textfiles/magazines/MISC/tr-12.txt

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  Issue #1.2                                            12/92
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TapRoot is a quarterly publication of Independent, Underground, 
and Experimental language-centered arts. Over the past 10 years, 
we have published 40+ collections of poetry, writing, and visio-
verbal art in a variety of formats. In the August of 1992, we 
began publish TapRoot Reviews, featuring a wide range of "Micro-
Press" publications, primarily language-oriented.  The printed
version appears as part of a local (Cleveland Ohio) poetry 
tabloid, the Cleveland Review. This posting is the electronic 
version, containing all of the short reviews that seem to be
of general interest.  We provide this information in the hope
that netters do not limit their reading to E-mail & BBSs. 
Please e-mail your feedback to the editor, Luigi-Bob Drake, at:

                 au462@cleveland.freenet.edu 

Requests for e-mail subsctiptions should be sent to the same
address--they are free, please indicate what you are requesting. 
Hard-copies of The Cleveland Review contain additional review
material--in this issue, reviews & articles by John M. Bennett,
geof huth, Micheal Basinski, Tom Willoch--as well as a variety
of poetry prose & grafix.  It is available from: Burning Press, 
PO Box 585, Lakewood OH 44107--$2.50 pp. Both the print & 
electronic versions of TapRoot are copyright 1992 by Burning 
Press, Cleveland. Burning Press is a non-profit educational
corporation. Permission granted to reproduce this material FOR 
NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES, provided that this introductory notice 
is included.  Burning Press is supported, in part, with funds
from the Ohio Arts Council. 

Reviewers: Deidre Wickers, Jake Berry, Bill Paulauskas, Nico
Vassilakis, Bob Grumman, Tom Beckett, Roger Kyle-Keith, and
Luigi-Bob Drake.  Many thanx to all contributors. 

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'ZINES:
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BACKWOODS--(#16), 224 Elizabeth St., Athens GA 30601.  $3.00. 
Classic underground mag includes bizarre artwork, collages, 
comics, gritty and even transcendent poetry, some good stories 
and a great back cover of Jesus catching a few rays on a stolen 
Holiday Inn towel.  Irreverence with style, the heart of the 
insurrection.--jb

BLANK GUN SILENCER--1240 William St., Racine WI 53402. 40 pages,  
$2.  A magazine that takes chances and publishes a wide variety 
of edge poets. Lists addresses of contributors as well as listing 
other interesting magazines.--bp  

BREAK TO OPEN--(#1), 2965 13th St., Boulder Colorado 80304.  
$3.50. Experimental open form poetry and visuals--most of it very 
good, inviting the ordinary mind into new spaces.  Also a review 
section.  Let's hope this one remains in publication.--jb

CENTRAL PARK--(#21, Spring 1992), PO Box 1446, New York NY 10023.  
222 pp.,  $7.50.  Strong committed work--fictions poetry drama 
essays--all informed by a political engagement with the world.  
Sometimes fiction & poetry can address "worldly" concerns even 
better than exposition; seeming to let in more of the complexity 
of the real world.  But even Margaret Randall's essay, on being 
a political/lesbian/artist in the land of the NEA and INS, goes 
further than an over-simplified "censorship is evil" chant (not, 
of course, to suggest that censorship is not evil...).  Mostly 
writing, with some strong photographic images, including a series 
of Navajos who are threatened with forced relocation.  Only a 
little ironic that such radical politics comes in such a slick 
package...--lbd

CO-LINGUA--6735 SE 78th, Portland OR 97206.  $5.00?  An anthology 
of over 15 years of Dan Raphael's magazine NRG.  If you want to 
understand what's happening on the edges of literary, and 
visualature work then this is the place to begin.  One gets a 
sense of both the "avant garde" and Raphael's editorial vision 
evolving from one wonderfully open perspective to another.  The 
work leaps and sings hungry for new experience, hungry for some 
other that defies ordinary syntax, sensibility and logic.  After 
a while a kind of lunatic joy emerges, implying there may be some 
small hope for the species after all.  Three large tabloid 
sections of excellent artistry.--jb  

COFFEEHOUSE POETS QUARTERLY--(Spring 1992), 3412 Erving, Berthoud 
CO 80513.  38 pp., $3.00.  The poetry is sincere & conversational, 
but subject matter & voice run the gamut.  Heartfelt poems about 
AmerIndians & whales to funny stuff about the Kennedy clan to 
dead serious memories of Nam--the editors have eclectic tastes, 
self-described as "meat & potatoes".  Beyond the poetry basics, 
they sponsor a sort of poetry pen-pal listing called the Poets 
Dialog Network, as well as the Chapbook Exchange--listings of 
folks who will send you copies of their work for the price of 
postage.  Generous & friendly.--lbd 

COKEFISHING ON MOODY STREET--(#27, spring 1992), 31 A. Waterloo 
St., New Hope PA 18938.  52 pp.  Cohabitation of Cokefish 
magazine (frm AlphaBeat Press, address ibid) and the Moody 
Street Irregular's Jack Kerouac newsletter (PO Box 157, Clarence 
Center NY, 14032).  A collection of poetry dedicated to Jack
Kerouack, and the Beats in general.  Mostly "in tribute to"--
not to knock hero-worship (or Kerouac), but I was more interested 
in the "inspired by" side of it, folks carrying a genre forward
rather than looking back.--lbd

DREAMS & NIGHTMARES--(#38!), 1300 Kicker Rd., Tuscaloosa AL 
35404.  20 pp.,  $10/yr.  A magazine of fantastic poetry that's 
also nicely illustrated.  An entertaining sample of its poetry 
is one by W.  Gregory Stewart about Sisyphus--who "does not 
understand/ TGIF," among other things, but does know things like 
diddly and squat, "And while he has no proof/ that the gods wear 
pocket protectors/ he strongly suspects it."--bg
Mostly poetry in the sci-fi/fantasy vein, avoiding blood & gore 
as well as cliches.  Even has some surreal and cut-up kinds of 
stuff, including an exquisite corpse collaboration done on the 
GEnie electronic bulletin board.  Seems to have won awards in 
the SF fandom world, and would be a good introduction to the 
genre for non-fans.--lbd

DUSTY DOG REVIEWS--(#s 6&7, 1992), 1904-A Gladden, Gallup NM 
87301. 52 pp., $2.  Reviews of 100+ small press poetry books & 
chapbooks.  Very thoughtful and wide-ranging, with most reviews 
running to several substantial paragraphs.  The reviewer has 
strong opinions about good & bad, which he backs up with reasoning 
& (often) quotations from the works.  But I never got a good fix 
on how his particular tastes ran--on the stuff I was familiar 
with, could never predict if he'd give it a "yea" or "nay". --lbd
A small price for a lot of reading; a magazine of good solid 
reviews, focusing on small press chapbooks and poetry books.  
Literate, informed as well as informative.  David Castleman's 
reviews in particular show a keen insight into voice and style, 
but may be more enjoyable for people who already have a groundwork 
in poetic theory than than non-academic enthusiasts.--rkk

