the unscene by Derrick Weston Brown (2006)

 the unscene

Derrick Weston Brown

self published

(c)2006

This is a DC poet making his work known early on, Staple bound. Designed by Melanie Henderson, another incredibly talented DC artist. Worth the read, and the finding. 

The Animal After Whom Other Animals are Named by Nichole Sealey (2016)

 The Animal After Whom Other Animals are Named

Nichole Sealey

Northwestern University Press

Evanston, IL

(c)2016

The introduction to this tiny collection by Chris Abani is brilliant in its own right. The first poem for me that excited my poetry taste buds is the poem "Clue". Every poem in this 23 page collection is brilliant. Oh my god even!

Exploded Assembly by Karen Donovan (2020)

 Exploded Assembly

Karen Donovan

The Sow's Ear 2019 Chapbook Competition Winner

(c)2020

I am as impressed the artwork, Apart Accordion, (2012) by Todd McClellan as I am by the poetry in this fine little collection.  Track this one down and read it !

Simple Needs by Janet Rumpf (1984)

Simple Needs

Janet Rumpf

Self Published

This chapbook has local flavor with all the scents creating a bouquet good enough to consume. If, of course, one knew the area being described. It's a labor of love from someone who loved the land and the labor and the town and its people. 

Dream Straw by Mariflo Stephens (2019)

 Dream Straw

Mariflo Stephens

Finishing Line Press

(c) 2019

Very thin collection. Another collection of poetry looking back at a life lived. 

All Animals Want the Same Things by Jeanne-Marie Osterman (2021)

 All Animals Want the Same Things

Jeanne-Marie Osterman

Slipstream

(c)2021

Narrative personal poetry collection. Nothing wrong with the poems at all but I am weary of all the "first personal singular" throughout. Also, I am not certain that all animals do want the same things. 

Poems of Affection by Hugh Pendexter III (1994)

 Poems of Affection

Hugh Pendexter III

Armstrong State College

Savannah, GA

(c)1994

Staple-bound larger format chapbook. 48 pages. Credited listed on back cover (never saw that before)

Prisoner in the Streets of Paradise (1984)

 Prisoner in the Streets of Paradise

Mao Penha

St. Thomas Graphics

Virgin Islands

(c)1984

Wheelchair bound, Mao Penha had this book released in 1984. His is an unfortunate and tragic story and yet he has, as of 2005, made the best of a truly terrible situation. 

Beaches by Ruth Messenger (1981)

 

Beaches

Ruth Messenger 

The Partridge Press

Hudson, OH

(c) 1981

Illustrations by Janet Child. Staple bound collection of island poems. The author had a number of chapbooks published by this printer in the 1970s, apparently, and this was one assembled from some previously published work suggested by the subtitle of the book, "selected poems". There is an address for the author to the person who bought the copy from her and the address is in the Virgin Islands. 

Winter Me. Summer Me. by Becky Lee Weyrich (1974)

Winter Me. Summer Me.

Becky Lee Weyrich

Sentinel Press

Jessup , GA

(c)1974

In the world of "hen's teeth", this is one. Published in 1974 and inscribed and signed by Mrs. Weyrich this HAS TO BE among the first things published by the author. She included her address on St. Simons Island and a phone number (no longer in service, I called) 

Illustrated throughout by the author. Quite the find. 

The Condition of Poetry in the Modern World : A Stoogist Manifesto by Paul Fericano (1980)

 The Condition of Poetry in the Modern World

subtitled "A Stoogist Manifesto"

Paul Fericano 

Poor Souls Press/Scaramouche Books

Millbrae, CA 

(c)1980

I was on Ebay tumbling through postings of small press books when I saw this item among a "lot" being sold for an obscene amount of money, at least to me obscene, and I was taken more by the subtitle than the title. "A Stoogist Manifesto"? Three Stooges or Iggy Pop's band? What was all this then?

I found a copy elsewhere and it arrived and I noted that it has a 1980 selling price of a nickel. Yes, five American centavos. 

I never hear of the author or the press involved. The author does have a page on Poets & Writers website though. 

This is an essay that I will grant some clear political forthright since it was written after Reagan was first elected and was already anticipating his 1984 re-election. It was written in November 1980 so after the election but before RR was sworn in. 

