Selected Broadsides from Littoral Press [all are signed by author, unless otherwise noted]
Solos on the Oud” by Saadi Yousef, translated by Khaled Mattawa: This was printed for the Mutanabbi Street Project. Over 40 letterpress printers responded to the bombing of Baghdad’s traditional bookseller’s district by creating portfolios of broadsides, which are being sold to raise money for Doctors Without Borders and other organizations doing relief work in Iraq. The font is Cochin, with Legend titling. Black, two shades of green, and silver ink on Bockingford paper; 12″x18″. Available for a $35 donation to Doctors Without Borders.
“The Departure of Friends” by Dunya Mikhail, translated by Elizabeth Winslow (September 2007): Another contribution to the Mutanabbi Street Project. The English translation is set in Centaur. The paper was donated to the project by St. Armand Mill in Montreal. Two shades of rust ink, plus copper; 11″x14.5″. Available for a $35 donation to Doctors Without Borders.“We have this way of talking …,” by Jelaluddin Rumi, translated by John Moyne & Coleman Barks, was printed on September 24, 2001 in honor of those who died on September 11th and all those in Afghanistan, in the U.S., and everywhere who are working for peace. Dark-green text in handset 14 point Arrighi; magenta titling, with author’s name in 36 point Goudy Handtooled. 8.5”x6” Rives heavyweight. $15.00. All sales money is donated to Mercy Corps for relief work in Afghanistan.
“Vipera Berus” (August 2003), by Czeslaw Milosz, translated by the author and Robert Hass, is printed on Folio Antique in handset 14 point Garamond, with 24 point Onyx titling. Dark-blue ink with viperish acid green accents. Edition of 200. 11.25”x7.5”. Commissioned by Lyric Poetry Review. $15.00. Sadly, unsigned.
“An Excess of Fireflies” (June 2004): a poem by Lisa Rappoport printed on white Arches cover paper in an edition of 60. Handset 16 point Centaur, chocolate brown and mocha inks with a gold lightning bolt created by dusting the fresh ink with bronzing powder. 9.5”x12”. $15.00.“Are There Not Still Fireflies” (May 2005), a poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, was commissioned by him to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of City Lights Publishers. Light blue Magnani Pescia paper; handset 16 point Centaur and 24 & 36 point Garamond italic titling, printed in black ink, with silver astronomically correct constellations. 14.75”x11”. $45.00 signed/$30.00 unsigned.
Squaw Valley Community of Writers Poetry Portfolio (August 2005) collects the first 10 in a series of poetry broadsides by writers who teach at this summer workshop: Robert Hass, Galway Kinnell, Sharon Olds, and seven more. The portfolio measures 13.25”x9.25”; the signed broadsides range from 9”x6” to 13”x8”. Edition of ten (individual broadside editions were 50-100; more than half are now sold out). $275.00. Residing at Adirondack Community College, and elsewhere. One copy remains
Sappho (August 2005) is printed on white Arches cover paper in an edition of 22, each unique, each signed by the printer/translator and the artist. Three fragments of her poetry, three watercolor images by Portland artist Andrew Larkin (painted onto each broadside), three shades of coppery ink. Handset 24 point Centaur & Arrighi metal type. 16”x12”. $100.00.
“I Speak of the Jazz Poets,” by Jack Crimmins (September 2005), is printed in dark-green ink on dampened spring green St. Armand paper. The poem text is handset 14 point Italian Oldstyle; the title is wood type, printed split fountain (dark blue through blue-green to yellow), as is the large oak leaf ornament. 10.75”x14”. Edition of 200 to celebrate the publication of the author’s first book, Kit Fox Blues. $20.00.
“aunt jemima” by Lucille Clifton (February 2006): The title is black Kaufmann Bold script, the author’s name is blood red, and the text, in handset 24 point Light Clearface, bleeds from black to red (this printing technique is called “split fountain” or “California roll”). 100 copies on dampened cornmeal-colored Hahnemühle paper, 14”x10”. Printed for the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library Reading Series at Emory University. $30.00 signed/$15.00 unsigned.
“Nostalgia” (March 2006) is a poem by Colleen Lookingbill. The text, in handset 14 point Della Robbia, fills the lower half of the page; the upper half is a painting by Dennis Lookingbill, reproduced via color Xerox. An edition of 100 on white Rives BFK. Dark-blue ink. $15.
“After Your Death” by Natasha Trethewey (April 2006): The title is 30 point Goudy Handtooled, the text 18 point Cochin. The parent sheets of Fabriano Watercolor were painted with a leaf green, teal and mauve watercolor wash by the printer and Claribel Cone. 12.5”x8”. Printed for the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library Reading Series at Emory University. $30 signed/$15 unsigned.
“Bract” by Pinna Joseph (May 2006): Dark brown 24 point Centaur with Garamond italic on Magnani Pescia light blue paper. Original watercolor by Claribel Cone tipped in to each broadside. Edition of 50. 12.5”x8.5”. $175.
“Rushing through the Night,” by Dean Young: 11.75×9 inches, individually painted broadsides on Arches cover paper, Garamond and Kaufman Script in black and blood red. From a series benefitting the scholarship fund of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. $35.“Apricot” by Jack Crimmins (August 2007) is a folded, two-sided broadside, 7.25”x11” flat. Cochin light in dark brown and warm red ink on St. Armand tangerine paper. Edition of 100. $35.
“Penelope’s Song” by Diane di Prima (September 2007): Italian Old Style type printed in black ink on Somerset velvet soft white. 11”x7.5”. Edition of 125. $30 signed/$15 unsigned.