EXPERIMENTAL (BASEMENT)--(#1, Feb. 1991), 3740 N. Romero Rd. 
#A-191, Tucson AZ 85705.  52 PP., $4.  Appealing to the senses 
rather than the sense--triangular pages, layout twisted to match 
the syntax, neologisms, & metaphors that've never met before.  
Some people complain that this kind of work doesn't "mean" 
anything--when really, it's just words that can't be put into 
other words ("translated", in otherwords). --lbd
  
FAT FREE--(Aug.), Box 80743, Athens GA 30608.  10 pp., free?  
A valuable showcase for new writers and illustrators.  Its editor 
seems open to a wide variety of material--this issue ranges from 
a sophisticated cover drawing by Homer Springer to a somewhat 
childlike (but likeable) illustrated poem by Random Art Transfer: 
"Ants climb my ankles/ like to bite the flesh/ don't like my 
voodoo feet./ stamping out their nest."--bg

FISH DRUM--(#9), 626 Kathryn Ave., Santa Fe NM 87501.  36 pp., 
$2.50.  A chapbook masquerading as a magazine, or vice versa: 
Unborn Baby by Miriam Sagan.   Transplanted from the east coast, 
Miriam's at her best when she's just who she is, tourist or or 
writer or expectant mother; other times she strains a little, 
stretching to embrace the exotic space of New Mexico or Zen.  
A performance of these poems is available on cassette from Rotcod 
Zzaj, aka Dick Metcalf (HQ  19th SUPCOM, Unit 15015  PO Box 2879, 
APO AP 96218-0171)--interesting to hear a male & techno-processed 
voice interpreting these woman-centered words.--lbd
This issue is called Unborn Baby, a virtual chapbook of Miriam 
Sagan's poetry.  Her work here is straight down the line, 
traditional free verse, breaking no new stylistic ground.  It is, 
however, vivid, concrete, highly understandable, perhaps 
too schmoozy at times.  Real plots and narratives in every 
piece, stepping over the line into prosey at times, but never 
prosaic.--rkk

FUEL--(#1, 1992), PO Box 146640, Chicago IL 60614. 42 pp., $3.00.  
>From the former ed. of "Mutated Viruses", this is one incredibly 
energetic poetry 'zine, plus a coupla proses.  Where the Beat's 
listened to jazz for inspiration, punk is the background music 
here (tho i'd guess slamming, not moshing, is the dance style).  
For ex-sample, from Glenn Shedon: "The diamonds in her head 
glittered brightly as god's dark elf/ cracker her against the 
sidewalk like a bag of beautiful bones."  Style is appropriately 
reflected in the computer/laser layout, a combination raw & 
high-tech.  The editor's also involved w/ a forthcoming review-
zine called Scrape--write for info.--lbd

GLOBAL MAIL--(#3, Sept. 1992), PO Box 597996, Chicago IL 60659.  
4 pp., $2. A huge mail-art contact sheet--over 180 shows listed, 
many of which are ongoing.  Also listings for compilations, 
fax-art, collaborative tapes, and some 'zines.  An incredible 
resource, so dense it's somewhat hard to read.--lbd

GREEN FUSE--(#16, spring/summer 1992), 3365 Holland Dr., Santa
Rosa CA 95405.  48 pp., $4.50.  Poetry from an environmentalist 
viewpoint--Gary Snyder and Antler would, I'm sure, be welcome.  
Paul Willis paints a lovely picture ("Rain on lemons/hung aloft 
in winter shine/of limb-leaved skies/trickling down tart 
skins..."), and Elizabeth Herron's "Drownded Woman" series is 
a fine mesh of language & image.  Other poets seem limited by 
their ecological concerns--when issues are drawn in black & 
white, the resulting poetry can sometimes seem colorless.--lbd

GYPSY--(#17, 1991), PO Box 370322, El Paso,TX 79937.  73 pp.,
$7.00.  Mostly poetry from an international cast--Korea to Saudi
Arabia--and the writing is as far-flung.  Straight talk is 
favored over fancy, which in the end is the more impressive as 
it gets the point across.  Love and death are frequent subjects, 
with darker visions edging out light-hearted by a bit.--lbd  

HAIGHT ASHBURY LITERARY JOURNAL--(Vol. 6 #2, 1992), 558 Joost Ave.
San Francisco CA 94127. 16pp., $2.00.  Tablid packed with poems
& plenty of street-smarts.  Ranging from all over, and not just 
SanFran, and including an admirable cross section of cultures.
Featured poet is Linwoood Ross, a strong AfoCentric voice from
NY state.  Desite the title, not as retro as you might expect--lbd

IMPROVIJAZZATION--(Summer, 1992), c/o Dick Metcalf, HQ 19th 
SUPCOM, UNIT 15015, PO BOX 2879 APO AP 96218.  20 pp., $1.50.  
A good zine for informal but informed--and generally 
enthusiastic--reviews and observations about experioddica, 
with the emphasis on audio tapes.  It includes mail art show 
announcements and pertinent names and addresses, so is a good 
aid to networking.--bg

KRAX--(No.28),  c/o 63 Dixon Lane, Leeds LS12  4RR,  Yorkshire, 
U.K.  550pp.   An international compilation of poetry and prose, 
featuring odd illustrations and photos as well.  Some really 
decent talent.  Among the better of the pieces is "Bridgework" 
by E.J. Cullen--an allegorical story which, through the world 
of dentistry, expresses the superficiality of life.  The final 
lines say it best: "The rot comes on.  The rot will have its 
way.  Those teeth will go, as all have gone before."  Deep.--dw

LILLIPUT REVIEW--(#s 37 & 38, 1992), 207 S. Millvale Ave. #3,
Pittsburgh PA 15224.  12 pp., $1 or SASE.  True to its name, 
tiny collections of tiny (10 lines maximum) poems.  Although 
there aren't many traditional 5-7-5 haiku, most of the work 
relies on the kind of imagistic snapshot that most Westerners 
associate with that tradition.  Not always pretty snapshots: 
check Lyn Lifshin's "AIDS Hospice" or Viet Nam vet Bill Shields' 
"a purple enough heart".--lbd 

LOGODAEDALUS--(#2), Box 14193, Harrisburg PA 17104.  24 pp., $2.
Characteristic of the work featured in this poetry zine is 
Robert Fitterman's "2  Two." Its theme, appropriately, is 
division, which it investigates through the fragmentation of 
words and syllables, such as the isolation of "out" from 
"about"-- or, going the other way, the drawing together from  
twoness of "you ---- I," who "might/ split/ this bis-/ cotti."--bg

