Books

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John Bennett | Black Messiah | A Tribute to Henry Miller | Hcolom Press

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BLACK MESSIAH Fear, hydra-headed fear, which is rampant in all of us, is a hang-over from lower forms of life. We are straddling two worlds, the one from which we have emerged and the one towards which we are heading. That is the deepest meaning of the word human, that we are a link, a bridge, a promise. It is in us that the life process is being carried to fulfillment. We have a tremendous responsibility, and it is the gravity of that which awakens our fears. We know that if we do not move forward, if we do not realize our potential being, we shall relapse, sputter out and drag the world down with us. We carry Heaven and Hell within us; we are the cosmogonic builders. We have choice — and all creation is our range. — Henry Miller – Sexus (1945) Continue reading →

John Bennett | Ragged Lion | A Tribute To Jack Micheline | Hcolom Press

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ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST (a few words on how Ragged Lion came about) On February 27, 1998, Jack Micheline, America’s quintessential street poet, died on a BART train in the San Francisco Bay Area. I got the word from Al Masarik before the obits hit the papers. “Another one bites the dust,” said Al. The Beats and kindred spirits are dying off like flies—Kerouac, Cassady, Henry Miller, Bob Kaufman, William Wantling, George Montgomery, Bukowski, Burroughs, Jesse Bernstein, Ginsberg, Micheline and—on November 3, 1998, a little more than eight months after Micheline’s death — Ray Bremser. Continue reading →

Vagabond Anthology | 1966 – 1977 | Hcolom Press

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THE TIMES ARE ALWAYS BAD. . . Anything less than a change of heart is sure catastrophe. Which, if you follow the reasoning, explains why the times are always bad. For, unless there be a change of heart, there can be no act of will. There may be a show of will, with tremendous activity accompanying it (wars, revolutions, etc.), but that will not change the times. Things are apt to grow worse, in fact. To imagine a way of life that could be patched is to think of the cosmos as a vast plumbing affair. To expect others to do what we are unable to do ourselves is truly to believe in miracles, miracles that no Christ would dream of performing. The whole social-political scheme of existence is crazy — because it is based on vicarious living. A real man has no need of governments, of laws, of moral or ethical codes, to say nothing of battleships, police clubs, high-powered bombers and such things. Of course a real man is hard to find, but that’s the only kind of man worth talking about. It is the great mass of mankind, the mob, the people, who create the permanently bad times. The world is only the mirror of ourselves. If it’s something to make one puke, why then puke, me lads, it’s your own sick mugs you’re looking at!

That’s it. What we have in this anthology was culled from the first 25 issues and the first 11 years of the magazine. We hope you enjoy it. — John Bennett, Editor VAGABOND PRESS Continue reading →

Steve Dalachinsky | Matthew Shipp | Lorna Lentini | Logos and Language: A Post-Jazz Metaphorical Dialog | RogueArt Jazz

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Steve Dalachinsky, poet, and Lorna Lentini, photographer, both know Matthew Shipp, musician, since he arrived in New York in the late 80’s. “Logos and Language: a Post-Jazz Metaphorical Dialogue” is made up of dialogues between Steve and Matthew, Steve’s poems (written while listening to Matthew Shipp), Matthew’s writings and Lorna’s photographs. Shipp’s music as seen from the inside by three major artists. It definitely creates a unique book that on its own, is not just a book about Shipp but as Shipp himself would agree, a book that encompasses the entire Cosmos. Continue reading →

Steve Dalachinsky | Jacques Bisceglia | Reaching Into The Unknown | RogueArt Jazz

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An exceptional book, 440 pages, 180 photographs, 140 poems, a 45 year trip within a unique musical period, from Duke Elligton to William Parker to John Coltrane,Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Anthony Braxton, Derek Bayley, Sun Ra, Don Cherry, L’Art Ensemble of Chicago, Joëlle Léandre, Roscoe Mitchell, Max Roach, George Lewis, Archie Shepp, L’Instant Composer Orchestra, Ted Joans, Betty Carter, Hamid Drake, Roland Kirk, Abbey Lincoln, Amiri Baraka, Matthew Shipp, Art Blakey, Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, John Zorn, James Blood Ulmer, David Murray and tens of other great musicans… Continue reading →

William Parker | Jacques Bisceglia | Ed Hazell | Conversations | RogueArt Jazz

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There is a special level of trust and understanding that artists reach when speaking with other artists. William Parker goes deep in these one-on-one conversations to reveal brilliance, truth, wit, humanity and a relaxed eloquence that is both illuminating and a fascinating read. Conversations sheds long overdue light on some of the most important musicians of our time and in so doing presents us with an essential piece of the creative music puzzle. This is oral history at its best. — John Zorn Continue reading →

Martin Reiner | No Through Road | Art Bureau

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Martin Reiner is the author of five books of poems and a novel. Born in Brno, Czech Republic, he attended several military academies and was imprisoned for eight months before re-entering civilian life. He has worked primarily in the arts since 1989. No Through Road is his first chapbook to be published in English. Continue reading →

Gary Barwin | Derek Beaulieu | Frogments From The Frag Pool | Haiku after Basho

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This water-sound is intended for the haiku-master or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this water-sound, you are hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, reproduction, or any action taken on reliance upon this water-sound is prohibited. If you received this water-sound in error, please contact the leaper and delete the material from any poem. Any views expressed in this water-sound are those of the individual frog and may not necessarily reflect the views of the pond. Continue reading →

Francine Witte | The Wind Twirls Everything

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This is one of those small press books probably desktop-published, with two staples holding about 47 pages together, cover/cover art incredibly simple yet effective, the pages sticking out, poorly cut…something you might pass up in a bookstore where a handful of copies were probably left by the author on consignment. If you look inside, you’ll find an impressive list of acknowledgements in literary journals and online publications. Always a good sign: serious writer-at-work here. Especially the asterisk noting: “nominated for a Pushcart Prize.” (I’m still old-fashioned enough in the literary game to know that this stuff matters—or should, in a day, a time of ‘anybodycanwriteanythingandpublish it (print-by-demand) andbeawriter. Maybe. — Norbert Blei Continue reading →