ABs ONLINE

I found a few photographs of our Artists' Books Online working group when I was cleaning up my office. These were taken at UVA in Charlottesville in early December 2006. You can learn more about the project online at: www.artistsbooksonline.org

Johanna Drucker presents the day's lesson plan.

Stretching our legs, returning to work.

Group photo in the library, left to right: Phil Zimmerman, Ernesto Livon Grossman, Clifton Meador, Pattie Bell Hastings, (?), Richard Minsky, Emily McVarish, Kyle Schlesinger, Joan Lyons, Craig Dworkin, Johanna Drucker, Annie (whose last name I'm forgotten).

The think tank, left to right: Richard Minsky, Phil Zimmerman, Emily McVarish, Craig Dworkin, Kyle Schlesinger, Clifton Meador, and Annie. 

Relaxing at Johanna's house. We had delicious Indian food with red wine and people brought recent publications and works in process to pass around the room. I think this was the night of my 30th birthday.

HOWE & LONEY

FANNY HOWE & ALAN LONEY

POETRY PROJECT

Monday, March 2, 8 PM

FANNY HOWE has written several books of fiction and poetry. Her new collection of essays, The Winter Sun, from Graywolf Press and a story called “What Did I Do Wrong?” from Flood Editions, are being published Spring 2009. She has received many awards, including one recently for poetry from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She teaches at Glenstal Abbey in Ireland every summer. 

ALAN LONEY had his first book of poems published in 1971 and began printing in 1974. He was co-winner of the poetry prize in the New Zealand Book Awards in 1977, Literary Fellow at the University of Auckland in 1992, and Honorary Fellow of the Australian Centre at the University of Melbourne 2002-2006. He was Convener of the Conference on the History of the Book in New Zealand at University of Auckland 1995. Loney has published 11 books of poetry, and eight books of prose with a recent emphasis on the nature of the book. Fine editions of his work have been issued by Granary Books, The Janus Press, Barbarian Press, Red Dragonfly Press, Pear Tree Press and The Holloway Press. Formulations of Loney's thinking about the relations between poetry and typography have appeared with Cuneiform Press in Meditatio: the printer printed: manifesto; The printing of a masterpiece published by Black Pepper Press; and Each new book, issued by Peter Koch at Hormone Derange Editions. A short account of Loney's printerly life and a checklist of his first 50 printed books can be found in The Private Library, Winter 2007, and his most recent book of poems is Day's Eye (Rubicon Press, Canada 2008). He was Printer in Residence at the University of Otago for 2008, and an exhibition of his books was held Sept-Oct 2008 at the Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand. Website: www.electioeditions.com

Introductions by Stacy Syzmaszek and Kyle Schlesinger

The Poetry Project is located at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery
131 East 10th Street at Second Avenue
New York City 10003
Trains: 6, F, N, R, and L.
info@poetryproject.com
www.poetryproject.com

Admission is $8, $7 for students/seniors and $5 for members (though now those who take out a membership at $95 or higher will get in FREE to all regular readings).

We are wheelchair accessible with assistance and advance
notice. For more info call 212-674-0910.

Ephemera like this doesn't show up in the mail every day. Jon Beacham printed this broadside on his Vandercook at Hermitage to commemorate a reading by Ron Horn and Larry Fagin this Saturday at the best bookstore this side of the Mississippi. 

If you can't escape from the city, at least take a break and treat yourself to Melanie Nielson and Sara Wintz at 4 at the BPC.

Then extend your break and head over to PPOW in Chelsea for the opening of Carolee Schneemann's latest exhibition from 6 to 8.

Last snapshot I received from Bob Creeley, sent to me in Berlin from somewhere near Marfa, Texas. 