LONG BEACH GUTS-ETTE--(#5, May 1992), PO Box 2730, Long Beach 
CA 90801.  6 pp., free for postage.  This broadside (8" x 11") 
puts accessibility above all else; the editors urge readers to 
photocopy the magazine and spread it around.  A refreshing 
editorial policy!  Mostly angry political poetry from the left, 
with an emphasis on the "guts" part of the magazine's name.  
Poems in here from Joyce Carbone, Belinda Subraman and Albert 
Huffstickler, among others, make for a good primer of  modern 
narrative poetry.--rkk

LOST & FOUND TIMES--(#30, July 1992), 137 Leland Ave., Columbus 
OH 43214.  60 pp., $4.00.  Radical & violent (& beautiful) 
attacks on the world as we know it, as mediated by language.  
Surrealism drawing more often from nightmares than dreams.   
A particularly dense issue, and  international in scope, it 
includes work in Spanish & German, as well as a generous selection 
of Russian work in visual and Zaumist modes.  Collaborations 
between the editor John M. Bennett and various are a continued 
feature, as are Al Ackerman's "hacks" (aleatory re-readings 
based on poems Bennett).  John's taking a break for a year, and 
will be sorely missed.--lbd

LOWER LIMIT SPEECH--(#3), 725 East Taylor St., San Jose CA 95112. 
24 pp., $?  "A newsletter in poetics," that, this time out, 
includes criticism and poetry by Susan Smith Nash which 
illuminate each other; criticism of David Bromige (by Crag Hill) 
and poetry by Bromige which do the same; and some fascinating 
"performance criticism" by Gerald Burns, on poems by Steve 
McCaffery and Laura Moriarty.--bg

MAKE ROOM FOR DADA--(#4, 1992), 1705 14th #272, Boulder CO 80302.  
34 pp., $3.00.  The Boulder CO address & occasional drug 
references make me think there's some connection to Naropa 
(where Ginsberg holds forth).  The poetry is more down-to-earth 
than my remembrance of hippie-kids from there, and better 
written.  Amari Baraka kicks it off strong, & black/proud; 
Jack Collom does the last call in the  "Sundown Saloon"; in 
between, Bukowski probably speaks for everyone concerened when 
he sez "the Paris Review ain't crap/to me".--lbd

MALLIFE--(#22, summer 1992), PO Box 17686, Phoenix AZ 85011.  
40 pp., $3.  Mike Miskowski keeps cramming more & more into his 
magazines, this one feature a strong dose of prose (stories by 
Stephan-Paul Martin & Willie Smith among others) as well as the 
usual urban nightmares, futurist/cyberpunk ragings, extremes of 
energy & delusion...  Unlike some of this ilk, it's more than 
random splatterings--seems purposeful, even political, and 
highly recommended.--lbd

MODOM--(#3), PO Box 3112, Florence AL 35630.  broadside.  15 
pieces by Pavel Mitjushev of Moscow on an 11x17" broadside.  
Experimental & ranging from concrete to conceptual, w/ some 
pieces in Russian, and some reduced in size 'til they're too 
small to read.  Jake Berry is the instigator behind the open-
ended Modom project--write him for details on how to 
participate.--lbd

MR. COGITO--(#29), PO Box 66124, Portland OR 97266.  24 pp., $3.  
A magazine that seems to reflect an editor's personal & eclectic 
taste, rather than follow some particular style or genre--which 
is a great way to edit, but makes it hard to sum up in a few 
lines.  Several strong Native American voices, & more than half 
of the contributors hailing from the Pacific Northwest.  Solid, 
no-frills poetry.--lbd

NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW--(vol. 16 #2, 1992), 20 Werneth 
Ave., Gee Cross, Hype, Chesire U.K. SK14 5NL.  36 pp., #2/$5.00.  
A review-zine concentrating mostly on micro-press poetry, with 
some politics, recordings, and software reviews thrown in.  
About 300 items reviewed, maybe two-thirds from the UK, most of 
the rest are Amerikan.  Some of the work reviewed is quite old.  
The reviewers are not afraid to pass judgement, but take the 
responsibility serious & back up their opinions with reasons 
and quotes.--lbd

OFFERTA SPECIALE--(#9) Corso De Nicola, 20 - 10128 Torino, 
Italia.  56 pp., $7.  An Italian zine with work from a wide 
assortment of international poets and visual artists.  In one 
piece Bill Keith plays fascinating games with "adam/madam," 
"atom/tomato" and the like in the Garden of Eden.  In another, 
Franco Ballabeni, combines formal musical notation with text 
and illumagery.--bg

ON THE BUS--(#8/9, 1991), 6421 1/2 Orange St., Los Angeles CA 
90048.  336 pp., $13.50.  Huge.  Enormous.  Gargantuan.  
Massive.  Monstrous.  Whopping.  Overwhelming.  & so on...  90+ 
pages of poetry; 30 pages of translation; a Joyce Carol Oates 
story; interviews with Anne Waldman, Ai, Alison Lurie, Tom 
McGrath; articles on Surrealism and Bukowski; 30 pages of 
reviews...  One editor claims "we're still Walt's (and Emily's) 
children, and our tastes are broad and democratic" and the 
selection proves it--prose-poems, streetwise raps, a shape poem 
(in the form of a noose), lyrics & laments--something for 
everyone.--lbd

OWEN WISTER REVIEW--(Vol. 15 #2, Fall 1992), P.O. Box 4238, 
University Station Laramie, WY 82071.  86 pp., $5.  Put out 
by students at the University of Wyoming, OWR has the up-and-down 
quality you'd expect from a mix of students, faculty and outside 
contributors, though lots more "up" than "down."  This issue 
focuses on cultural diversity, with a strong graphic design and 
artwork spread liberally throughout.  Something in here for 
everyone.--rkk

PLASTIC TOWER--(#s 10 &11, 1992), PO Box 702, Bowied MD 20718.  
40 pp., $2.50.  For the most part, over-the-back-fence, over-a-
cup-of-coffee kind of conversations without fancy or flowery 
language--just something that happened, something I was 
thinking about, something I wanted to tell you.  An emphasis 
on content rather than form, where the speaker wants to make 
sure you understand.  The Persian Gulf war offered several 
notable occasions for such work in #10.  Exceptionally, Thomas 
Zimmerman's haiku is fine and precisely drawn, and Kelly 
Washbourne's work in #11 is playful and melodic.  A handful of 
reviews take up the last few pages of each issue.--lbd

POETIC BRIEFS--(#8, Oct. 1992), 404 Jersey St. (rear), Buffalo 
NY 14213.  16 pp., $1.25.  Conversations on poetry & poetics, 
fairly heady stuff handled as a chat among friends instead of 
a lecture, sermon, or manifesto.  Many of the participants are 
connected to the State University of NY at Buffalo, where 
Charles Bernstein recently took over the poetics program from 
Robert Creeley.  High-level intellectual fire-power, sounding 
more curious & genuinely human than most lit-crit.--lbd

