coincidence is the better part of mystery

Noting these two chapbooks: hope you see the same pattern on cover as I have.

The Reach
Robie Liscomb
Petagram Press
Wisconsin
(c)1979

A Calendar
Robert Creeley
Morning Coffee Chapbook Five
West Branch, Iowa
(c)1984


So, my curiosity was piqued when I looked at these books - one was buried in a lovely stack of books sent to me by Robie Liscomb and the other, a recent find on Ebay, one of the few chapbooks produced during the transition from Toothpaste Press to Coffee House Press. The Reach came first. It's just interesting to me that both publishers used the identical cover stock. One horizontal and the other diagonal.

2 Poems by Jeffrey Wright (1982)

2 Poems by Jeffrey C Wright
Drawings by Yvonne Jacquette
The Toothpaste Press
West Branch, Iowa
(c)1982

Very handsome chapbook with ink drawings by Yvonne Jacquette. Signed by author and illustrator. #73 of 375 printed. Designed and printed by Allan Kornblum.

from an email exchange I had with Allan Kornblum, founder of Toothpaste Press & Coffee House Press, "I’m also particularly fond of 2: Poems by Jeffrey Wright and Drawings by Yvonne Jacquette. I finished the latter just before a book fair. The ink coverage was so intense, that we actually baked the pages in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour, to help dry the ink so we could sew them up and bring them to the fair." Beautifully done, rare and worth the search!

Here By Choice Agnetha Falk (1980)

Here by Choice
Agnetha Falk
Trigram Press
West Yorkshire, England
(c) 1980

It was nearly a year ago now that I discovered Asa Benveniste and his work. I almost launched into posting info about him and his Press again here when I Google-checked myself. Instead, I will write about a book that I came across sometime later, this chapbook published by Trigram Press! Agnetha Falk was Asa's partner and this book came out in 1980. I got it from a gentleman in England, where Asa lived most of his adult life and where he is buried.

This was Agnetha's first published collection of poems. The image on the front cover comes from a drawing by Ms. Falk. 24 pages. Staple-bound. Ms. Falk originally came from Stockholm. From the publisher Henry Denander I learned that Agnetha was also married to Jack Hirschman. He had met them in Stockholm at a reading once.

Almost Perfect Forms by Michael Stewart (2009)

Almost Perfect Forms
Michael Stewart
Dossier Series
Ugly Ducking Presse
Brooklyn, NY
(c)2009

The Dossier Series is a relatively new direction for UDP to venture into. This particular effort looks like a dossier in fact. Visually interesting. However, I think the effort is wasted on the subject matter. The word "and" as constellations? really? patterns on the page or in the sky or ???? Not sure.

The work here might have made its way into Stewart 2011 book The Hieroglyphics published by Mud Luscious Press. I can't rightly say. Best to check it out yourself

Annick Press, Ltd. Willowdale, Ontario, CANADA

Henry and the Cow Problem
Iona Whishaw & Chum McLeod
Annick Press
Willowdale, Ontario, Canada
(c)1995

Jonathan Cleaned Up-The He Heard A Sound
Robert Munsch & Michael Martchenko
Annick Press

(c)2002

The Paper Bag Princesss
Robert Munsch & Michael Martchenko
Annick Press

(c)2003


I found these three mini booklets in the bottom of a bag of books that had been donated to the local library. Wonderful little kids books. 3 1/2 X 3 1/2. Fully colored illustrations. All of them were in their multiple reprintings. Great little booklets.

Somewhere Music, Somehow Song (1981)

Somewhere Music, Somehow Song
Michael Tarachow
The Fathom Press
Chicago, IL
(c)1981

A few months ago I won a lot of small press books on Ebay and one of the items was by Robie Liscomb. It was published by Fathom Press. So, I sought out and found Robie Liscomb and he gave me a taste of the history of Fathom Press and shortly after indulged me greatly with a fantastic packet of work by Fathom Press which Liscomb was intimately involved with. Among the items sent to me was this fantastic little chapbook by Michael Tarachow.

Beautifully made using a letterpress in February 1981, this book was done by Tarachow and Liscomb using handmade paper and images of pressed plants from around "the house". Money from NEA was used in the making of this chapbook and I must say it was money well spent. The backstory involving the participants, their mutually interwoven Presses, and their histories will be told in greater detail as I go through the treasure trove of chapbooks received from Liscomb.

Handmade green endsheets. Unpaginated. One of 240 made. It's an incredible find.