DELAWARE MEMORANDA by RICHARD OWENS (blurb)

Delaware Memoranda is a lush crosscurrent marked by the glow of history’s flame and memory’s flicker. In these buoyant illuminations, etymology carves away at a dialogic swerve that is the person, that is the conversation, that can neither be nor step in the same river twice (the bedrock has hints of Carl O. Sauer, David Jones, Lorine Niedecker, Ed Dorn, and Vilém Flusser). When ‘they say unending sameness also governs our grip on the past’ Owens buckles down and moves—faster than any blurb.

— Kyle Schlesinger

Get it here.

SOME SITES (from A to W)

American Print History Association

Briar Press

Center for the Study of Political Graphics

Dead Media Project

DIY POETRY PUBLISHING COOP

Ellen Lupton

FontFont

Franklin Furnace

Ginko Press

Hyphen Press

International Dada Archive

J. Henry Chunko

Kyle Schlesinger at home

Linotype University

Media History Project

New Media Institute

Other Music

Penn Sound

Reality Studio

Small Press Distribution

TypeCulture

UBUweb

Vandercook Press Info

WNYBAC

PERMANENT RECORD (blurb)

Stripped down to what sticks, the patterns that emerge from these discreet accretions are as satisfying to the ear as they are to the eye. Modular lines are the daily grind; finding their way to work and reworking their ways, potshards and particulars have an inexplicable emotional edge, an edge that has little to do with ‘self-expression’ as such. Let the language fend for itself, “Off on / Signs of life / Clear out.” This will go on Ted Greenwald’s Permanent Record.

— Kyle Schlesinger

Ted Greenwald's first e-book is now available at Little Red Leaves.

http://littleredleaves.com/ebooks/

Larry Fagin & Ron Horning reading their poems at Hermitage

Saturday February 21 2009 7:30

Larry Fagin was the co-director of the St. Marks Poetry Project from 1971-1976, during which time he edited and published Adventures in Poetry, a mimeo magazine featuring many poets of that scene and beyond. He founded the Danspace project and directed it from 1975-1980. He has published numerous books of poetry over the past four decades from Presses such as Poltroon Press, Full Court Press, Big Sky, and Angel Hair Books. He lives and works in NYC.

Ron Horning has had poems published in various journals. He was the editor of the journal Just Before Sailing, and is currently the publisher of Untitled, out of Beacon NY where he lives and writes. Ron Horning is from Akron Ohio.

A limited broadside has been printed for the occasion featuring one poem from each poet. They will be available at the reading, or for $12 postpaid. If interested please inquire.

http://hermitagebeacon.googlepages.com/home

RUSSELL MARET

APHA-New York Event Announcement:

RUSSELL MARET, "LETTER FORMS AS CONTENT"

A show and tell with letter designer and book artist Russell Maret; part of the Society of Scribes' 2009 annual meeting.
Event co-sponsored by APHA-New York and the Type Directors Club.

Thursday, Februrary 26, 6-8 pm
Type Directors Club
347 West 36th Street, Suite 603 (between 8th & 9th Aves.)
New York City

Refeshments to follow.

Admission $10/$5 students * FREE for members of APHA-New York, the Society of Scribes, and the Type Directors Club.

RSVP director [at] tdc [dot] org

THE NEW YORK SCHOOL by CHRISTINA STRONG (blurb)

Where there is poetry there is typography. These harmonious, and occasionally dissonant activities, share a substantial history with one another. From the Dadaists to the Futurists to De Stijl, the early 20th century was a period ripe with collaboration between poets, printers and artists that transcended the posh literalism of the livre d’artiste. Picking up after the war, the New York School’s literary and visual artists again succeeded in pushing one another to see beyond their individual notions of art, self and originality, by complicating each other’s work as never before. That creative energy continues today in poet Christina Strong’s The New York School. Released in 1957, the same year as Frank O’Hara’s Meditations in an Emergency, Adrian Frutiger’s neo-grotesque sans-serif was the perfect choice for Strong’s poem. The clean, unadorned strokes prevent the complex irony of the poem from rising to the surface too quickly; submerged in the multiplicity of ‘the now,’ this is one of the special books amongst special books. Verve, vision and spontaneity were, and are, the raw ingredients essential to any successful collaboration, and they’re all here in this flamboyant book designed, illustrated and produced by Karen Randall.

