From billy@sol.acs.unt.edu Sun Dec 13 20:30:57 1992 Received: from spruce.cic.net by nic.cic.net (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA04891; Sun, 13 Dec 92 20:30:55 EST Received: from mercury.unt.edu by spruce.cic.net with SMTP id AA05344 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for ); Sun, 13 Dec 1992 20:27:53 -0500 Received: from sol.acs.unt.edu by mercury.unt.edu with SMTP id AA10285 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for ); Sun, 13 Dec 1992 19:30:48 -0600 Received: by sol.acs.unt.edu (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA28752; Sun, 13 Dec 92 19:30:47 CST Date: Sun, 13 Dec 92 19:30:47 CST From: billy@sol.acs.unt.edu (Billy Barron - VAX/UNIX Systems Manager) Message-Id: <9212140130.AA28752@sol.acs.unt.edu> To: billy@cic.net Subject: taproot 1.1 Status: OR >Path: mercury.unt.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!spool.mu.edu!agate!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!cleveland.Freenet.Edu!au462 >From: au462@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Robert Drake) >Newsgroups: alt.zines >Subject: TapRoot Reviews 1.1 (poetry etc.) >Date: 13 Dec 1992 23:58:47 GMT >Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA) >Lines: 940 >Message-ID: <1gginnINNelr@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> >NNTP-Posting-Host: slc4.ins.cwru.edu ----------------------------------------------------------------- TTTTTTTT AA PPPP RRRR OOOO OOOO TTTTTTT T A A P P R R O O O O T T AAAAAA PPPP RRRR O O O O T T A A P R R O O O O T T A A P R R OOOO OOOO T ----------------------------------------------------------------- Issue #1.1 12/92 ----------------------------------------------------------------- TapRoot is a quarterly publication of Independent, Underground, and Experimental language-centered arts. Over the past 10 years, we have published 40+ collections of poetry, writing, and visio- verbal art in a variety of formats. In the August of 1992, we began publish TapRoot Reviews, featuring a wide range of "Micro- Press" publications, primarily language-oriented. The printed version appears as part of a local (Cleveland Ohio) poetry tabloid, the Cleveland Review. This posting is the electronic version, containing all of the short reviews that seem to be of general interest. We provide this information in the hope that netters do not limit their reading to E-mail & BBSs. Please e-mail your feedback to the editor, Luigi-Bob Drake, at: au462@cleveland.freenet.edu Requests for e-mail subsctiptions should be sent to the same address--they are free, please indicate what you are requesting. Hard-copies of The Cleveland Review contain additional review material--in this issue, reviews & articles by John M. Bennett, geof huth, Micheal Basinski, Tom Willoch--as well as a variety of poetry prose & grafix. It is available from: Burning Press, PO Box 585, Lakewood OH 44107--$2.50 pp. Both the print & electronic versions of TapRoot are copyright 1992 by Burning Press, Cleveland. Burning Press is a non-profit educational corporation. Permission granted to reproduce this material FOR NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES, provided that this introductory notice is included. Burning Press is supported, in part, with funds from the Ohio Arts Council. Reviewers: Deidre Wickers, Jake Berry, Bill Paulauskas, Nico Vassilakis, Bob Grumman, Tom Beckett, Roger Kyle-Keith, and Luigi-Bob Drake. Many thanx to all contributors. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 'ZINES: ----------------------------------------------------------------- BACKWOODS--(#16), 224 Elizabeth St., Athens GA 30601. $3.00. Classic underground mag includes bizarre artwork, collages, comics, gritty and even transcendent poetry, some good stories and a great back cover of Jesus catching a few rays on a stolen Holiday Inn towel. Irreverence with style, the heart of the insurrection.--jb BLANK GUN SILENCER--1240 William St., Racine WI 53402. 40 pages, $2. A magazine that takes chances and publishes a wide variety of edge poets. Lists addresses of contributors as well as listing other interesting magazines.--bp BREAK TO OPEN--(#1), 2965 13th St., Boulder Colorado 80304. $3.50. Experimental open form poetry and visuals--most of it very good, inviting the ordinary mind into new spaces. Also a review section. Let's hope this one remains in publication.--jb CENTRAL PARK--(#21, Spring 1992), PO Box 1446, New York NY 10023. 222 pp., $7.50. Strong committed work--fictions poetry drama essays--all informed by a political engagement with the world. Sometimes fiction & poetry can address "worldly" concerns even better than exposition; seeming to let in more of the complexity of the real world. But even Margaret Randall's essay, on being a political/lesbian/artist in the land of the NEA and INS, goes further than an over-simplified "censorship is evil" chant (not, of course, to suggest that censorship is not evil...). Mostly writing, with some strong photographic images, including a series of Navajos who are threatened with forced relocation. Only a little ironic that such radical politics comes in such a slick package...--lbd CO-LINGUA--6735 SE 78th, Portland OR 97206. $5.00? An anthology of over 15 years of Dan Raphael's magazine NRG. If you want to understand what's happening on the edges of literary, and visualature work then this is the place to begin. One gets a sense of both the "avant garde" and Raphael's editorial vision evolving from one wonderfully open perspective to another. The work leaps and sings hungry for new experience, hungry for some other that defies ordinary syntax, sensibility and logic. After a while a kind of lunatic joy emerges, implying there may be some small hope for the species after all. Three large tabloid sections of excellent artistry.--jb COFFEEHOUSE POETS QUARTERLY--(Spring 1992), 3412 Erving, Berthoud CO 80513. 38 pp., $3.00. The poetry is sincere & conversational, but subject matter & voice run the gamut. Heartfelt poems about AmerIndians & whales to funny stuff about the Kennedy clan to dead serious memories of Nam--the editors have eclectic tastes, self-described as "meat & potatoes". Beyond the poetry basics, they sponsor a sort of poetry pen-pal listing called the Poets Dialog Network, as well as the Chapbook Exchange--listings of folks who will send you copies of their work for the price of postage. Generous & friendly.