All Souls Day = Ouija Time!

A ghost may come;

For it is a ghost's right,

His element is so fine

Being sharpened by his death,

To drink from the wine-breath

While our gross palates drink from the whole wine.

-Yeats, "All Souls' Night"

We're working on a French fold of a poem composed by multiple spirits -- stay tuned! It will be done soon!

Next Big Thing - Theis

Catherine Theis responds to the Next Big Thing interview, discussing her work in progress Leave of Absence, which includes The June Cuckold, her exquisite and zesty verse drama that Convulsive Editions released last fall. 

Q1: What is the working title of the book?

A1: Leave of Absence.

Q2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

A2: From my belly.

Q3: What genre does your book fall under?

A3: Invasion.

Q4: What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

A4: Marcello Mastroanni, Catherine Deneuve, Paul Newman, Brian Dennehy, Julie Delpy.

Q5: What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

A5: Lose Everything and Then Take to the Sea Headless.

Q6: How long did it take you to write the first draft of this manuscript?

A6:

Q7: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

A7: The poetry and non-poetry of my friends, my family, and the poems happening in the cracks of everyday life. Leave of Absence measures itself against the Day and Sun Project. Other inspirations include César Vallejo, Susan Sontag, peonies, Joanne Kyger, Michelangelo Antonioni, the city of Barcelona, several well-executed dinner parties, Lake Michigan, soft grass, Joan Didion, train rides, and my niece, Penelope. Love, of course, inspires. There’s another book before this book called, The June Cuckold and Other Tragedies. In all candor, both books are fueled by love sickness.

Q8: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

A8:  When you boil its pages, it will turn into a lamb dumpling. (You’re on your own as far as yogurt is concerned.) In other words, I want you to eat this book, for it to return to belly.

Q9: Will your book be self published or represented by an agency?

A9: Can there be a third way called, “Transcribed by Rebel Monks in Candle-Lit Caves?”

My tagged writers for next Wednesday are:

1.     James Pate

2.     Jared Stanley

3.     Lily Brown

4.     Megan Breiseth

5.     Jennifer MacKenzie

The Next Big Thing: Kaplan

Check out Genevieve Kaplan's self-interview regarding settings for these scenes, her new chapbook that Convulsive Editions is thrilled to be releasing at AWP next week!

The Next Big Thing - Hoks

I was tagged by Toby Altman, in this relay interview project called "The Next Big Thing."

QUESTIONS:

What is the working title of the book?

The Narrow Circle

-Where did the idea come from for the book?

Since ideas are inspiration in the abstract, I'm just going to answer this question with the inspiration question below. 

-Who or what inspired you to write this book?

A combination of: having a child; spending time as a "stay-at-home" dad; getting magnetized by poems I read; trying to crisscross the boundaries between self and other; having a body; digging tunnels between zones of experience; burrowing in general; my lover's taco-shell lips.

-What genre does your book fall under?

Poetry

-What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, and John Turturro would all have roles. 

-What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

"I was in love with the apple tree, the invisible city that seemed to be growing inside it." 

-How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About 1 year. Other drafts took other years.

-What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It has many pictures in it! 

-Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Coming out on Penguin, May 2013.

My tagged writers for next Wednesday are:

Joel Craig

Catherine Theis

Genevieve Kaplan

Shane McCrae

Christopher Hund

Inauguration Weekend Print Storm

We had a busy and very productive long weekend in the shop. First we finished printing the guts of James Shea's Air and Water Show. I had printed half the guts in early January & it more or less went without a snag. Check out the title page:

I had hoped the versos would be smooth sailing, but not so not so, a rocky ocean almost capsized this table cast-iron operation. We had a real battle getting even inking on one of the spreads & had to resort to all kinds Scotch-tape tactics.

Then we printed the covers of Genevieve Kaplan's settings for these scenes, a lovely chapbook of erasures. Nikki mixed up a batch of rad mint green ink.

We printed the text without a hitch,

then disaster: after getting the makeready set, it became clear that I had ordered the wrong kind of plates from Boxcar. Ahhhghghghgh: these weren't coming up type-high on our base! I was really mad at myself, wallowing in incredulity. Ever resourceful, Nikki raised the base with a tape & paper job & we were rolling again. These green squares and black shell shapes took up a ton of ink, but we're quite pleased with the end result!

Convulsive Editions is learning to screen-print! I pulled so many copies of this cover that, after 20 or so I was printing solely from the left over ink on the squeegee & whatever was pulled back on the flood coat.

And the covers of James Shea's forthcoming chapbook AIR AND WATER SHOW are now half done!

A lead-heavy Thanksgiving!

We're taking advantage of the holiday to do some shop work, typesetting our next project, James Shea's Air and Water Show, a 16-page chapbook entirely letterpress printed & saddle-stitched by hand in an edition of 50. Due to release in March, 2013.

Our printer's devil getting the ink ready to pull some proofs!