chapbooks 29

Choragus
Pattie McCarthy
Potes & Poets Press
Elmwood, CT
©1998

This chapbook appears to have been made around the time Ms. McCarthy completed Grad School. It has quips on the back from two of her heroes, Rachel Blau DePlessis and Ron Silliman. A few of the pieces had appeared in ixnay journal. I mention this because these all represent or present a particular style of poetics that I acknowledge but don't exactly admire. Once upon a wintry day, I attended a poetry reading in Lancaster, PA held by a group of poets who sounded exactly alike. Their phrasing, their speech patterns, their wording was all vertically the same. I remember how I thought of the word "precise" when I recall that reading, and the endless poem I wrote about it contains the line "precision devoid of blood makes no sound/".

Yes, this collection is precise and not written for the 'common reader'. It was a graduate school thesis in chapbook form. It does not have a pulse. It is brilliant and unapproachable. Within a certain circle of Ivy League writing programs (Brown, U Penn) this work would have been well received. I don't think that poetry ought to be read with a dictionary under my arm, however, nor a copy of Bulfinch's Mythology.

The cover was created using period clipart which is, well, very pixelated. I know people who covet this chapbook as it was at the beginning of her writing career. Contact me, I will sell you this copy.



Warrior Writers
Edited by Lovella Calica
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Burlington, VT
©2007

I found this chapbook in a second hand shop in Fairfax, VA. Brown lettering on plain brown cover. Incredible collection of writings about and against the US military involvement in Iraq by some of the soldiers who have served there. 29 pages. Anyone interested in this organization should contact them online at IVAW.


Various Sex Acts
Kostas Anagnopoulos
Insurance Editions
Jackson Heights, NY
©2008

I am often pleasantly surprised by the chapbooks sent to me from Insurance Editions. However, this one didn’t impress me beyond the look of the chapbook itself. Very well done, but the poetry didn't connect with me.


Too Close to Count
Jennifer Thomas
Self published
©1973

This thin little chap came from the dusty recesses of the Robin’s basement. It was published in 1973. No publisher name, no info, no contact info. No page count. Very mimeo – produced. I look at this and can almost hear the machine at work.

Draft, Unnumbered: Precis
Rachel Blau DuPleassis
Nomados
Vancouver, British Columbia
©2003

Fantastic chapbook. First time I have seen anything by Nomados and it’s simply a pleasure to hold a well made book as this. The poems are wonderful, a must for anyone aware of and a reader of DuPlessis’ on-going “Draft” project. A real collector’s item.

Chapbooks 28

Playing the Game
John DeWitt
Designed by Keith Newhouse
Cold Chair Books
Moore College of Art
Philadelphia, PA
©1976

This small, even by chapbook standards, is 4 pages. FOUR. This is a single poem with art work and design by Keith Newhouse. I found no online presence for “Cold Chair Books”. The much published poet John DeWitt, who has taught at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia since the 1970's, informed me that he was part of Cold Chair Books. Along with Bill Walton of Moore College, they produced a number of fine chapbook including one I have held in my hands before (wanting to steal it from the library too, bad boy) Alexandra Grilikhes City Poems . I will have to do more research, but I have to say that Cold Chair Books was well ahead of their time and I am grateful to have one of their incredible booklets on my shelf!


Dying to be Released
Francis Davis
Word of Mouth chapbook series
Meridian Writers Cooperative
Philadelphia, PA
©1994

There is great history in this chapbook. Meridian Writers Cooperative was active through most of the 1980s in Philadelphia. They published a few collections of poetry and some chapbooks of short fiction, and this is among the latter. Meridian was run by Joy Stocke, Sandy Crimmins, Fran Metzman, and Denise Larrabee.

Their chapbook series was called ‘Word of Mouth’ and this was #2 in the series. Francis Davis has gone on to publish several books, including In the Moment (1986), Outcats (1990), The History of the Blues: The Roots, the Music, the People From Charley Patton to Robert Cray (1995), and Bebop and Nothingness: Jazz and Pop at the End of the Century (1996). One of only 50 printed. Wonderful little chapbook. Unnumbered.


corporate geese
Christopher William Purdom
226 Press
printed by CafePress.com
©2009

Just received this. 27 pages. This is volume 5 in what may be an endless series of self-published verse that may appeal to the friends of Mr. Purdom. The press, 226press.com is the publishing front for Mr. Purdom and no one else. Only his books are on the website and only his name is listed as “Poets”.

CafePress is the ‘publisher’ of this chapbook. CafePress is a vanity press. There are on their website 717 books that they have published listed there. Really? Editorial control is exercised rigorous there at CafePress? No, I sincerely doubt it. This is a POD chapbook. I have strong negative feelings toward POD books, have I mentioned this already?

For some reason, Mr. Purdom quoted on the back of his book as well as on his website a non-review from an unidentified (perhaps Mr. Purdom is merciful) reviewer. I will paraphrase it here, “I….am sorry to say….(I) will not be doing a review.” Neither will I.

To Stop the Arms Race, to Prevent Nuclear War….
L. I . Brezhnew
Novosti Press Agency Publishing House
Moscov, USSR
©1978

Love these time capsules. This bit of “propaganda” in response to “propaganda” from the United States during the negotiations for the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty that was happening at this time. Agitprop cover art recalling earlier work by Constructionists, who were Russian afterall, although many died believing that art could move the Revolution while their leaders nakedly ruled with iron fists, but I digress….

Well made, as most Novosti produced books were. 54 pages. Staple-bound. To some, quite collectible.

who sees?
Mike Stiler
Self published
Monhegan, Maine
©2002


Here’s another self-published book. Interesting combination of words and images. Apparently Mr. Stiler is apparently a visual artist who also write poems. He practices Zen Buddhism which affects his work in this book. Unnumbered pages. Images accompany each poem.

blurring the lines

The 5 books I will be writing about this time all blur the line and definition of what makes a "chapbook". Page count traditionally helps to decide what makes a chapbook and all of these books blur that distinction. Sometimes blurring is simply confusing, don't cha think?