--lbd COKEFISHING ON MOODY STREET--(#27, spring 1992), 31 A. Waterloo St., New Hope PA 18938. 52 pp. Cohabitation of Cokefish magazine (frm AlphaBeat Press, address ibid) and the Moody Street Irregular's Jack Kerouac newsletter (PO Box 157, Clarence Center NY, 14032). DREAMS & NIGHTMARES--(#38!), 1300 Kicker Rd., Tuscaloosa AL 35404. 20 pp., $10/yr. A magazine of fantastic poetry that's also nicely illustrated. An entertaining sample of its poetry is one by W. Gregory Stewart about Sisyphus--who "does not understand/ TGIF," among other things, but does know things like diddly and squat, "And while he has no proof/ that the gods wear pocket protectors/ he strongly suspects it."--bg Mostly poetry in the sci-fi/fantasy vein, avoiding blood & gore as well as cliches. Even has some surreal and cut-up kinds of stuff, including an exquisite corpse collaboration done on the GEnie electronic bulletin board. Seems to have won awards in the SF fandom world, and would be a good introduction to the genre for non-fans.--lbd DUSTY DOG REVIEWS--(#s 6&7, 1992), 1904-A Gladden, Gallup NM 87301. 52 pp., $2. Reviews of 100+ small press poetry books & chapbooks. Very thoughtful and wide-ranging, with most reviews running to several substantial paragraphs. The reviewer has strong opinions about good & bad, which he backs up with reasoning & (often) quotations from the works. But I never got a good fix on how his particular tastes ran--on the stuff I was familiar with, could never predict if he'd give it a "yea" or "nay". --lbd A small price for a lot of reading; a magazine of good solid reviews, focusing on small press chapbooks and poetry books. Literate, informed as well as informative. David Castleman's reviews in particular show a keen insight into voice and style, but may be more enjoyable for people who already have a groundwork in poetic theory than than non-academic enthusiasts.--rkk EXPERIMENTAL (BASEMENT)--(#1, Feb. 1991), 3740 N. Romero Rd. #A-191, Tucson AZ 85705. 52 PP., $4. Appealing to the senses rather than the sense--triangular pages, layout twisted to match the syntax, neologisms, & metaphors that've never met before. Some people complain that this kind of work doesn't "mean" anything--when really, it's just words that can't be put into other words ("translated", in otherwords). --lbd FAT FREE--(Aug.), Box 80743, Athens GA 30608. 10 pp., free? A valuable showcase for new writers and illustrators. Its editor seems open to a wide variety of material--this issue ranges from a sophisticated cover drawing by Homer Springer to a somewhat childlike (but likeable) illustrated poem by Random Art Transfer: "Ants climb my ankles/ like to bite the flesh/ don't like my voodoo feet./ stamping out their nest."--bg FISH DRUM--(#9), 626 Kathryn Ave., Santa Fe NM 87501. 36 pp., $2.50. A chapbook masquerading as a magazine, or vice versa: Unborn Baby by Miriam Sagan. Transplanted from the east coast, Miriam's at her best when she's just who she is, tourist or or writer or expectant mother; other times she strains a little, stretching to embrace the exotic space of New Mexico or Zen. A performance of these poems is available on cassette from Rotcod Zzaj, aka Dick Metcalf (HQ 19th SUPCOM, Unit 15015 PO Box 2879, APO AP 96218-0171)--interesting to hear a male & techno-processed voice interpreting these woman-centered words.--lbd This issue is called Unborn Baby, a virtual chapbook of Miriam Sagan's poetry. Her work here is straight down the line, traditional free verse, breaking no new stylistic ground. It is, however, vivid, concrete, highly understandable, perhaps too schmoozy at times. Real plots and narratives in every piece, stepping over the line into prosey at times, but never prosaic.--rkk FUEL--(#1, 1992), PO Box 146640, Chicago IL 60614. 42 pp., $3.00. >From the former ed. of "Mutated Viruses", this is one incredibly energetic poetry 'zine, plus a coupla proses. Where the Beat's listened to jazz for inspiration, punk is the background music here (tho i'd guess slamming, not moshing, is the dance style). For ex-sample, from Glenn Shedon: "The diamonds in her head glittered brightly as god's dark elf/ cracker her against the sidewalk like a bag of beautiful bones." Style is appropriately reflected in the computer/laser layout, a combination raw & high-tech. The editor's also involved w/ a forthcoming review- zine called Scrape--write for info.--lbd GLOBAL MAIL--(#3, Sept. 1992), PO Box 597996, Chicago IL 60659. 4 pp., $2. A huge mail-art contact sheet--over 180 shows listed, many of which are ongoing. Also listings for compilations, fax-art, collaborative tapes, and some 'zines. An incredible resource, so dense it's somewhat hard to read.--lbd GREEN FUSE--(#16, spring/summer 1992), 3365 Holland Dr., Santa Rosa CA 95405. 48 pp., $4.50. Poetry from an environmentalist viewpoint--Gary Snyder and Antler would, I'm sure, be welcome. Paul Willis paints a lovely picture ("Rain on lemons/hung aloft in winter shine/of limb-leaved skies/trickling down tart skins..."), and Elizabeth Herron's "Drownded Woman" series is a fine mesh of language & image. Other poets seem limited by their ecological concerns--when issues are drawn in black & white, the resulting poetry can sometimes seem colorless.--lbd GYPSY--(#17, 1991), PO Box 370322, El Paso,TX 79937. 73 pp., $7.00. Mostly poetry from an international cast--Korea to Saudi Arabia--and the writing is as far-flung. Straight talk is favored over fancy, which in the end is the more impressive as it gets the point across. Love and death are frequent subjects, with darker visions edging out light-hearted by a bit.--lbd Haight Ashbury Literary Journal Vol. 6 #2, 1992 558 Joost Ave. San Francisco CA 94127 16 $2.00 IMPROVIJAZZATION--(Summer, 1992), c/o Dick Metcalf, HQ 19th SUPCOM, UNIT 15015, PO BOX 2879 APO AP 96218. 