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TTTTTTTT AA PPPP RRRR OOOO OOOO TTTTTTT
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T A A P P R R O O O O T
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T AAAAAA PPPP RRRR O O O O T
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T A A P R R O O O O T
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T A A P R R OOOO OOOO T
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Issue #0 8/92
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TapRoot is a quarterly publication of Independent, Underground,
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and Experimental language-centered arts. Over the past 10 years,
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we have published 40 collections of poetry, writing, and visio-
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verbal art in a variety of formats. In the Summer of 1992, we
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began assembling contact information and reviews of like-minded
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publications, and distributing them as part of a local (Cleveland
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Ohio) poetry tabloid, the Cleveland Review. This posting is an
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experiment, to test the practicality of (and interest in)
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distributing this information through the Net. Your response and
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comments are vital in determining the fate of this project.
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Please e-mail your feedback to editor Luigi-Bob Drake at:
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au462@cleveland.freenet.edu
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Hard-copies of The Cleveland Review are available from: Burning
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Press, PO Box 585, Lakewood OH 44107--$2.50. All reviews by
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Luigi, and copyright 1992 by Burning Press, Cleveland. Burning
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Press is a non-profit educational corporation. Permission
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granted to reproduce this material FOR NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES,
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provided that this introductory notice is included.
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'ZINES:
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11x30--(Vol. 4 #2), 32 Scott House, Univ. of Toledo, Toledo OH
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43606. Named for it's physical size, the most recent issue of
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this broadside focuses on Poetry Slams in general and the work of
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Boston's reigning Slam Queen Patricia Smith in particular.
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ASYLUM--(Vol. 6 #2), PO Box 6203, Santa Maria CA 93456. 44 pp.,
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$3. Writing, experimental and fun, which is a good combination.
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Short-shorts from Celestine Frost, Belinda Subraman, Donna Glee
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Williams; somewhat longer stories by S. Ramanth, John Richards,
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and (my fave) Catherine Scherer. Scattering of prosepoems,
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translations, visual/concrete, and a few reviews--not a clinker
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in the bunch.
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BOGG--(#65), 422 N. Cleveland St., Arlington VA 22201. 64 pp.,
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$4.50 Still going strong, another solid and eclectic collection
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of poetry from the US & UK (Britain and her former empirees).
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The Brits as a batch often come across more genteel, especially
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compared to some of the bad-boy Yank's like Ron Androla, Tom
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House, & the Buk. But there's a wide range of voices from both
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sides of the pond, and somehow it all hangs together. The
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letters section seems a little less cantankerous since last I
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looked, and the reviews are now in the form of selections from
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the chaps reviewed, so you can make yr own judgements--nice way
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to go.
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BRIEF--(#6, Jan. '90), PO Box 33, Canyon Ca 94516. 28pp. Poems
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that require some thinking to digest, selected and sparsely
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presented to give the needed headspace and breathingroom. Nearly
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fragmentary lyrics from Todd Baron, Robert Fitterman, and Kent's
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own Tom Beckett, almost prose-poems from Gerald Burns, sonnets
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(unstilted by the form) from Jack Collom.
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CAUTION!--(Vol 1 #4, winter '91), PO Box 4694, Richmond VA 23220.
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64pp., $3.95. "Art & Literature Like a Frog in a Blender".
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Mostly poetry, spanning a wide range of voice & quality. Honest
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rather than intellectual, and (despite the name) not "cautious"
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at all. Credits in the editors box include thanx to Naropa
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Institute, Jim Beam, and a slew of noise-rock bands. Annoying
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use of computer gimmicky type-twisting fr the poem titles, but
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that's a pet peeve of mine, so forget I sed it...
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CENTRAL PARK--(#19/20, spring/fall '91), Box 1446, New York NY
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10023. 344 pp., $9. Their 10th anniversary issue, this deserves
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to be spread out on yr coffee table if you have one. Book sized,
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perfect bound, dense with material that deserves that kind of
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permanence. The poetry mostly L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E influenced (or
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maybe "post-modern", if that means anything). Essays on Chris
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Columbus & genocide, "disappeared" persons in Chile, Salmon
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Rushdie; several on the Gulf war (including one by Noam Chomsky).
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Serious people taking their world seriously, and working to
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know/change it.
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DUMPSTER TIMES--(#11, March '92), PO Box 80044, Akron OH 44308.
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48 pp., $2. Anarchist magazine, featuring articles about the
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tyranny of work, war, religion, art, and gender (among other
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things). Editor Wendy S. Duck keeps it personal & real-life--
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frinstance, sharing her inner turmoil over eschewing a life of
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luxury/wage slavery & health insurance to keep (mostly) doing
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what she wants. This issue has lots of reprints of articles from
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elsewhere; past numbers have had more poetry & "art".
