Broadsides are for Poetry Lovers (and everyone else, too)

Working late into the night, hunched over the press bed, tweezers gripped in hand, the printer grapples with the ever-apparent enemy: the typo. In casual correspondence, one might laugh at such an occurrence, puzzling over how the fingers were incorrectly oriented over the qwerty row, or roll one's eyes, scoffing at another's inability to proofread. But when a printed item is to go out into the world for public scrutiny, the typo is the ultimate foe, and must be discovered and corrected at all costs.

That's why I was so relieved when my fellow printers and staff at the Center for Book Arts obligingly checked my work as I prepared to print a broadside in honor of the poetry reading on Wednesday, April 29. As you can see in the photo, I am diligently checking the copy of a beautiful poem by Anna Moschovakis, which I was so excited to design and print for the Center. This moment came near the culmination of the process, which for me is always marked by a combination of agonized pondering and sudden moments of clarity, driven by the knowledge that a deadline is looming.

This poem was actually a pleasure to print. I'm no connoisseur, but I felt that the poem was meditative and ethereal, yet also somehow tangible and pertinent to real life. I tried to convey my feelings about the poem without being too obvious, to add to its mystery without fussy distractions. Come Wednesday and see if it worked out. The reading with Anna Moschovakis and Monica de la Torre will be reason enough to entice you. And I'll give you a prize if you can find any typos in the broadside.

- Corinna Zeltsman

Supervised Printing at the Center

Bryan Baker is our Sunday night printshop steward, coming in to help out during supervised printing hours. Last night he was also helping us by putting together a design for a Center for Book Arts poster that we're going to use to promote some of our programs - here he is filling up his composition stick at quick fire pace (notice the blurred hand!) ...

By the way! Our regular supervised times are Tuesday, 11am-2pm, Saturday 4:30-7:30pm, and Sunday 6-9pm. If you've taken a letterpress class or have some experience and are looking for the chance to get ahead on your own projects, this is a great opportunity to work with guidance from experienced printers. To reserve press time, just give us a call at 212-481-0295.

Monica de la Torre & Anna Moschovakis

THIS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 6:30PM
Poetry reading with Monica de la Torre and Anna Moschovakis.

Join us for this dynamic pairing of two poets and take home a unique letterpress broadside of the poets' work. A reception accompanies the reading, and a limited-edition broadside print of work by each poet is produced by an artist at the Center and distributed at the reading.

Mónica de la Torre has published poetry and conceptual art books in Spanish and English, including the artist book Appendices, Illustrations and Notes (Smart Art Press) and the poetry books Acúfenos (Taller Ditoria) and Talk Shows (Switchback Books). She is co-editor of the multilingual anthology Reversible Monuments: Contemporary Mexican Poetry (Copper Canyon P) and translator and editor of the bilingual volume Poems by Gerardo Deniz (Taller Ditoria/ Lost Roads).

Anna Moschovakis is the author a book of poems, I Have Not Been Able to Get Through to Everyone (Turtle Point Press), and of several chapbooks. Her translations from the French include texts by Henri Michaux, Claude Cahun, Pierre Alféri, Annie Ernaux and Blaise Cendrars. She is also an editor at Ugly Duckling Presse.

This reading has been organized by Rodrigo Toscano, the author of To Leveling Swerve, Platform, The Disparities, and Partisans.

WHEN:
Wednesday, April 29, 6:30 pm

WHERE:
The Center for Book Arts
28 West 27th Street, Third Floor
Between Broadway and Sixth Avenue
Subway: N, R, W to 28th Street; F, V to 23rd Street; 1 to 28th Street

HOW MUCH:
Suggested Admission: $10/$5 members

OTHER UPCOMING READINGS:
Matthea Harvey, author of Modern Life (NY Times Notable Book)
DeLana R. A. Dameron, author of How God Ends Us, former Cave Canem fellow
Organized by Thomas Sayers Ellis
Wednesday, May 20, 6:30pm

Patricia Smith, 2008 National Book Award Finalist
Matthew Hittinger, author of The Erotic Postulate, shortlisted for National Poetry Series
Organized and introduced by Sharon Dolin
Wednesday, June 3, 6:30pm

Stitch Like an Egyptian

At this week's Book Arts Lounge: Coptic Binding!