20 pp., $1.50. A good zine for informal but informed--and generally enthusiastic--reviews and observations about experioddica, with the emphasis on audio tapes. It includes mail art show announcements and pertinent names and addresses, so is a good aid to networking.--bg KRAX--(No.28), c/o 63 Dixon Lane, Leeds LS12 4RR, Yorkshire, U.K. 550pp. An international compilation of poetry and prose, featuring odd illustrations and photos as well. Some really decent talent. Among the better of the pieces is "Bridgework" by E.J. Cullen--an allegorical story which, through the world of dentistry, expresses the superficiality of life. The final lines say it best: "The rot comes on. The rot will have its way. Those teeth will go, as all have gone before." Deep.--dw LILLIPUT REVIEW--(#s 37 & 38, 1992), 207 S. Millvale Ave. #3, Pittsburgh PA 15224. 12 pp., $1 or SASE. True to its name, tiny collections of tiny (10 lines maximum) poems. Although there aren't many traditional 5-7-5 haiku, most of the work relies on the kind of imagistic snapshot that most Westerners associate with that tradition. Not always pretty snapshots: check Lyn Lifshin's "AIDS Hospice" or Viet Nam vet Bill Shields' "a purple enough heart".--lbd LOGODAEDALUS--(#2), Box 14193, Harrisburg PA 17104. 24 pp., $2. Characteristic of the work featured in this poetry zine is Robert Fitterman's "2 Two." Its theme, appropriately, is division, which it investigates through the fragmentation of words and syllables, such as the isolation of "out" from "about"-- or, going the other way, the drawing together from twoness of "you ---- I," who "might/ split/ this bis-/ cotti."--bg LONG BEACH GUTS-ETTE--(#5, May 1992), PO Box 2730, Long Beach CA 90801. 6 pp., free for postage. This broadside (8" x 11") puts accessibility above all else; the editors urge readers to photocopy the magazine and spread it around. A refreshing editorial policy! Mostly angry political poetry from the left, with an emphasis on the "guts" part of the magazine's name. Poems in here from Joyce Carbone, Belinda Subraman and Albert Huffstickler, among others, make for a good primer of modern narrative poetry.--rkk LOST & FOUND TIMES--(#30, July 1992), 137 Leland Ave., Columbus OH 43214. 60 pp., $4.00. Radical & violent (& beautiful) attacks on the world as we know it, as mediated by language. Surrealism drawing more often from nightmares than dreams. A particularly dense issue, and international in scope, it includes work in Spanish & German, as well as a generous selection of Russian work in visual and Zaumist modes. Collaborations between the editor John M. Bennett and various are a continued feature, as are Al Ackerman's "hacks" (aleatory re-readings based on poems Bennett). John's taking a break for a year, and will be sorely missed.--lbd LOWER LIMIT SPEECH--(#3), 725 East Taylor St., San Jose CA 95112. 24 pp., $? "A newsletter in poetics," that, this time out, includes criticism and poetry by Susan Smith Nash which illuminate each other; criticism of David Bromige (by Crag Hill) and poetry by Bromige which do the same; and some fascinating "performance criticism" by Gerald Burns, on poems by Steve McCaffery and Laura Moriarty.--bg MAKE ROOM FOR DADA--(#4, 1992), 1705 14th #272, Boulder CO 80302. 34 pp., $3.00. The Boulder CO address & occasional drug references make me think there's some connection to Naropa (where Ginsberg holds forth). The poetry is more down-to-earth than my remembrance of hippie-kids from there, and better written. Amari Baraka kicks it off strong, & black/proud; Jack Collom does the last call in the "Sundown Saloon"; in between, Bukowski probably speaks for everyone concerened when he sez "the Paris Review ain't crap/to me".--lbd MALLIFE--(#22, summer 1992), PO Box 17686, Phoenix AZ 85011. 40 pp., $3. Mike Miskowski keeps cramming more & more into his magazines, this one feature a strong dose of prose (stories by Stephan-Paul Martin & Willie Smith among others) as well as the usual urban nightmares, futurist/cyberpunk ragings, extremes of energy & delusion... Unlike some of this ilk, it's more than random splatterings--seems purposeful, even political, and highly recommended.--lbd MODOM--(#3), PO Box 3112, Florence AL 35630. broadside. 15 pieces by Pavel Mitjushev of Moscow on an 11x17" broadside. Experimental & ranging from concrete to conceptual, w/ some pieces in Russian, and some reduced in size 'til they're too small to read. Jake Berry is the instigator behind the open- ended Modom project--write him for details on how to participate.--lbd MR. COGITO--(#29), PO Box 66124, Portland OR 97266. 24 pp., $3. A magazine that seems to reflect an editor's personal & eclectic taste, rather than follow some particular style or genre--which is a great way to edit, but makes it hard to sum up in a few lines. Several strong Native American voices, & more than half of the contributors hailing from the Pacific Northwest. Solid, no-frills poetry.--lbd NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW--(vol. 16 #2, 1992), 20 Werneth Ave., Gee Cross, Hype, Chesire U.K. SK14 5NL. 36 pp., #2/$5.00. A review-zine concentrating mostly on micro-press poetry, with some politics, recordings, and software reviews thrown in. About 300 items reviewed, maybe two-thirds from the UK, most of the rest are Amerikan. Some of the work reviewed is quite old. The reviewers are not afraid to pass judgement, but take the responsibility serious & back up their opinions with reasons and quotes.--lbd OFFERTA SPECIALE--(#9) Corso De Nicola, 20 - 10128 Torino, Italia. 56 pp., $7. An Italian zine with work from a wide assortment of international poets and visual artists. In one piece Bill Keith plays fascinating games with "adam/madam," "atom/tomato" and the like in the Garden of Eden. In another, Franco Ballabeni, combines formal musical notation with text and illumagery.--bg ON THE BUS--(#8/9, 1991), 6421 1/2 Orange St., Los Angeles CA 90048. 336 pp., $13.50. Huge. Enormous. Gargantuan. Massive. Monstrous. Whopping. Overwhelming. & so on... 90+ pages of poetry; 30 pages of translation; a Joyce Carol Oates story; interviews with Anne Waldman, Ai, Alison Lurie, Tom McGrath; articles on Surrealism and Bukowski; 30 pages of reviews... One editor claims "we're still Walt's (and Emily's) children, and our tastes are broad and democratic" and the selection proves it--prose-poems, streetwise raps, a shape poem (in the form of a noose), lyrics & laments--something for everyone.