♥ A Passion for Poetry ♥
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A broad selection of poetic voices for widely
varying tastes -- from classic modes to lyrical
outbursts to solemn examinations of the
human heart, and, yes, sweeping epic poetry
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"It is absurd to think that the only way to tell if a
poem is lasting is to wait and see if it lasts. The
right reader of a good poem can tell the moment it
strikes him that he has taken an immortal wound--
that he will never get over it."--Robert Frost
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Contents: 1/Poetry in Mostly Classical Modes. 2/Elegant Poetics.
3/Inspired by Europe. 4/Poems for Lovers. 5/ Science & Poetry.
6/The Darker Heart of Poetry. 7/Epic Works.
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| art by Bertha Rogers |
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1/≈Poetry in Mostly Classical Modes≈
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THE ARCHITECT, THE PHYSICIAN, & THE POET, by Rolf Sigford.
The evolution of a physically intense, intellectually passionate
romance through the lush, enchanting language of Shakespearean
and Petrarchan sonnets which remain true to their classical
models. Yet the poetry is in modern American idom. Art by
Stephen Dwoskin. 64 pages. Letterpress softcover: $15.
ISBN: 0-913559-93-8. Limited (100 copies) hardcover edition:
$35. ISBN: 0-913559-94-6.
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BALLADS FOR THE POSSESSED, by Harry Smith. A rich collection of
story-poems on the nature of good and evil. Printed on antique
presses from handset 12 pt. Baskerville. Valencia Red heavy
paperback cover stock with Mohawk Vellum text. 78 pages.
Letterpress softcover edition 100 copies signed by the author:
$20. Letterpress regular edition: $10. ISBN: 0-913559-06-7.
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BEOWULF, translated & illustrated by Bertha Rogers. The first
volume of Beowulf to be both translated and illustrated by a
woman. Presented in a handsome letterpress edition printed
from hand-set metal type. "Roger's ten illustrations supply
insight into her treatment of the translation . . . derived from Anglo-
Saxon art . . . yet with a contemporary edge."--CHELSEA REVIEW.
136 pages of Cool White Mohawk Vellum. Letterpress softcover
edition: $20. ISBN: 0-913559-58-9.
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CONFESSIONS OF A RATIONAL LUNATIC, by Marcus Rome.
This fifth collection of poetry by a NYC psychoanalyst grips
and holds onto the reader's psyche through an urgent,
seductive, sometimes terrifying voice just beneath the
surface of every line. The rhythms and refrains have been
likened to the throbbing of blood through the brain as the
poet leads us through dark corridors of the mind in search
of love and security. . . Wood engravings by Frank C. Eckmair.
96 pages. Letterpress softcover: $16. ISBN: 9780913559987.
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DAIMONION SONATA, by Steven Owen Shields. Using traditional
forms and metrics, the poet presents an allegorical world that is
fantastic yet credible. These parables of complex beauty and
spiritual longing are created on the wings of a remarkable range
of poetic styles, from the Keatsian ode to the villanelle. Engraving
by Rose Orcutt, featuring hand-coloration. 64 pages. Letterpress
softcover: $15. ISBN: 0-913559-92-x.
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HUMAN/NATURE, by Lance Lee. The poet's latest
collection "bears witness to a lyricism rare in much of today's
writing. His 'Actaeon' is a monumental poem, weaving ancient
myth and modern angst with a robust command of language,
evidence of a master at work"--Jackson Wheeler, Editor, SOLO.
"Lee's great strength is his ability to look with unflinching
honesty at the condition of being human . . ." --Myra Schneider,
author, Insisting on Yellow . . . " Brings voices as diverse as
Hannibal, Rembrandt, Orpheus and Eurydice into the modern
world."--Martin Bax, Editor, AMBIT. "Browning pushed his
impulse to write large, and this author follows suit..."--
David Castleman, THE NEW FORMALIST. 120 pages.
Trade paper: $16.95. ISBN: 9780913559994.
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JACK'S BEANS, by Tom Smith. Poetry presented in the
unique, compelling format of a five-year diary. "This work builds
upon itself eloquently, allowing the reader to explore, hand-in-hand
with Smith, domesticity and decadence, the consumptive and
restorative yearnings of youth, love and that which thwarts it..."
--Yvonne Daly, Prof., San Francisco State University... "By turns
sad, profound, funny, incisive, poetic and moving". . .
--George Drury Smith, founder/editor, BEYOND BAROQUE.
Striking cover art by Anita Lobel. 372 pages. Softcover offset
edition: $29.95. ISBN: 978-0135599-70.
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LONGING FOR LAURA, translated by AM Juster. Delicious
translations of a shrewd selection of Petrarch's love sonnets.