Old Bright Wheel
Robert Fanning
The Ledge Magazine and Press
Glendale, NY
© 2003

This is the lead example of the presentation factor in chapbooks that I wish to discuss. I understand the reasoning to make a chapbook into a slender book with a spine, so that it can exist on a bookshelf without completely disappearing into a “sliver of nothing” that chapbooks tend to do, but a 31 page chapbook is a 31 page chapbook regardless what you cover it in….or as.

This was a contest winning book and it looks great, but it’s 31 pages. It’s fudging the line, but it’s beautifully done and the poetry is good. Still….



down under it all
Randy Tomlinson
The Sono Nis Press
Surrey, British Columbia
Canada
©1971

27 pages, chapbook with spine. Glossy cover with op-art front and photo of author as back cover. Takes up the complete back cover. I am certain that there were reasons to turn this chapbook into a book with a spine, but at 27 pages…..it’s a chapbook.

At the Border: Winter Lights
Carol Coffee Reposa
Pecan Grove Press
St. Antonio, TX
©1989

This chapbook has no page numbers on them, but I counted 89 pages. The font is huge. It ought to have been published with a spine but that means higher costs. Yet sometimes it’s better to pay a bit more for better presentation. This chapbook is a mess. The poetry is unremarkable. I am certain that at the time the author was thrilled to have a book out and I don’t want to minimize that effect on an author. But, looking backwards from my perch of time, it’s a painful reminder that not all books ought to be published and not all publishers should…..some should have gone into the insurance business or sold used cars.


American Proper
Jennifer Merrifield
March Street Press
Greenboro, NC
©2008

34 pages. 7 1/2” X 5”. Had this chapbook been “standard size” it would have been even thinner. Some of the poetry here is very good.

I thought having the title of the book and name of the author on the top of each page was unnecessary. If one is holding the book in their hand, they can easily gaze at the front cover and remind themselves of the title and author. Having that on every page is overkill. Distracting.


A Climber’s Guide to the Teton Range
Leigh Ortenburger
self published
Palo Alto, CA
©1979

This is a condensed version of the same book but reprinted by author. 144 pages, yellow cover with image of mountain peak on front. Back cover is empty. This sized book is ideal for having in one’s pocket or backpack will climbing, I would imagine. But at 144 pages it is a bit bulky. Full of maps of mountains and possible climbing routes. Perfect for climbers.

chapbooks 27

The Alley Cat on the Page
Kevin Corn (ed.)
Writers’ Center Press
Indianapolis, IN
©1980

Having been influenced by Michael Dirda, Jack Matthew (author of Booking Pleasure) , and Umberto Eco as well as writers of a relatively new genre of bibilomystery, I now look at each of my little mentions or reviews as something like detective notes. Each book telling the story of not only the author, or in the case of an anthology like this, of the authors but also the publisher and the city it was printed in and the time period that it was printed in.

Here’s a 38 page anthology of poets who were part of a reading series in Indianapolis at the end of the 1970’s with brief bios in the back as well as an intro by editor Kevin Corn. The amazing thing about this is how some of the poets who are in this chapbook have become well known poets, like Alice Friman, Elizabeth Cohen, and Marcia Blumenthal Lewton among others. Others have disappeared but had this precise moment of recognition for themselves – back in 1980.

Still
Deborah Burnham
Seven Kitchens Press
Lewisburg, PA
©2008

New publisher, new series. 7” x 5” book, well designed and beautifully made. 24 pages. Poetry is very good. Worth checking out – go to their website, http://sevenkitchens.blogspot.com

The Hound of Heaven
Francis Thompson
Morehouse-Barlow Co.
Wilton, Connecticut
©1947

Tiny book, 5 1/2” x 4”, illustrated by Jean Young. A rare and classic early post-war chapbook. 29 pages. Interesting little book indeed.


Love Among the Mad
Giles Mitchell
University of North Texas Press
Denton, Texas
©1991

This is another in the Trilobite Poetry chapbook series of the University of North Texas which I mentioned in a previous posting. Pages unnumbered. Signed by poet, Giles Mitchell. #78 of 400 printed. Described as a poem sequence.

I Googled Dr. Mitchell and found that he died in 2003. He had been at North Texas for 40 years and was the co-chair of their English department. He was 74 years old at the time of his death. Glad to have this chapbook in my collection now.

chapbooks 26

Chapbooks are now coming from all directions, sometimes on purpose and sometimes quite accidental. For example, I found Young Poet's Primer by Gwendolyn Brooks in a box at the local library where the friends of the library give away books, free. Perfect condition too.

Young Poet's Primer
Gwendolyn Brooks
Brooks Press
Chicago, IL
© 1980

This copy was the third printing, 1986. A slender 15 pages. The most traditional looking chapbook in the ones I am writing about today. Great book for beginning poets.

dying trees
Nathaniel Tarn
Rain Taxi
Minneapolis, MN
© 2003

This green cover, hand-stitched with green thread chapbook (6 1/4” X 8 1/2”) has 31 pages. It’s #135 of 200. There’s an image of a bug on the front cover which, I presume, kills certain types of trees. The work is solid. If one is familiar with Nathaniel Tarn, this is a great chap to complete a collection of his work.


2 chapbooks from Winterling Press
Emma Phillipps
Winterling Press
Auckland, New Zealand
© 2007

Stunning, marvelous, creative packaging; ie, WOW. Winterling Press is the brainchild of New Zealand poet (and publisher) Emma Phillipps and man does she hit her stride with these two small chapbooks. ‘there is always the impossibility of being able to move sideways’ and ‘for we who love, at the instant aw being entirely different from it’ are among the most interesting and well made items I have ever seen or held, period.