--lbd OWEN WISTER REVIEW--(Vol. 15 #2, Fall 1992), P.O. Box 4238, University Station Laramie, WY 82071. 86 pp., $5. Put out by students at the University of Wyoming, OWR has the up-and-down quality you'd expect from a mix of students, faculty and outside contributors, though lots more "up" than "down." This issue focuses on cultural diversity, with a strong graphic design and artwork spread liberally throughout. Something in here for everyone.--rkk PLASTIC TOWER--(#s 10 &11, 1992), PO Box 702, Bowied MD 20718. 40 pp., $2.50. For the most part, over-the-back-fence, over-a- cup-of-coffee kind of conversations without fancy or flowery language--just something that happened, something I was thinking about, something I wanted to tell you. An emphasis on content rather than form, where the speaker wants to make sure you understand. The Persian Gulf war offered several notable occasions for such work in #10. Exceptionally, Thomas Zimmerman's haiku is fine and precisely drawn, and Kelly Washbourne's work in #11 is playful and melodic. A handful of reviews take up the last few pages of each issue.--lbd POETIC BRIEFS--(#8, Oct. 1992), 404 Jersey St. (rear), Buffalo NY 14213. 16 pp., $1.25. Conversations on poetry & poetics, fairly heady stuff handled as a chat among friends instead of a lecture, sermon, or manifesto. Many of the participants are connected to the State University of NY at Buffalo, where Charles Bernstein recently took over the poetics program from Robert Creeley. High-level intellectual fire-power, sounding more curious & genuinely human than most lit-crit.--lbd ReBeat #2, fall 1992 PO Box 13387 Salem OR 97309 24 free fr postage remove history-- RIVER RAT REVIEW--(#6, 1992), PO Box 24198, Lexington KY 40524. 32 pp., $3.00. Hard-hitting and well-honed, sometimes there's a tension between the craftedness of these poems and the violence of the subject matter. Suicide, sex, drugs & betrayal-- this is not a prettified view of life. The work rings true, as honest and necessary, which is somewhat rare in the genre. "Published annually, submissions are excepted only during October"--lbd RIVER STYX (#36, 1992), 14 S. Euclid St., Louis MO 63108. 108 pp., $7. High-quality poetry in the MFA mold. Polished gems, crisp & precise & somehow more perfect than anything real. A pal calls it "high & dry lit". Subject matter seems to be either life-&-death, or ordinary but heightened to that kind of level. I often admire & sometimes enjoy the display of technique--othertimes I mistrust the separateness & elevation.--lbd SENSORIA FROM CENSORIUM--Other Ground Works, Box 147 Station J, Toronto Ontario M4J 4X8, Canada. 180 pp., $17.00. Compendium of artifacts from an independent cultural network conjoining mailart, home-tapers, underground cartoonists, computer hackers, and assorted anarcho-bon vivants. Documentary (articles & interviews on mailart, extreme-music 'zines, plagiarism) and graphics dominate, plus a 7" record. A short time ago, this would have been typewritten/scrawled & run off on a cheezy xerox--this is typeset, perfect-bound & glossy. Despite that, I suspect they'd think of TapRoot as mainstream. Beautiful.--lbd SHATTERED WIG REVIEW--(#8, Spring), 1992 523 E. 38th St., Baltimore MD 21218. 88 pp., $3.50. Demented & raw writing from denizens of Wig House (Wig Head Rupert Wondolowski & recent resident "Blaster" Al Ackerman) and allies. Fun & funny--both funny "ha ha" & funny "peculiar"--sometimes nonsensical, absurd rather than surreal. Equal doses of poetry, prose, and letters (strange unbelievable letters, among the most entertaining work), illustrations scrawled or cut-up. One suspects chemical imbalances, either naturally occurring or induced. And consider: their title is an anagram for "That's Right, Wee Weird Eve"--scary, ain't it?--lbd SHEILA-NA-GIG--(#4), 23106 Kent Ave., Torrance CA 90505. 70 pp., $5.00. Most of the poems here are heavy on images, painting pictures to tell the story. Occasional sounding "Californian" (talk about mantras & crystals) or even naive, these are for the most part pretty down to earth, and earnest. July 1st is the submission deadline for an annual Women's Issue.--lbd SIDESHOW--(#2, 1990), 2951 Voorheis, Waterford MI 48328. 68 pp., $4.50. Fine set of poetry that matches twisted visions & tortured words, near hallucinations grounded in a somewhat harsh & bleak reality. nice balance of consistence & variety. Faves include Sheila Murphy's one-liner "eye texture, woman pink unchanged decomposition", Pat Longes "barbara jane Boogie" (not just for the line "holy cadillahoppers", but that helps), and Elaine Seech's "cunt".--lbd SLIPSTREAM--(#12, 1992), PO Box 2071, New Market Station, Niagara Falls NY 14301. 128 pp., $5.00. The Working Stiff issue, a thick slab of poems about jobs. Mostly what you'd expect--the job is monotonous, the boss is an asshole--stories for the most part, plain-spoken and funny/bitter. Slipstream's usual (high) level or quality, no tricks and anxious to communicate. Of course, here in the US of A, you're more likely to be a working stiff if you are white & male--that demographic seems to be reflected in the poets (or at least the personae) here.--lbd TALISMAN--(#9, fall 1992), PO Box 1117, Hoboken NJ 07030. 222 pp., $5. "A Journal of Contemporary Poetry & Poetics"-- including interviews, critical essays, and generous samples of current practice. Featuring several critical articles on Nathaniel Mackey, "post bebop" black avant-garde writer--would have liked to see some examples of his work as well. The poetry is for the most part precise & formal. Old-guard L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E folks (Bruce Andrews, Ray DiPalma, Jackson Mac Low, Ron Silliman) & younger voices in the same vein providing most of the strongest pieces; Serge Gavronsky, Kathleen Frazier, Gale Nelson contributing work with heart as well as head. Other poems reflect wide-ranging stylistic tastes, though not all are as successful as those holding closest to the editor's central intellectual concerns.