However, to me the essay is intentional gobbledygook. The theme of the essay seems to have been that only "Stoogism" was the gleaming poetic light for the future, of course showing no examples of this clear and awesome poetry itself but rather simply ridiculing "existing poetic norms". It does seem that every decade starts out debunking the existing work of the previous one, so perhaps that's what is going on here or maybe it's just some puffery. Not sure. 

I have no better understand of what is or is not "Stoogist" after reading this essay than before opening it's staple-bound cover. 

First Glimmerings from Monsell Laury (1976)

 First Glimmerings

Monsell Laury

Crown Printing 

US Virgin Island

(c)1976

I recently bought a lot of paperback and chapbooks from a seller in Georgia who must have scooped them up from a former US Naval Captain who wrote poetry and visited the Virgin Islands. He had a number of books from there, many signed by their authors to the Captain. 

Monsell Laury was an actress and writer who lived on the Island. This appears to have been her first book. Staple-bound chapbook. Unpaginated. There's a B&W photo inside front of three female poets at a reading. None of whom is the author of this book. That strikes me as odd. The cover image is interesting though. 

Sex Secrets Women Wish Men Knew Rodale Press (1995)

 Sex Secrets Women Wish Men Knew

Rodale Press 

Emmaus, PA

(c)1995

This excerpt was taken from The Practical Encyclopedia of Sex and Health written by Stefan Bechtel and others. I think the note on the cover expresses one woman's response. I have nothing further to add. 

Prairie by Jon and Annie West (1978)

 Prairie

Jon and Annie West

The Blue Cloudy Quarterly

Marvin, SD

(c)1978

This staple bound chapbook is divided in half : Annie, then Jon. Poems by each. Poems are reprinted from Song of Spirit Woman published in 1974 by Banknote Press. The illustration on the cover is by Cherokee artist, Dewayne Mathews who was from Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is the 4th chapbook in the series. 

2 more tiny chaps from the 'one story' series

 one story series

Necessary Bodies by Daniel Montz

The Rat by Yohanca Delgado 

I mentioned this series of one story booklets before, just quickly mentioning the series again. I will now find a home for them both with young readers can scoop them up. 

Night: A Fantasy by Lowell S. Hale (1922)

 Night : A Fantasy

Lowell S Hale 

Peter G, Boyle, publisher

New York

(c) 1922

I have been operating under the (false) assumption that what we currently consider to be the "chapbook era", staple bound booklets of poetry of roughly 32 pages, started in the 1940s and was "sparked" by the activities of several pacifists who were detained during the Second World War in Oregon as described in the book Here at the Edge by Steve McQuiddy. 

It's a neat premise, to be sure, since it ties the activities of those pacifists pretty directly to the San Francisco poetry community and the greater world beyond - 

then I discover this book, a 1922 staple bound chapbook - likely not called a chapbook in 1922 - which was published by Peter G Boyle who 2 years later would publish Robinson Jeffers book Tamar and Other Poems as a hardbound book. 

So, I was already leery about the 1940s narrative even though it fit with the story I have been piecing together BECAUSE I had already found what can only be called "chapbooks" by my definition that predate the 1940s. Are they the anomalies or was my time frame always incorrect? 

Since my interest in "modern poetry chapbooks" leads back to and out from San Francisco, I have been viewing anything outside of my own parameters as anomalies. I don't believe there is any one specific title that would be agreed upon as the "first poetry chapbook". 

All that said - I did find a Lowell Sebastian Hale (1896-1939) and the briefest of brief histories of this publisher, Peter G. Boyle, but really not much. Yet, a very early poetry chapbook indeed. 

A Cut Above Life : Poetry by William C. Leikam

 A Cut Above Life : Poetry by William C Leikam

self published

(c)1992

There is almost nothing here but paper. 

I did a search online and there was a book published in 1968 by William C. Leikam entitled Run for the Waves. The publisher was Caravelle Books (New York)

There is also reference to "the Fox Guy" who might also be the same Bill Leikam who was involved in a San Francisco based nature preserve, and this same person - publishing as W C Leikam brought out a book entitled Road to Fox Hollow in 2022. My guess is that all these folks are the same guy. 

Also, it was in a lot I bought from someone who lives in California. 

Seafood Secrets of a Galley Slave by Jean Latta (1978)

 Seafood Secrets of a Galley Slave

by Jean Latta

Latta's Pacific Sea-Pak, Inc

Newport, OR

(c)1978

16 page cookbook. I know I am looking at this little cookbook with 2024 eyes but who thought it was still funny in 1978 to self-identify as a "slave" even in jest, even as a white woman? All joking aside, hopefully forever, it's now an unfortunate title. 