"Juster's translations remain true to the Italian and Petrarch's
abbaabba rhyme scheme..."--Prof. Sam Maio, California State
University. Hand-colored wood engravings by Frank C. Eckmair
grace this charming book. 56 pages. Printed from metal type
on Mohawk Vellum. Letterpress soft: $14. ISBN: 0-913559-70-9.
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SHADWELL HILLS, by Rebecca Lilly. A crisply articulated
collection of haiku by a writer whose dedication to and
intimacy with this poetic form, backed up by solid esthetic
and philosophical underpinnings, provides the reader sometimes
serene, sometimes dark glimpses of our relationship with the
natural world. "Her poems make you feel that they have been
the result of long thought, and that no one has seen things in
quite this way before..."--MODERN HAIKU. Original wood
engravings by Frank C. Eckmair. 72 pages. Letterpress
softcover printed on Mohawk Vellum: $16. ISBN: 0-913559-79-2.
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2/≈Elegant Poetics≈
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THE MELANCHOLY OF YORICK, by Joel Chace. Sharply carved
poems that combine a disarming elegance with a classical
conceit in works such as "A Whoreson Mad Fellow," "Prince
Hamlet's Ghost," and "Schubert's Leider." Chace is a former
winner of the Persephone Press Award. Wood engravings by
Frank C. Eckmair amplify the mood of this remarkable poetic
experience. (See The Gallery on this website for the cover of
this book.) 64 pages. Letterpress soft: $12.50.
ISBN: 0-913559-44-x.
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THE MOONLIT DOOR, by Frank Fagan. A selection of fresh,
wise, wry poems of human connections, including their
aspirations, fears and dreams, with this poet's special brand
of insight brushed with humor. Collection includes Fagan's
important earlier poem, "Four-Part Invention." Two
graphically exciting wood engravings by Frank C. Eckmair.
Letterpress softcover: $14. ISBN: 0-913559-76-8.
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RISKING THE WIND, by Warren Carrier. An autumnal poetic
flight carried off with aplomb, including vivid insights and a
deft touch and respect for the word. "A sure intelligence, a
perceptive sensibility, and a decent care for language..."--
Donald Justice, Pulitzer Prize Poet. 56 pages. Letterpress
softcover edition: $13.50. ISBN: 0-913559-56-3.
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SERMONS IN STONE, by Christopher Munford. A stunning
journey through the geographical map of the world and the
emotional map of the individual. "Munford's effects are subtle,
his surprises adroitly sprung..."--Patricia Eakins, novelist.
Munford is the first-prize winner of the Notthingham Poetry
Society's Lake Aske Contest. Cover art by Harold Shapinsky.
92 pages. Beckett Cambric cover in charcoal. Letterpress
softcover edition: $8.95. ISBN: 0-913559-22-9.
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3/≈Inspired by Europe≈
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THE HUNGARIAN SEA, by Hollace Lee Gruhn. The theme
"all is connected" runs through these sharply observed,
intimately understood connections between the natural
world, humanity, and their interwoven histories. The
author had an idyllic perch from which to contemplate
these poetic, sometimes stark truths: Lake Balaton in
Hungary. Three wood engravings by Frank C. Eckmair.
Hand-colored cover. Letterpress softcover edition printed
on Mohawk Vellum. 96 pages. $16. ISBN: 0-913559-87-3.
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ROME BURNING, by Helen Barolini. This gathering of insistently
powerful poems evokes the author's past life in Rome, with its
rich, classical traditions. Individual poems focus on the literary
history of the city, as well, with titles such as "Keats' Room in
Rome," "Thinking of Milton in Rome," "Hawthorne's Rome."
"Evokes an older, miasmic Rome, as well as the very present
Rome of derelict antiquities and passionate love..."
--Christine Lehner. 56 pages. Letterpress soft: $14.
ISBN: 0-913559-86-5.
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4/≈Poems for Lovers≈
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THE HALO BRACE, by Jeffrey Thomson. A cycle of poems on
the lingering vibrations of love's effects on life after love,
of sorrow and regret, of the "lush spice" of sex. "Mellow
celebrations of heterosensual appreciation and of cunning
linguistics..."--MANDRAKE POETRY REVIEW. "Beautifully
written!..."--ECLECTIC BOOKS. 64 pages. Letterpress soft:
$13.50. ISBN: 0-913559-51-2.
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5/≈Science & Poetry≈
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UNCERTAIN RELATIONS, by Joel Chace. An exploration of
Heisenberg's "physics of poetry" aNd his "uncertainty principle"
via the poetic medium. "A carnival of Science-gone-aesthetic..."