--lbd THE STREETFIGHTING AESTHETE--(#3), Box 5243 Kreole Station, Moss Point MS 39562. 20 pp., $2. A nice range of otherstream poems. Editor Roberts, for instance, provides ringingly regional ones that weirdly but effectively weave gingham skies with KKK swamps. The illustrations are at a high level, too: Blair Wilson's, for example, would not seem out of place in a slickzine--except for the rubbery erotic way they slip into surrealism.--bg THE SUBTLE JOURNAL OF RAW COINAGE--(#55), 317 Princetown Rd., Schenectady NY 12306. SASE. Just a scrap of twice folded paper entitled "Alterior" (a word of Bill Larsellar's), and containing but 5 words, aside from credits & publishing data. it doesn't seem impressive but I think Lorraine Schein's contribution to it, "electicity," sums it up very nicely.--bg TIGHT--(Vol.3 #3), PO Box 1591, Guerneville CA 95446. $3.50 Tight should be noted for the broad range of materials it publishes. Everything from confessional and neo-beat to surrealistic and beyond with some good visuals thrown in. Every issue is a great ride and this one is no exception.--jb Ann Erickson edits it and it contains a wide range of poetic styles. A bit light on experimental work, but I like Ann's poetry and it's in here.--bp TRANSMOG--(#7), Rt 6 Box 138, Charleston WV 25311. 6 pp., $?. Showcases dislocational poems like one by Surllama that clobbers spelling, grammar, syntax, SANITY to speak, for example, of "these kingdoms- quieu; what butterfly buts u b tleel atoms,, poses/try to DREENK the stars 1/2)," which I read as: "a quiet too quiet for its final t where butterflies, subtle atoms, try to more than merely drink the stars ..."--bg URBANUS--(#3, 1992), PO Box 192561, San Francisco CA 94119. 48 pp., $5. The poems here are rated just like movies-- I guess Todd Moore got an "R" for mentioning sex & guns in the same breath, even tho neither one actually fires. Other poems here seem loaded, but don't quite explode. Urbanus is an annual, they also publish another annual called Raizirr, which may or may not be similar.--lbd VITAL PULSE--(Volume 1, #1), ABC No Rio, 156 Rivington St., New York NY 10002. 18pp. A group of alternative writers meet weekly to "share words." This is their effort. Impressive, for a first issue. Love and one-night stands, euphoria and withdrawal. Absolutely New York. Hard-core and hearty.--dw ViZ: THE HUB CITY NEWS/REVIEW--(#1), Box 1584, Hattiesburg MS 39403. 40 pp., $15/yr. A collection of poetry, prose and visual art by Americans like Richard Kostelanetz (who contributes characteristically simple-mindedly not-so-simple narrational lists such as "iterate irate invigorate intenurate incinerate incorporate itinerate incarcerate inaugurate") and John M. Bennett, and people I'd never heard of before from Germany, Croatia and Italy.--bg WRAY--(#3, fall 1992), PO Box 91052, Cleveland OH 44101. 72 pp., $3. From the SlowHouse, an ever-more-eclectic collection of graphic/writing. The number & range of contributors continues to expand, although editors james & valerie continue to include much that is their own. Material ranges from Literature (w/ a capital "L") to some pretty raw stuff--maybe still trying to settle on a focus, or maybe just savoring the spice of life. Layout is striking as ever, but again jumps from precision to cut-and-paste--a collage, on balance, more Merz than punk.--lbd XIB--(#3, 1992), PO Box 2621121, San Diego CA 92126. 48 pp., $4.00. Stark black&white images on the pages & in the poems, consistent hard & well written. Attitude & tough talk, self- assured enough to let emotion & heart show--Pat McKinnon's "My Father Was a Carney Man" just one (fine) example among many. Longer poems get a chance, and a short story.--lbd ----------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPBOOKS: ----------------------------------------------------------------- anthology: BAKER'S DOZEN--105 Betty Rd., East Meadow NY 11554. 24 pp., $3.00. Anthology: Michael Hathaway, Hugh Fox, Nate Tate, Cheryl Boyce Taylor, Harvey Miller, Bob Balo, Altan Ogniedov, Todd Moore, Patrick McKinnon, Pamela Laskin, Gina Bergamino, A. D. Winans, Marjorie Maddox anthology: POEMS FROM THE NURSING HOME--Box 48852, Wichita Kansas 67201. 40pp. A collection of poetry from the foremost experts on life, the elderly. Innocent, honest, and loaded with faith. These senior citizens have a lot to say, and we have every reason to listen. A worthwhile project, and I applaud Millie Wherritt and Gina Bergamino for undertaking it.--dw Blaster Al Ackerman: LET ME EAT MASSIVE PIECES OF CLAY--523 E. 38th St. Baltimore MD 21218. $3.00. The Blaster's twisted genius has never been more in evidence than in this collection of "Poems, etc.", so bizarre that they could only have trembled from the hand of the master himself. Scatological narrative grinning like angels in a sticky gutter. One can feel in these works Blaster sitting behind it all with a six of cheap beer laughing at all our human confusion, because he knows the secret and he tells us straight out and we still don't get it.--jb Sherman Alexie: I WOULD STEAL HORSES. PO Box 2071, New Market Station, Niagara Falls NY 14301. 30 pp., $4.00. Alexie is member of the Spokane/Coer d'Alene tribe in Washington state. He sez that "Native American writing is about survival", & the survival of his own voice is testament to that. Strong poetry that acknowledges history without nostalgia, and speaks as a survivor, not a victim.--lbd Ron Androla and Kurt Nimmo: A POEM TO BE READ OUTLOUD--4975 Comanche Trail, Stow OH 44224. 5pp. A poetic wet-dream. An ode to genitalia. Verbal masturbation. Is this really what men talk about when there are no women in the room?--dw Jessica Bayer: OBJECTS OF DESIRE--11 Slater Ave., Providence RI 02906. 24 pp., $4.00. A personal plain-spoken meditation on the death of her grandmother, via the "things" left behind. "If you touch every single thing a person held dear, if you take from their whole life and transfer the pieces to your own table to nourish your days, isn't that one way of finally parting, of saying, thank you?" Jessica's language touches those things one by one, more than an inventory but not quite as sentimental as a caress. The language builds a bridge between the substance of the objects and the memories of a gone loved one.