Printed on blue paper, which was an interesting choice. But still....

There is a Doe in the Winter Hayfield by Susan Gordon (2016)

 There is a Doe in the Winter Hayfield

Susan Gordon

Concrete Wolf 

Tillimook, OR

(c)2016

A book of the natural order, human and nature, life and death, sadness and grief, and all in 31 pages. 

growing forwards, growing backwards by Em Townsend (2023)

growing forwards/growing backwards

em townsend

bottlecap press

Hollywood, CA

(c)2023

I like the wraparound cover. 

The Squatchers by Gabriel Krawec (2020)

 The Squatchers

Gabriel Krawec

www.one-story.com

Interesting premise for an operation which appears to have been created to get teens to read, even if it's a single story, paper form. One Story, Inc. out of NYC (of course). Written by a "teen writing contest winner". 16 pages. 

Eclogue : Poems of Patrick Moran & Peter Blewett (1998)

 Eclogue: Poems of Patrick Moran & Peter Blewett 

Basswood Press 

Green Bay, WI

(c)1998

Never heard of the poets nor the Press before. The cover is from a woodcut made by Bethann Handzlik. Peter Blewett and his students published their work under the Dead Pigeon imprint. The Internet provides scant material about that press or Mr. Blewett. Basically, I am acknowledging the existence of......

Freight by Sondra Upham (2000)

 Freight

Sondra Upham

Slapering Hol Press

Sleepy Hollow, NY

(c)2000

This hand sewn inscribed and signed chapbook came from the Hudson Valley Writers Center and was printed on interesting paper (I have seen or felt a book that was made of the same kind of paper before) 

This is a contest winner as well. Not all the poems are fluffy happy clouds though. Living with the Memory of Rape is as gut wrenching and painful as the title suggests. 

Spirit Beast Chant by Ralph Salisbury (1982)

Spirit Beast Chant

Ralph Salisbury

The Blue Cloud Quarterly 

Marvin, SD

(c)1982

Another fine example of what this Quarterly produced during their heyday. Cover art by Wendy Rose. 

 

Bible Stories for Children (1994)

 Bible Stories for Children

The Christian Science Publishing Society

Boston, MA 

(c)1994

I am writing about this booklet because they had the wherewithal to have nice cover stock paper and interior for a book that likely would get manhandled (to death) by an actual child. Full color images throughout. Well done. 

Receiver by Brandon Krieg (2021)

Receiver 

Brandon Krieg

Herring Alley Pamphlets

Kutztown, PA

(c) 2021

I happened to be in Kutztown, PA which is a quaint little college town in the midst of horse and buggy Amish world. There is a bookstore on the Main Street. There is a "Local Author" section in this bookstore and there was this interesting staple bound booklet there. I bought it. 

I bought it because I have a connection to the area and had seen the author on a community TV show read 30 minutes of his poetry. Okay, maybe it was less than 30 minutes since there was banter with the host but I listened to him read. And shortly after I see this book and bought it and am glad that I did. For one thing, the poetry is good. For another the poet is also the publisher and a college professor at that school in town named for the town (clues abound) 

Additionally the author/publisher also made the woodcut that graces the cover. It's a complete package of Brandon Krieg. How cool is that? Pretty stinking cool, actually. 

2 copies of The Almanac [ high school lit mag ] (1970 & 197other]

 These two surfaced in a library donation bin, and before I send them back to high school in New Orleans where they originally were produced at I wanted to acknowledge them. Pretty cool stuff. 

The Willie Lynch Letter and The Making of a Slave (1999)

 The Willie Lynch Letter and The Making of a Slave

Lushena Books Inc.

Bensenville, IL

(c) 1999

This "historic" booklet has in hindsight proven to be a partial hoax as the Willie Lynch part has been dismissed - yet as a completed image and text the booklet does attempt to represent the brutal nature of the American institution of Slavery. 

Bath by Jen Silverman (2022)

 Bath 

Jen Silverman

Driftwood Press

(c)2022

Let me be clear : this is a chapbook with a spine. Not staple-bound. A spine so thin that no text could appear and since the cover is primarily black that means that the spine is black and therefore is exactly the "thin slice of nothing" that I call chapbooks to begin with. It's a thin black line on a bookstore shelf. Only chapbook prospectors would even try to dig it out and take it off a shelf. 

