Cowboy Rhymes : Tall Tales and True Tales by F. Allen Brewer & Richard E. Ufford (1987)

 Cowboy Rhymes : Tall Tales & True Tales

F. Allen Brewer & Richard E. Ufford

Assumed self published

(c)1987

Now this here is a quandary to be sure. I found this little sliver of nothing (okay, not so "little" since its 96 pages, but it's staple bound and I feel bound to write about it) {I need a high hat}

These gents seem to have originated in Utah, from other sources I have found, but there is not telling where this book was printed because there is NO publisher information anywhere in the book. The back cover is blank. There are photos of the cowboy poets and some B&W illustrations throughout the book and in all likelihood it was created for one of those Cowboy Poetry gathering. Just my guess. 

I am not predisposed to rhyming poetry and haven't since leaving Dr. Seuss behind a long time ago, but I am willing to acknowledge the craft of writing in this style. If I do have an issue with Cowboy Poetry it is that it is the white man's telling of the West (and how they took it). Subtle hints and phrases and nudges and winks but they aren't any Natives in these camps nor do I imagine there would be. Victors and vanquished. A subtext of this entire genre. 

See Vermont by Patty Oldenburg (1979)

See Vermont 

Patty Oldenburg

Poets Mimeo Cooperative

Burlington, VT

(c) 1979

Patty Mucha, who trained as an artist and poet, was married to Claes Oldenburg from 1960 to 1970, first met him after moving to New York City in 1957. When Oldenburg was painting portraits, Mucha became one of his nude models  before becoming his first wife. An Oldenburg drawing of Mucha titled Pat Reading in Bed, Lenox, 1959 is in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. She was a collaborator in Oldenburg's happenings by coming up with ideas together, making the costumes together, and was also a performer in the piece, along with collaborating on happenings, she also as well, sewed his famous floor hamburger, ice cream, and cake. Mucha was lead singer in the band The Druds. Pop artist Andy Warhol occasionally sang backup he also wrote the songs “The Alphabet Song, Movie Stars, Hollywood and Cocal-Cola”, .minimalist Walter De Maria played drums, painter Larry Poons guitar and composer LaMonte Young saxophone (briefly) along with neodadist lyrics provided by Jasper Johns and vocal contributions by “Happening Artist” Gloria Graves and Greek-American artist Lucas Samaras. 

She appeared in art and films by Warhol. After, still in her mid-30s, became involved with the young poet and (pre Voidoids) musician Richard Hell.

The Druds was a short-lived 1963 avant-garde noise music band founded by Andy Warhol that featured prominent members of the New York proto- conceptual art and minimal art community. The band's noise rock sound has been compared to that of Henry Flynt and/or The Primitives, the band that featured the first collaboration of Lou Reed and John Cale, who would soon form The Velvet Underground.

That's a lot of preface for a collection of poetry by a relatively unknown poet but this particular copy is unique in ways the seller of it was seemingly unaware. (Yeah, I bought it online). This is a staple bound book. 64 pages. This was on of 100 copies to be signed by the poet, however, I noticed that the signature that I was told was in the book was actually crossed out by Ms. Mucha. I thought that odd until I read the snippets of her life in various places (apparently she did not rate to have a fully contained bio of her own) but she and Claus divorced in 1970 (because he was a cad, it seems) and this book came out nearly ten years later. 

The publishers must have reasoned that she would be more easily recognized in print as Patty Oldenburg because that's the name they assigned her on the title of the book and throughout but she had been divorced from him for a decade so, likely in a moment of clarity, she signed and then crossed out THAT name and signed her own last name above. 

The was her second collection of poetry. Her first, Poems Traveling, came out in 1973. 

The Papers of Patty Mucha more detail. 

she was born(Patricia Muschinski) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 26, 1935. She attended Wisconsin State Teachers College in Milwaukee (now the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee), where she majored in art. Patty first saw Claes Oldenburg while she was at the Oxbow Summer School of Painting and later went to visit him in his Chicago studio. In 1957, she moved to New York to become an artist and met Oldenburg by accident after being there for two months. 

Patty Mucha was not only Oldenburg's muse for his main performance ensemble but collaborator for all of his early sewn sculptures. Her contribution to the invention of soft sculpture was the result of the immediate demand for Oldenburg's first exhibition at the Green Gallery in 1962. She appeared in his Ray Gun Theater, which they produced in 1962, and collaborated in sewing costumes and constructing objects and sets for his Happenings and installations. She appeared in Oldenburg films made by Rudy Wurlitzer and Robert Breer as well as in films by Jean Dupuy, Rudy Burckhardt, Andy Warhol and Red Grooms. She also participated in the Happenings of Jim Dine, Robert Whitman, Dick Higgins, Alex Hay, Steve Paxton, Simone Forti, and Sally Gross.

