Surreal Freedom Blues by Sunil Freeman ( date unknown)

Surreal Freedom Blues

Sunil Freeman

The Argonne Hotel Press

This is one of a printing of 500 copies made after the original publication of it in 1999. It's a reprint of a reprint. Pixelated as hell. Made on the fly, done cheaply but I have to respect the moxie behind the effort. 

I wrote about this press 12 years ago now when writing about Bernadette Geyer's chapbook published by this same publisher. Geyer's was entitled "What Remains". It a worthwhile question even now. I respect the fact that this press published a number of Washington DC area poets. They collectively represent a snapshot in time and place. 

CLICK

Tree Taking Root by David Wilk (1978)

 Tree Taking Root

David Wilk

Truck Press

St. Paul, MN

(c) 1978

This is one of 500 copies printed by Karl Young of Membrane Press in Milwaukee, WI. 2nd printing. Beautifully produced book. Staple-bound. 

Some of the poems in this collection are laid out in a way that I like, sort of haphazardly or random but in all likelihood intentional and with purpose, both visually and to allow the reader to "breathe" as the poet himself would. 

I am not familiar with Mr. Wilk's work but this is really an overlooked gem. 

Nods by Carrie Lorig (2013)

 Nods

Carrie Lorig

Magic Helicopter Press

Northampton, MA

(c) 2013

2nd printing

This is a pretty amazing chapbook. Visually, experimentally, a complete package. OMG yes!

Young Friend by Leopoldine Core (2013)

 Young Friend

Leopoldine Core

Perfect Lovers Press

Cincinatti, OH

(c) 2013

This press makes accidental covers on purpose. I mean, I wrote about a different book by the same press where they did the same thing with the cover. Like it's a thing. It's a thing, to be sure. A visually challenging thing. 

"I'll die" : the last words of the last poem in this brief collection. Okay, well, see you!

By These Tokens by Mark Wallace (1990)

 

By These Tokens

Mark Wallace

Triangle Press

Buffalo, NY

(c) 1990

Mark Wallace is the author and editor of more than fifteen books and chapbooks of poetry, fiction, and essays. His most recent poetry collection is the book-length prose poem, Notes from the Center on Public Policy (Altered Scale Press, 2014). He lives in San Diego.

But this is early Mark. Experimental Mark. Interesting Mark. 

This Is What It Is Like To Be Loved By Me by Jared White (2013)

This Is What It Is Like To Be Loved By Me

Jared White

Bloof Books

(c) 2013

2nd chapbook created during the 2012-2013 season. Hand sewn. Oddly sized. It looks like a waitress's order sheet. #95 of 100 printed. Bloof does some unusual stuff, like the dimensions of this book and how after they have parted ways with all 100 copies of this book, for example, they digitalize it for future consumption. It's prose poetry. Kind of. Meh. 

Work by Dan Boehl (2007)

 Work

Dan Boehl

Pavement Saw Press

Columbus, OH

(c) 2007

Winner of the Pavement Saw chapbook contest in 2006. Great first step. Great early collection. 

The Grand Mcluckless Road Atlas by John Domini (2013)

 The Grand Mcluckless Road Atlas

John Domini

The Pedestrian Press 

Oakland, CA

(c) 2013

This is the second book in a now much published career of Mr. Domini. Was not familiar with the press prior to and still have questions about its internet presence but the work here is interesting. And "interesting" is a plus. 

The Partial Autobiography of Jane Doe by Daniela Olszewska (2008)

 The Partial Autobiography of Jane Doe

Daniela Olszewska

dancing girl press

Chicago, IL

(c) 2008

Ms. Olszewska has gone on from this to being a professor at Loyola University and having a successful run of book publications. 

The poetry here is good but my ongoing problem with this small press are just as pronounced as ever. 

TERRIBLE presentation. I feel badly for anyone published by this press. 

The Main Cause of the Exodus by Dawn Lundy Martin (2014)

 The Main Cause of the Exodus

Dawn Lundy Martin

O'Clock Press

Philadelphia, PA

(c)2014

I happened across an interview of Ms. Martin after receiving this chapbook and it was revealing. Not only of her work as of 2016 and the tie-in with Split this Rock poetry festival which is held biannually in Washington, DC but also in her own involvement with 'Black Took Collective'. 

Naturally, I am not surprised that O'Clock Press is located in two Ivy League town, Philadelphia and Providence, RI and that the Waldrops are involved. 

So many chapbooks get overlooked, and forgotten. It's a terrible scenario in which worthwhile work disappears with barely a trace. Unless someone like me write about it. And I see myself more of a chronicler or archivist (and well, a publisher) at the present time than anything else.

This is great work. I need to read more of her poetry. 

Hot Whiskey 2 (2006)

 Hot Whiskey 2

Boulder, CO

(c) 2006

This is an anthology featuring Edward Sanders, Anne Waldman, Susan Briante, Dodge Bellamy, Travis Macdonald, CA Conrad, Logan Ryan Smith, Michelle McMahon, James Bertolino, Adam Clay, Clayton Eshleman, Dale Smith, Ron Silliman. 