The interview with the author by the publisher is nearly as long as the poetry in this book. That said, I look forward to reading more of what Driftwood presents. As should you. 

Boardwalk by Elizabeth Spires (1980)

Boardwalk

Elizabeth Spires

Bits Press

Department of English

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH

(c) 1980

This is an interesting piece for several reasons. I found some of the poems in this thin hand sewn chapbook to be very good. Actual poetic language instead of "journal entries with spacing". For example, in her poem 'Grandfather' she has the line "In the cellar's cool dark" which I could feel as I was reading it. 

Other poems, to my "delicate" nature had way too many first person singulars in them but at least there was more poetic phrasing than I tend to be reading these days. 

The other thing, the more important thing chronologically is that there is no listing of this chapbook on her Wikipedia page. This chapbook mentions that her first full length collection Globe would be coming out in 1981 and her Wikipedia page started with Globe. When it should start with this one. 

And for what it's worth - the title poem is good as are the 3 poems inspired by Japanese prints.  

Processed World 12 (1985)

 Processed World 12

Processed World

San Francisco, CA

(c) 1985

Found this in a Goodwill shop next to a cool record store in South Street in Philadelphia earlier this week. Never heard of the publication before but it's extremely within my wheelhouse of anti-capitalism, "beware of technology" zeitgeist from the days just before the Internet became a "thing" in our world. Articles, poetry, images in a staple bound 65 paged bundle. If you are even slightly anti-globalist, you need to find these zines. Read them, keep them. 

How Our Laws Are Made by (1980)

 How Our Laws Are Made 

Edward F. Gillett, Jr, Esq.

Foreword by Hon. Peter Rodino

US Government Printing Office

Washington, DC 

(c) 1980

At the time this staple bound booklet was printed Peter Rodino was the Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary. Of course this type of booklet is more likely to be available in the DC area, where I live so it doesn't surprise me that I happened across it. 73 pages. It's a more serious take on how bills are past than the famous SchoolHouse Rock interpretation, but I do like that one better. It's got a song. This one is a tad dry. 

Milieu to the Stars by Fernando Reyes (2023)

 Milieu to the Stars

Fernando Reyes

self published

(c)2023

It meant to be something. Really it did. A self promotion tool? The illustrations created by this gentleman are far superior to his words. And though he meant the booklet to introduce himself to the publishing world ("publish my book"), it really only highlights his artistic side. Unfortunately, a poet he is not. Rather, to me, he is not. Others might feel differently. Maybe his goal will be achieved. But I think his goal ought to be what he draws and not what he writes. 

Latin American Soul: Bilingual Poetry by Edith Graciela Sanabria (1997)

Latin American Soul: Bilingual Poetry

Edith Graciela Sanabria

y Grace Press

Alexandria, VA

(c) 1997

The Press failed this project. Entirely. 
 

Randall Jarrell by Karl Shapiro (1967)

 Randall Jarrell

Karl Shapiro

Library of Congress

Washington, DC 

(c)1967

This booklet is of a lecture given by Mr. Shapiro about Mr. Jarrell. 47 pages. Handsome insignia of the Library of Congress crest on back. Staple bound. 

Perfect Stranger by Earl McMurray (1997)

 Perfect Stranger

Earl McMurray

The Ledge Press

1997 Poetry Chapbook Contest Winner

Glendale, NY

(c)1997

Staple bound chapbook on slick cover stock. Photo of the poet inside back cover. Belated congrats for this contest winner (decades belated at this point). Have to say, (I) greatly appreciate that many of the poems in this winner book are absent of first person singular. 

The Nepal royal family booklets (1986)

 His Majesty King/ Her Majesty Queen

Department of Information

Ministry of Communication

HMG

Nepal

(c)1986

More information that I would ever need about the royal couple as of 1986. A royal family in the tradition of all single family rulers. Their heirs still run the country in 2024. No - this isn't poetry but they are chapbooks. Or booklets. Or historical documents. (a wink to Galaxy Quest). Okay, it's more nuanced than that. The Monarch was abolished in 2008. But the same family ruled the country since the mid-1700s and the same other family rules as prime minister even now. 

