effing blog

boom

press press press

check out Press Press Press, a new posting board for small press poetry books n mags n stuff.

and speaking of press, the beast is assembled and spinning perfectly. pictures to come.

I went to the SXSW Flatstock showcase on Saturday. Inspiring, to say the least.

I am all about saying the least.

status

books and chapbooks

Dale Smith's perfect bound Black Stone is about to go to press.

Lester's perfect bound Be Somebody is mid-design and fund gathering.

some chapbooks meant for this spring and early summer include work by Gloria Frym, John Crouse, David Meltzer, and maybe another  - these are all mid-design presently. The materials for these projects are already obtained and all printing and binding will be done in house per usual. (The perfect bounds are being printed and bound by a local book printer though the covers will be printed in house.)

schedules

The difficulties of fulfillment as always comes down to time and resources. I have not yet been able to accurately estimate these things and have blown well beyond any deadlines I've ever imposed on myself or have been asked to meet. I am sure every DIYer and small press operator deals with this. I realize that writers often suffer anxiety and displeasure when the status of their forthcoming book is in limbo and the release date is ambiguous. Understandable. It's hardly fair or nice but that's how it is. But it really does come down to this thin wallet and these two hands. I promise not to make any more promises about dates and times. If you are a writer tapping your foot in my direction maybe try to think about something else like what you are currently writing and working on. It's in the can, baby, so try not to fret or hate. We're all swimming upstream together. That is mostly a disclaimer to the future writers of Effing.

broadsides

I will soon get started on a series of small broadsides. I will only be printing poems I've asked of my closest friends here in Texas though these will be available for purchase on the site. I also have some ideas of printing up sets of beer coasters with poems on them and call them coaster sides. (trademark pending ya puke.)

the press

The C&P has been thoroughly cleaned and if the muscle shows up we'll reassemble it tonight. I am nervous and excited and just hope it goes back together as easily and precisely as it came apart. My foray into lettepress printing has totally stolen some time away from effing stuff I could've and should've be working on - designs, filling orders, getting drunk, and all the correspondence involved with keeping up with the peoples of the small press stripe. but soon, soon, we'll better integrate the letterpress work into the ambitions of the effing program. It's all good. Just slow.

my own writing

I am not getting a whole lot of my own writing done right now but have a few small appearances floating out there. Some letters to Farid Matuk (titled as that very phrase) were recently published by the anonymously edited ANIMES (SEMINA backwards) in the form of a small chap amongst others chaps and broadsides from other very likeable poets. And Friedrich Kerksieck of Small Fires Press will be issuing a small chapbook of my poems called Some Bridges Migrate this spring which will be an all lettepress job with some artwork. That's all I see on the horizon for my poems.

my head

my head is on fire and my heart is a mess. all is normal.

your head

your head is beautiful and I would like to see it more. I would like to touch my head to your head. I wish we could do that more.

travel

How about you and me somewhere. Invite me to your place. I'll talk to your crowd and clamp a poem or two around your heads. Then you can show me your town. I really like towns.

towns

I live in Austin and it is SXSW season. I will go to one show one night. guess which one?