)

 

War on a Lunchbreak

Ana Bozicevic

Belladonna Chapbook Series

#137 

Brooklyn, NY

(c) 2011

Great series. 17 pages. Nearly invisible (what spine can there be?)

Five Copy Zine (2012)

 Five Copy Zine

Bentspoon Blog

Calgary AB Canada

(c) 2012

It is exactly what it says it is. "Ross" created this tiny zine. 

Rock & Roll of San Francisco's East Bay by Cory Linstrum (2015)

 Rock & Roll of San Francisco's East Bay

by Cory Linstrum

Microcosm 

(c)2015

 Volume 2 of their Scene History series

Staple-bound booklet. 32 pages of informative content. B&W band photos as well. Pretty cool stuff. 

Eyeberries by vera chase (1999)

Eyeberries

vera chase

(c) 1999

published in India

Spiral bound, printed in English and Czech. 300 copies printed. 

I scored this copy from a neighbor who had visited Prague and met Ms. Chase. 
 

The Story of Minot, North Dakota Punk 2001-2018 (2019)

The Story of Minot, North Dakota Punk 2001-2018

edited by Alexander Herbert

volume 4 in series

(c) 2019

Across the street from Philly legendary punk spot 'ZIPPERHEADS' is a record store of note and in that store there were, when we visited there recently, some punk zines and I bought a few of them including this one. 

The production of this booklet is actually better than true xeroxed punk publications of the late 1970s, and the photos are in actual non-squinting visibility. High quality for price and very informative for the majority of Americans who would never superglue Minot to Punk, but there was a scene. It eventually ended. What's next?

Worth the read for die-hard punk rockers and historians. 
 

The Closing of a Corner Store by Amelia Bjesse-Puffin (2020)

 The Closing of a Corner Store

Amelia Bjesse-Puffin

Microcosm.Pub

Portland, OR

(c) 2020

I have read a number of books, both non-fiction and poetry, about the demise of "zombie capitalism" and its effects on the land and the communities negatively impacted by the CLOSING of America, as it were, and this unpaginated staple-bound booklet emphasizes this uncontrolled collapse as well as any $50.00 academic book published by a major publisher. Probably more accurate since it is not written by anyone in the ivory tower but by someone who lives on the ground and feels the street level withdrawal more acutely. This is the same city that has generated the conditions that led to Mimi German's insightful Beneath the Gravel Weight of Stars (capturing the plight of the homeless in an unforgiving city) and Loaners: The Making of a Street Library by Ben Hodgson and Laura Moulton (about a portable library "catering" to street people).

It should surprise no one that the publisher, Microcosm.Pub, also brings out books about punk of local music scenes across the country. More on that part next. 

Niagara and the Daredevils by Philip Mason (unstated)

 Niagara and the Daredevils

Philip Mason

Interesting and informative booklet of those (crazy) daredevils who took on the Falls. B&W photos throughout. Cool, right 

(also, not poetry)

(also, printed in Canada)

the bowen street poems by Brian Bagdonas (1992)

 the bowen street poems

Brian Bagdonas 

Grime City Productions

Dayton, OH 

(c)1992

This was an Ebay find, have to say. 

Actually when I saw the image it was a deja vu moment, I felt I had seen the image before - had held the book before, but no, I had not. The cover of the booklet/chapbook was both cover and mailer. The other side, the "back cover" of the book, was actually designed to be for addressing and mailing the book out. 

This has GOT to be among the first things that Brian Bagdonas created. I researched a bit and found that: 

"Brian Scott Bagdonas has worked in the commercial print industry since 1992. He first got a taste for print and small "mom and pop" print shop culture as a result of making zines and record covers in support of his hometown underground music scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s."

and this book has all the markings of a creative should working out how to present a concept. He even created "Grime City Productions" with a Dayton, Ohio address. 

Very inventive, for the completist - this one is a must. Especially since this one is addressed and signed by Brian himself. 

 

EIK by M. R. Trower (2013)

 EIK

M R Trower

An Inkmaggot Comic!

(c)2013

Staple-bound chapbook sized comic. Never saw one of these before.

Black and White by Gilbert Sorrentino (1964)

 Black and White

Gilbert Sorrentino

Corinth Books/Totem Press

New York, NY

(c)1964

Cover art by Morton Leaks

Sorrentino did not the receive the attention he deserved. Great poetry here. Of the time and in the time. 

The Dial by Chris Nealon (2012)

 

The Dial

Chris Nealon

The Song Cave

(c) 2012

Part of a series. This is #55 of 100 printed. Signed by Nealon. Covers all the same pattern (must have been a thing for the series. Staple bound, unpaginated. Single poem. 

The Teacher's Mind Travels.... Also by B B Riefner (not yet published)

 Was at a poetry reading yesterday in Maryland and a gentleman read some poems by his 95 year old former teacher and he read : 

                                    Big bear paws

                                    Which hold the fist

                                     But could also hold

                                     The breasts of Time

                                     So easily

                                    She would gladly feed us. 

(my italics)

what? WHAT? What the absolute BLEEP is that supposed to mean? The breasts of time? I can't. It isn't. I won't. 

       

The Little Box Theater by Henry Crawford (2022)

 The Little Box Theater 

Henry Crawford

printF

(c)2022

I think Mr. Crawford and I both dabble in computerized language that anticipated the emerging AI "threat" to all things human. He has a method. I need a key code. I do not have it. Shrug.