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THE FACE OF THE CONGRESS--(#2, Feb. '92), Fagagaga, Box 1382,
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Youngstown OH 44501. 20 pp., $1. 1992 is the year of the
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WorldWide Networker Congress, a conceptual group project which
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declares that "where 2 or more artist/networkers meet, there a
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networker congress will take place." This publication documents
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some of those meetings, primarily with pictures (hand-drawn &
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otherwise) of the participants. It's a MailArt Thing, You
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Wouldn't Understand...
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FISH DRUM--(#5), 626 Kathryn Ave., Santa Fe NM 87501. 45 pp.,
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$2.50. Poems strongly rooted in place, primarily the Southwest.
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The psychic juice is tapped from all over (Zen & mystical
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Christianity, Emily Dickinson & bluesman Robert Johnson), but the
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resulting perspective is no less unified. Miriam Sagan, Joy
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Harjo, and ex-Clevelander Linda Monacelli Johnson all prominently
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featured.
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FISH WRAP--(#3), 921 1/2 24th Ave., Seattle WA 98122. 36 pp.,
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$3.50. Their "Fishy Business" issue is a batch of multicolored
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business cards, a poem per, elegantly packed into a red velvet
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pouch. How did Ez say--"gists & piths"?--if that's yr definition
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of poetry, these are IT. Single-word works of geof huth,
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verbovisuals from Toledo's Joel Lipman, striking minimalism from
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Joseph Keppler; Crag Hill and Skip Fox also faves, but all
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deserve a read. Get 2 copies, one to keep, one to leave behind
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with yr tip at the coffeeshop.
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FOUND STREET--1403 S. Santa Fe #6, Los Angeles CA 90021. Not
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sure if this is a serial, or a series of chaps--maybe call 'em
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"scraps". "Currently accepting submissions of visual poetry,
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verobvisual art & experimental writing/drawing... all work must
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be camera-ready, B/W and fit within a 7x8 1/2 format". First
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install is BRAIN DAMAGED FURNITURE by Larry Tomoyasu, minimally
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detourned graphics from '40s era advertising.
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HEAVEN BONE--(#9, winter/spring '92), PO Box 10981, Chester NY
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10918. 64 pp., $5. The poetry here is well crafted, but content
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seems to dominate over form--political & ecological concerns, and
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god (in a wide range of guises) appear throughout. Contributors
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range from the pros (Marge Piercy leads off, Bukowski & Antler
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here too) to the rest of us; the presentation definately on the
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professional side--very slick. Contents include: a travel joural
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thru India, Ren Daumal in translation, a halucinogenic-mushroom
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story, some reviews. Assembled so as to lead you thru, one to
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the next.
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IMPETUS--(#20, Aug. 91), 4975 Comanche Trail, Stow OH 44224. 70
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pp., $3. Close enough to Cleveland for us to claim as our own
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hidden gem. Cheryl Townsend edits a fine and visceral mag,
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direct descendant in look and feel to the mimeo-underground of my
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youth. Mainstays of this from-th-heart/land poemfest: Androlla,
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Huffstickler, Sollfrey, Kittel, Oberk, Nimmo, Lifshin;
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Clevelanders (& ex-) Ben Gulyas, Joyce Shipley, Mark Weber; a
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slew of others. Solid review pages, plus plugs throughtout for
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publications & zines of similar ilk.
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IN THE MAIL--(March '92), PO Box 4857, Washington DC 20008. 16
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pp., trade for art. Ex-Clevelander Tim Harding has revived
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"WordLess Press" and this, his long dormant mail-art document.
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Xeroxing & redistributing the various images he receives, this
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has a conversational feeling, a circle of friends sittin' around
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& shootin' the breeze. To get in, you've gotta hold up your end
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of the conversation...
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INTENT--(Vol 3 #2&3, summer/fall '91), 201 Crestwood, Buffalo NY
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14214. 36 pp., $15/yr. Heady newsletter of critical thinking,
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Primarily Literary. About half devoted to a theme,
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"Alphabetics"; the rest rambling around points of perstistant
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interest (most notably, Charles Olson) in review, comment and
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occasional example.
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LOST & FOUND TIMES--(#29, Jan. '92), 137 Leland Ave., Columbus OH
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43214. 52 pp., $4. Language mangled on every level, from
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meaning to spelling, syntax to vocabulary to grammer to
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orthography....all laid to waste, finally maybe ready to "make it
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new". Not everything new is an improvement. That's why we call
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this stuff experimental--sometimes experiments don't succeed, but
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you won't know without trying. People who like this stuff
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(myself amoung) really like it; those who don't are usually stuck
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trying to figure what it "means". Hint: the "means" art the
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"ends".