--SMALL PRESS REVIEW. 56 pages. Cover and interior wood
engravings by Frank C. Eckmair. Letterpress soft: $14.50.
ISBN: 0-913559-60-1.
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WALKING THE PERIMETERS OF THE PLATE GLASS
WINDOW FACTORY, by Jared Smith. Eloquent,
engaging, sometimes unsettling poetic examination
of the changes that time, and its attendant technology,
imposes on our personal as well as national histories.
"Finely crafted, paced well, with effective images of
how technological processes evoke the sense of
contemporary alienation..."--SMALL PRESS REVIEW.
Hand-colored wood engravings by Frank C. Eckmair.
68 pages. Letterpress soft: $16. ISBN: 0-913559-66-0.
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6/≈The Darker Heart of Poetry≈
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ABREACTIONS, by Marcus Rome. Using sharp, intense language
the poet examines the repressed emotions which arise out of
human conflict, feelings which must be released for healthy
living. Printed from hand-set metal Baskerville type in sepia
ink on Mohawk Vellum. Softcover: $15. ISBN: 0-913559-13-x.
Limited edition signed/numbered hardcover with French
marbled end papers: $30.00. ISBN: 0-913559-12-1. 144 pages.
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CONTEMPORARY MARTYRDOM, by John Popielaski. Unflinching
poetry on contemporary relationships and social "truths" that
are "crafted and strong. I look forward to reading them again
and again..."--Henry Taylor, Pulitzer Prize Poet. Dramatic cover
wood engraving by Joanna Price. 64 pages. Letterpress soft:
$14. ISBN: 0-913559-73-3.
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IF THERE WEREN'T SO MANY OF THEM, YOU MIGHT SAY
THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL, by Barbara de la Cuesta.
A powerful narrative prose-poem set among the inmates
of a nursing home in Waltham, Massachusetts, where the
author worked as an aide. Four original linocuts by the
author are printed in sepia ink. 64 pages. Letterpress
edition, bound in heavy rust-colored Strathmore stock:
$12. ISBN: 0-913559-17-2.
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THE LIFE & DEATH OF PETER STUBBE, by Jesse Glass.
Startlingly original poetry in which the human monster
roams from past to present and back again, wreaking his
havoc. "Glass interlaces bizarre, archaic and medieval
figures, events and diction with contemporary ones....
Beware! Glass's tales are exempla."--Robert Peters,
University of California. Handset in 12 pt. Deepdene and
printed letterpress on 80 lb. Cool White Vellum, with
medieval art printed in red. Artemis decked edge cover.
64 pages. Letterpress soft: $12. ISBN: 0-913559-27-x.
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REPERCUSSIONS, by Marcus Rome. Profound and forthright
poetic investigations by a NYC psychoanalyst into the
darkest secrets of the human heart. At times unsettling
and disturbing, at times uplifting through understanding
gained via the poet's insights. "Deeply absorbed in
introspection, Rome's language is nevertheless always
accessible..."--AMERICAN BOOK REVIEW. 136 pages.
Wood engravings by Frank C. Eckmair. Letterpress soft:
$19. ISBN: 0-913559-55-5.
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7/≈Epic Poetry≈
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IMMIGRANT/Books I, II, III, IV, by Stanley Nelson. A four-volume
poem is written in imaginatively rendered verse splashed across
the pages with epic scope and power, bringing a sweeping vision
of Brooklyn's past into the present. "One of the most important
books of the second half of the 20th century..."--ASYLUM MAGAZINE.
"Here we see one of the most complex and original poets of our
time grappling with issues that underlie the framework of our
culture..."--poet Jared Smith. Immigrant may be the richest, and
most diversely focused, most personal and liturgical of any poem
dealing with a limited American territory..."--Donald Phelps.
All four books printed letterpress.
Book I: 84 pages. $9.95. ISBN: 0-913559-14-8.
Book II: 112 pages. $11.95. ISBN: 0-913559-21-0.
Book III: 96 pages. $12.50. ISBN: 0-913559-31-8.
Book IV: 96 pages. $13. ISBN: 0-913559-42-3.
All four books of Immigrant may be purchased for only $35.,
a savings of $12.40. Plus shipping/packing.
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MENKE, The Complete Yiddish Poems of Menke Katz,
translated by Benjamin & Barbara Harshav.
Published by The Smith, this 779-page book is epic
in its collective scope and vision of the only Yiddish
poet to become a major poet in English as well as
in his native language. In his lifetime he published
nine books in each language, synthesizing shtetl life
and life in New York City with kabbalist mysticism.
Extensive introduction by Dovid Katz. Maps depict
the poet's boyhood and adult travels.Trade hardcover
$35. plus $9.50 to pack/ship. ISBN: 1-882986-21-0.
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