Each is a single poem with what appears to be handmade paper covers. The text is witty and quite startling to the eye (as she sprinkles letters on the page like pixie dust) to wondrous effect. The cover to the first of these chapbooks seems intentionally semi-erased as though the author had second thoughts about her own work, yet it resonates with the final verse quite nicely :

“Your thoughts are casting shadows, unlike memory/
(the store) casting shadows in the shape of Letters.”

The half-hearted erasure reminds me of a palimpsest. It’s incompletion leading to strands of thought about the creative process and revisions of work as one goes through it. The text is incredibly smart as well. Kudos to you, Emma Phillipps!

Swimming
Alex Gildzen
a submarine enterprise production
Cleveland, OH
© 1976

I got this chapbook from a poet/friend of mine from Philadelphia. I had not heard of this poet before nor the publishing company, if indeed it was a company or a solo effort – I don’t know. There is a color painting on the front cover by Mary Ann Begland. I love original artwork on covers, don’t you?

This is an interestingly dimensioned chapbook (8 1/2” X 7 1/4”) chapbook. I googled and found the poet still very much alive and working, He informed me that the work here is from a notebook/journal he had been keeping at the time and it contains a good deal of swimming pool imagery thus the title.

The text appears to be typewriting on blue paper. A limited edition of roughly 235 copies were produced. Great find. Thanks for sending it, ryan. I owe ya another interesting one now!



Navigate, Amelia Earhart’s Letters Home
Rebecca Loudon
No Tell Books
Reston, VA
© 2006

This handsome well made chapbook with cover design by Stacy Elaine Dacheux has a lot going for it. It’s unique dimensions (7 1/2” X 7 1/2”) and creative cover (there’s a mirror effect one has to see to get) doesn’t, however, mask the somewhat chaotic nature of the work itself. I found this a beautiful shell for a somewhat empty interior. That said, I highly recommend you search for all No Tell books on their website, and at bookstores everywhere.

oh please, no (2)

I have 5 chapbooks that are headed for the grand PULPER but I want to warn you of before hand;

Nuclear War and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ
Jerry Falwell
Old-Time Gospel Hour
Lynchburg, VA
©1983

Ronnie Reagen-era paranoia and holy viper filth and venom. This is a representative portrayal of the desperate times that were the Republican decade of Reagen and Bush. The horror of fear fed hatred and Bible thumping justifications.

This needs to be pulped. At once!


Ceiling of Mirrors
Shane D. Allison
Cynic Press
Philadelphia, PA
©2003

Mr. Poem
B. Z. Niditch
Cynic Press
Philadelphia, PA
©2004

Wolf Poems
Joseph Farley
Cynic Press
Philadelphia, PA
©2000

Beat Ballad Blues
Joyce Carbone & Joseph Farley
Taggezzine Specials
San Diego, CA

I don’t understand Farley and Cynic Press. They fluctuate between this sort of Xerox copy extremely pitiful junk and really well made and creative work. I am sure that it makes sense to him. But not to me, too many trees were felled for this mess. NO no NO

Chapbooks 25

Autumn Sequence
Jan Freeman
Paris Press
Northamption, MA
©1993

This handsome 8” X 8” chapbook with drawings by Siena Sanderson looks like a museum catalogue. That’s a compliment. Someone was paying attention to details. Great conceptual piece, well executed. It’s a keeper (should you find a copy, only 300 were printed)


The Poet Laureate of People Who Hate Poetry
Kathy Skaggs
Time Barn Books
Nashville, TN
©2007

24 pages, 5 1/2” X 7”. Glossy cover with painting on front and photo of poet with some quotes on the back. I have written about Time Barn before, they are a great little outfit.


Sleeping with the Enemy
Christine Zawadiwsky
floating island publications
Point Reyes Station, CA
©1980

Extremely well made and fetching book. It’s 26 pages with a spine and fantastic. Worth tracking down!


Drunkard Boxing
Linh Dinh
Singing Horse Press
Philadelphia, PA
©1998

Gil Ott touched Philadelphia with his presence for many years. Recently a book award in his honor has been established. Among the many things he accomplished with beginning Singing Horse Press which at the time of this particular release had brought out 20 titles, including Robert Fitterman Among the Cynics which I reviewed some time ago. Philadelphia Publishing Project began with this book in an effort by Singing Horse to present the work of Philadelphia based poets to a more national audience.

This handsome 36 page slightly larger sized book is a fine representation of the work by Linh Dinh, with cover art by the poet. If one were collecting chapbooks of Philly poets, this one ought to be high on the list.



Living in Our Skin
John Michael Irwin
The MIRA Poetry Project
Philadelphia, PA
©1992

I picked this up in the Philadelphia Free library during one of their monthly purges back in 2003. Technically it is a book with a spine but it’s also all of 49 pages long. This copy is an ex library book and in rough shape. I googled the author and the publisher without much success. It’s a Philly thing so those who were on the ground in the city during the early 1990’s might be able to fill me in on this.

I heard that the author had developed AIDS and moved home, but facts are fuzzy and shrouded with faulty memories and indifference. Out of sight, out of mind and ultimately forgotten.

Irwin had brought out a chapbook in 1973 called Between 10th and 11th (mail room books). This is an exploration into a text that I might again return to -

chapbooks like messages in a bottle

Since beginning this blog on the topic of chapbooks I have noticed, among many things, that one thing that keeps popping up in my head while writing is how I am helping to keep the memory of the author and in some cases the publisher alive by merely mentioning them. Chapbooks are often a stepping-stone in one's career as a writer or artist and that's extraordinary then to held a piece of that history. But they are also the history of the moment - whichever moment that might be.