Totemic by Deirdra Baldwin (1983)

Totemic
Deirdra Baldwin
Burning Deck
Providence, RI
(c)1983

Great chapbook. Unpaginated. Not familiar with this poet but very familiar with the Press. I did a quick Google search and found that she is currently a Yahoo contributor and is a published poet with five books, including Gathering Time, The Emerging Detail, An Occasional Suite, Totemic, and Inside Outside, with poems by Deirdra Baldwin and drawings by artist Gene Davis, and ninety individual poems published by regional literary presses, magazines, and journals including Ploughshares and New Directions. She is the recipient of a Wurlitzer Foundation Fellowship and honorary positions as a Poet in the Schools in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. She has served on the editorial board of Washington Writer's Publishing House and The Word Works, a poetry publishing house and literary organization of which she is a founding member. She has experience in film, video, and audio production, has produced and directed several independent dramatic projects, as well as radio advertising campaigns, and is currently marketing a novel called EDGY, while working on a second. She lives in Taos, New Mexico, because everyone waves to one another and says hello.


Burning Deck is the handiwork of the Waldrops, Keith and Rosemarie. They founded the Press in 1961. Known for publishing innovative poets, Burning Deck also publishes two series of translation: Serie d'ecriture presents a new book of contemporary French poetry each year; Dichten= presents an annual volume of contemporary German writing

This chapbook is #236 of 500 printed. Prose poetry.

North Ridge Lore (1981)

North Ridge Lore
Rosalind Bovey, Chairman
North Ridge Citizens Association
Alexandria, VA
(c)1981

72 page chapbook of local history. Wraparound photo on front cover. Filled with B&W images, maps, and remembrances throughout.

Local histories do well in the chapbook format. I have been collecting them for awhile. There is interest in them from collectors. This one is 62 pages of history with 3 pages of ads, which are now dated, signifying a moment in time. The area involved is a section of Alexandria between Duke Street and King St. (route 7) which was developed in the 1920s. This history is fairly extensive and important for anyone interested in the history of Alexandria as well as Northern Virginia. Worth the while!

The Complete Failure of Everything Jose Padua (2008)

The Complete Failure of Everything
Jose Padua
The Apathy Press Poets
Baltimore, MD
(c)2008

In addition to being a blogger on the subject of chapbooks, I am a publisher and I have been handed my share of Rap/ Spoken Word/ Slam poetry over the years. My response has been that most of the poets who work in this field ought not have a book but need a CD so that the "reader" can appreciate the work as it is performed. Mostly the poets who live in this world think of their work on the page as secondary to their performance of the work on stage. For cash prices. I remember the scene in the film 'Slam Nation" in which an editor at St. Martin's Press is commenting on the lack of sales worthiness that slam poets are on the page. I have to agree to a point. I haven't seen a book of poetry that does justice to the performative nature of a good Spoken Word poet.

This brings me to the wonderful poet Jose Padua who is not being served well by the 2008 chapbook The Complete Failure of Everything. The quality of the chapbook is minimal, to be kind. Jose needs a CD to capture him at his best. His voice is just incredible. His work when spoken makes the experience nearly perfect. On the page, on the page as presented by The Apathy Press, I would not be interested in his work. They don't present him well. If I didn't know who he was, I wouldn't bother finding out anything else about him. However, I do know his work and have heard him read and that experience is incredible! A must for any lover of poetry.

Medieval Scenes by Robert Duncan (1978)

Medieval Scenes
Robert Duncan
The Kent State University Libraries
Kent, Ohio
(c)1978

Preface by author, Afterword by Robert Bertholf. Unpaginated. Staple-bound chapbook. Containing material from the 1950 publication as well as work from 1959. Much has been made of this collection. A definite "find".

Toothpaste Press, Ugly Duckling Presse, Fathom Press

plenty of chapbooks to discuss including fabulous chapbooks by Toothpaste Press and until recently unknown Press, Fathom Press, and one of its foremost persons in Robie Liscomb, as well as a stack of newly published chapbooks by Ugly Ducking Presse.

coming up soon!

Swarming Buzzwords for the HoneyBlood (2006)

Swarming Buzzwords for the HoneyBlood
Marvin Scott Marvin
self published
Las Vegas, NV
(c)2006

32 page staple bound chapbook. Others have expressed admiration for this one. I don't see it. The quality of the presentation is god awful. The poetry isn't very good. SAVE A TREE!!!

Now I Become Myself by May Sarton (1992)

Now I Become Myself
May Sarton
rumble press
Burlington, VT
(c)1992


Hand printed. Designed, set, printed and bound during the winter of 1991-92 by Bruce Conklin. This is number 334 of a run of 400. Unpaginated. Purple hand made cover paper. Beautiful chapbook.