— Kyle Schlesinger

NYC · 01.30.09

A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER: My most recent book is Christina Strong’s The New York School. The single poem by Ms. Strong can only be characterized as an invective in the best Catullan tradition. But even the most intense of invectives always contain a kernel of affection towards the object of ridicule, and so the poem is also in some sense an homage to the New York School. Ms. Strong's language is simultaneously brutal and playful, breaking off and twisting sentences in surprising directions. I have not attempted to replicate any actual New York School artist's work, although there is layered printing of found art in the manner of a Rauschenberg silkscreen, as well as repetition and seriality in the manner of Jasper Johns. There are also many instances of abstract hand-inked color fields that may echo something of Jackson Pollack or Helen Frankenthaler. The poem has been printed in small segments on 28 two-page spreads in large hand-set univers.

More about this and other fine books at the Propolis Press website: www.propolispress.com   

STAN APPS AND KAREEM ESTEFAN

STAN APPS AND KAREEM ESTEFAN 

POETRY PROJECT

MONDAY 02.23.2009 8:00 pm

Stan Apps and Russell Reed present "Princess of the World in Love," a song-cycle adapted from the book of the same name. Previous collaborations include "Oracular Vagina Takes Her Place Among World Leaders" (a series of operatic skits) and "The Book Beneath the Covers" (poems and drawings, unpublished). Stan Apps is a poet and essayist living in Los Angeles. His books of poems include soft hands (Ugly Duckling Presse), Princess of the World in Love (Cy Press), Info Ration (Make Now Press) and God's Livestock Policy (Les Figues Press). A collection of essays is underway from Combo Books. Stan co-curates the Smell Last Sunday of the Month reading series and assistant curates The Ups and Downs, a short-term art installation series. Dr. Russell Reed attended Baylor University and The University of Texas at Austin where he received his D.M.A in composition in 2005. While attending The University of Texas, he studied composition with Dan Welcher and Donald Grantham and served as the assistant director of The New Music Ensemble. Since graduating, Dr. Reed has received many notable honors and performances including a state sponsored performance and exhibition at the historic home of Alexander Scriabin in Moscow. In October of 2007 he premiered several of his new works for piano in recital in Monterrey, Mexico. Dr. Reed resides in Austin.

Kareem Estefan’s writing has appeared in President's Choice, Rain Taxi, Sustainable Aircraft, and Boog City. From October 2007 to October 2008, he hosted Ceptuetics, a weekly radio reading/interview series for conceptually innovative poetry, which is archived at PennSound.

The Poetry Project is located at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery
131 East 10th Street at Second Avenue
New York City 10003
Trains: 6, F, N, R, and L.
info@poetryproject.com
www.poetryproject.com

Admission is $8, $7 for students/seniors and $5 for members (though now those who take out a membership at $95 or higher will get in FREE to all regular readings).

We are wheelchair accessible with assistance and advance notice. For more info call 212-674-0910.

PRINT FETISH

another terrific blog c/o Jed Birmingham

POETS IN A LENS, BY DAVID JAMES

POETS IN A LENS

Little Red Leaves

FOUR NEW E-BOOKS AT LITTLE RED LEAVES

Harold Abramowitz's Technique of Bandaging and Splinting
Susan Gevirtz's Prosthesis : : Caesarea
Ted Greenwald's Permanent Record
Yedda Morrison's Darkness (chapter 1) 

Series Editors: C.J. Martin, Ash Smith, and Julia Drescher
The series features both full-length and shorter collections, some reprints and others published here for the first time.

plus: LITTLE RED LEAVES #3

Featuring work from Lisa Jarnot, Sarah Campbell, Erica Kaufman, Dennis Phillips, Sun Yung Shin, Jocelyn Saidenberg, Elizabeth Barbato, Richard Kostelanetz, Bonnie Emerick, Adam Golaski, Jessica Wickens, Bronwen Tate, David Hadbawnik, Tung-Hui Hu, Shiela Murphy, Linh Dinh, Eric Baus, and Rick London.