Dancing Back Strong the Nation by Maurice Kenny (1979)

Dancing Back Strong the Nation

Maurice Kenny 

The Blue Cloud Quarterly 

Marvin, SD

(c) 1979

Similar to the Joel Oppenheimer book I just wrote about this one also "defies" definition in that it isn't even mentioned on the Wikipedia page for the author. There is a listing on that page of a version of this book published in 1981 by White Pine Press (something about this press, I swear) with an introduction to the work by Paula Gunn Allen, who also wrote the introduction - likely word for word taken - for the 1979 book published by The Blue Cloud Quarterly. I suggest you click onto the link for the Blue Cloud Quarterly since it goes into much deeper detail about that publication. I personally am ambivalent about Catholic publications "work on behalf of" Native writers since the history of European religions contributing to the obliteration of Native religions is raw and without justification. 

And yet, if this publication had not brought out the work by a number of Native voices, would we even know of them? 

Or know the name of the artist, Rokwaho, who did the cover image?

I greatly value the writings of all "marginal" groups who are part of the American Experience since for most of the history of the United States that narrative has been controlled by white Christians of European descent. 

 

Why Not by Joel Oppenheimer (1987)

 Why Not

Joel Oppenheimer

White Pine Press

Fredonia, NY

(c) 1987

This is the second book published by White Pine Press of poetry by Joel Oppenheimer that has intrigued me. This time because this is actually a reprint of a book that was published, according to the Wikipedia page for Mr. Oppenheimer, just two years prior by Press of the Good Mountain - which after doing a quick bit of research online I found to be an actual publisher located in Rochester, NY. The Press was created at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1950. The instructor of Typography at the college, Alexander Lawson, was the supervisor of the Press. 

Thirty-five years later, the Press of the Good Mountain published Why Not and then 2 years later, White Pine Press brought out their own version of the same book. Contractual issues? One can only speculate as those involved have all gone into the reeds at this point. However, on the printer's page there is an acknowledgment that the book is an expanded version of the "limited letterpress edition" which had been made by a David Lorczak at the Press of the Good Mountain. The cover illustration is by Joel Oppenheimer. 

I wonder how few copies exist of that original 1985 letterpress edition. Apparently the 1985 edition had 100 copies printed. I have seen the cover online. Copies are not cheap online then again, they all seem to be signed by either Joel or David. 

This Hunger by Carol Cullar (1993)

 This Hunger  

Carol Cullar  

The Maverick Press

Eagle Press, TX

(c)1993

Inscribed and signed inside front. Printed on recycled paper. One of 150 copies printed. Signed on back pages. Unpaginated. 

Ms. Cullar was an artist as well as the editor of a literary publication called "The Maverick Press" in that part of Texas. The cover image was created by Ms. Cullar. Hand sewn. Beautiful book. Well crafted poems. 

Writers' Work from Northern Virginia Community College (1986)

 Writer's Work 

Northern Virginia Community College (Alexandria Campus)

(c)1986

Recently a poet's personal library was "donated" to a local library that I am involved with. The poet's collection was rather unceremoniously released as the poet had died a few weeks prior and apparently their books were not designated to be placed anywhere. So...

The poet had also taught English and creative writing at the NOVA (as it is commonly referred to in the region) as well as other colleges through their life. 

Typical college student fare. Nothing remarkable. But it was captured and collected and preserved. Noted. 

playing with power tools at the alter of venus by r. julius fildes (1993)

playing with power tools at the alter of Venus

r. julius fildes

Screaming Ego Press

(c)1993

A time piece of cyberpunk anarchist future. #10 of 200 printed. Drawing throughout by author as well. Interested bit of unexploded napalm. 

arcana by Ian Samuels (2002)

 Arcana

Ian Samuels

housepress

Calgary, CA

(c)2002

This is a handsome little book. This one is #17 of 60 printed. What I find most fascinating and telling is how an author can "forget" a publication like this when only two years later they publish a bigger book, one entitled The Ubiquitous Big which came out in 2004 on Coach House Books. I am going to add the bio that was offered at that time (see if you can find what's missing) :

"Ian Samuels is a former editor of filling Station magazine and currently works at WordFest: Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival. He is the author of one previous collection of poetry titled Cabra (Red Deer Press, 2000). He lives in his hometown of Calgary, where he is currently working on a mythic history of once-famous blues venue the King Edward Hotel."