REBEAT--(#2, fall 1992), PO Box 13387 Salem OR 97309. 24 pp., 
free fr postage.  Contents: Kerouak Kut-ups; "first-thot best-
thot" dream of consciousness; role-reversed Cuckoo's nest with
Nicholson as the shrink; hand-drawn portaits of nut-n-bolt
boxes (6 pages); the Dharma Bums o "Welcome" (or vice versa); 
religion wins over the Devil's music; a Complete-History-of-
Basement-Bands-from-The Clash-to-The Jazz Crusaders(1 page);
and Adam & Eve illumined by Bonnie & Clyde.  All told: fun, 
as well as thoughtful. "remove history" is the subtitle--
ReBeat plans to remove itself from history after 4 issues
(to keep themselves from becoming victoms of their own past?).
Better get while the gettin's good.--lbd

RIVER RAT REVIEW--(#6, 1992), PO Box 24198, Lexington KY 40524.  
32 pp., $3.00.  Hard-hitting and well-honed, sometimes there's 
a tension between the craftedness of these poems and the 
violence of the subject matter.  Suicide, sex, drugs & betrayal--
this is not a prettified view of life.  The work rings true, as 
honest and necessary, which is somewhat rare in the genre.  
"Published annually, submissions are excepted only during 
October"--lbd

RIVER STYX (#36, 1992), 14 S. Euclid St., Louis MO 63108.  
108 pp., $7.  High-quality poetry in the MFA mold.  Polished 
gems, crisp & precise & somehow more perfect than anything real.  
A pal calls it "high & dry lit".  Subject matter seems to be 
either life-&-death, or ordinary but heightened to that kind
of level.  I often admire & sometimes enjoy the display of 
technique--othertimes I mistrust the separateness & 
elevation.--lbd

SENSORIA FROM CENSORIUM--Other Ground Works, Box 147 Station J, 
Toronto Ontario M4J 4X8, Canada. 180 pp., $17.00.  Compendium 
of artifacts from an independent cultural network conjoining 
mailart, home-tapers, underground cartoonists, computer 
hackers, and assorted anarcho-bon vivants.  Documentary 
(articles & interviews on mailart, extreme-music 'zines, 
plagiarism) and graphics dominate, plus a 7" record.  A short 
time ago, this would have been typewritten/scrawled & run off 
on a cheezy xerox--this is typeset, perfect-bound & glossy.  
Despite that, I suspect they'd think of TapRoot as mainstream.  
Beautiful.--lbd  

SHATTERED WIG REVIEW--(#8, Spring), 1992 523 E. 38th St., 
Baltimore MD 21218.  88 pp., $3.50.  Demented & raw writing 
from denizens of Wig House (Wig Head Rupert Wondolowski & 
recent resident "Blaster" Al Ackerman) and allies.  Fun & 
funny--both funny "ha ha" & funny "peculiar"--sometimes 
nonsensical, absurd rather than surreal.  Equal doses of poetry, 
prose, and letters (strange unbelievable letters, among the most 
entertaining work), illustrations scrawled or cut-up.  One 
suspects chemical imbalances, either naturally occurring or 
induced.  And consider: their title is an anagram for "That's 
Right, Wee Weird Eve"--scary, ain't it?--lbd

SHEILA-NA-GIG--(#4), 23106 Kent Ave., Torrance CA 90505.  70 pp.,
$5.00.  Most of the poems here are heavy on images, painting 
pictures to tell the story.  Occasional sounding "Californian" 
(talk about mantras & crystals) or even naive, these are for 
the most part pretty down to earth, and earnest.  July 1st is 
the submission deadline for an annual Women's Issue.--lbd

SIDESHOW--(#2, 1990), 2951 Voorheis, Waterford MI 48328.  68 pp., 
$4.50.  Fine set of poetry that matches twisted visions & 
tortured words, near hallucinations grounded in a somewhat 
harsh & bleak reality.  nice balance of consistence & variety.  
Faves include Sheila Murphy's one-liner "eye texture, woman pink 
unchanged decomposition", Pat Longes "barbara jane Boogie" (not 
just for the line "holy cadillahoppers", but that helps), and 
Elaine Seech's "cunt".--lbd  

SLIPSTREAM--(#12, 1992), PO Box 2071, New Market Station, Niagara 
Falls NY 14301.  128 pp., $5.00.  The Working Stiff issue, a 
thick slab of poems about jobs.  Mostly what you'd expect--the 
job is monotonous, the boss is an asshole--stories for the most 
part, plain-spoken and funny/bitter.  Slipstream's usual (high) 
level or quality, no tricks and anxious to communicate.  Of 
course, here in the US of A, you're more likely to be a working 
stiff if you are white & male--that demographic seems to be 
reflected in the poets (or at least the personae) here.--lbd

TALISMAN--(#9, fall 1992), PO Box 1117, Hoboken NJ 07030.  
222 pp., $5.  "A Journal of Contemporary Poetry & Poetics"--
including interviews, critical essays, and generous samples of 
current practice.  Featuring several critical articles on 
Nathaniel Mackey, "post bebop" black avant-garde writer--would 
have liked to see some examples of his work as well.  The poetry 
is for the most part precise & formal.  Old-guard L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E 
folks (Bruce Andrews, Ray DiPalma, Jackson Mac Low, Ron Silliman) 
& younger voices in the same vein providing most of the strongest 
pieces; Serge Gavronsky, Kathleen Frazier, Gale Nelson 
contributing work with heart as well as head.  Other poems reflect 
wide-ranging stylistic tastes, though not all are as successful 
as those holding closest to the editor's central intellectual 
concerns.--lbd

THE STREETFIGHTING AESTHETE--(#3), Box 5243  Kreole Station,  
Moss Point MS 39562.  20 pp., $2.  A nice range of otherstream 
poems.  Editor Roberts, for instance, provides ringingly regional 
ones that weirdly but effectively weave gingham skies with KKK 
swamps.  The illustrations are at a high level, too: Blair 
Wilson's, for example, would not seem out of place in a 
slickzine--except for the rubbery erotic way they slip into 
surrealism.--bg

THE SUBTLE JOURNAL OF RAW COINAGE--(#55), 317 Princetown Rd., 
Schenectady NY 12306.  SASE.  Just a scrap of twice folded paper 
entitled "Alterior" (a word of Bill Larsellar's), and containing 
but 5 words, aside from credits & publishing data.  it doesn't 
seem impressive but I think Lorraine Schein's contribution to 
it, "electicity," sums it up very nicely.--bg