--lbd Guy R. Beining--VANISHING WHORES & THE INSOMNIAC. Box 3621, Port Charlotte FL 33949. "16 Haiku Counted in the Head of the Insomniac" and contains 18 pages of mystery collages/drawings with some nervously kitsch exoticism to tease the poetry. Typical Spoon-sized edition and tasty for the most obscure palate.--bp Charles Borkhuis: HYPNOGOGIC SONNETS--PO Box 630, New York NY 10028. 16 PP., $3.00. In dream states there are disembodied sensations that offer potent information. This work is patterned after the hovering of dreams. Words happen on the surface, then they dissolve into further meaning. You follow them enjoying the peaks of thought. The sonnets are mostly broken down into short protruding images and ideas, as are the sharp echoes of dream sounds. Borkhuis, a challenging poet, writes about the linguistics of sleep and how language effects both writer and reader.--nv Jonathan Brannen: CRUNCHING NUMBERS--1200 Overton St., Old Hickory TN 37138. 12 pp., $?. A collection of prose poems, each in a single paragraph and full of such enchantments as: "When the moon learns anchors and the wild stars howl, the bridled zero risks fingerprints" (which I read as a splendidly authentic recreation of Chaos's being subdued--toward Life).--bg David Cole: THE PILLOW BOOK OF DAVID COLE & SEI SHONAGON & CAROL STETSER--19 Grace Court #5C, Brooklyn NY 11201. 18 pp., $25. Japanese texts from about 990 A.D. that Carol Stetser and David Cole have treated, expanded, illustrated, annotated, translated, lived up to... Or combinations of East and West, Then and Now, Distance and Nearness, Serenity and Modernity that end in the highest precincts of visual haiku.--bg Charles Corry: PASSIVE SMOKE--Box 793, Princeton TX 75077. 59 pp. Poetry which ranges from pastoral to metaphysical. An exploration of the human dilemma revealed through nature, war, and ultimately, death. Extremely personal. Charming, yet riveting. --dw Dan Raphael: HERE THE MEAT TURNS TO THE AUDIENCE--523 E. 38th St., Baltimore MD 21218. 32 pp., $2.00. Faux surrealist writing seems not to make sense; on closer examination, it's nonsense. True surrealist writing seems not to make sense, on closer examination, it's es-sence. This is the real deal--untranslatable & inexplicable, but fine. In the first poem, Dan sez "i throw away my glasses and accept my way of seeing"--the rest of the book lets you share in his (twisted) vision.--lbd Mike Davis: LA WAS JUST THE BEGINNING--PO Box 2726, Westfield NJ 07091. $3.50. Subtitled "Urban Revolt in the United States: A Thousand Points of Light", Open Media continues its blitz of pamphlets that offer genuine intelligent alternatives to the usual crap we are sold for information and politics. This one, rather than playing on stereotypes, digs below the surface of the riots in an attempt to understand the deeper motivations behind them. As might be expected there's more to the picture than met the eye of the twisted media.--jb Jack Foley: GERSHWIN--2569 Maxwell Ave., Oakland CA 94601. $4.00. Any education of contemporary poetics would be vastly inadequate without a thorough reading of the work of Jack Foley. He is quite simply inventing entire new regions of linguistic and paralinguistic space. His poems have an effect on the mind that literally forces it into these open spaces to make its own discoveries. Gershwin is a brilliant example of these qualities and much much more. It includes a tape so that the reader/ listener can experience the pieces more fully through the voices that sing us out. While on the surface the poems are juxtapositions, collages--as we dig deeper and listen more closely we hear a multitude of individuals, ideas, images, and complexes of these unifying all around us, indeed a part of each of us, to compel us toward a moment of liberation; and then, like a symphony the music begins on a new level. Gershwin is an education for the soul as much as it is a menagerie for the senses. Poetry that will change your life.--jb Susan Domino Gevirtz: POINT OF ENTRY--357 Ashland Ave., Buffalo NY 14222. 20 pp., $2.00. This is a book of recognitions about men and women, about pronouns pronouncing "our voices," about undeliverable utopias arriving COD. "I am the narrator in whose accident I speak."--"I" am spoken by (a? the?) narrator in (his?) accident? accent? At any rate, I am speaking what speaks and it speaks to and through me as it does to you now. It preceded you. You were born into it. It follows you around. It follows me. Follow this: "I was the one from which I am returning." "someone is a direct object." "They are having trouble remembering their plot." "I overheard her describing my life in his voice."--tb Jordan Green: UGLY BOY POEMS--Rt.3, Box 284, Owenton KY 40359. 6pp., 75" plus 2 stamps and a SASE. Hard-core desperation and discontented youth. Poetry which mocks American mediocrity in the face of annihilation. Gloomy, but insightful.--dw Mimi Holmes, "textually illuminated by Jake Berry": A SELECTION OF SELVES--Box 3621, Port Charlotte FL 33949. Mysteriously dense language set with 39 Berry drawings arranged by the editor. A "gluttonous papal idea kingdom" for the "resurrected tropical asylum Iowan".--bp Justice Howard: MEMOIRS WHILE REACHING UP TO PLAY HANDBALL ON THE CURB--8825 Roswell Road Suite 474, Atlanta GA 30350. 8pp., $3. A brutal portrayal of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. Not a pretty picture, but certainly a true one. Not recommended for the pristine.--dw Elizabeth Hurst: INSIDE OUT--Box 640534, San Francisco CA 94164. 26pp. Dissection of fruit, animals, and human interactions. Eloquent. Scientifically philosophical. A trip. --dw geof huth: LEEVS--317 Princetown Rd., Schenectady NY 12306. 40 pp $? A collector's item consisting of five labeled leaves that have been inserted for protection into a book of blank pages. One of the leaves, from a maple tree, has been labeled, "mapleaf." Thus we have not only a leaf specimened two letters less than it was alive, but leaf-as-map, or perhaps as just one page of a map... of? The other leevs are similarly provocative.