Also in this issue:
an excerpt from a collaboration between Erica Lewis and Mark Stephen Finein
poems from Ibrahim Nasrallah (trans. Rick London and Omnia Amin)
an excerpt from Norma Cole's Do the Monkey

If you're in the Bay Area, be sure to check out the Second Biennial Codex Book Fair 

YEDDA MORRISON & RICHARD OWENS at the POETRY PROJECT

 Monday, February 9, 8 PM

Yedda Morrison & Richard Owens

Poetry Project

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Montreal-based writer and visual artist Yedda Morrison joins us to celebrate the publication of Girl Scout Nation (Displaced Press, 2008). Her other books include My Pocket Park (Dusie Press, 2007) and Crop (Kelsey Street Press, 2003). Morrison has exhibited her visual work in the United States and Canada, and is
represented by Republic Gallery in Vancouver, BC. She is currently working on a mixed-media project entitled How Flora Became an Ornament. 

Richard Owens: Born Perth Amboy General Hospital, New Jersey in 1973. Dislocated at Sussex County Vocational Technical School and William Paterson College. US Army 1997 – 2001 (medic). Assigned three and a half years to post in Waegwan, south Korea, with intervening trips to Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and brief jump to visit Cid Corman in Kyoto. Unemployment and odd industrial jobs. Further dislocated at Carmela Soprano's alma mater Montclair State University. Farmworker advocate in black dirt region of Orange County, New York. Presently relocating through the University at Buffalo. Poetry, essays and reviews variously published online and in little magazines. Editor: Punch Press and Damn the Caesars.

The Poetry Project is located at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery
131 East 10th Street at Second Avenue
New York City 10003
Trains: 6, F, N, R, and L.
info@poetryproject.com
www.poetryproject.com

Admission is $8, $7 for students/seniors and $5 for members (though now those who take out a membership at $95 or higher will get in FREE to all regular readings).

We are wheelchair accessible with assistance and advance notice. For more info call 212-674-0910.

AN INTERVIEW WITH UGLY DUCKLING PRESSE

I’ve been interested in the relationship between poetry and typography for years; not concrete poetry per se, but the accretion of facts and factors that shape the face of poetry, past, present and future. So when John Colletti asked me if I would like to interview someone for the Poetry Project Newsletter, I immediately thought of Anna Moschovakis and Matvei Yankelevich Ugly Duckling Presse. A nonprofit art and publishing collective producing small to mid-size editions of new poetry, translations, lost works, and artist's books, UDP has been a source of personal inspiration and comradery since I became acquainted with their work. We met at the UDP headquarters on a grey November day to discuss poetry, books and beauty. The first third of the conversation, prompted by my first question, appears here, edited for clarity. Order a copy of the Poetry Project Newsletter #218 February/March 2009 from the Poetry Project.

This sunny, sad morning, I took the subway to the Lower East Side to attended the funeral of one of New York's great artists, George Schneeman. I feel very fortunate to have met him a little better than a year ago when I asked Bill Berkson if he would be interested in displaying one of his collaborations in an artists' book exhibition I curated with Craig Dworkin at Columbia College. He immediately suggested a unique book that he and George were working on titled Ted Berrigan. We went to George's home and studio on St. Mark's Place on a number of occasions, special occasions. The last time we dropped in, the idea was that Bill and George would create a title page for the book and one final spread to accommodate Bill's line (borrowed from Ted, if I remember correctly): "Poetry should be something real - not just an interesting lie to tell your mother." Bill suggested that George paint a Madonna and Child to accompany the quote. George thought it over for a minute and said How about a bow and arrow instead?

Cuneiform will publish Ted Berrigan this spring.

New York Times obituary is here.