I have had the pleasure of hearing from a number of poets whose work I have written about, often to thank me for doing so. (no one has told me to stop, which is a good thing)

The reasons for creating a chapbook differ widely but there is one thing that is the same with all of them: the need to get the work "out there". Chapbooks then are like bottles tossed into the oceans, filled with the thoughts and musing of the author, and with any luck are found by someone who likes what the poet/writer/artist has done.

And I have had the good fortune to write about them. Of course not all bottles are found. Some sink or are destroyed by storm, which is the risk each of us takes in making something that is distributed beyond our own hands. Some ought to have never been made, and I will continue to call those as I find them; write about them, state SAVE A TREE when necessary, and promptly recycle them for the pulp they are only worth.

Reviewers tend to write well of everything so that they attempt to stay on everyone's good side, but sometimes it's the job of the reviewer/critic to tell the emperor he is indeed naked.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned, more to come.

Chapbooks 24

Artemis’ Bow
Leslie Palmer
Red Lion Chapbook
Denton, TX
©1993

Last year I bought a lot of chapbooks on ebay and this was among them. All the books in the lot were from Denton, Texas which is a town I ate Chinese food in during a blur of a cross country trip I was part of back in early 2001.

Leslie Palmer taught Bible and Classics at the University of North Texas for 25 years. This is her third chapbook. It’s handsome and well made. 17 pages. Signed and numbered. I didn’t know that there were poets in north Texas. Well there are. It’s a nice little collection.



How I Love
Jeremy Robinson
A Quixote-Thoth Magazine Supplement

There is no information about this supplement in the supplement. 7 poems by Jeremy Robinson with a photo on back by Carl Dobkin. There are woodcuts throughout the text by Judith Deibig-Lacaria. Nice paper. Well made.


The Worchester Poems
A Triobite Poetry Chapbook
University of North Texas Press
Denton, TX
©1991

Apparently the English Department at the University of North Texas ran a poetry series in the early 1990’s where they would invite a poet to read, then publish a small chapbook of work that was read and/or representative of the poet’s work. This thin chapbook of unnumbered pages is one of those in the series. Signed and numbered in front. These are prose poems. Interesting work. Cover a bit generic but it’s the thought that counts here.

Life: still under construction
Wilson L Buchert III
Self published
1997

This book is dedicated to the memory of the author’s recently deceased wife. 30 pages. Clip-art cover. Heartfelt and touching. It’s important to remember everyone who has gone to the trouble of creating a book. Here my heart goes out to Buchert and hope that the years have been kind to him

Object 1:4
Zero Degree Press
Lancaster, PA
©1997

This journal was created by the sponsoring organization, the Poetry Continuum, which existed in Lancaster from 1988-1998. It was a clique of writers whose work and language seem interchangeable. Hearing one was like hearing all. This is the first issue. 23 pages. Blue cover with yellow numbers on front. Featuring the work of 9 poets. A nice capsule for that place in time.

Chap*books 23

6 X 6
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
©2002

I have written in the past about this great little collective, Ugly Ducking Presse, which hails from Brooklyn. In this series of little poetry journals, they acknowledge their debt to Russian Constructivism with wallpaper covers of a unique shape and size. The poetry by Joe Elliot, Arielle Greenberg, Lewis Warsh, Carlos Blackburn, Mark Lamoureux, and Alicia Rabins is also fantastic. If one were a collector of fine chapbooks, it would behoove them to get the work by Ugly Duckling!


I’m Going Home
Leslie Breeding
Green Zone Editions
Brooklyn, NY
©2007

Sadly, I have to say that I wish this chapbook had gone home, or stayed home. The cover art is not the best I have seen on a Green Zone book, and the poetry isn’t the strongest I have ever read in a Green Zone chapbook. SAVE A TREE!


A Hollow Destination
Jim Swill
Self published
© 2006

This is a tree wreck. Worse than a train wreck, trees were felled to make this horror. A pulping I did go, a pulping I did go. SAVE A TREE!!!!


In the Late Summer Garden
Barbara Crooker
H&H Press
Middlebury Center, PA
©1998

Barbara Crooker has been mightily busy over the past few decades, having a number of books come out including this well made little gem published by H&H Press. Crooker writes a good deal about Pennsylvania and there is some of that here as well. 23 pages, cover illustration by Natalie Kennedy. A fine little chapbook.

Concerned Poets on the Move
Sharon Leonard Goodman, ed
In The Tradition Press
Philadelphia, PA
©1986

This is one of those important collections that captures a moment, this moment is the aftermath of the terrible Osage Avenue fire that was the result of the confrontation between members of MOVE and the City of Philadelphia. This collection, 33 pages of frustration and rage and heartfelt sense of loss, has a clearly Afro-American hue to its writings and stance but it’s necessary to have this reaction to what some have seen as a clearly forceful response against an Afro-American group. It’s an important document and I wish it were made available again for a wider audience.

oh please, no (1)

just one this time

March-and-Fiesta
Four Short Plays
Wade Savitt
Green Zone
New York, New York
©2008


This has to be one of the worst books that Green Zone has brought out in years. SAVE A TREE!

Chapbooks 22

mystic, Mystic
Joseph W, Wagner
Five Mile Publications
Rowayton, CT.
©1976

This unique chapbook, 8X8 with black & white photos interspersed with text, was the brainchild of Joseph Wagner who is credited with photography and design for this project. The text is a combination of the sea journal of Captain Joshua Slocum, from 1895, and poetry written by a distant relative of the Captain, Robert N Slocomb, Jr.

At the center of this collection is the town and myth of Mystic, Conn. It weaves itself through each page and every image. It’s a great collection and a wonderful concept. Worth the find.

My Dance is Mathematics
JoAnne Growney
Paper Kite Press
Kingston, PA
©2006

Paper Kite Press has been working hard over the past few years to perfect their own vision of what makes a quality chapbook. Here is one. Hand-stitched, this handsome 21 page chapbook is something to aspire to. The poetry is wonderful as well.