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MALCONTENT--(#29, Dec. '91), PO Box 703, Navesink NJ 07752. 58
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pp., $3. This is the 1st annual collation ish--each contributor
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sends in 100 copies of their work, Laura adds cover & comment
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pages, binds 'em up, and go. Variable results as you'd expect,
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with a leaning towards ruff edges & rock'n'roll (even an
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interview with now-defunct Adrenalin O.D.). At one point, editor
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Laura Poll rails against poets sending formal/form cover-letters
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with their submits--seems like she'd rather have a genuine
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personal relationship with her authors & audience, rather than
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the ususal "professional distance". Upcoming themes: "Sharing";
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"Does it Hurt to be Alone?".
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MOTEL--(#5, fall '91), Box 65402, Station F, Vancouver BC Canada
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V5N 5P3. 32 pp., $4. Exquisite poetry, but so spacious & open
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it sometimes threaten to fall apart. Held together (like the
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mag) with a constancy of tone, & physical conjoining that
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threatens not to stay on its own--requires an active reader to
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hold it together. Not for those who need to be spoon-fed. Ray
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Dipalma the heavy L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E name here, Abigail Child
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weighing in with particularly striking work.
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PAPER RADIO--(spring '92) 2615 N. 4th St Suite 797, Coeur d'Alene
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ID 83814. 48 pp., $3. Cleanly produced mag of writing (approx
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50/50 poetry/prose, by weight) and art. Much of the work is
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precise & well crafted, without relying on the homogonized
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MFA/workshop "image", & "voice" stylings... Several folks
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singled out & featured, with a selection of several poems
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apiece--helps give a context to their work. Also nice to see
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prose poetry given some prominance.
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POETRY MOTEL--(#18, fall '92), 1619 Jefferson, Duluth MN 55812.
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52 pp., $5.95. Back after an extended vacation, and welcome.
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Some of the regular guys still around--Ron Androla, Seth Wade,
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Todd Moore, & the editors-- still working drinking & talking
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hard. Same old cut & paste layout, with recycled 50's magazine
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graphics plus mayan hieroglyphs. In the end, Jelly Bobby & Mr.
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Jenkins try to get into the Naked Sex Place...
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POETRY USA--(#23, summer '91), 2569 Maxwell Ave., Oakland CA
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94601. 28 pp., $1. A quarterly tabloid with a political
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awareness. Sections devoted to poetry by prisoners, the
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homeless, and young people, as well an international page and a
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regular contest series. Subscribers help to support a program
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that privides free copies to folks on the street, who can then
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resell 'em instead of plain panhandling. Maybe not dressed up
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fancy, but the poetry is straight up--not putting on airs and not
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talking down to anyone, either.
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REBEAT--(#1, spring '92), PO Box 13387, Salem OR 97309. 24 pp.
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Fine looking tabloid that really utilizes the news-print format--
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big type, lottsa space, a genuine vision. Several stories with
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fresh language & twisty points of view--reminds a little of
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Brautegan, but not so neat. Free locally, send a coupla stamps
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at least.
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RETROFUTURISM--(#16, March '92), PO Box 227, Iowa City IA 52244.
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48 pp., $3. Still coming out, but sporadically, during the Art
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Strike* (1990-1993, the Years Without Art--buy now!). News &
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views of censorship, plagarism, and assorted strains in
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networking. Fairly political critiques of mass culture and herd
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thinking, in both mainstream society and the "art" "underground".
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Cynical & idealistic, which aren't so different after all. Also
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available, the broadside series Yawn, a "Sporadic Critique of
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Culture"-- send stamps.
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SLIPSTREAM--(#11), PO Box 2071, New Market Station, Niagra Falls
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NY 14301. 130 pp., $5. Starts off with some powerful poems
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about the Bomb--Americana, but not the kind you see on the
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bloodless faces and hands in the advertisement. City & truckstop
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poems, neigboorhood bar &, car poems, whore poems and war poems.
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Short stories in the same vein. Bukowski weighing in with 8
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pages, he's in the company of friends. Lotta bang for yr buck.
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SPLITCITY--(#1, summer '92), PO Box 110171, Cleveland OH 44111.
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20 pp., free. Cleveland has always been split: east & west,
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high-brow & beer-belly, white & black & blue... These folks
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split from the Cleveland Review to persue their own vision of
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free poetry, & did a damn fine job. Xerox & cutup, gut-bucket
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poetry, & a hilarious attack on Poetry Slams. Hope they do
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another.
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TRANSMOG--(#4), Rt. 6 Box 138, Charleston WV 25311. 6 pp., SASE.
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Editor Ficus Strangulensis is an afficianado of computer-
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generated word-bending, and this newsletter presents the results
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of his various experiments. Random or alleotorically generated
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poetry, or computer cut-ups of found text--past issues have
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featured de-readings of movie listings, recipes, and noozepaper
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headlines ("Cyclone Deaths Black And Whited Against Hangers!").
