Beauty. A Poem by B.H. Fairchild.
upland, California: Blackbird Press, 2007. One of 100 copies, signed in ink by the poet, artist, and Blackbird Press printer Jean Gillingwators on the colophon. This is copy number forty-six. The poem Beauty first appeared in Fairchild’s third book of poetry, The Art of the Lathe, which received numerous awards and was a Finalist for the National Book Award. Four linocut illustrations by Anna Alquitela. Printed on Zerkall Book paper, the text is Centaur and Arrighi monotype from M & H type. A fine copy with original numbered gray paper band in a gray cloth clamshell box. Hand-bound with aluminum-wrapped covers and stainless steel hinges. 7 x 11." Item #16701
B.H. Fairchild (b. 1942) is an American poet and former college professor. His poems have appeared in various publications and journals, including The New Yorker. The poem Beauty has many “book characteristics”: a narrative structure, four chapter-like divisions, and a lyrical appeal. Its aluminum-wrapped binding, which features metal hinges made by Jean Gillingwators after a design by Daniel Kelm, is reminiscent of the corrugated-metal buildings that often house machine shops (where the poem is set). Overall, the creation of the binding and its process took several years. Together, Gillingwators and Alquitela created the binding for each book from a variety of materials, aging the thin aluminum with nontoxic chemicals to effect a dappled, weathered look. The beautifully crafted binding echoes the theme of the book while maintaining a close connection with Fairchild’s machine-shop laborers. (Blackbird Press website).
Carolee Campbell founded Ninja Press in Sherman Oaks, California in 1984 and has been the sole proprietor ever since. She publishes limited editions of contemporary poetry that she designs, handsets in metal type, prints letterpress, binds, and often illustrates. The Ninja Press website recounts that Campbell began bookmaking as a result of her experience as a photographer using nineteenth- and twentieth-century photographic techniques in the darkroom, which led to her exploring experimental book structures and, eventually, letterpress printing. Campbell, who focuses on printing contemporary poetry, has printed the work of numerous important poets, including former United States Poets Laureate W.S. Merwin, Billy Collins, Philip Levine, and Natasha Trethewey. Ninja Press books can be found in the collections of libraries including the Getty, the Library of Congress, UCLA, and the British Library.
Price: $750.00