Learn Coptic Binding, a basic binding stitch that is ancient and effective, producing books that are both sturdy and flexible. In this crash course, we'll create small books using a stitch with origins among the early Coptic Christians of Egypt. The product is a volume that opens flat (great for journals and artists' books) and has an exposed spine that showcases the handsome stitchery. If you like, bring your own decorative papers (heavier, cover-weight paper is best) to use for covers. We'll also have plenty of materials on hand.

Book Arts Lounge: Coptic Craze
Friday, April 17, 6 to 9pm
$10/$5 members & students (suggested).
No registration required.

Spring! New Classes at the Center for Book Arts! Joy!

There's few things more exciting than new possibilities. Have you outgrown your situation? Looking for something more in keeping with the person you are today? The trees are budding, there's flowers in the markets and it all says to me Rebirth! Renew!

In other words, time to learn something unfamiliar. What better place to start than with the spring course schedule here at the Center for Book Arts? Here's some potential new versions of you to keep you busy over the next three months:

Single Quire Coptic Codex:
Essentially a thick pamphlet with a flap and wrapping bands, these books have many design possibilities that speak to us today. They are easy to bind, durable, emphasize materials and structure, adapt well to different paper weights and cover materials, and to sizes from extra small to extra large.
April 18-19, Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 4pm
With Susan Mills, Instructor


An Alphabet of TextureUsing the work of H. N. Werkman, (1882-1945) a Dutch printer known for his innovative printing techniques and avant garde typography, as a point of departure, we will begin immediately to compose/print a pattern haiku that explores texture through language, form and material. We will explore collaboration with materials, layers, techniques of printing, pressure, inks, palimpsest as collage, 3D effects, and most challenging, we will collaborate with each other.
May 2-3, Saturday and Sunday,10 am to 4pm
With Suzanne Vilmain, Instructor.







Letterpress II:Layers of Ambition: Advanced compositions on the Vandercook.
This course will focus on sophisticated large scale compositions that span the maximum printing area of each Vandercook proofing press. Building upon an understanding of traditional hand typesetting each participant will venture into the incorporation of hand-carved blocks, and learn to utilize various manners of color overlay. The class will edition a portfolio of prints containing a piece by each member that all will receive.
April 20-June 22, ten Monday nights, 6 to 9 pm
Bryan Baker, Instructor.











From Plants to Fiber to Thread
Daylillies, hollyhocks, iris and elm are some of the plants that can find their way into books once their blooming season is over. Work with flax, jute, raffia and other exotic fibers (even pineapple) to produce thread. Learn several methods of harvesting, processing and twining natural fibers. We will bind a bark covered book with samples to take home.
June 6-7, Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 4pm
Peter Schell, Instructor.


So there you have it, no more excuses for staying within your worn out comfort zone. Visit www.centerforbookarts.org/classes Because it's a brand new day.

Thanks Everyone!

Thank you very much to everyone who attended, made contributions, purchased raffle tickets, contributed their artwork, and just helped out in so many ways to making yesterday's Benefit Party at the Center for Book Arts such a wonderful event.

We look forward to sharing with you more photos from the event soon. For now, here's a shot of the marvelous Martha Malinowski from Sotheby's who presided over our Live Auction. The artwork was extraordinary this year, as you'll see here in the photo of white-gloved Nicholas Crawford exhibiting the artist book "The Slapdown" by Damara Kaminecki & Jeremy Schmall, with Bryan Baker's monumental suite of six dice prints behind him.

In total, 40 works of original artwork were auctioned off through the Silent and Live Auctions -- and it was a splendid array of art. Again, thanks to all!

Photo credit: Zahra Partovi.