Thursday, December 8, 2011

Rapid Eye Movement - by J.E. Stanley (CC#17)

cover image: Looking Up by Steven B. Smith
Rapid Eye Movement is a collection of 17 poems by Ohio's own J.E. Stanley. Four of the poems were nominated for the Science Fiction Poetry Association's Rhysling Award and two were nominated for the SFPA's Dwarf Stars Award.  This 20-page chapbook is saddle stitched and lovingly hand assembled using high quality white and black cardstock, inkjet printed with the poems on cream pages. 8.5 x 5.5".  Originally published on 8 December 2011, with a second printing on 27 April 2016. Available for only $6 US from Crisis Chronicles Press, 535 Parkside Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44143.  Approximately 130 copies in print.




Click here to read "City of Bridges" and here to read "Eleven Minutes" from Rapid Eye Movement in the Crisis Chronicles.
Click here to read a review by Greg Schwartz.
Click here to read a review by Scott E. Green. 
Click here to see ratings of Rapid Eye Movement at Goodreads.

JE Stanley at Jim's Coffeehouse in Elyria, Ohio
photo by John Burroughs
Poet's bio (as of 2011, from the chapbook):

J.E. Stanley is an accountant and on again/off again guitarist from the grayscale suburban wilderness of Northeastern Ohio where he is lucky enough to hang out with the Deep Cleveland Poets and the Cleveland Speculators. He is the author of Dark Intervals (vanZeno Press), Dissonance (Deep Cleveland Press) and co-author, with Joshua Gage, of Intrinsic Night (Sam’s Dot Publishing). His work has appeared in Amaze, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Cinema Spec, the Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Paper Crow, The Rhysling Anthology, Scifaikuest, Sein und Werden, Star*Line, Sybil’s Garage and numerous other mainstream and genre publications. He continues to assert that, winged or not, Man was always meant to fly; the moon and stars were just put there as incentives.
Click here to contact the author.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Grace, You Let the Screen Door Slam - by William Merricle (CC#16)

cover foto/collage: Downstairs by Steven B. Smith

Grace, You Let the Screen Door Slam is a 16 page poetic knock out by one of Ohio's own, the unboxable William Merricle.  Published 1 November 2011.

Grace, You Let the Screen Door Slam is 8.5 x 5.5", handbound, saddle stapled and inkjet printed on white cover stock and ivory pages with burnt orange endpapers.  Approximately 75 copies in print.
 
The chapbook is currently out of print, but its content appears (in a newly revised form) in Merricle's Contempt of Gravity: The Complete Published Poems, 1981–2020.

Click here to see ratings of 
Grace, You Let the Screen Door Slam on Goodreads.



Poet's bio (as of 2011, from the chapbook): 


William Merricle is a poet living in Lima, Ohio. His chapbook, Heimlich The Donut, was published in 2010 by Pudding House Publications. He also published several chapbooks, including Love & Food By-Products, Why Should I Suffer Alone?, and Slubberdegullion Blues in a previous century.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

the melody, i swear, its just around that way - by Bree (CC#15)

the melody, i swear, its just around that way is a collection of lyrical poems by Cleveland's own Bree.  This 16-page chapbook features thirteen lyrical works by Bree and is available for only $5 US from Crisis Chronicles Press, 535 Parkside Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44143 USA.  You may also order securely via PayPal.


"Bree's books, poetry, singing are pure beat punk spunk funk — not not nor wink, just real deal." — Steven Smith, publisher of ArtCrimes.


Click here to read an alternate version of the melody's "First Class Citizen."
Click here to view ratings of the melody, volume 1 at Goodreads.


the melody, i swear, its just around that way is 8.5 x 5.5", handmade, saddle staple bound, inkjet printed on recycled white paper with green endpapers and speckled cream card stock (a handful of copies used white card stock instead).  Front and back cover art by Bree (with text added to images by JC).  Approximately 80 copies in print.


Bree, 11/22/2008 at The Lit in Cleveland — photo by Jesus Crisis
Poet's bio (as of 2011, from the chapbook):

Bree has been writing since forever and publishing some of the continent's best poets for over a decade.  Her recent books include was chicken trax amid sparrows tread (2009, The Temple), Laying Pans (2009, Ecstatic Peace) and The Rainbow Sweater & My Mother (2011, Green Panda Press).  Find more Bree at Bree Poems and Green Panda Press.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Burnin' Shadows - by Kevin Eberhardt (CC#14)

Burnin' Shadows is a collection of poems by Kevin Eberhardt.  This 14-page chapbook features twelve new poems by KE and includes a free Crisis Chronicles "Bone Us" bookmark with two additional KE poems.  Burnin' Shadows is available for only $6 US from Crisis Chronicles Press, 535 Parkside Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44143 USA.  You may also order securely via PayPal.