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The results are weird indeed, sorta surrealist, but with the
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heart & soul of IBM.
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WRAY--(#2), PO Box 91052, Cleveland OH 44101. 84 pp., $3. The
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point of departure here is Art, and from that point moving out to
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writing, performance etc. Not as rigidly "designed" as their 1st
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issue, but still nice & visual. Includes mostly-local writing,
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replies to their 2nd survey (questions like: "If you had an extra
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soul, what would you do with it?"), and a long interview with
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Charlotte Pressler. Their 3rd issue should be out by the time
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you read this.
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CHAPBOOKS:
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Tom Beckett: ECONOMIES OF PURE EXPENDITURE: A NOTEBOOK--Leave
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Books, 357 Ashland Ave, Buffalo NY 14222. 12 pp. A series of
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entries, thoughts concerning poetry & language. Philosophic, &
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including quotes from Zukofsky & Olson amoung others. I think
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Tom distrusts language--certainly that language is always a
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shadow of whatever motivates its utterance, but even that it
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might somehow betray us. On the other hand, I may not have a
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clue...
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Johnathan Brannen: SUNSET BEACH--Runaway Spoon Press, Box 3621,
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Port Charlotte FL 33949. 50 pp., $5. The long prose piece that
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makes up most of this is dreamy and mirage-like, urreal--flat
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declarative statements of fact that don't seem to add up to the
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expected reality. As it turns out, the text is a collage of
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found fragments, so no wonder. The found-text sourcing is more
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obvious in the final section, consisting of visual collages using
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primarily text as a graphic element.
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Serena Fusek: THE COLOR OF POISON----Slipstream Publications, PO
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Box 2071, New Market Station, Niagra Falls NY 14301. 26 pp.,
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$4. A collection of seperate poems, but the images recur: father
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hacks up coal dust, oil slicks the beach, women drink whisky
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while acid drips thru their wombs. Knit together by consistant
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voice as well as image. Hard hit vision of a sub-urban
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nightmare, distilled and polished as if it were nice to look at.
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Powerful stuff.
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Marc Kaminsky: TARGET POPULATIONS--Central Park Editions, Box
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1466, New York NY 10023. 54 pp., $5. Finely crafted poems
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populated by homeless women, holocaust survivors, stock-brokers
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who forget how to fuck--victims & perpetrators. Not glorifying
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the grit or demanding easy answers, these poems connect
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flesh&blood faces to the sometimes abstracted realities of what
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passes for our civilization.
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Gerald Locklin: THE ILLEGITIMATE SON OF MR. MADMAN----Slipstream
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Publications, PO Box 2071, New Market Station, Niagra Falls NY
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14301. 36 pp., $4.95. If you like Bukowski, you'll probably
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like this. In fact, maybe even more--this one seems like it's a
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little more selected than some of Buk's books.
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Jim Maloney: WORKING: SYMBOLS OF POWER & PROGRESS--Parallel
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Discourse Press, 921 1/2 24th Ave., Seattle WA 98122. 28 pp.,
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During the Depression, Leftist magazines like New Masses and The
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Anvil printed Proletarian poetry, focused on the lives of the
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Working Class, and held up organized Labor or Socialism as
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possible solutions. These poems have some of the lyric power and
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class consciousness of those forebears (and other American voices
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like Whitman, Sandburg , maybe even Patchen), but with less
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optimism for simple solutions. Rustbelt vignettes of the Worker,
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more Tragic than Heroic.
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Lonnie Sherman: AFTER DARK--Implosion Press, 4975 Commanche
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Trail, Stow OH 44224. 56 pp. In the introduction, Ron Androla
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calls on the names of Lonnie's literary predecessors, Whitman &
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the Beats. I'd of named Ginsberg instead of Kerouac--these poems
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howl at the moon. Apparently all written in the we hours of
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mourning, there's broken bottles and broken hearts, but the
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spirit's still whole. The singing of whisky voice in-somnia,
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with harmony from the pack of wild dogs in the street.
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Kristen Ban Tepper: MOUTH WATCH--Burning Press, PO Box 585,
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Lakewood OH 44107. 28 pp., $2.50. From mouth to ear is how
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these are intended, direct from body part to body part. Some of
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Kristen's work appears elsewhere in the Review, check it out and
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judge for yourself.
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Chris Winkler: CHICKEN IN THE ACID--Plutonium Press, PO Box
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61564, Phoenix AZ 85082. 26 pp., $2. Cut-up story based on a
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newspaper article about a family's attemts to murder one of their
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own. Unlike many cut-ups, this one's carefully done: the story
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unfolds & progresses, by turns hilarious & chilling.
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Illustrations by Jake Berry.
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End TapRoot 8/92
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