Afield
Anthony Hawley
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
©2004

This one is a bit smaller, 6 X 6, bound by twine in what I might call ‘typical ugly duckling fashion’. I happen to like the work presented by Ugly Duckling Presse, and this is no exception. It’s the first collection by Mr. Hawley. It’s reads like a single poem. It might be. There is no directive nor biographic material, must be something about the vagueness of New York City. No permanence or no background; something.

The cover is imprinted with the book’s title, done by linoleum cut, using wraparound cover art. It’s a quite handsome little collection. Hurray once again for Ugly Duckling Presse!

The following two chapbooks deal with the other thing that this blog is about, and that is the act of printing as nearly every chapbook I have written about in the 18 months or so that I have been doing this blog has been printed – some by hand-press, or letterpress, but all by the sweat of someone’s brow and I appreciate and applaud that effort in the name of PRINTING everywhere:

The Bookbinder in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg
C. Clement Samford
Williamsburg Craft Series
Colonial Williamsburg, VA
©1954

This tiny little chapbook was created at a time when Colonial Williamsburg was still being re-invented and revived from the ashes of history and neglect that had left it buried until Rockefeller money and interest brought back the area. The subtitle of this chapbook is ‘An Account of his Life & Times, & of his Craft’ as interpreted by C. Clement Samford, Master Bookbinder of Colonial Williamsburg’. Though a mere 32 pages long, this interesting book details the remarkable history of bookbinding and printing in the Colonial period prior to our Revolutionary War. What I find most remarkable is how precarious life and printing was then – how on the edge of the known world, of “civilized” world they were in Williamsburg, or Philadelphia, or Boston was then – how long they had to wait for printing presses to arrive from Europe, along with parts and supplies. Living on the edge. And now, some three HUNDRED years later, printers still live on the edge in this country. Printers who are attempting to keep the art form alive. Printers who view themselves as artists, craftsmen; magicians with machine and font. Their canvas is the blank page they are about to print onto. Their “paintbrush” is the bound letters prepared to be used.

Then consider how many books are published each year, double that number to account for these little “slivers of nothing’ and one can only marvel that anyone pays any attention at all to chapbooks, their authors, or their publishers. Yet, people do. Cause for celebration to be sure.

An Apology for Printers
Benjamin Franklin
Acropolis Books Limited
Washington D.C.
©1973

Important little book, every publisher should get a copy and read it. This edition was edited with an introduction by Randolph Goodman, prefatory notes by Philip Wittenberg, with engravings by John De Pol, and compiled with design by Harvey Sautenstein. Thanks to all involved in bringing this little book out. To me the most important words are those of Ben Franklin himself at the conclusion of this piece,

“I consider the variety of humors among men, and despair
of pleasing everyone; yet I shall not there leave off printing.
I shall continue my business. I shall not burn my press and
melt my letters.”

No printers should, ever.

Chapbooks 21

Some Natural Things
Glenn W. Cooper
Kamini Press
Stockholm, Sweden
© 2007

The beauty of this blog is when I happen across the “globalization” effect of small presses, take for example the new small press out of Sweden Kamini Press. Poet/artist and now publisher Henry Denander has created a new line of finely made chapbooks. One of the first two is by Australian poet Glenn Cooper. His poetry is well written. The chapbook is very handsome indeed. Cover art by publisher, overall completely worth checking out.

What I most appreciate about the whole thing is that a Swedish publisher brought out an Australian poet’s book that I found out about since this publisher greatly admires a poet that my Press, Plan B Press, just brought out (Mark Terrill’s ‘Something Red). The song “it’s a small world after all” is playing in my head.


First Lie
Ann LaBar Russek
Black Spruce Press
Anchorage, Alaska
©2000

Ann Russek is always writing about where she’s been years after leaving. This collection of poems was written and published in Alaska about her time in the Midwest. Her Alaska poems were written in Pennsylvania, 2 years later, when I met her. This handsome chapbook with a reproduction of the Adam and Eve story is full of fine poems. Well made chapbook, finely crafted poems. Worth finding.



The Unraveller Seasons
Eugene Ostashevsky
Self published
San Francisco, CA
©2000

This 18 page chapbook by Ostashevsky features work created and performed in San Francisco between 1998-1999. The cover was created by Eugene Timerman. It appears to have been self published. Good poems, Handsome chapbook.

Should I Wash My Hands Before or After Love?
Charles London Cyndian
Pygmy Forest Press
Springfield, Oregon
©2007

SAVE A TREE!

Shirazad
Collected Writings from Shirazad.com
Bowmansdale, PA
©2001

This anthology of work is the brainchild of founder and designer Alexandria Hartman. It represents the Harrisburg, PA region and represents it well. Many talented writers are within and tons of lasting images and catchy lines. (a couple of pieces in fact by a poet named stevenallenmay) It’s a time capsule of the late 1990s – a worthy effort brought off marvelously.

Thanks Alexandria, wherever you are!

The Beats (part 1)

I am more than a fan of the Beats, however loosely or broadly defined as you want to make it, I am also a collector of their works. Here again, I favor the chapbooks as they are more rare and often more interesting that full books but....


I will start out discussing :


Sapphobones
Kirby Doyle
The Poets Press
Kerhonkson, NY
(c)1966

Kirby Doyle is a mostly forgotten Beat era poet whose work deserves a second look. This is the first chapbook of his work, a fine chapbook published by The Poets Press with an unattributed illustration on front cover and inside. Pages not numbered. Apparently, the poems in this collection come from various magazine publications from the late 1950s into the 1960s. All of the poems in this collection later appear in The Collected Poems of Kirby Doyle (1983).

This is a well-made and RARE edition of Doyle’s work. Quite the item for collectors.

