Maplewood, NJ: Olchef Press, 2020. Number 12 of 55 copies. Signed by the poet and signed and numbered by the book artist, Sydney Jean Reisen. Reisen studied at Rutgers and at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. Her books can be found in several collections nationally including the Library of Congress, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Getty Institute. Poet John Yau (1950 - ) has published over 50 books of poetry, fiction, and art criticism. His first book of poetry was published in 1976. Since then, he has won acclaim for his poetry’s attentiveness to visual culture and linguistic surface. In poems that frequently pun, trope, and play with the English language [Poetry Foundation]. Catullus (c. 84 – c. 54 BC), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His surviving works are still read widely and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art [Wikipedia].

This lovely book marries Yau's evocative poem to Reisen's thoughtful and beautifully executed artist's book. She writes in her prospectus: "If Catullus is going to sail to China he better have a boat that floats. John Yau’s words take a poet to his destination, but words are impermanent. Printing, in particular letterpress, give words physicality, it forms and protects them. Printing creates text. It was the mission of this book to not impede the words’ journey by making sure the text was equally seaworthy. First, there needed to be a sea. The element of water was introduced by the flexible fibers of kozo paper. Kozo was the right substrate, but in turn it created problems of buoyancy. Another characteristic of the paper, transparency, sunk the text into a puddle. To open the route and keep the text afloat, a rig and a crew were implemented. The structure of the book, the materials, and printing techniques were developed to fill these roles. Once the text was secure on the surface, the book granted the text more liberties. It was able to rise and fall, fly and dive as it journeyed eastward. Hopefully the reader enjoys the ride more than Catullus. Nine poems are printed on Sekishu and color kozo from Hiromi Paper and stab bound in a shop-made muslin bookcloth to construct a fluid and strong book. The texts are set in cold metal Bembo in tandem with prints crafted with ornamental letterpress, wood and resingrave block, and pochoir. The applied colors are distemper inks derived from historic recipes for preindustrial wallpaper production." Housed in a black archival box with a white spine with black titling. In fine condition. Book measures 6 x 7 inches; Box is 7 x 8 inches. ARTB/092821. Fine.

Item #35308

Price: $1,200.00