Two From the Book by Hal W. Trovillion (1956)

Two From the Book
Hal W. Trovillion
Trovillion Private Press
Herrin, IL
(c)1956

Staple-bound chapbook. Christmas gift by printer Hal W. Trovillion to friends of his and his wife, Violet. This copy is #32. Unpaginated. Yellow cover stock. Extremely rare item.

The Scottish Cafe by Susanna H. Case (2002)

The Scottish Cafe
Susanna H. Case
Slapering Hol Press
Sleeping Hollow, NY
(c)2002

The cover is a perfect representation of a composition book. 37 page chapbook well-made by Slapering Hol Press, the imprint of the Hudson Valley Writers Center. The chapbook was the winner of their annual contest. All the same, it's glaring to see that her name was misspelled on the cover, title page, and throughout : It's Susanna, not Susan. Yet there it is: neon flashing MISTAKE MISTAKE MISTAKE.

Land's End by Gwen Worley (1976)

Land's End
Gwen Worley
The Four Oceans Press
Maplewood, NJ
(c) 1976

8 page Lesbian story. Chapbook from a very small press. Not much known about author. Cover design handsomely done by Philip Coppola.

Pantomime by Wayne McNeill (1974)

Pantomime
Wayne McNeill
Catalyst
Scarsborough, Ontario, Canada
(c)1974

Unpaginated. Staple-bound chapbook. Nice little collection of poems, I especially like "The Reading". Rare chapbook.

the silver book by Jen Bervin (2010)

The Silver Book
Jen Bervin
Ugly Duckling Presse
Brooklyn, NY
©2010

It seems a simple enough chapbook to write about : this book represents the physical manifestation of an installation by Jen Bervin entitled Mississippi, or does it? I wanted to make sure that I sound the least bit intelligent when writing about the chapbook so I contacted Ms. Bervin who told me that chapbook was a “through-line” more than a representation of another work, like, say the installation. He

This confusion or hesitation on my part comes from the timing of receiving a packet of chapbooks for reviewing from Ugly Ducking Presse at roughly the same time that Plan B Press was releasing the first chapbook by Paul Fauteux entitled “The Best Way to Drink Tea”. Fauteux’s chapbook is basically a Play Bill for a performance piece created for the poem “The Best Way to Drink Tea” by Paul Fauteux. He collaborated with his mates Ben Nicholson and Spencer Leach to create a multimedia conceptual piece (film + reading + music). Having witnessed the performance piece and published the text for it as a book, I was interested in how Ms. Bervin and Ugly Duckling Presse handled a similar situation with her The Silver Book .

I received a review copy from UDP which I found wanting. The cover was white with silver lettering, stating the title and words REVIEW COPY at the bottom. At the end of the copy were the publisher info and description of the book which included the following: “the covers are printed on the same silver paper used in bervin’s installation, the river, 230 ft. panoramic scale model of the Mississippi river composed of handsewn sequins, silver paper, and thread”. Okay, fine, I suppose I was suppose to imagine the cover and the installation while reading the text – since the text was all that was present in front of me.

But knowing that there was more I needed to see the “whole package”, the chapbook was it was released to the world. I bought a copy – silver paper cover with letter pressed title on front cover. Otherwise, it looked nearly identical to the review copy. Okay, there was one noticeable difference: the paper stock was marginally better. I now reference Ms. Bervin’s own description of the text as a “through-line”. It is not an exact representation of the installation nor was it meant to be. I have to contrast this with “The Best Way to Drink Tea” which uses a still from a film by Nicholson for the piece: the visualization of the poem, itself altered to include a teabag in water, tinted blue, added by the Creative Director of Plan B Press.

What I am curious to examine in these cases is how one medium is presented in another. How is an installation “presented” on the page, how a performance piece can be “presented” in book form. Do they capture the other art form or merely document the existence of the other? Can words alone describe images, visual arts?

Greying Ghost Press

During the summer of 2010, I discovered Greying Ghost Press and got a small booklet from them. I didn't just receive a booklet however. I got a packet of material. Some that made sense and some truly bizarre pieces of ephemeral. Theirs is an interesting tale, you should check it out here:

Greying Ghost Press

afterlife 9 by s. c. virtes

afterlife 9
s. c. virtes
self published
(c)2006


The chapbook proves (again) that anyone with a computer and printer can produce a chapbook. It looked better on ebay than it does in hand. Photocopy express, I'm talking! SAVE A TREE!