Burnin' Shadows is 8.5 x 5.5", handbound with ivory card stock and black endpapers.  Front cover photo by Steven B. Smith.  1st edition published 15 September 2011, inkjet printed on ivory paper.  2nd edition published 19 December 2013, laser printed on white paper.  Around 100 total copies in print (as of June 2014).


Click here to read "The Random Life" from Burnin' Shadows in the Crisis Chronicles.
Click here to see ratings of Burnin' Shadows at Goodreads.

Contact KE at ke767@hotmail.com

Poet's Bio (as of 2011, from the book):

Kevin Eberhardt is a northern Ohio poet whose work has appeared in ArtCrimes, The City Poetry, the Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Fuck Poetry and also accompanied images by London photographer Richard Byerley. He blogs at October Conspiracy and is a featured artist at agentofchaos.com.

ArtCrimes publisher Smith says of Kevin:
"The Mad Poet KE is rising flame bursting wordage in great gap gasm, grasping gasps in minor moments made large. Or, as KE himself put it:

Pay no attention to the man pulling the strings / it's a
Minimum wage job and the maximum age is 55 miles
Per hour / with clown suit and headset / optional"

Friday, September 9, 2011

Fracture Mechanics / TRAP DOORS - by Michael Bernstein (CC#13)

Fracture Mechanics/TRAP DOORS is a chapbook by former Cleveland Heights author Michael Bernstein.  It features the text for two of the author's most popular poetic intermedia performance pieces.  These dynamic works meld collaboration and improvisation with Bernstein’s surreal post-urban mindscapes in intriguing fashion.  J.E. Stanley, author of Rapid Eye Movement, calls FM/TP an "excellent thought-provoking book."  

It is available for only $6 US from Crisis Chronicles Press, 535 Parkside Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44143 USA.  You may also order via PayPal.
 

Fracture Mechanics/TRAP DOORS is 8.5 x 5.5", 18 pages and handbound with saddle staples, gray cardstock, purple pages and golden endpapers. Cover photo by John Burroughs.  J.E. Stanley continues, "As far as Fracture Mechanics/TRAP DOORS, I've seen somewhat similar formats, and done one slightly similar myself ... but I've never seen it done as well as Bernstein does it here."  Published 9 September 2011.  Approximately 70 copies in print.

Click here to see ratings of Fracture Mechanics / TRAP DOORS at Goodreads.
Click here to see Michael Bernstein and friends perform "Fracture Mechanics" at the Lix and Kix Poetry Extravaganza in 2011.

Michael Bernstein 1/23/2011 at Jim's Coffeehouse in Elyria, Ohio

Poet's bio (from the back of the book):


Michael Bernstein is a Chicago-born writer and musician. He is the author of 12 chapbooks, including 8bitskulls, the Fire District, and Well. His work has appeared in publications such as New American Writing, milk, Moria, and BlazeVOX. With Michael Crake, he edits the online literary arts magazine Pinstripe Fedora.



Saturday, August 20, 2011

Unruly - by Steven B. Smith (CC#12)


front
Unruly is a new collection of poetry by Cleveland art legend Steven B. Smith.  This 25-page chapbook includes 25 poems on sideways college-ruled paper.

Unruly is available for only $7 US from Crisis Chronicles Press, 3431 George Avenue, Parma, Ohio 44134 USA.  You may also order via PayPal. This chapbook is currently sold out.

This chapbook is saddle staple bound with white cover stock and yellow endpapers lovingly hand-assembled — 8.5 x 5.5" with cover fotos by Smith (text added by JC).  Published 20 August 2011.  100 copies in print.



 

Sample poems et cetera:

Click here to read "No TV for Me" from Unruly in the Crisis Chronicles.
Click here to read "Now Zen" from Unruly at agentofchaos.com.

Click here to read "The Sociosphere vs. Mother Earth" from Unruly in the Crisis Chronicles.
Click here to read Smith's blog entry about Unruly (including "Me, Myself and Lie").
Click here to view ratings of Unruly at Goodreads.

Click here to read reviews of Unruly at Amazon.


Smith bio (as of 2011):

back
Steven B. Smith is a poet, memoirist, photographer, blogger and collage/assemblage artist who makes his home in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. He's been writing poetry for nearly five decades, and for more than twenty years he published the famed ArtCrimes journal. He created a massive online art/poetry archive at agentofchaos.com, and a wide array of his poetry and collages have been published in the critically acclaimed book Zen Over Zero: Selected Poems 1964-2008 [published by The City Poetry Press]. Smith and his wife Lady have traveled the world extensively, creating and living art in places like Croatia, Morocco and Mexico, while blogging about the best, worst and most unique bits of their journey at walkingthinice.com. They've also collaborated on a book about Smith's life entitled Stations of the Lost & Found. For more information on Smith, read his mutant bio.  Then check out his musical collaborations at reverbnation.com/mutantsmith.