Yeah, pretty incredible. 

write a poem about a tomato (??)

 write a poem about a tomato

wrote the seller : "a tomato art zine from ARTspace Chatham. Cute little zine collecting poems, illustrations and more about tomatoes, contributed by Chatham citizens."

wrote me, upon receiving it : 

I have not held a chapbook of such poor quality in a long time. JesusHChrist trees were killed to make this piece of trash. 

The concept could have been - but wasn't. I have to pulp it. It's terrible. Just NO

A Net to Catch My Body in its Weaving by Katie Farris (2021)

 A Net to Catch My Body in its Weaving

Katie Farris

Winner of the 2021 Chad Walsh Chapbook Prize

Beloit Poetry Journal 

Katie Farris is an award winning poet who attracted serious attention with her hybrid-form text boygirls which was released in 2011. 39 pages of pure brilliance. Not "joy" since the subject matter is not cotton candy sweetness but extremely good poetry here. 

Famous Recipes by Famous People (2004)

Famous Recipes by Famous People

Hotel Del-Monte

American Association of Gourmets

(c)2004

This is a reprint of 1936 edition. Nice cover stock. It feels like something. 

Fridge Haikus by Sophia M. Giudici (unknown)

 Fridge Haikus

Sophia M. Giudici

self published

(c) unknown

This hand sewn booklet is the physical representation of the author's time creating haiku and "publishing" them on Instagram. 

However, there is none of that information in the book. I gleaned it from the Net. Not sure what the point of the book is since they were all posted virtually to begin with. The author is more a student of Insta-poets than of haiku. All the piece are surface - lacking depth. As a poet friend of mine said in the 1990s "it's just words". 

Supposedly the haiku are meant to represent her live during the COVID years, which is fine and it's what countless others have also done - albeit not in haiku form, but

A history is not THE history

 I am a big William S Burroughs fan and one of the manifestations of being a fan of his writings is also to note his words and his meanings, as best as one can, and one of the things he wrote, almost in passing, is how ridiculous Western Thinkers and in particular Americans are with their overuse of the word THE as though using THE something or another means the definitive. Burroughs saw this as lazy and near sighted self congratulatory nonsense when it came to a scientific or historical subject. THE meaning "the one and only" whereas, Burroughs argued, A is nearly always more appropriate to use in these scenarios. 

So, I want to say that I am working on A history of poetry chapbooks and would never say I am working on THE history.... because the history of poetry chapbooks is as fluid and dare I say as plastic as the English language itself is. 

This blog - moving forward - is now a template for the book since I have been, unintentionally and semiconsciously, writing it since 2006. 

So many of the posting I have done have been thumbnail mentions instead of in-depth searches but with Carnglass and moving forward and backward simultaneously I will be fleshing out my subjects better so that I have a fuller appreciation of the subjects and so I might gauge what readers might gleam from my research. 

Carnglass Press = Jim Zimmermann of Newark, NJ

 I am going to play this out detective style here - each of the gentlemen I have communicated with about Carnglass Press have mentioned a linchpin, a spider at the middle of the web, and that person was named Jim Zimmermann who ran the Press from the basement of this house. The mystery is a little less dense but still exists. 

Updating the Carnglass Press mystery

 Indeed I have been blogging about chapbooks since 2006. 

Somewhere along the way I have also been sketching elements within my subject matter for expansion because to paraphrase Rod Stewart every chapbook tells a story. So, I will start with the one I am in currently in an see where the ripples go. 

Carnglass Press was a publishing concern in Newark, NJ at the beginning of the 1970s. Michael Redmond was one of the translators of the two chapbooks that I have. I got the chapbooks from an artist named Harry Bartnick. Bartnick did some cover illustration work for the Press and they paid him in chapbooks, these two. Neither of these gentlemen know each other. 

It seems that the bubbling poetic activities from Greenwich Village had traveled the 12 miles (in this case) to Newark. Michael was at Rutgers/Newark and Harry was working at the Newark library. Apparently there was a guy who was so into printing that he had a printing operation in the basement of his house that that was the hub for all these young dudes to be creatively crazy. Both men believe that Carnglass was a short term project. Neither believed that it produced more than these two books, maybe others they weren't sure of ever having been printed, like the project that Harry's cover art was meant for - A Single Shot to Kill a Bear - reenforcing the reality that not every project does come to fruition.