Lizzie Red Bird and other unclaimed poems of resistance by Tom Pescatore (2021)

 

Lizzie Red Bird and other unclaimed poems of resistance

Tom Pescatore

Alien Buddha Press

(c) 2021

This press has been popping up frequently of late. As has Kelsey Books out in Utah. Good it see new publishers sprouting up as older ones fade and wither as is the nature of all things. Pescatore is a street/rebel poet who has spent time living in the elements. Off the grid. On the border between civilization and "the wilds". His work is true. And worth a read. 

Little Wars by W. Luther Jett (2021)

 Little Wars

W. Luther Jett

Kelsey Books

American Fork, UT

(c)2021

Full disclosure : I used to run a poetry series at a local library and Luther Jett was one of our featured poets in 2020/21 and he read most of the poems that are in this collection, thanking me afterwards for providing the space where he could read them aloud in front of an audience as he was formulating the idea that became this collection. 

So - I am a little biased in favor of it. All the same, this is a wonderful collection of poems produced well by Kelsey Books, an enterprise that was been doing great work of late. 

Little Spells by Emma Trelles (2008)

 Little Spells

Emma Trelles

Goss185-Casa Menendez

Bloomington, IN

(c)2008

It's a chapbook pretending to be bigger since it has a spine - too thin for text. The writing is good though. That's something. 

Waking on Water by Julie A. Selman (1992)

 Waking on Water : poems from the harbor

Julie A Selman

One Woman's Press

Juneau, Alaska

(c) 1992

I know nothing about this poet or this press, but it's an interesting piece notwithstanding. This particular copy does not contain "slate sand found on the shore of Gastineau Channel". But it is one of 500 copies printed on recycled paper. Remember this is 1992 - 

The poet and publisher are showing a depth of ecological awareness. It's a work tied to and defined by Juneau and its waterways. Glad to have found it. Definitely will be keeping it. 

Teeth by Hale Chatfield (1967)

 Teeth

Hale Chatfield

New/Books

Trumansburg, NY

(c) 1967

36 pages. There's a spine with actual lettering on it. Cover and title page by Walter Wanger. Good writing, nice presentation. 

Konglomerati volume III number 1 (1976)

 Konglomerati (volume III Number 1)

Konglomerati Press

Gulfport, FL

(c) 1976

Konglomerati was a magazine of visual poetry, irregularly printed, out of Gulfport, Florida. It billed itself as "visual poetry" but what that most seemed to mean is that it was poems presented on mixed media and their definition of mixed media was "scrap paper". 

This is not a chapbook but a small collection of individual pieces of paper with poems on them in a uniquely folded paper folder which I have to say is the most intriguing element to the whole presentation. 

color in the cheeks by bitsy sanders (2013)

 color in the cheeks

bitsy sanders

self published

(c) 2013

Full disclosure : I briefly attended York College of Pennsylvania where Ms. Sanders graduated from. That said, I did know the difference between a "chapbook" of less than 40 pages and a book of 68 pages, which is what this book has. It has a spine with no writing on it - but why? If a book is thick enough to have a spine, then have the title and author's name on the spine for goodness sake. How is a person supposed to KNOW what that bit of color on the spine IS ? 

This is not a chapbook. This is also not a completed thought. This is a shotgun wedding without a preacher. This is a signed copy of a book that the signee parted with - this is an example of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should". 

a tree was wasted to make this - hopefully another was planted to replace it. 

on friendship and dreaming by Mary Anne Radmacher-Hershey (1994)

 on friendship and dreaming 

Mary Anne Radmacher-Hershey

Hershey Studios

Cannon Beach, OR

(c)1994

2nd edition.

Handmade book, part of a series produced by this lady. Each book fancy cursive handwriting. I am acknowledging it but it does not resonate with my creative palette. 

Where Are We Now? by Peter Waterhouse (1999)

 Where Are We Now?

Peter Waterhouse

Duration Press

(c) 1999

translated by Rosemarie Waldrop

Part of the Duration translation series, this is #10 of that series. 

Portrait of the Alcoholic with Shattered Pelvis by Kaveh Akbar (2006)

 Portrait of the Alcoholic with Shattered Pelvis

Kaveh Akbar

Monster House Press 

(Phamplet Series) 003

Bloomington, IN

(c) 2016

This single poem booklet appeared the year before Akbar's book Portrait of the Alcoholic (2017). Appears signed on front cover. Staple bought, interesting find. 

Jokey Poems Up to Ten by Carmen Jimenez Smith

 Jokey Poems Up to Ten

Carmen Gimenez Smith

Dusie 

( ?)

I am acknowledging the existence of this booklet. That is the extent of my comments. What Dusie does sometimes is beyond my comprehension

3 chapbooks by Nancy kuhl

 

In the Arbor 

Kent State University Press

Kent, OH

(c)1997

26 pages, staple-bound chapbook. 

Little Winter Theatre

Ugly Duckling Presse

Brooklyn, NY

(c) 2011 

Non-standard sized hand sewn chapbook. One of 500 printed. 

The Nocturnal Factory

Ugly Duckling Presse

Brooklyn, NY

(c)2008

27 pages. Velum flyleaf page. 

all three present different aspects of the author's work and all three are rare as her other books are all perfect bound books. 

Not technically a chapbook - Romanian book of Diane Wakoski's work

 Norii magelanici

Diane Wakoski 

Editura Univers

Socialist Republic of Romania 

(c)1981

While this is NOT technically a chapbook due to its page count, I am mentioning it here because it's a rare (for being in the USA) and handsome oddly sized book - not published in English. There is no writing on the spine so I will be storing it with chapbooks so it doesn't get lost. 

Embroideries by Denise Levertov (1969)

 Embroideries

Denise Levertov

Black Sparrow Press

(c) 1969

Back in the beginning of Black Sparrow, books were hand-sewn chapbooks. This one is signed. Beautiful artifact of a time gone by.