Empty Mirror
Allen Ginsberg
Totem/Corinth
New York, New York
©1961

Introduction by William Carlos Williams. 47 pages. Staple-bound. Cover image by Jesse Sorrentino. Early poems by Ginsberg. Printed by Totem Press in association with Corinth Books. Interesting to see this early collection, knowing as we do, what became of the young Mr. Ginsberg.

Beards and Brown Bags
Lenore Kandel
Stadtlichter Presse (in German)
Germany
© 2006

This tiny chapbook was sent to me by a German author and collector of Beat Generation books, he is involved with the Stadtlichter Presse, which produces German-language collections of Beat era books. He and I have been swapping books, and this is one that he sent me. I don’t have any of Kandle’s work prior, and now I have one entirely in German. I should have paid more attention to my high school German classes afterall!

11 pages short, illustration on front cover of naked lady in stockings and nothing else. #54 of 100 in this limited edition form. Originally published in Three Penny Press (1959) Illustration accompanied the piece when it first appeared.


Black is Black Blues
Ray Bremser
The Beau Fleuve Series #4
Intrepid Press
Buffalo, NY
© 1971

This tiny chapbook was created by Allen De Loach, editor of Intrepid. Photo on back cover by De Loach. One of 1000 printed. Unnumbered pages. Written in Jan 1970, NY. Much history with the Press, De Loach, Bresmer, and this series. Rare little item indeed.

honey spoon
ted joans
Handshake Press
Paris, France
© 1993

Handshake Press is the workings of poet & writer Jim Haynes, who has lived in Paris for the past 40 years. He became a friend of Ted Joans and published a number of Joans’ work, including this 6” X 5 1/4” book. Published in 1991 by Handshake Press and reprinted in 1993 (this copy is the reprinted one) in Vilnius, Lithuania. There is a photo of a much younger Joans inside back cover and illustrations in the beginning and end of the text. 75 pages. My copy is signed by Joans inside front.

Gasoline
Gregory Corso
Number Eight
The Pocket Poets Series
City Lights Books
San Francisco, CA
© 1958


4 1/4” X 6 ‘14” City Lights edition of ‘Gasoline’ with introduction by Allen Ginsberg. 48 pages. Cover red with white lettering. #8 in series. Great copy of great book.

Sandy Crimmins (1951-2007)

I have not written about any of the chapbooks that Plan B Press has produced, focusing instead on the wide variety of work coming out across the country, and around the world. I must make an exception for String Theory by the late Sandy Crimmins.

We got to know Sandy in Philadelphia, and discussed the possibility of bringing out her first collection as early as 2004. 'String Theory' was a collaborative effort of Sandy and our lay-out and cover design guru, Katy Jean. The book design is similar to the the Harold and the Purple Crayon books except there is a string running throughout the 39 pages. The book is 7" X 5 1/2" with a wraparound cover image of a string that becomes the earth. From there, the combined talents of Sandy and Katy Jean produced a book that launched an entire division at Plan B Press, Stay-At-Home Press. S-A-H is our "art book/book art" division and 'String Theory' is responsible for moving us in that direction.

It was our distinct pleasure to have worked with her, and to become her friend. Shortly after her sudden and untimely death in July, 2007, we decided to establish the Sandy Crimmins award for a first chapbook with strong visual presence, with the initial award being presented in the Fall 2008 season. More details will appear over the next few months on www.planbpress.com website.

Chapbooks 20

The Kimnama
Kim Roberts
Vrzhu Press
Washington, DC
©2007


The Kimnama is the among the first two chapbooks published by this new publisher, Vrzhu Press. The other book is More Than Anything by Hiram Larew. Kim Roberts is a hyper-involved individual in the Washington DC poetry community where she edits the Beltway Magazine. The Kimnama was written during Kim’s travels in India a few years ago, and appropriately enough means ‘the history of Kim’.

I found the writing crisp and approachable. While I am not a big fan of POD (print-on-demand) books, this one is well made and very professional looking. It’s a great book and well worth finding – best way through the Press’s website – Vzrhu Press.



The Good-Neighbor Policy
Charles Ardai
A Midsummer Night’s Press
New York City
©2007


This is an the first offering from a new Press. It is 6 X 4 1/4” mini book, well made (in Spain) 28 pages long. If you are familiar with the author’s work, then I recommend you add it to your library.



Three Poems for Charles Boyer
Joyce Odam
Banshee Press
Philadelphia, PA
©2003


This “chapbook” is actually a 3 poem, as the title suggests, a form of a pamphlet. It’s a well made pamphlet. Perhaps it was offered as a thank you gift or something. There is no price on the cover.



Unbegun
Lisa Alexander Baron
Encircle Publications
Sagamore Beach, MA
©2002


This is a 33 page chapbook, with a clip-art butterfly on the front cover. Although well made, it is not a collection that I can read more than once. HOWEVER, that is merely my own matter of taste. I can see this collection being read by others, and as an early work in the writing career of Ms. Baron, it is worth having.



Staring at the Welder’s Flame
Marlene Dembinsky Rowe
Self published
©1996


Staring at the Welder’s Flame is the first collection of work by Marlene Rowe and it is self published. As such, the only editor is the poet, and often the poet doesn’t know when to stop. This 83 page collection is more a book than a chapbook. The staple-binding looks a bit strained. Much of the work inside is in fact quite good, but again….too much can sometimes be simply too much.



However, the book is also very handsome with illustrations by Martin Heffron. I got my copy from the poet when it was fresh off the presses, and a few years before starting Plan B Press. Ms. Rowe has been very involved in the poetry activity of the coal regions of Pennsylvania where she help to found the Stray Dog poets. I respect what she has accomplished and applaud her book. Looking forward to a follow-up in the near future.

