Monday, June 04, 2007

Some notes on the wonderment inducing properties of dos press









Really glad I got to make it to the dos press/ kadar koli launch party at 12th steet on Saturday. 12th Street Books is a great place to start with, but the readings were really, really good, and it was wonderful to see everyone.
Most of all, I can't get over how really stunning these the dos press chaps are. Chris and Julia are ridiculously talented, but I'm still impressed with how well conceived the idea is, and with all of the gorgeous work that brought these books together. My copy is an aspirin kissed pink with a silver crane/map and black poppy. It's spacious for its 4x4 interlocking scale, and unassuming but intricate. Moreover, there are some really good poems in here, from some really interesting authors -- while each poet seems to occupy a distinct territory in language, the book design emphasises a kind of geo-spatial connection between the authors, as if they were each around the corner from each other in other ways. The press flickr site has some nice images of the birth of the chap, but they really can't compare to turning the book over in your hands and reading the poems.
Julia's "Minumentals" are also seriously more amazing to see in all their three-dimensional fabulousness than the pictures convey. It's surprising to look into each box, (I even had a dream about the one with the shaky white feather) but the choice of objects and arrangement feels really suited to the richness and compression in the Niedecker lines. I love love love them. There are still a few left, along with special edition hand sewn chaps available by donor subscription. ....probably post more later about the poems.

1 comment:

Julia said...

Thanks so much Ashley!! (*aspirin kissed pink*!!:)Re: our conversation that got cut short, I will be emailing you shortly:)