MARCH 2020 READS
MARCH
TALLY: 32 Books -- 5 Autobiography/Memoir/Biography; 3 Art; 3 History; 20 Poetry;
and 1 cookbook.
Presidential Anecdotes by Paul F. Boller, Jr. (Running Press, 2007). Size: 3” x 3.25”. History. Read March 3. Amusing.
THE DESIRES OF LETTERS by Laynie Browne (Counterpath Press, Denver, 2010). Poetry/Memoir. Read March 3. In my non-humble opinion, the following is the best passage in book:
ALL HEATHENS by Marianne Chan (Sarabande Books, 2020). Poetry. Read March 22. Came with a cat bookmark drawn by the poet and I and the kitty Addie are delighted to have it!
The Devil's Artisan: Sonnets from the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini by Dennis Daly (Dos Madres Press, 2019). Poetry. Read March 15. Appreciated how the book turned my attention to the naturally talented Cellini.
The Filipino Instant Pot Cookbook by Tisha Gondo Domingo, Jorell Domngo, Jeannie E. Celestial, Art Swenson, Romeo Roque-Nido, and Jaymar Cabebe (Rocketships and Wonderment, 2019). Cookbook. Read March 24. Bored in lock-down due to Covid-19, I thought to make something new: leche flan! But the recipe requires 9 egg yolks! Who's got 9 spare eggs during this pandemic? Fortunately I complained about it on Facebook and Leny M. Strobel noted I would be fine with 6 egg yolks--good for future reference as I don't have 6 spare eggs either during this time. I reverted back to my standby: kutsinta!
Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud by Martin Gayford (thames & Hudson, New York, 2010). Art. Read March 18-22. An immensely satisfying read. Gayford's report of a 7-month process of sitting for a portrait by Lucian Freud offers a wonderful meditation of looking intensely at someone looking intensely at you.
The Complete Poems of Angela Manalang Gloria, edited by Edna Zapanta Manlapaz (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1993). Poetry. Read March 2-4. Reread these poems for writing an essay about the poet. As ever, stunning, e.g. from "Pain":
Pain at my side has been a sharp reminder
I must not love too much or cry
For brighter suns and firmaments
…
But o this pain that lashes long
To slip into my hungry senses after—
The sustenance of song!
Angela Manalang Gloria: A Literary Biography by Edna Zapanta Manlapaz (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1993). Poetry. Read March 2-3. Reread these poems for writing an essay about the poet.
The River Twice by Kathleen Graber (University Press, 2019). Poetry. Read March 12.
The River Twice by Kathleen Graber (University Press, 2019). Poetry. Read March 12.
DANCE OF DEATH by Hans Holbein by Gyula Janka and Gyula Kardos (Kepzomuveszeti alap Kiadovallalata, Budapest, 1974. 146/1,000). Size: 2” x 2.25”. Art. Read March 15. Gorgeous miniature--Seller's notes say it well: “Black leather; White drumming skeleton on front with gilt title; gilt decorative borders on both covers; gilt spine. 218 pages…. features reprints of the detailed woodcuts of Hans Holbein the Younger, renowned German artist of the 16th century. Gyula Janka—an expert on miniature books in Hungary—founded the society, Hungarian Collectors of Miniature Books(Magyar Miniaturkonyv-Gyujtok: MMG) in 1970. He collaborated with Gyula Kardos to produce this exceptional book. The text is Hungarian, German, English, and Russian. // Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543), German renaissance artist and printmaker best known as one of the great portraitists of the 16th century, also made significant contributions to the history of book design. The Dance of Death or 'Le Danse Macabre' or 'la Danza de la Muerte' was an artistic response across Europe to the devastation brought about by the plague, otherwise known as Black Death. The original edition—published in Basle in 1538 with 41 engravings—served as the basis for this miniature edition.
DEATH UNDER CONSTRUCTION by Ava Koohbor (Ugly Duckling Press & Bird & Beckett Books, 2020). Poetry. Read March 11. I really appreciated the combo of memoir and poems. And it's the second such combo I've read in recent days (the last being Linda Norton's The Public Gardens). I would call it "a thing" except that Linda's is a 2001 release and Ava's just came out. Plus, I, too, have done such a memoir/poetry combo with the 2007 book I wrote for Dad, The Light Sang As It Left Your Eyes (Marsh Hawk). Some folks want to pretend the poem stands on its own--it does. But this thang ain't a binary: the author has never been dead. And now, some samples from Ava's outstanding and apt-titled DEATH UNDER CONSTRUCTION with its "My pain / is earthly pain / flared up / of missile's whistling whine":
Indiana Hill Country Poems by Norbert Krapf (Dos Madres Press, Loveland, OH, 2019). Poetry. Read March 13.