Thursday, July 7, 2011

Blue Graffiti - by Dianne Borsenik (CC#11)

Foto by Smith, scrawled on by JB

Blue Graffiti is a new collection of Dianne Borsenik's best haiku/senryu.  A careful hand creation, this 34-page chapbook is saddle staple bound on gray-blue card stock, printed on high quality cotton paper and features front and back cover photos by Steven Smith.  8.5 x 5.5".  Published 7 July 2011.  We created 144 copies (featuring 48 different endpaper designs). The first 96 were inkjet printed; the last 48, laser. When they're gone we will not reprint. A feast for both the eyes and mind, the print edition of Blue Graffiti is available for only $7 (US) from Crisis Chronicles Press, 535 Parkside Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44143 USA.  You may also order via PayPal:




Or click here, if you prefer, to buy the Kindle ebook edition of Blue Graffiti for $2.99.

J.E. Stanley, author of Dark Intervals and Rapid Eye Movement, has this to say:

Blue Graffiti rocks. I like the fact that you mixed traditional and modern haiku. It lets the poems be what they should be, rather than forcing the poems into a form which may or may not suit them. Your use of metaphor is extremely effective in this collection ("dry riverbed rocks flowing between the trees," "watching darkness / bleach minutes into day," "laughter showing in the air" and too many more to mention). Too many favorites to list, but "favorite" favorites are "dry riverbed rocks...," "bonfire" and the chilling "no guardrail." And, by the way, "Blue Graffiti" is a perfect title for a book of haiku. Excellent work!!

Click here to read Krysia Jopek's review of Blue Graffiti at The Tao of Jesus Crisis.
Click here to read reviews of Blue Graffiti at Amazon.
Click here to rate Blue Graffiti at Goodreads.

Rear cover, foto by Smith

Bio (as of 2011, from the book):

Dianne Borsenik, a former flower child and current redhead, lives with husband James near Elyria, Ohio's beautiful Cascade Park, where she found the "blue graffiti." She has had poems and haiku published in a number of journals and anthologies, including Rosebud, Slipstream, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac and The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry. With poetry partner John Burroughs, she co-produces/co-hosts the Lix & Kix Poetry Extravaganza and Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest series.  Find her at dianneborsenik.com and nightballet.com.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Fever Dreams - by Yahia Lababidi (CC#10)


Fever Dreams by Yahia Lababidi is Crisis Chronicles Press' tenth poetry publication and (at the time of its release) our largest yet. Published 27 June 2011, it features over 70 pages of the poet's best and most popular works.  Perfect bound and brilliantly illustrated by John Tillson, Fever Dreams is available in a 6" x 9" paperback at the discounted price of $9.99.

If you prefer to order using cash, personal check or money order, Fever Dreams by Yahia Lababidi is available by mail for $12 US (includes shipping and handling) from Crisis Chronicles Press, 3431 George Avenue, Parma, Ohio 44134 USA. This chapbook is currently sold out.

213 paperback copies in print. Fever Dreams is no longer available in e-book format.  Paperback is out of print as of June 2015.

Sample Poems:

Click here to read "Cairo" from Fever Dreams in berfrois.
Click here to read "I Saw My Face" from Fever Dreams in Serving House Journal.
Click here to watch a short film by Swoon featuring "What do animals dream?" from Fever Dreams in Moving Poems.

Reviews:

Click here to read a review of Fever Dreams by Alex Sharp.
Click here to read Mary Clara White's review of Fever Dreams in Zouch magazine.
Click here to read an interview with the author in Tuck magazine.
Click here to read Yahia Lababidi's self interview about the book at The Nervous Breakdown.

Click here to read a review of Fever Dreams by Annalisa King (and her interview with the author) in Fluster.
 

Poet's biography (as of 2011, from the back of the book):

Yahia Lababidi is a Pushcart-nominated poet, aphorist and essayist with work appearing in such publications as AGNI, Harper's, Rain Taxi, New Internationalist and Philosophy Now. His work has also appeared in several anthologies, such as Geary’s Guide to the World's Great Aphorists, where he is the only contemporary Arab poet featured, and the best-selling US college textbook, Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. To date, Lababidi’s writing has been translated into Arabic, Slovak, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, and Turkish.  He was recently chosen as a juror for the 2012 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

Lababidi’s first book Signposts to Elsewhere (Jane Street Press) was selected as a 2008 Book of the Year by The Independent, UK.  His latest book is a critically-acclaimed collection of twenty-one literary and cultural essays, Trial by Ink: From Nietzsche to Belly-dancing (Common Ground Publishing).

