Claustrophobia, Surprise! by Evan Williams (2021)

Claustrophobia, Surprise!

Evan Williams

HAD chapbook #1

(Hobart After Dark)

(c) 2021

41 pages staple bound first item brought out by this entity. Hybrid poetry/short fiction (prose poetry) collection. Very good. Well made. 

A Virginia Gentleman's Library published in Colonial Williamsburg (post-1952)

 This was produced in Colonial Williamsburg as a keepsake "merch" item, likely sold at the print shop in the Colonial section of Williamsburg. Staple bound. 15 pages, detailing recommendations of what a "gentleman" should have on his bookshelf in his Manor home as proposed by Thomas Jefferson in 1771, just before the American Revolution. 

Quaint Idioms and Expressions of the Pennsylvania Germans by A. Monroe Aurand, Jr (no date given)

Quaint Idioms and Expressions of the Pennsylvania Germans

by A. Monroe Auband, Jr

(revised edition) 

self published

Lancaster, PA

Subtitled "A Delightful Bit of Entertainment"

Half my family came from Amish/Mennonite legion in Pennsylvania. They didn't speak like this to "entertain" non-Pennsylvania Dutch speakers. It was their dialect and their culture. All the same, it is a cute booklet. 

My great-grandmother was born in the mid-1800s and spoke no English at all. She was still alive and bedridden when I was a young boy and I would listen to Mother and Daughter (my grandmother) speak "Dutch" to each other. 

In a way, then, this booklet speaks to my own history. 

The Call of Paradise by Majda Gama (2023)

 The Call of Paradise

Majda Gama

Two Sylvias Press

Kingston, WA

(c)2023

Winner of Two Sylvias Chapbook Prize 

It is refreshing to read work by poets who come to and through the English language from cultures and experiences beyond white Anglo-Saxon protestant backgrounds. Be that Native American, and frankly any "minority" voice BECAUSE how these other "voices" capture their experiences while also witnessing ours is cleansing. 

Yes, cleansing. Far too many American poets write in a manner similar to how this country was portrayed in the Mel Gibson film The Patriot in which there were no black slaves and no Native tribes in a film where both groups IN HISTORY combined to outnumber European-born colonists and British troops at the time of the Revolutionary War. In the same way, when Robert Frost writes of being in the woods, those woods are empty canvases - they are devoid of whom inhabited them prior to Frost's birth. Prior to most "American writers'" births. And while the majority of poets in this country attempt to capture their experiences, their environments, their surroundings; they do so through their white person lens. And we, as a nation, are about to become a Minority Majority nation (despite the efforts of the MAGA and Trump and their White Nationalist ilk) so seeing things strictly through a "white lens" does not do our collective experience as Americans justice. 

Ms. Gama, while neither beating a drum nor hammering a nail, presents experiences beyond - outside - and other with grace and calm expression. And her language is beautiful. 

Resonance by Gwendolyn Zimmerman (2018)

Resonance

Gwendolyn Zimmerman

FootHills Publishing

Kanona, NY

(c) 2018

I don't recall the exact time of the catastrophic fire that destroyed the building, and therefore the operation, of FootHills Publishing but I know it happened and that was a sad moment not only for Michael Czarnecki (the publisher) but for everyone associated with that small press. 

I got to meet with Michael a number of years ago when he ventured into the Berks County, PA poetry community due to publishing Craig Czury, who at the time was an important link between the fledgling Berks Bards poetry organization and the Berks Arts Council. [I know, sorry, structural minutiae dealing not directly with the poetry here or the poetess but she mentioned both men on the back cover, so....] 

I have heard that Michael has phoenix'd out of his disaster and have given FootHills new life. 

This collection is lovely, btw. 

single poem presented as broadside by Kirby and Ralph (1996)

This is less than a chapbook

Smaller than a broadside

tinier than anything I actually had to pay to get, in truth. But signed, it is, and by both men. One who might be wearing swim trunks, I would hope. 

A single poem. Not a bad poem but hardly worth the effort in my estimation. But I didn't, they guys did and that is all I wish to say about that. Oh - it's Kirby Congdon (poet) and Ralph must have been the "artist" involved. 

Sparse Rain by Roy Zarucchi (1990)

Sparse Rain

Roy Zarucchi

Pygmy Forest Press

Albion, CA

(c)1990

I got this one because I had never heard of this poet before and doing some research prior to the arrival of the book gave me some insight. But, wait, Pygmy Forest Press...... that is Leonard Cirino's press. Oh, he passed in 2012. I did not know that. He and I had a feisty exchange of views concerning the Beat Generation. He blamed the Beats for his life (choices) as I remember it. And yet I am hearing traces of Kerouac in a few of the poems in this collection by Roy Zarucchi. His phraseology in a few of the poems are right out of the Kerouac language universe. 

This collection is NOT a Beat generation infused chapbook, but it does hint at it. It's a cross section of the writings by this gentleman, a man who had a remarkable and interesting life. I learn of his background from the obit shown below: 

Roy Zarucchi Obituary

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M - ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Roy Zarucchi passed away suddenly June 29, 2011, at his home. He was born June 9, 1939, in Oakland, Calif. 

Roy retired after 20 years in the Air Force and taught college. During his distinguished career he was an Air Force commando, served in the Vietnam War and spent five years at the Pentagon. He graduated from St. Mary's College, Berkeley, Calif., and received a master's degree at Central Michigan University. In addition to being a skilled potter, he was a published poet. He and Carolyn were essayists with Maine Public Radio and joint published authors. Roy and Cal operated Nightshade Press and edited Potato Eyes Literary Arts Journal for 12 years. They left Albuquerque, N.M., to return to coastal Maine, but were pulled back to the climate and friendships they had made in New Mexico. His hobbies included swimming, gardening, throwing pots and European travel.

Leaf Notes: Poems of the Plague Years by Michael Fallon (2022)

Leaf Notes: Poems of the Plague Years

Michael Fallon 

Self published 

(c)2022

This is a very fine collection of poetry created during and entirely about the COVID 19 "plague" we are still recovering from today. 

Gifts of the Forest by Inez N. Mcfee (1909)

 Gifts of the Forest

Inez N. Mcfee

F. A. Owen Publishing Company

Danville, N Y 

(c)1909

This booklet was part of a series entitled Instructor Classic Series brought out by F. A. Owen in the early 20th century. It was conceived as an educational tool but it clearly (at 31 pages) is something I deem a chapbook. The inside last page of the booklet offers a listing of other booklets in the series. 

Three & One by Toby Olson with Mary Laird Hamady (1976)

Three & One 

Toby Olson & Mary Laird Hamady

Perishable Press Limited

Mount Horeb, Wisconsin 

(c) 1976

Extremely small booklet. With awesome and uniquely "typical" cover for this press. 2 drawings in the booklet by Mary Laird Hamady. 4 poems by Toby Olson. Included in the book was this "flyer" for a reading with Clifford Burke. Beautiful item. Not cheap but worth having.