JOLOGRAPHY RETCONNED by Paolo Manalo (University of the Philippines Press, Diliman, 2020). Poetry. Read March 21. Excellent, and to quote from my Facebook note: "I’m happy to continue receiving poetry books especially from Philippine contemporary poets, like JOLOGRAPHY RETCONNED by Paolo Manalo. It did evoke for me the poems of U.S.-based Paolo Javier and Paola Mendoza which made me applaud the water these younger ones are drinking. Anyway, images below includes a poem Paolo Manalo wrote for me--I really like it, especially its killer last line (which synchronistically evokes a poem he once translated from English to Tagalog for me when I conflated the world's first successful face transplant with the "face" that the daughter who did not graduate from Princeton must present to the world as regards her dictator-Papa). I recommend you check it out--it's a new release from UP Press. Kudos to Filipino English-language poets; given our history with English, we most def should be slanting this language, and the 3 poets I cite here do it well viz a charismatic music."
Suffer the Children by Djelloul Marbrook (Leaky Boot Press, East Yorkshire, U.K., 2019). Poetry and Fiction. Read March 12.
The Book Club of Texas by Stanley Marcus (DeGolyer Library / Southern Methodist University, Dallas, 1989). History. Read March 9. Read as part of research to Stanley Marcus who created Somesuch Press, an admirable publisher of miniature books; I recently decided to do a specialty focus on Somesuch Press for the Miniature Book Library.
MOMENTS OF AWARENESS And Other Poems by Helen Lowrie Marshall (Hallmark, nd/vintage). Size: 2-1/8” x 3-1/8”. Poetry. Read March 14.
The Public Gardens: Poems and History by Linda Norton (Pressed Wafer, Boston, 2011). Poetry. Read March 5-6. Fabulous! Or as I posted on Facebook: "Just a few pages into Linda Norton's deceptively-brilliant book, I sorrowed it took me so long to read this 2011 release. Linda's The Public Gardens by combining poems and memoir, is bracingly full-bodied. Her penetrating insights help explainn why the poems are so fine--steely yet fragile like a Jean Rhys moment where the light flickers yet stubbornly remains. Complex yet inspiring, the book contains an absolutely killer poem, “Trinity” (that I excerpt below). It also ends with a most adept treatment of the word and significance of “soul” that I also share below (poor “soul” gets so maligned I usually counsel poets to avoid it). Grateful for Linda’s gorgeous writing that blesses the reader."
O MATTER by Eunice Barbara C. Novio, bilingual with Thai translations by Natthaya Thamdee (Hinabing Salita Publishing Hous, Tarlac, Philippines, 2020). Poetry. Read March 26. Interesting meta concept of writing poems in a coffee shop about coffee, at times in a coffee shop :)
Harry Potter: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Insight Editions, San Rafael, CA, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2”. Art/Photography. Read/viewed March 25.
My Adventures in Minibibliomania by Kathryn I. Rickard (Editions du Parnasse, 1996). Size: 2-3/8” x 2-7/8”. Autobiography. Read March 28. Illuminating read: Rickard tells about her favorite miniature books and publishers. She also describes what few before have written about—the personal process of selling of her collection to many collectors. // As new condition. Inside of covers appears a bit wavy, but this is a result of production and occurs in all of the books.
THE WORLD I LEAVE YOU: Asian American Poets on Faith and Spirit, Editors Leah Silvieus and Lee Herrick (Orison Books, Asheville, NC, 2020). Poetry. Read March 29. Honored to be part of this anthology:
IN A PUBLIC PLACE by J.R. Solonche (Dos Madres Press, 2019). Poetry. Read March 2.
The Song of Solomon: A Biblical Love Poem (Running Press, 1990). Size: 2.75” x 3.25”. Poetry. Read March 3. Wonderful!
Going Head to Head by Wade Stevenson (BlazeVOX, N.Y., 2020). Poetry. Read March 8.
Tabula Terra Nova, The Admiral's Map (1992). Size: 5-1/8" x 2.75". History. Perused March 10. A Somesuch Press production printed in an edition of 200 numbered and 10 lettered copies by W. Thomas Taylor. The book consists of one large foldout page. On one side is a reproduction of The Admiral’s Map, which in 1513 carried the first printed recognition of Columbus. The other side contains an essay on the map and its maker, Waldseemuller, by Katherine R. Goodwin and Dennis Reinhartz. The book was designed and produced by Texas’ W. Thomas Taylor, who has signed this copy, which is numbered 123. Tom Taylor is at the top of the list of Texas printers, publishers and bookpeople of the last 40 years. Binding was by Campbell Logan Bindery in Minneapolis. Published in 1992 in honor of 500 year anniversary of Columbus’ voyage.
Christopher Columbus by Msgr. Francis J. Weber (Weber, 1992). Size: 2-9/16” x 2-3/16”. Biography. Read March 2.
Wendell Willkie: A Personal Memoir by Francis J. Weber (Junipero Serra Press printed at Tabula Rasa Press, No. 64 of 125 copies. Bound by—and signed by Susan Acker and Mary McDermott of—Feathered Serpent Press, 1993). Size: 2-5/8” x 2.25”. Biography. Read March 11. Entertaining and historical.
Before Our Eyes: New and Selected Poems, 1975-2017 by Eleanor Wilner (Princeton University Press, 2019). Poetry. Read March 14.
The right foot of the giant by Mark Young (Bumper Books, New Zealand 1999). Poetry. Read March 12. Stellar work from a true master.
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