TIGHT--(Vol.3 #3), PO Box 1591, Guerneville CA 95446.  $3.50  
Tight should be noted for the broad range of materials it 
publishes.  Everything from confessional and neo-beat to 
surrealistic and beyond with some good visuals thrown in. 
Every issue is a great ride and this one is no exception.--jb
Ann Erickson edits it and it contains a wide range of poetic 
styles. A bit light on experimental work, but I like Ann's 
poetry and it's in here.--bp 

TRANSMOG--(#7), Rt 6 Box 138, Charleston WV 25311.  6 pp., $?.  
Showcases dislocational poems like one by Surllama that clobbers 
spelling, grammar, syntax, SANITY to speak, for example, of 
"these kingdoms- quieu; what butterfly buts u    b tleel atoms,,
poses/try to DREENK the stars 1/2)," which I read as: "a quiet 
too quiet for its final t where butterflies, subtle atoms, try 
to more than merely drink the stars ..."--bg

URBANUS--(#3, 1992), PO Box 192561, San Francisco CA 94119.  
48 pp., $5.  The poems here are rated just like movies-- I 
guess Todd Moore got an "R" for mentioning sex & guns in the 
same breath, even tho neither one actually fires.  Other poems 
here seem loaded, but don't quite explode.  Urbanus is an annual, 
they also publish another annual called Raizirr, which may or 
may not be similar.--lbd

VITAL PULSE--(Volume 1, #1), ABC No Rio, 156 Rivington St., 
New York NY 10002.  18pp.  A group of alternative writers meet 
weekly to "share words."  This is their effort.  Impressive, for 
a first issue.  Love and one-night stands, euphoria and withdrawal.
Absolutely New York.  Hard-core and hearty.--dw

ViZ: THE HUB CITY NEWS/REVIEW--(#1), Box 1584, Hattiesburg MS 
39403. 40 pp., $15/yr.  A collection of poetry, prose and visual 
art by Americans like Richard Kostelanetz (who contributes 
characteristically simple-mindedly not-so-simple narrational 
lists such as "iterate irate invigorate intenurate incinerate 
incorporate itinerate incarcerate inaugurate") and John M.  
Bennett, and people I'd never heard of before from Germany, 
Croatia and Italy.--bg

WRAY--(#3, fall 1992), PO Box 91052, Cleveland OH 44101.  72 pp., 
$3.  From the SlowHouse, an ever-more-eclectic collection of 
graphic/writing.  The number & range of contributors continues 
to expand, although editors james & valerie continue to include 
much that is their own.  Material ranges from Literature (w/ a 
capital "L") to some pretty raw stuff--maybe still trying to 
settle on a focus, or maybe just savoring the spice of life.  
Layout is striking as ever, but again jumps from precision to 
cut-and-paste--a collage, on balance, more Merz than punk.--lbd

XIB--(#3, 1992), PO Box 2621121, San Diego CA 92126.  48 pp., 
$4.00. Stark black&white images on the pages & in the poems, 
consistent hard & well written.  Attitude & tough talk, self-
assured enough to let emotion & heart show--Pat McKinnon's "My 
Father Was a Carney Man" just one (fine) example among many.  
Longer poems get a chance, and a short story.--lbd

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CHAPBOOKS:
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anthology: BAKER'S DOZEN--105 Betty Rd., East Meadow NY 11554.  
24 pp., $3.00.  Anthology: Michael Hathaway, Hugh Fox, Nate 
Tate, Cheryl Boyce Taylor, Harvey Miller, Bob Balo, Altan Ogniedov, 
Todd Moore, Patrick McKinnon, Pamela Laskin, Gina Bergamino, A. D. 
Winans, Marjorie Maddox.  Gritty poes, unwashed & not afraid to 
sweat (from fear, or during sex).  Plenty of rough edges, and
not alot of antifice.  Todd Moore sums it up: "you don't/
write from/ideas you/write from/the skin/the blood."--lbd

anthology: POEMS FROM THE NURSING HOME--Box 48852, Wichita 
Kansas 67201.  40pp.  A collection of poetry from the foremost
experts on life, the elderly.  Innocent, honest, and loaded 
with faith.  These senior citizens have a lot to say, and we 
have every reason to listen.  A worthwhile project, and I 
applaud Millie Wherritt and Gina Bergamino for undertaking 
it.--dw

Blaster Al Ackerman: LET ME EAT MASSIVE PIECES OF CLAY--523 E.
38th St. Baltimore MD  21218.  $3.00. The Blaster's twisted 
genius has never been more in evidence than in this collection 
of "Poems, etc.", so bizarre that they could only have trembled 
from the hand of the master himself.  Scatological narrative 
grinning like angels in a sticky gutter.  One can feel in these 
works Blaster sitting behind it all with a six of cheap beer 
laughing at all our human confusion, because he knows the secret 
and he tells us straight out and we still don't get it.--jb  

Sherman Alexie: I WOULD STEAL HORSES--PO Box 2071, New Market 
Station, Niagara Falls NY 14301.  30 pp., $4.00.  Alexie is 
member of the Spokane/Coer d'Alene tribe in Washington state.  
He sez that "Native American writing is about survival", & the 
survival of his own voice is testament to that.  Strong poetry 
that acknowledges history without nostalgia, and speaks as a 
survivor, not a victim.--lbd

Ron  Androla and Kurt Nimmo: A POEM TO BE READ OUTLOUD--4975 
Comanche Trail, Stow OH 44224.  5pp.  A poetic wet-dream.  An 
ode to genitalia.  Verbal masturbation.  Is this really what 
men talk about when there are no women in the room?--dw

Jessica  Bayer: OBJECTS OF DESIRE--11 Slater Ave., Providence 
RI 02906.  24 pp., $4.00.  A personal plain-spoken meditation 
on the death of her grandmother, via the "things" left behind.  
"If you touch every single thing a person held dear, if you take 
from their whole life and transfer the pieces to your own table 
to nourish your days, isn't that one way of finally parting, of 
saying, thank you?"  Jessica's language touches those things one 
by one, more than an inventory but not quite as sentimental as a 
caress.  The language builds a bridge between the substance of 
the objects and the memories of a gone loved one.--lbd

Guy R. Beining: VANISHING WHORES & THE INSOMNIAC--Box 3621, Port
Charlotte FL 33949.   "16 Haiku Counted in the Head of the 
Insomniac" and contains 18 pages of mystery collages/drawings 
with some nervously kitsch exoticism to tease the poetry.  Typical 
Spoon-sized edition and tasty for the most obscure palate.--bp

Charles Borkhuis: HYPNOGOGIC SONNETS--PO Box 630, New York NY 
10028.  16 PP., $3.00.  In dream states there are disembodied 
sensations that offer potent information.  This work is patterned 
after the hovering of dreams.  Words happen on the surface, then 
they dissolve into further meaning.  You follow them enjoying 
the peaks of thought.  The sonnets are mostly broken down into 
short protruding images and ideas, as are the sharp echoes of 
dream sounds.  Borkhuis, a challenging poet, writes about the 
linguistics of sleep and how language effects both writer and 
reader.--nv