Chapbooks 19

Irritant
Kostas Anagnopoulos
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
© 2007

This is a great little book. Ugly Duckling Presse continues to impress. Anagnopoulos comes at us with 38 bits of poetic observations, short blasts of reality/absurdity. So this is where the New York school is now. Packaged beautifully in this compact punch. Kudos to Ugly Duckling.


Becoming
Emma Rossi
Green Zone Editions
Brooklyn, NY
© 2007

This odd sized book is a wonderful thing. Ms. Rossi writes prose poetry, and writes it well. With an interesting cover by Kate Parnell, hey cover design is hard work!, this book is a great addition to any collection. AND Green Zone actually has its address in the book so one can contact them and thank them for all their wonderful books.



a familiar album
erica kaufman
The New School Chapbook Series
New York, New York
© 2006

It’s great to see a chapbook coming out of the New School Chapbook series. Ms. Kaufman has written a moving, personal tribute to her family is an interesting treatment on the whole notion of ‘the family album’. For me, however, there needed to be more images or none at all. The black & white photos were a tease. As this was one long prose poem, perhaps that determined the number of photos in the book. Yet, the format could have been ‘toyed’ with a bit more.

I also want to note that Ms. Kaufman is involved with running the Belladonna series in New York which has produced many fine chapbooks over the past few year. Bless you, Erica for all your hard work; your rewards await you in heaven.


a gravure and five drawings with text
Elaine Galen & Edward Colker
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
New York, New York
© 1963

This is less a ‘chapbook’ as a loose collection of drawings with text. As the title suggests. The text was provided by Elaine Galen with the etchings by Edward Colker. It’s a beautiful experiment. One that works. One of only 100 made.

Bird in the Overhang
Jennifer Gittings-Dalton
Springfed Chapbook Series
Foothills Publishing
Kanona, NY
© 2007

I must defer to El Lissitzky who wrote in 1931 "The book must be the unified work of the author and the designer. As long as this is not the case, splendid exteriors will constantly be produced for unimportant contents, and visa-versa." Unfortunately, that’s what has happened here. The wonderful poems by Jennifer Gittings-Dalton are wrapped in a frankly boring cover which does no justice to the work. I understand that this is the publisher’s decision, and as this particular volume is number 65 in this series but - he has been milking the cover design for all it is worth. Seriously, invest in hiring someone who can do something ELSE with the covers. PLEASE!!!!!


Hot Water Review 1981
# 4
Peter Bushyeager, editor
Philadelphia, PA
©1981

Bright pink cover with red lettering, Hot Water Review 1981. This is a great collection of text with images, well ahead of its time, featuring Philadelphia legend Joel Colton, who died at Mount St. Helens eruption, along with the editor, Peter Bushyeager, Andrei Codrescu, Richard Kostelanetz, Ron Padgett, and others. It’s a shame that sometimes the most interesting work has the shortest lifespan. This is a great volume. I would imagine rare as hell to find, but – FIND A COPY! (no, you can not have my copy)

chapbooks 18

This time there is a theme! Location, location, LOcation!!!


Closing Night
Jeff Rath
©2004
One Moment in Time (self published)
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

In June 2007, I got to hear Jeff Rath read his work for the first time. Astounding. Where has this poet been? The answer is simple enough: living in a cabin in Lancaster County, PA. This self published chapbook, along with his public readings in Lancaster and elsewhere brought Jeff to the attention of Le Hinton, who runs Iris G. Press out of nearby Wrightsville, PA. Iris G has published a full book of Jeff’s work, including a number of poems from this chapbook, under the title of ‘The Waiting Room at the End of the World’ (Iris G Press 2007)

‘Closing Night’ is a reflective body of work. 20 short poems. Color image on the front cover. Poems dedicated to some of his heroes; Carl Sandburg, Neal Cassidy. He lights a cigarette to each as well as to empty, smoke-filled bars at closing time and one can almost hear the Tom Waits playing in the background. Jeff’s work is real. He isn’t writing about something he hasn’t lived, hasn’t experienced for himself.

Apparently there is an earlier chapbook which is quite out of print, as is ‘Closing Night’, yet I highly recommend you get a copy of ‘The Waiting Room…’ and take in for yourself this remarkable talent.

Poets Pen to Play Pretend
Kyle Simmons (aka boog)
Self published
©2006
Pottstown, PA

boog is a 16 year old phenom. This small chap is very well done for a kid who is also in a band, makes visual art, and takes high school chemistry. I hope to see more of this young man’s work, if poetry remains a strong interest for him. But, we are talking about a teen here, so – time alone will tell.

transfer
Alan King
Self published
©2006
DC/NYC

To the people this collection is dedicated to, and the scenes that are herein mentioned, as well as the artists also seasoned through these poems like dressing on a salad; you know it – you live it – it’s your world. To anyone else, this work is superficial and self-referential. Um, SAVE A TREE.

Experimental Forest
#5 The Paper Sword Episode
©2000
Anneville, PA

In a different phase of my life, my own work appeared in this journal. It’s a journal in the guise of a chapbook and this issue focused on the Paper Sword group from the Harrisburg, PA area. The two editors moved away from the written word for visual arts, and with that shift ended the publication. Yet, in it’s heyday, Experimental Forest did a great job representing and capturing the late 1990s – early 2000’s in Central PA.

37 pages. Front cover illustration by Gene Hosey. Three of the poets associated with the Paper Sword group were also the driving force behind the final item that I will be reviewing this time;

The Blue Guitar
#1
Winter/Spring 1989
Harrisburg, PA

This 11’ x 9’ journal is a little bigger than a chapbook per se, but it is also lean and mean. The apparent brainchild of poet Rick Kearns, this first volume featured the work of Kearns, Lance Clewett, and Gene Hosey; all of whom also appeared in the Experimental Forest #5 issue.