The Bowling by Brandon Shimoda & Sommer Browning (2010)

 The Bowling

Brandon Shimoda & Sommer Browning

greying ghost press

(c) 2010

#3 of 100 printed. Greying Ghost Press has a way about them. Distinctive. This blending works. Ms. Browning is the cofounder of Flying Guillotine Press. I have one of their t shirts. 

Winnetou Old by Pierre Joris (1994)

 Winnetou Old

Pierre Joris

Meow Press

(c) 1994

Another one by this short-lived publisher. I feel extremely blessed to have all these chapbooks from all these exciting small press (sands in the hourglass)

Like getting this chapbook by Pierre Joris, all white space wondrous word play the way  so many others have attempt to present and it's all about the presentation of pages interrupted by words, without apologies even. 

So worth the finding and so worth the reading. Apparently there is a different cover than this (this one might have been a demo/review copy)

The actual cover looks like this : 

Day Cracks Between the Bones of the Foot by Jesse Nissim (2013)

 Day Cracks Between the Bones of the Foot

Jesse Nissim

Furniture Press

Towson University/Baltimore

(c)2013

Edited by Christophe Casamassima with cover art by Jodi Hoover, this chapbook is a Towson collaborative effort. The cover is stunning. The artwork of Ms. Hoover is worth investigating. 

Addenda by Susan M. Schultz (1998)

 Addenda 

Susan M Schultz

Meow Press

Buffalo, NY

(c)1998

The Poet met the press and they were joined. At least for this staple bound project. Here's what Meow had to say about themselves in the late 1990s : 

Meow Press was established in August of 1993 as a response to the New Cost festival and also the rapid proliferation of electronic publishing. In the case of the former, there is the hope that by getting involved it might be possible to reopen the anthologizing-closure process set in motion by that fateful gathering; that it might be possible to exist in a state where the printing of a book of poems might be - in the tradition of printer-poets such as Lyn Hejinian - an extension of one's own activity of writing. In the case of the latter, the romance of making books by hand that utilized the hot carbon transfer process as ultimately temporal ephemera, yet palpable physical without too much nostalgia for the Book.

 An obsessive typography startup kit.

This is one of 300 printed. I am so lucky. 

The Time of Ripe Figs by Allen P. West (2002)

 The Time of Ripe Figs

Allen P. West

White Eagle Coffee Store Press

Fox River Grove, IL

(c)2002

This book confuses me. The poems are about grief and loss (of a spouse) and have nothing directly to do with the title of the collection or the image. None that I could glean. 

I am mostly intrigued by the Press, to be honest. Such an unusual name. Even the town the Press is located in, distinctive. They have a website that appears to have been created at the dawn of the internet age. Most of the titles of their published works do not have links to them. Does this mean they are all out of print? 

One of the poems is entitled "I am a Jar". Well, I am con-fused. 

A Maiden by Elizabeth Willis (1992)

 A Maiden

Elizabeth Willis

Shuffaloff books

Buffalo, NY

(c) 1992

Handsewn chapbook. #42 of 100 printed. A prime example of a "thin sliver of nothing". 

Looking at the Sky by Karen Propp (1983)

 Looking at the Sky

Karen Propp

Spirit Mountain Press

Fairbanks, AK

(c) 1983

This is a beautiful chapbook with cover design by Toki Oshima. Handsewn binding. 21 pages, just a lovely collection. 

Premonitions by Elizabeth Cantwell (2014)

 Premonitions

Elizabeth Cantwell

Grey Book Press

(c) 2014

Cover image by press editor and artist Scott Sweeney. 

Check out their catalog on-site. 

This particular volume seems a transitional phase (the cover isn't all that) 

Mnemotechnics by Jessica Smith (2013)

 

Mnemotechnics

Jessica Smith

above/ground press

Ontario, Canada 

(c)2013

Poetry presses and the poets who populate them are a small circle of dedicated (possibly crazed) wordsmiths - and fanatics, to be fair. Poets chisel words onto blank pieces of paper or blank computer screens the way sculptors find their voice in rock. 

Small presses, due to the necessity of their obsession and the lack of finances (generally), tend to be the most inventive in presentation because they are dealing with 'tiny slivers of nothing' as it is - slide a thin chapbook between large anthology volumes by reputable and established publishers and you will see a thin space but have no idea from its spine, or absence of spine, what the book might be. 

This is such a book. Kinkos white cover with a detailed drawing of a bird feather, courtesy of Alixandra Bamford, graces the front. Inside is a second cover, red, on the back is the publisher information and author bio. Inside is just the text ma'am; just the text. Jessica Smith's words, regrettably, deserve better than Kinkos quality paper. Hey, I have stories of our own press's humble beginnings. Ours intersected with an "off the books" Kinkos transaction that led to the termination of the entire night crew at a particular Philadelphia location. I am sure that this effort by Mr. Mclennan was above/ground(board) and the combination covers are both striking and original. Kudos, sir!

I appreciate the spacial quality of Ms. Smith's work. I wonder if she hesitates a significant 

amount of time

                           between passages

                                                                  since the spacing beckons one to do.