Jonathan Brannen: CRUNCHING NUMBERS--1200 Overton St., Old Hickory 
TN 37138. 12 pp., $?.  A collection of prose poems, each in a 
single paragraph and full of such enchantments as: "When the moon 
learns anchors and the wild stars howl, the bridled zero risks 
fingerprints" (which I read as a splendidly authentic recreation 
of Chaos's being subdued--toward Life).--bg

David  Cole: THE PILLOW BOOK OF DAVID COLE & SEI SHONAGON & CAROL 
STETSER--19 Grace Court #5C, Brooklyn NY 11201. 18 pp.,  $25. 
Japanese texts from about 990 A.D.  that Carol Stetser and David 
Cole have treated, expanded, illustrated, annotated, translated, 
lived up to... Or combinations of East and West, Then and Now, 
Distance and Nearness, Serenity and Modernity that end in the 
highest precincts of visual haiku.--bg

Charles Corry: PASSIVE SMOKE--Box 793, Princeton TX 75077.  
59 pp.   Poetry which ranges from pastoral to metaphysical.  
An exploration of the human dilemma revealed through nature, war, 
and ultimately, death.  Extremely personal.  Charming, yet 
riveting. --dw

Mike Davis: LA WAS JUST THE BEGINNING--PO Box 2726, Westfield 
NJ  07091.  $3.50.  Subtitled "Urban Revolt in the United 
States: A Thousand Points of Light", Open Media continues its 
blitz of pamphlets that offer genuine intelligent alternatives 
to the usual crap we are sold for information and politics.  
This one, rather than playing on stereotypes, digs below the 
surface of the riots in an attempt to understand the deeper 
motivations behind them.  As might be expected there's more to 
the picture than met the eye of the twisted media.--jb

Jack Foley: GERSHWIN--2569 Maxwell Ave., Oakland CA 94601.  
$4.00.  Any education of contemporary poetics would be vastly 
inadequate without a thorough reading of the work of Jack Foley.  
He is quite simply inventing entire new regions of linguistic 
and paralinguistic space.  His poems have an effect on the mind 
that literally forces it into these open spaces to make its own 
discoveries.  Gershwin is a brilliant example of these qualities 
and much much more.  It includes a tape so that the reader/
listener can experience the pieces more fully through the voices 
that sing us out.  While on the surface the poems are 
juxtapositions, collages--as we dig deeper and listen more 
closely we hear a multitude of individuals, ideas, images, and 
complexes of these unifying all around us, indeed a part of 
each of us, to compel us toward a moment of liberation; and 
then, like a symphony the music begins on a new level.  Gershwin 
is an education for the soul as much as it is a menagerie for 
the senses.  Poetry that will change your life.--jb

Susan Domino Gevirtz: POINT OF ENTRY--357 Ashland Ave., Buffalo 
NY 14222.  20 pp., $2.00.  This is a book of recognitions about 
men and women, about pronouns pronouncing "our voices," about 
undeliverable utopias arriving COD.  "I am the narrator in whose 
accident I speak."--"I" am spoken by (a? the?) narrator in (his?) 
accident?  accent?  At any rate, I am speaking what speaks and it 
speaks to and through me as it does to you now.  It preceded you.  
You were born into it.  It follows you around.  It follows me.  
Follow this:  "I was the one from which I am returning."  
"someone is a direct object."  "They are having trouble 
remembering their plot."  "I overheard her describing my life in 
his voice."--tb 

Jordan Green: UGLY BOY POEMS--Rt.3,  Box 284, Owenton KY 40359. 
6pp., 75" plus 2 stamps and a SASE.   Hard-core desperation and 
discontented youth.  Poetry which mocks American mediocrity in 
the face of annihilation.  Gloomy, but insightful.--dw

Mimi Holmes, "textually illuminated by Jake Berry": A SELECTION 
OF SELVES--Box 3621, Port Charlotte FL 33949.  Mysteriously 
dense language set with 39 Berry drawings arranged by the editor. 
A "gluttonous papal idea kingdom" for the "resurrected tropical 
asylum Iowan".--bp 

Justice Howard: MEMOIRS WHILE REACHING UP TO PLAY HANDBALL ON 
THE CURB--8825 Roswell Road Suite 474, Atlanta GA 30350.  8pp., 
$3.  A brutal portrayal of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.  Not a 
pretty picture, but certainly a true one.  Not recommended for 
the pristine.--dw

Elizabeth Hurst: INSIDE OUT--Box 640534, San Francisco CA 94164.  
26pp.  Dissection of fruit, animals, and human interactions.  
Eloquent.  Scientifically philosophical.  A trip. --dw

geof huth: LEEVS--317 Princetown Rd., Schenectady NY 12306.  
40 pp $?  A collector's item consisting of five labeled leaves 
that have been inserted for protection into a book of blank 
pages.  One of the leaves, from a maple tree, has been labeled, 
"mapleaf." Thus we have not only a leaf specimened two letters 
less than it was alive, but leaf-as-map, or perhaps as just 
one page of a map...  of? The other leevs are similarly 
provocative.--bg

Mori Ikuo: UNFOLDING--Box 4190, Kenosha WI 53141.  broadside, 
$?.  Twelve visual poems, some in Japanese (but with 
translations provided), some in English.  My favorite, "Hole
Ranking," consists of four squares in which the dot of the "i" 
in the word, "pin," expands from normal-sized to so large it 
forces the rest of "pin" out of its square.  Ikuo's other poems 
are similarly charming explorations of perspective and point of 
view.--bg

Karl Kempton: RUNE: A SURVEY--Box 4190, Kenosha WI 53141. 80 pp., 
$8.  73 "typoglifs" from Kempton's long-worked-on Rune.  The 
typoglifs on its front and back covers demonstrate as well as 
anything what makes Kempton's work special.  On the front a 
design of m's pulsates within a stasis of o's, to complete the 
latter's ahhhhh as "OM." On the back the same design, with just 
a few extra m's, not only pulsates but glows!--bg

d.a. levy: ZEN CONCRETE & ETC--2518 Gregory St., Madison WI 
53711.  245 pp., $27.50.  A book its publisher describes as 
"the only definitive collection of d.a.  levy's works in print." 
Levy was not only a brilliant wordsmith (on Cleveland, his 
hometown, in particular) but a pioneer in visual poetry.  He was 
also a fascinating personification of the Idealism, Creativity 
and Wildness of the Sixties, who, tragically, killed himself at 
the age of 26.--bg
levy was an important poet who deserves to be taken seriously 
as a writer & publisher.  This book does that, featuring pains-
taking reproductions of some of his graphic work, long 
unavailable.   He also once wrote: "everytime i write a/
poem--i'm afraid--when/i'm dead it will sell/&some other poet 
will/starve because no one will/buy his poems".  I think he'd 
hate this coffee-table book, as much as he'd hate collectors 
paying $100+ for some of his early hand-printed stuff, now that 
he's dead & "collectable".  Druid Books (Ephraim WI 54211) has 
published his collected poems in a much more righteously priced 
edition (tho it's text-only, and gives no feeling for the graphix);
Persona Non Grata used to put out chaps free-fr-postage, which 
is, i'm sure, how d.a. woulda liked it...--lbd  

