Crisis Chronicles Press is thrilled to present a new masterwork by the legendary Alex Gildzen, inspired by his rich experiences in three Ohio cities: Elyria, Cleveland and Kent. Ohio Triangle is 75 pages, perfect bound, featuring many of his best poems and a handful of color photographs. Adrian Manning calls Gildzen "a damn fine poet" and Jonathan Williams says "His eye is charming and acute." Officially published on 25 April 2015 to celebrate National Poetry Month and Gildzen's 72nd birthday, Ohio Triangle is now available for $10.99 from Crisis Chronicles Press, 535 Parkside Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44143 USA. ISBN: 9781940996196.
Love for Ohio Triangle:
"Alex Gildzen rushes to the heart with the clearest of memories, tacking them to our own with perfectly wrought images from his own life and calling out real people from the shadows of the past. His work glows with the power of a master poet. There is not one word in this book that doesn't ring true. Be glad. You can share a remarkable vision in this book that echoes through time every time Gildzen fixes his focus on his Ohio Triangle."
—D.R. Wagner, author of The Night Market
"Just as any 3 non-collinear points determine a unique plane, so Alex Gildzen's 3-part book of chiseled poems defines and explores the unique plane that is Gildzen's life in three different cities in Ohio. Here is a triangle considered in the context of the space-time continuum, where people, places and things combine to bring the past into the present and the present into the past. It is in the dimension of time, the loving remembrances and the sad recognition of the inevitable future of each person, place and thing within Gildzen's triangular plane, and by extension, within the reader's own unique plane, that brings warmth and heart to this multifaceted diamond of a book."
—Shelley Chernin, author of The Vigil
"I was first introduced to the work of Alex Gildzen a few years back now and out of everything I've read, this latest collection, Ohio Triangle, is without a doubt the most touching look into the memories that make up his highly colorful life, so much so that I almost teared up at several points, because this is the way we all want to be able to look back on things, on a life well lived, only, Alex has been able to put it into words in a way that feels immediately relatable and effortless, as the passing of time should be."
—John Dorsey, author of Imaginary Foxholes
Deluxe Package [no longer available]:
For a mere $5 extra a lucky 15 people received two great Gildzen books: Ohio Triangle and the rare New Notes: Poems 1971-76 (Kent, OH: Shelly's Press, 1978). New Notes features paper wraps and a hand sewn binding. While supplies last. [UPDATE: We have no more copies of New Notes, but you can still order Ohio Triangle for $10.99.]
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| Alex in front of Loomis Camera in Elyria, Ohio |
He was born in California, first
walked in Texas and now lives in New Mexico but Alex Gildzen spent the majority
of his life as a resident of Ohio. He
was two weeks old when he arrived in Lorain. When his father returned from the war in
Europe the family moved to Elyria. He began visiting Cleveland as a child.
Following graduation from Elyria High School he went to Kent State University
where he was student, teacher and librarian.
In 1993 Kent presented him with the President’s Medal for “extraordinary
and unique service” to the university.
The same year the Ohio Arts Council honored him with the Ohioana
Citation in the field of humanities and education.
To learn more about Alex, visit the Literary Underground wiki and follow his Arroyo Chamisa blog.