The Blue Guitar was conceived as an art and literature quarterly. This is the first issue. I don’t know what became of the idea or if there were other issues. It was a great start all the same. Harrisburg area needs this type of literary presence, and with the emergence of Iris G Press, I am hopeful that Le Hinton will be able to capture at least a little of that energy in his own Fledging Rag journal that appears alongside the books on Iris G imprint. Please find it in your heart to support Le and Iris G.

chapbooks 17

Kristen Gallagher
Form of a bank
dumbie copy.

Kristen Gallagher is a poet and is the publisher of handwritten press. This small ‘experiment’, this poetic exploration of Buffalo, New York is not identified as a handwritten press book because, at the time of this incarnation of the book, it was not finalized AS a book.
This ‘experiment’ is a combination of text and image that is sparkling the unexpected and the sublime. Worth tracking down, please contact Ms. Gallagher if interested.


About TEN poems
James Hoff
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
©2002

The history of Ugly Duckling Presse is an interesting one, and their relationship with the author dates to the beginning of the Presse. Ugly Ducking has done some interesting work and used Constructionist materials for covers; wall papering for example.

‘about TEN poems’ is an early effort by the Presse, and it feels that way. It is cheaply made, bound by an elongated rubber band, printing Xerox paper (it seems to me) and typed on a typewriter that needed a serious cleaning. For those familiar with the work of James Hoff, this has got to be a keeper. However, I have to say SAVE A TREE.


Walden Vision Quest and other poems
andy levesque
self published
©1995

I found this chapbook in a used bookstore in northern Virginia. It’s signed by the author. Once I googled the author, I found that he is the host of the Walden Pond poetry series as well as a graphic designer. That explains the layout and attempt of the book which has images on each page, presumably to correspond with the text. I have been to the website, http://www.mothwingarts.com/waldenvisionquest/01waldenvisionquest.html, and have seen the way it exists online. However, the book ought to have been in full color to appreciate the complete picture. As it exist as a chapbook, it’s a muddy mess. Neither the web address nor any contact info exists within the chapbook. One does not know that the author has a companion CD, nor that he is the host of the poetry series, or anything else. These oversights are glaring since as I suggest the chapbook by itself is fairly bland.
Mr. Levesque’s work is very naturalistic and reflective. He is trying to carry the torch of Thoreau and mostly does so very well. I would merely suggest that if a reprint were to be done of this book, it be done in full color.




The Homecoming
James Gerald Koch
Old Mountain Press
Vienna, Georgia
©1995

I learned of a Press I had not heard of previously here. I was also “schooled” on poetry by someone who was a Gulf War veteran. I don’t appreciate being schooled by someone who hasn’t been to school (for creative writing, much less for poetry). The poetry here is Dr. Suess rhyme scheme with political and moral overtones. Not the least bit interesting. SAVE A TREE!




What’s With Modern Art?
Frank O’Hara
Mike & Dale’s Press
Austin, Texas
©1999

Great title chapbook, edited by Bill Berkson, and published with permission by the O’Hara estate. Besides the writing, the coolest thing about this chapbook is that the publishers here, Mike and Dale, went on to form Skanky Possum journal which has become well known in literary circles for the writers they have brought to print and the quality of work they have achieved. 33 pages.
Rare to be sure, but worth it for O’Hara completists.

chapbook16

Chapbooks 16


Back from the Park
Denee Dubeau Zah
Green Zone
New York, New York
© 2006

Zah’s chapbook opens with the poem, Ming, which has the opening line “This book is so well-made I can’t bear to write in it”. Whether irony or hyperbole, that’s about the highest praise this book can give. Self praise. The poems are not breathtaking and the stapled 8 1/2” x 11” size makes for an awkward storage issue. If in fact this chapbook was meant to be saved; or stored. The cover is from a beautiful painting by ‘J. Brooke’, uncredited. It’s got to be an early Green Zone chapbook – a learning as one goes book – since the quality of presentation simply is not visual here. Later chapbooks by the same mystery publisher are extremely well done. This one was not. I fear that the tree was wasted in this effort – SAVE A TREE!!!!


Emergency #3
Ammi
New Orleans, LA
© 2000

A 48 page rant by Ammi, whose Emergency #3 I got first-hand when a swarm of New Orleans writers and poets descended on the city of Brotherly Land back in 2002. It was a most curious evening and a series of curious chapbooks on display. I scooped up one of everything and have been picking through them in this blog. I do so as much to bond with the city that that mob of writers came from as for the merit of their work. As is the case here, It’s a bit of whiny post Gen-X angst. SAVE A TREE!!!!!!!!

The Portuguese Letters
Steve Dalachinsky
Sisyphus Press Chapbook series
© 2000

Steve Dalachinsky has been published by several small presses. This effort is one of the better ones. Green cover with cover art by Yuko Otomo. Contains 5 letters (poems). For those familiar with his work from his Free Jazz collaborations, it’s worth collecting his written work as well.


Yukon Poems of Robert W. Service
Sourdough Edition
Filter Press
Palmer Lake, Colorado
© 1967

For those who love to read the poems of Robert Service, or of any of a list of 47 other writers in this series by Filter Press, this book is quite a find. Fully illustrated with period piece images, it sings of the time. Definitely worth it for those in the know. (not my cup of brandy though)


Dances in Dialogue
Sharon Rees Eiferman
Zenobia Press
Bryn Mawr, PA
© 1991

This is a 30-page chapbook with cover image of unknown married couple, parents or grandparents of the author. There are some poems in this collection that are very good and it would have been interesting to see what might have happened had the author concentrated on only poems about writing, the muse, and poetry itself. Yet this is not a tight and focused grouping of poems and the various strands unwound for me upon reading.

Ms. Eiferman has been a fixture on the campus of Philadelphia Community College and has conducted workshops across the region for many years. I am unaware of any additional books of hers, nor of the press itself.