Lewis, Joel PALOOKAS OF THE OZONE--1506 Grand Ave. #3 St Paul 
MN 55105 32 $4.00  A single narrative poem from somewhere in 
suburbia; an everyday guy looks out on the world and just tries 
to keep up, what with things getting blown up and no sense of 
proportion.  No chance of making sense of it, just trying not 
to fall too far behind.  The melting post is a batch of gumbo, 
burned on the bottom and needs more than a little salt o fix 
it...--lbd 

Ezra Mark: CODA--PO Box 23194, Seattle WA 98102.  4 pp., 25"  
This is a small book of four pages, of four almost seperate 
ideas.  It is the motion between ideas--you need not leap, but 
simply pass through acquiring keys to the next.  The point of 
inclusion to Coda is defined as an ending or faceted 
cartographer's sequence.  Though Coda is defined as an ending
or closing passage, we sense Ezra Marks reaching a place he's 
already departing from--an end product.--nv

Stephen-Paul Martin: CRISIS OF REPRESENTATION--1200 Overton St., 
Old Hickory TN 37138.  19 pp., $?.  Two understated absurdist 
tales that teem with intricate indirect explorations of reason 
versus the imagination, and the verbalizable versus the sensually 
genuine.  Mesmer, the father of hypnotism, stars in one; the
other concerns a man and a woman who wake up in a strange bed 
with each other.  Neither knows the other.--bg
Normally stories about an 18th century magnetic healer and 
intimacy faced with accelerated information would not sit well 
side-by-side, but here it works.  Martin makes each piece an 
object you can put to light and scrutinize.  The two stories
are boards from which ideas dive off and get fleshed out.  The 
plots become sheer, like a vehicle whose only intention is 
transport.  This facade allows the real workings of the author 
to emerge.  I hear crisp twangs ending each--for accomplished 
precision and for defying sullied vagueness.--nv
One of the remarkable effects of the stories in this chapbook 
is that they seem to do what they are telling you about.  For 
instance in "The French Revolution", while reading about an 
individual being hypnotized by Mesmer himself, the description 
of subconscious, even hallucinatory states is so accurate that 
you begin to experience the story almost as a participant--
integrated into the events being described, you as a character 
contribute as well.  Martin has proven with his visual writing 
and now with fiction that he is an artist of powerful capability 
directed at opening the world of our perceptions to greater 
freedom.  Essential.--jb

McKinnon, Patrick THE BELIZE POEMS 1619 Jefferson St. Duluth 
MN 55812 28 $3.95.  Strange how going to another contry changes
your perspective, yet you never really leave your self behind.  
McKinnon goes to Belize City in between tending bar & shooting 
pool he keeps a "cool head & a keen eye", maintians his straight-
talking working-guy persona, and mines characters & materials for 
some more of of his honest, smooth poems.--lbd

Stephen C. Middleton: THE QUANTUM OMELETTE--37 Portland St.,
Exeter ENGLAND EX1 2EG 16.  Words as water, a mystical intention. 
Words bouncing against each other, both spatially on the page 
and contextually in their meanings, as opposites are forced 
into cohabitation, and odd rhyme parodies are generated as sound 
echoes and re-echos.  And through it all, the ebb and flow of 
the word tides, like ocean tides, advancing and retreating, 
washing over you.  "Firsts, lasts, causes and effects/Wrecked 
echoes... to cure."--tw

Peter Money: THESE ARE MY SHOES--163 Third Ave. Suite 127, New 
York NY 10003.  87pp.  Following the steps of Ginsburg, Olson, 
and at times, Whitman, Money still stands in his own shoes.  He 
is a reporter of life who always finds light at the end of the 
tunnel, even if that light is just Jersey.  Powerfully perceptive. 
A classic.--dw

Sheila E. Murphy: WIND TOPOGRAPHY--1200 Overton St., Old Hickory 
TN  37188.  $3.00.  Moving beyond the easiness of ordinary 
surrealism, these poems carry us through atmospheres where 
objects appear and act on one another but nothing seems solid.  
It's as if things were in a constant state of transformation--
the body is a mutable idea in the common mind that can change 
at whim.  These poems are delightful excursion into what lies 
behind the illusion.--jb

Greg Parker: ATTACK OF THE MUTANT SHEEP WITH BIG SHARP TEETH 
FROM HELL--Box 1513, New York NY 10276.  16 pp., $1.50.  A 
comicbook that is gross, crude, gory, offensive--and very funny 
in spots if you're as sicko as I am.  The plot is simple: an 
anti-superhero goes around chomping off the heads of various 
human beings, including a cuddly little baby, until confronted by 
Santa Claus--at which point the comic ends, to be continued.--bg

Dan Raphael: HERE THE MEAT TURNS TO THE AUDIENCE--523 E. 38th St., 
Baltimore MD 21218.  32 pp., $2.00.  Faux surrealist writing 
seems not to make sense; on closer examination, it's nonsense.  
True surrealist writing seems not to make sense, on closer 
examination, it's es-sence.  This is the real deal--untranslatable 
& inexplicable, but fine.  In the first poem, Dan sez "i throw 
away my glasses and accept my way of seeing"--the rest of the 
book lets you share in his (twisted) vision.--lbd

Marvin Sackner, ed.: THE BEAUTY IN BREATHING--300 West Rivo Alto 
Dr., Miami Beach FL 33139.  47 pp., $?.  An excellently-produced 
catalog for a recent (May, 1992) exhibit in Miami of visual
poetry on the theme of simple human breathing.  Of importance 
to anyone interested in visual poetry, for 167 works from many 
of the best visual poets from all over the world are listed, 
and about half of them reproduced (in black & white).--bg

Glenn Sheldon: WOLVES IN BROWN WEDDING GOWNS--Box 7157, 
Pittsburgh PA 15213.  14pp.  $2.  Highly sophisticated 
investigation into a mad, cannibalistic world.  Intriguing, 
to say the least.  Footnotes wouldn't have been a bad idea, 
though.  Not easy reading, but worth it for the challenge.  
Try to unravel the mystery of the wolves.--dw

