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)