Mark Young announces new books from
Otoliths
I am pleased to announce the first of what will be a quarterly round of new books from Otoliths ; & I'm extremely pleased that the four books in this initial launch are wonderful offerings by four exceptional poets.
Rather than drool with unadulterated joy any further, I'll just point you to the Otoliths shopfront — Lulu Shopfront — where you can also find other books & chapbooks plus print versions of the magazine, & would suggest to U.S. residents that, rather than use couriers, they select the USPS Media Mail default as the means of delivery since it's economical &, from our experience, efficient.
The individual webpages for each of the books is given below.
Nico Vassilakis: DIPTYCHS
60 pages, full colour
$15.00
webpage:
Lulu ordering page
"The individual pieces in this book are tiny visual poems that examine the materiality of visible language and find beauty by looking at that language from unexpected vantage points. Nico has created each of these poems through a sequence of steps that included capturing video of text, editing and modifying that video (which included changing the color), capturing screenshots of the video, and cutting and putting these final pieces together in little diptychs consisting of one rectangle of prepared text atop another. To some degree, the results are the children of Nico's important videopoetic work, Concrete: Movies, released in 2005."
—from the introduction by Geof Huth
Jordan Stempleman: What's the Matter
112 pages
$10.00
webpage: Lulu ordering page
"Maximizing the tension of line breaks, making the most of each word's nuances, Jordan Stempleman creates a stunning landscape of precision and delicacy. There are gorgeous moments here, and they always "begin with the actual condition"—this book constitutes a commitment to the beauty of the world, and a new instance of it."
— Cole Swensen
"In this impressive, replete collection, Jordan Stempleman takes us repeatedly to this place of contemplation, where only a few rare words are necessary. We are invited to a course of thinking that locates intensity without demanding it—for therein lies the fabled difference between an exploratory and settled poetics, to open out and out again upon present history. This is, quite simply, a wonderful book."
— Paul Hoover
harry k stammer: tents
60 pages, including colour
$15.00
webpage: Lulu ordering page
"Make no mistake about it: harry k. stammer is one of the boldest pioneers in contemporary experimental poetry—and one of the most successful. His new work tents is edgy but accessible; challenging but rewarding. stammer mixes a sort of poetic cubism with wordplay, startling typography, and a wide array of other adventurous techniques with creative intensity rarely witnessed. In this singular text, the reader is confronted by a dizzying maelstrom of meaning and image. Kaleidoscopic and impressionistic, this interpretation of our postindustrial, postmodern society is a must for any serious reader of today's poetry."
–Philip Primeau , PERSISTENCIA* PRESS
Vernon Frazer: BODIED TONE
132 pages
$10.00
webpage: Lulu ordering page
" BODIED TONE is terrific—the rhythmic vitality is just that, full of life, but it is seductive too; one gets caught up in the percussive musicality of the phrasing . It's a driving musicality—more bebop than balladry, for sure." — Lyn Hejinian
So why not splurge a little & be swept up by pleasure.
Cheers
Mark Young
Editor, Otoliths