Bill Shields: BILL SHIELDS OF YOUNGWOOD, PA IS GOD--1440 Pear 
St. #17, Ann Arbor MI 48105.  42pp.  Forty-two poems, thirty-
four of which are entitled "ghost poem."  The poet is seemingly 
haunted by the ghosts of Vietnam past.  Morbid flashbacks, and 
visions of suicide comprise most of these poems.  Redundant?  
Certainly.  Bizarre?  Perhaps.  But nevertheless, real.  Too 
real.--dw

Janet  Snell: FLYTRAP--Cleveland State University, Cleveland 
OH 44115.  59 pp., $10.  A series of charcoal drawings that go 
darkly manywhere via an expressionism that reminds me of Egon 
Schiele and Francis Bacon.  Snell provides poems for her 
illustrations that generally extend rather than just rephrase 
them--e.g., "Wired up to perpetual self serve,/ the meter 
running--/ up from the depth arises/ nothing!/ But the phone's 
always ringing/ off the wall."--bg

Juliana Spahr: NUCLEAR--357 Ashland Ave., Buffalo NY 14222.  
16 pp., 2.00.  One recognizes in this risk taking ruminating 
collage poem of dividing energies divided "half-lives that exceed 
years."  Nuclear: of a nucleus.  "we are born to be awake not be
asleep."Nucleus: the central part or thing about which others 
are collected.  "the littlest world of woman now contains atom."
This is a poem self-consciously on the edge of its annihilation.  
"as the energy is liberated/one must learn to see." --tb

Chris Stroffolino: INCIDENTS (AT THE CORNER OF DESIRE & DISGUST):
POEMS 1985-1988--Box 1698, New Brunswick NJ 08903. 36pp., $3.  
Stroffolino is a risk taker.  He is not afraid to tackle any 
issue, from religion to urban decay.  Dichotomous, obscure, 
and food-filled.  Although he is sometimes exaggeratedly dreary, 
and he tends to prematurely deliver the punches, he always hits 
hard.--dw

Subraman, Belinda (ed.): THE GULF WAR: MANY PERSPECTIVES--PO 
Box 370322 El Paso TX 79937 164 $10.95.  "Desert Storm " provoked 
an outpouring of writings here and abroad, as ambivilanet & 
thoghtful as the media coverage was shallow & superficial.  
This sampling--stories, poems, essays, letters & journal entries--
encompasses the many forms and many positions that outpouring took.
This anthology speaks in a variety of individual voices, each speaks 
firsthand about an experience of war that's already dimming in 
our TV-fed collecive memory.  Besides connecting flesh-and-blood 
humans to the war that we all, in some virtual sense, "experienced", 
it reminds that the hard questions don't have any easy answers 
(an observation that doesn't sit well with the commercial sponsors 
of prime-time newscasts).--lbd

John Sweet: SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS LIKE THIS--Box 782288, Wichita 
Kansas 67278.  12pp.  Some of these poems are like snapshots 
which beautifully capture the briefest moments in life, and this 
is good.  Still, others tend toward contrived commentary, and 
this is not so good.  Sometimes it happens like this.  Sometimes 
it shouldn't.--dw

Jim Thiebaud: LOOSE CHANGE--Box 11462, Berkley CA 94701.  60 pp., 
$5.   Ultra-contemporary commentaries on urban decay and the 
superficiality of man.  A tribute to American desperation.  
Humorous, dismal, and thoroughly real.--dw

Thomas L. Vaultonburg: DEMENTED CHILDREN'S STORY HOUR--Box 7157, 
Pittsburgh PA 15213.  8pp., $2.  Raging.  Demented.  Raw.  
Vaultonburg uses language as ammunition, and is a skilled 
marksman.  He can juxtapose with me any day! --dw

Jeff Vetock: FRAMEWORK--Box 11186, Philadelphia PA 19136.  24 pp., 
$5.  Vetock's first collection of poetry, it includes four 
collage drawings and a cover hand-colored by Vetock. Short 
experimental poems, not terribly odd but they are strange 
enough to hold my interest. Mysterious collage-work gives it 
an edge.--bp

Eddie Watkins: A GREEN DIGESTION OF NIGHT--315 Mullberry St., 
Lewes DE 19958.  28 pp., $2.  Freaky rich language in dense 
poems kept me interested in Watkins' effort. Nice price and 
worth it.--bp

Paul Weinman & Blair Wilson: YOUR NOSE KNOWS--7940 Convoy Court, 
San Diego CA 92111.  26 pp.  Street-level poetry from the 
prolific Paul Weinman.  He gets himself wound up like a top and 
then explodes on the page, and the poems move from childish to 
malevolent very quickly.  The more you get into this chapbook 
the more intense it gets.  Interspersed with drawings by Blair 
Wilson.--rkk

Donald Wellman: THE HOUSE IN THE FIELDS--29 Lynton PL., White 
Plains NY 10606.  16 pp.  Wellman's work is concise.  His images 
evoke a crisp awareness. Here we have 21 poems, each flawless, 
forming a chain of thought.  The word that ends a poem is title 
for the proceeding one.  Tangent thought becomes the spearhead 
of intention--the ruminations of an observed periphery makes 
this read a challenging construction of poetic staring.--nv

Gail D. Whitter and Karen Ballinger: RESISTING THE SUN and 
ISOLATION--Box 64026-555 Clarke Rd., Coquitlam, B.C., CANADA 
V3J 7V6.  32pp.  The blues, as only women can sing them.  A 
tribute to the bag lady.  To the battered wife.  To the mother 
dying of cancer.  Painful, yet triumphant, and ultimately, what 
womanhood is all about.--dw

Maw Shein Win: TALES OF A LONELY MEAT EATER--4646 Grisham Ave., 
Long Beach CA 90805.  95pp. ,$7.50.  A collection of poetry and 
prose.  Psychedelic fairy-tales reminiscent of childhood dreams 
and adult nightmares.  Bold.--dw

t. Winter-Damon: THE HOUR OF  HALLUCINATIONS--PO Box 321, Beech 
Grove IN 46107.  52 PP., $5.95.  This is Baudelairian visionary 
excess at its finest, with a bit of Rimbaud (and Rambo) mixed 
into the brew.  Damon does a Dionysian danse macabra on the 
razor's edge of things, like a shaman invoking intense verbal 
energies to shake the mental routine and reveal the delicious 
terrors just beyond the edges of your senses.  His poems are 
great sweeps of language, swinging back around you, forming 
satisfying circles of imagery you didn't even suspect until 
they were done.  At their best, these poems are like strong 
nectar.  Exotic, intoxicating and addictive.--tw

Ronald Zack: DETROIT--Box 2520, Shiprock NM 87420.  18pp., $2.  
Poetry probing into the ruins of buried cultures and torrid 
love affairs.  Simple, yet effective language which traces 
the manic and depressive phases of living and loving.  
Accurate.--dw

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end, TapRoot Reviews #1.2                                  12/92
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