--bg Mori Ikuo: UNFOLDING--Box 4190, Kenosha WI 53141. broadside, $?. Twelve visual poems, some in Japanese (but with translations provided), some in English. My favorite, "Hole Ranking," consists of four squares in which the dot of the "i" in the word, "pin," expands from normal-sized to so large it forces the rest of "pin" out of its square. Ikuo's other poems are similarly charming explorations of perspective and point of view.--bg Karl Kempton: RUNE: A SURVEY--Box 4190, Kenosha WI 53141. 80 pp., $8. 73 "typoglifs" from Kempton's long-worked-on Rune. The typoglifs on its front and back covers demonstrate as well as anything what makes Kempton's work special. On the front a design of m's pulsates within a stasis of o's, to complete the latter's ahhhhh as "OM." On the back the same design, with just a few extra m's, not only pulsates but glows!--bg d.a. levy: ZEN CONCRETE & ETC--2518 Gregory St., Madison WI 53711. 245 pp., $27.50. A book its publisher describes as "the only definitive collection of d.a. levy's works in print." Levy was not only a brilliant wordsmith (on Cleveland, his hometown, in particular) but a pioneer in visual poetry. He was also a fascinating personification of the Idealism, Creativity and Wildness of the Sixties, who, tragically, killed himself at the age of 26.--bg levy was an important poet who deserves to be taken seriously as a writer & publisher. This book does that, featuring pains- taking reproductions of some of his graphic work, long unavailable. He also once wrote: "everytime i write a/ poem--i'm afraid--when/i'm dead it will sell/&some other poet will/starve because no one will/buy his poems". I think he'd hate this coffee-table book, as much as he'd hate collectors paying $100+ for some of his early hand-printed stuff, now that he's dead & "collectable". Druid Books (Ephraim WI 54211) has published his collected poems in a much more righteously priced edition; Persona Non Grata used to put out chaps free-fr-postage, which is how d.a. woulda liked it...--lbd Lewis, Joel PALOOKAS OF THE OZONE--1506 Grand Ave. #3 St Paul MN 55105 32 $4.00 Ezra Mark: CODA--PO Box 23194, Seattle WA 98102. 4 pp., 25" This is a small book of four pages, of four almost seperate ideas. It is the motion between ideas--you need not leap, but simply pass through acquiring keys to the next. The point of inclusion to Coda is defined as an ending or faceted cartographer's sequence. Though Coda is defined as an ending or closing passage, we sense Ezra Marks reaching a place he's already departing from--an end product.--nv Stephen-Paul Martin: CRISIS OF REPRESENTATION--1200 Overton St., Old Hickory TN 37138. 19 pp., $?. Two understated absurdist tales that teem with intricate indirect explorations of reason versus the imagination, and the verbalizable versus the sensually genuine. Mesmer, the father of hypnotism, stars in one; the other concerns a man and a woman who wake up in a strange bed with each other. Neither knows the other.--bg Normally stories about an 18th century magnetic healer and intimacy faced with accelerated information would not sit well side-by-side, but here it works. Martin makes each piece an object you can put to light and scrutinize. The two stories are boards from which ideas dive off and get fleshed out. The plots become sheer, like a vehicle whose only intention is transport. This facade allows the real workings of the author to emerge. I hear crisp twangs ending each--for accomplished precision and for defying sullied vagueness.--nv One of the remarkable effects of the stories in this chapbook is that they seem to do what they are telling you about. For instance in "The French Revolution", while reading about an individual being hypnotized by Mesmer himself, the description of subconscious, even hallucinatory states is so accurate that you begin to experience the story almost as a participant-- integrated into the events being described, you as a character contribute as well. Martin has proven with his visual writing and now with fiction that he is an artist of powerful capability directed at opening the world of our perceptions to greater freedom. Essential.--jb McKinnon, Patrick THE BELIZE POEMS 1619 Jefferson St. Duluth MN 55812 28 $3.95 Stephen C. Middleton: THE QUANTUM OMELETTE--37 Portland St., Exeter ENGLAND EX1 2EG 16. Words as water, a mystical intention. Words bouncing against each other, both spatially on the page and contextually in their meanings, as opposites are forced into cohabitation, and odd rhyme parodies are generated as sound echoes and re-echos. And through it all, the ebb and flow of the word tides, like ocean tides, advancing and retreating, washing over you. "Firsts, lasts, causes and effects/Wrecked echoes... to cure."--tw Peter Money: THESE ARE MY SHOES--163 Third Ave. Suite 127, New York NY 10003. 87pp. Following the steps of Ginsburg, Olson, and at times, Whitman, Money still stands in his own shoes. He is a reporter of life who always finds light at the end of the tunnel, even if that light is just Jersey. Powerfully perceptive. A classic.--dw Sheila E. Murphy: WIND TOPOGRAPHY--1200 Overton St., Old Hickory TN 37188. $3.00. Moving beyond the easiness of ordinary surrealism, these poems carry us through atmospheres where objects appear and act on one another but nothing seems solid. It's as if things were in a constant state of transformation-- the body is a mutable idea in the common mind that can change at whim. These poems are delightful excursion into what lies behind the illusion.--jb Greg Parker: ATTACK OF THE MUTANT SHEEP WITH BIG SHARP TEETH FROM HELL--Box 1513, New York NY 10276. 16 pp., $1.50. A comicbook that is gross, crude, gory, offensive--and very funny in spots if you're as sicko as I am. The plot is simple: an anti-superhero goes around chomping off the heads of various human beings, including a cuddly little baby, until confronted by Santa Claus--at which point the comic ends, to be continued.--bg Marvin Sackner, ed.: THE BEAUTY IN BREATHING--300 West Rivo Alto Dr., Miami Beach FL 33139. 