Patty Mucha farms, writes and paints near St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Her essential role in the Pop Art and Happenings scenes is revealed in her as-yet-unpublished memoir, Clean Slate: My Life in the 1960's New York Art World, which in 2022, the title was changed to Threads. Portions of the book have appeared in Art in America as well as in the catalog "Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958–1968." Her poetry books include Poems Traveling, 1971-1973 (Panorama, 1973) and See Vermont: Poems, 1974-1978 (Poets Mimeo Cooperative, 1979).

A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery (1977)

 A Walk Through Graceland Cemetery

Barbara Lanctot

Chicago School of Architecture Foundation

(c) 1977

61 page booklet filled with cemetery sculpture photos throughout. Map in the back. Fine booklet. 

Ride Home Through Scented Grass by Philomene Hood (2003)

 

This is not a chapbook. 

Ordinarily I wouldn't even mention it but the author and the Press are both deceased. The author was both in 1915 and died in 2017. This book was published in 2003. This is both a labor of love and an acknowledgment of existence. It seems to have been her only published book.

The press also disappeared sometime after publication of this book. The Press had been located in Zuni, Virginia. Ms. Hood lived toward the end of her life in Williamsburg, VA - a short distance from the Press. 

The Poetry of Myra Sklarew (special edition of Shirim: A Jewish Poetry Journal)

 

This was a special edition of Shirim: A Jewish Poetry Journal published in 2006. I found it in a well known bookstore in Washington, DC and brought it home and put it in a pile where it was lost until a few hours ago. The significance of the timing of this re-discovery is that when I found it in the bookstore and got it, Myra was alive. And as of this writing, she no longer is. December 18, 1934 - December 30, 2024.

I had met her a few times in the DC and wrote her with the email address I was able to find for her right after finding this booklet, but unbeknownst to me she was already ill (and likely the email address wasn't accurate either).

Myra Sklarew was a mover and shaker in the poetry world for a long time. She will be missed but her impact will be felt for generations of poets to come.

I don't know much about Shirim (the publication) nor its editor. Apparently the publication has been around for some time and they did in fact highlight Ms. Sklarew ten years prior to this edition.

Etudes by Keith Wilson (1997)

 Etudes

Keith Wilson

Limberlost Press

Boise, ID

(c)1997

The Press seems to have been a labor of love for Rick & Rosemary Ardinger who served as editors for the Press and therefore for this handsome chapbook. A mere 7 poems but one can almost taste the air with them. 

The poet ought not be confused with the poet Keith S. Wilson. 

Locked Doors by Edward Steese (1984)

 Locked Doors : The Last poems of Edward Steese 

(selected and arranged by Charles Robbins)

From the estate of Edward Steese

(c)1984

I have had this one for a bit and it was lost in the stacks. It's neither a chapbook nor strictly speaking a mimeo but I wanted to mention its existence so - here tis. It's a coffee table book sized specially printed paperback. Apparently there was a fancier and more expensive hardcover of this book, but this isn't that. If one is familiar with the man - this one is clearly for you. 

Layers : Poems by Roberta Keller (1987)

Layers by Roberta Keller

The Arts and Music Exchange

Washington, DC 

(c)1987

This copy is inscribed and signed by the author. I never heard of this poet and am not familiar with the publisher. I found nothing about this Art and Music Exchange online. It must have been of the moment. 

 

The Red Room by Geraldine Connolly (1988)

 The Red Room

Geraldine Connolly

Heatherstone Press, Inc.

(c) 1988

#32 of 300 printed. Inscribed and signed inside front. The book is actually thicker than it might have otherwise been since every other page is empty except for copy of the cover image on it. Odd decision. 

Germination by Aden Field (1975)

 

Germination 

Aden Field 

The Aliens Collaboration

Durham, NC

(c)1975

Illustrations by Phil Shore. Realized by Dave Birkhead. Small format, handsome staple-bound chapbook. Printed by Regulator Press in Durham. 

I have heard, somewhere, of Regulator Press. But not this imprint or this Dave Birkhead fellow or Phil Shore. 

But it is signed inside back by both the illustrator and the poet, #95 of this limited released book of 300 copies. 

 

Narrativity by Aaron Shurin (1990)

 Narrativity

Aaron Shurin

20 Pages (division of Sun & Moon Press)

(c)1990

This 20 page booklet is an essay that was first given as a talk at the Painted Bride in Philadelphia in June 1989. Interesting subject matter. 

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.