Click here to find out more about the author at Poets & Writers.
Click here to visit his YouTube channel.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Transient Angels - by Heather Ann Schmidt (CC#9)


Published on 1 May 2011, Transient Angels by Heather Ann Schmidt is Crisis Chronicles' first perfect bound book (I've home-printed and handbound all of our previous titles).  Highlights include "Mermaids in a Band-Aid Box," "On Contemplating My Mother's Passing," "Simone de Beauvoir's Letters" and "Collecting Enlightenment in a Paper Cup."  Transient Angels features 33 poems on 38 pages.  9" x 6".  Approximately 60 copies in print.  Cover art by Heather Ann Schmidt, design by editor John Burroughs.  Available for $9.99 from Crisis Chronicles Press, 535 Parkside Boulevard, Ohio 44143 USA.

Also available as an e-book for $5 if you click here.


 

Nuns 
[from Transient Angels]

At seven
all I knew about nuns
was Katie said they were
married to God.
I saw them when
we went to her parish in the summer
and sang songs and took the holy sacraments.

I never thought about them again
until I was nine and my mother
shared a room with Sister Josephine
at the sanitarium.
She sent notes on stationery
that had the scent of her powder
on the paper.
I carried them, deep
creased, in my pocket.

I remember
how she tried to give me her things
and she seemed so sleepy,
the empty bottle of phenobarbital.
The paramedics and my aunt
raised their voices
for her to open the door
and the door opened,
her lifeless body face down.

I went from house to house,
a chain of paper dolls.

I wondered sometimes if I married God too...

She laid in bed for 32 days
waiting for angels to take her away
in the white sun dress she wore
when my father peeled her arms
off his chest.
Hysteria flooding,
hammers falling all over her body.

Maybe I should have been more conscious that day.

The sky had a cutout
in the shape of where she stood.
I walked through that colorless hole
to find her.

Closed window. Closed heart.

I remember when she came back,
the month John Lennon was killed.
I looked out my bedroom window
down at the slush on the street.


* * *

Heather Ann Schmidt received her MFA from National University and has taught writing for a number of higher learning institutions.  A fine singer and visual artist, she also edits the tinfoildresses poetry journal and is the founding editor of Recycled Karma Press.  Her other books include Chagall's Cat (Poehemian Press, 2014), Red Hibiscus (Crisis Chronicles 2013), Batik (NightBallet, 2012), On Recalling Life Through the Eye of the Needle (Village Green, 2011), Channeling Isadora Duncan (Gold Wake, 2009) and The Bat's Love Song: American Haiku (Crisis Chronicles, 2009).

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Fuck Poetry - by 40 authors (CC#7) - OUT OF PRINT

I've called it an anthology, a periodical, and other less polite names, but I'm still not sure what it is exactly.  I do know, however, what's in it.  Fuck Poetry includes 70-some works by 40 poets from across the globe (with probably half of them from northern Ohio).  I'm very excited about it!  And it is finally available 15 March 2011 from Crisis Chronicles Press. 

I especially appreciate the patience of the contributors, at least one of whom submitted his poems as far back as 2008, when the project was barely a sperm cell in my mind sac.  Fuck Poetry features words by (in quasi-alphabetical order) Susan Amethyst, Sarah Black, Dianne Borsenik, Bree, Christina Brooks, Geri Lynne Burroughs, John Burroughs, Patricia Carragon, John Dorsey, DubbleX, Kevin Eberhardt, Mike Finley, Herb Fuerst, Maria Gornell, Sammy Greenspan, Charles Hice, Roxanne Hoffman, Colin James, Lady K, Joy Leftow, Yannis Livadas, David McLean, Jennifer Napier, Puma Perl, Jen Pezzo, Dan Provost, Misti Rainwater-Lites, rjs, Suzanne Savickas, Teleri Schakel, Heather Ann Schmidt, Helen Shepard, Dan Smith, Steven B. Smith, Willie Smith, Don Stabler, Cheryl Townsend, Lisa Vicious, Chocolate Waters, and Linnea Waters.

Fuck Poetry is approximately 50 pages, 8.5" x 11", inkjet printed on white paper and staple bound using yellow and black card stock and black duct tape.  Design, cover photo, inner collage and hand ink stamps by editor John Burroughs.  50 copies in print.  As of 24 May 2014 I only have one left (I was out until Mom died and I got her copy back). I'm not eager to part with it, but I will do so (and include a bunch of other other titles with it) to the next person who donates $300 to Crisis Chronicles Press (and helps us fund our next publication).


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