47 pp., $?. An excellently-produced catalog for a recent (May, 1992) exhibit in Miami of visual poetry on the theme of simple human breathing. Of importance to anyone interested in visual poetry, for 167 works from many of the best visual poets from all over the world are listed, and about half of them reproduced (in black & white).--bg Glenn Sheldon: WOLVES IN BROWN WEDDING GOWNS--Box 7157, Pittsburgh PA 15213. 14pp. $2. Highly sophisticated investigation into a mad, cannibalistic world. Intriguing, to say the least. Footnotes wouldn't have been a bad idea, though. Not easy reading, but worth it for the challenge. Try to unravel the mystery of the wolves.--dw Bill Shields: BILL SHIELDS OF YOUNGWOOD, PA IS GOD--1440 Pear St. #17, Ann Arbor MI 48105. 42pp. Forty-two poems, thirty- four of which are entitled "ghost poem." The poet is seemingly haunted by the ghosts of Vietnam past. Morbid flashbacks, and visions of suicide comprise most of these poems. Redundant? Certainly. Bizarre? Perhaps. But nevertheless, real. Too real.--dw Janet Snell: FLYTRAP--Cleveland State University, Cleveland OH 44115. 59 pp., $10. A series of charcoal drawings that go darkly manywhere via an expressionism that reminds me of Egon Schiele and Francis Bacon. Snell provides poems for her illustrations that generally extend rather than just rephrase them--e.g., "Wired up to perpetual self serve,/ the meter running--/ up from the depth arises/ nothing!/ But the phone's always ringing/ off the wall."--bg Juliana Spahr: NUCLEAR--357 Ashland Ave., Buffalo NY 14222. 16 pp., 2.00. One recognizes in this risk taking ruminating collage poem of dividing energies divided "half-lives that exceed years." Nuclear: of a nucleus. "we are born to be awake not be asleep."Nucleus: the central part or thing about which others are collected. "the littlest world of woman now contains atom." This is a poem self-consciously on the edge of its annihilation. "as the energy is liberated/one must learn to see." --tb Chris Stroffolino: INCIDENTS (AT THE CORNER OF DESIRE & DISGUST): POEMS 1985-1988--Box 1698, New Brunswick NJ 08903. 36pp., $3. Stroffolino is a risk taker. He is not afraid to tackle any issue, from religion to urban decay. Dichotomous, obscure, and food-filled. Although he is sometimes exaggeratedly dreary, and he tends to prematurely deliver the punches, he always hits hard.--dw Subraman, Belinda (ed.) The Gulf War: Many Perspectives PO Box 370322 El Paso TX 79937 164 $10.95 John Sweet: SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS LIKE THIS--Box 782288, Wichita Kansas 67278. 12pp. Some of these poems are like snapshots which beautifully capture the briefest moments in life, and this is good. Still, others tend toward contrived commentary, and this is not so good. Sometimes it happens like this. Sometimes it shouldn't.--dw Jim Thiebaud: LOOSE CHANGE--Box 11462, Berkley CA 94701. 60 pp., $5. Ultra-contemporary commentaries on urban decay and the superficiality of man. A tribute to American desperation. Humorous, dismal, and thoroughly real.--dw Thomas L. Vaultonburg: DEMENTED CHILDREN'S STORY HOUR--Box 7157, Pittsburgh PA 15213. 8pp., $2. Raging. Demented. Raw. Vaultonburg uses language as ammunition, and is a skilled marksman. He can juxtapose with me any day! --dw Jeff Vetock: FRAMEWORK--Box 11186, Philadelphia PA 19136. 24 pp., $5. Vetock's first collection of poetry, it includes four collage drawings and a cover hand-colored by Vetock. Short experimental poems, not terribly odd but they are strange enough to hold my interest. Mysterious collage-work gives it an edge.--bp Eddie Watkins: A GREEN DIGESTION OF NIGHT--315 Mullberry St., Lewes DE 19958. 28 pp., $2. Freaky rich language in dense poems kept me interested in Watkins' effort. Nice price and worth it.--bp Paul Weinman & Blair Wilson: YOUR NOSE KNOWS--7940 Convoy Court, San Diego CA 92111. 26 pp. Street-level poetry from the prolific Paul Weinman. He gets himself wound up like a top and then explodes on the page, and the poems move from childish to malevolent very quickly. The more you get into this chapbook the more intense it gets. Interspersed with drawings by Blair Wilson.--rkk Donald Wellman: THE HOUSE IN THE FIELDS--29 Lynton PL., White Plains NY 10606. 16 pp. Wellman's work is concise. His images evoke a crisp awareness. Here we have 21 poems, each flawless, forming a chain of thought. The word that ends a poem is title for the proceeding one. Tangent thought becomes the spearhead of intention--the ruminations of an observed periphery makes this read a challenging construction of poetic staring.--nv Gail D. Whitter and Karen Ballinger: RESISTING THE SUN and ISOLATION--Box 64026-555 Clarke Rd., Coquitlam, B.C., CANADA V3J 7V6. 32pp. The blues, as only women can sing them. A tribute to the bag lady. To the battered wife. To the mother dying of cancer. Painful, yet triumphant, and ultimately, what womanhood is all about.--dw Maw Shein Win: TALES OF A LONELY MEAT EATER--4646 Grisham Ave., Long Beach CA 90805. 95pp. ,$7.50. A collection of poetry and prose. Psychedelic fairy-tales reminiscent of childhood dreams and adult nightmares. Bold.--dw t. Winter-Damon: THE HOUR OF HALLUCINATIONS--PO Box 321, Beech Grove IN 46107. 52 PP., $5.95. This is Baudelairian visionary excess at its finest, with a bit of Rimbaud (and Rambo) mixed into the brew. Damon does a Dionysian danse macabra on the razor's edge of things, like a shaman invoking intense verbal energies to shake the mental routine and reveal the delicious terrors just beyond the edges of your senses. His poems are great sweeps of language, swinging back around you, forming satisfying circles of imagery you didn't even suspect until they were done. At their best, these poems are like strong nectar. Exotic, intoxicating and addictive.--tw Ronald Zack: DETROIT--Box 2520, Shiprock NM 87420. 18pp., $2. Poetry probing into the ruins of buried cultures and torrid love affairs. Simple, yet effective language which traces the manic and depressive phases of living and loving. Accurate.--dw ----------------------------------------------------------------- end, TapRoot Reviews #1 12/92 -----------------------------------------------------------------