Press of Appletree Alley

Press of Appletree Alley ~ Pennsylvania

Sandy Point Poems by Afaa Michael Weaver. Wood engravings by Rosalyn Richards. The latest in the Bucknell University Fine Editions: A Series in Contemporary Poetry which began in 1984 and has featured such illustrious bards as Kumin, Carruth, Oliver, Berry, et al. Earthy, jazzy investigations probe at gender roles, relations, and remorse. Rich in feeling and reflection, these poems are detailed and compassionate, evidence of Òthe examined life.Ó Prior to resuming academic studies, Weaver, now a publisher, writer, and Alumnae Chair in English at Simmons College, undertook Òhis fifteen year literary apprenticeship while employed as a factory worker.Ó Richards, a professor of art at Bucknell, is a painter and printmaker whose work is represented in numerous museum collections. Her abstract engravings are richly textured, suggesting landscape, storm, natural forces, emotion, formation. Letterpress from Spectrum monotype with Open Kapitalen and Van Krimpen types. Wood engravings printed directly from blocks. Printed on Rives lightweight and handbound in cloth and paper over boards using an original abstract pastepaper. Edition of 125. (7 x 10 inches; 72 pp.) $150

Shaw on Theatre: A Half Century of Advices The letters of Bernard Shaw compiled and edited by Mary Chenoweth Stratton. Illustrated by Stephen Kraft. Introduction by noted Shaw scholar Stanley Weintraub. Handpicked from the Bucknell University Library's Special Collections by Stratton, these letters span fifty years and highlight Shaw's trenchant opinions on such subjects as acting, directing, and dramatic criticism. Weintraub places the letters in the context of Shaw's life and philosophies enabling the reader to gauge the fullness of Shaw's mind. Kraft's pen-and-ink sketches of Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and Ellen Terry enhance the informal yet immediate quality often found in the letters. Handset in monotype Van Dijck and printed on lightweight Rives paper. Cloth over boards with gold-stamped, leather title plate. Edition of 150. (6.5 x 10 inches; 72 pp.) $185
Yes, Of Course, But No Karl Patten. Woodcut by Coleen Shannon. The epigraph-"If there are no more forests, there will be no more poets"-introduces the premise of the poem. Patten sees "the dark wood" as an allegorical representation of the poet's nature, and cautions against the clear-cutting of forests, linking the creative imagination to a vital natural world. Single poem printed from Centaur type on Somerset paper. Two-color woodcut of felled trees. Pamphlet stitched into brown Roma covers. Edition of 100 signed by poet. $40 Yad Vashem By Peter Balakian. Two-color woodcut print by Colleen Shannon. The featured poem, written after a 1993 visit to the Children's Memorial Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, is a non-rhyming villanelle. The poem evokes the mood of the memorial, which is described in the prospectus as a "profound and unique space lit by mirrors while names of the dead are read and Yiddish music is played." Letterpress printed from Spectrum type. Pamphlet sewn into deep-blue Roma cover paper. This is Appletree chapbook Number 2. Edition of 125. $45 Animals at the Table Poetry by Molly Peacock. Wood engravings by English artist Anne Jope. A publication of The Bucknell University Fine Editions: A Series in Contemporary Poetry. In this book, Peacock examines the animal world and its relationship with our true selves. Robert Creeley has described Molly Peacock as demonstrating "resourcefulness, surviving humor, and remarkable and unobtrusive authority as a poet." Author of four books of poetry and widely published in magazines, Peacock was the 1993 Bucknell University Poet-in-Residence. Ann Jope's illustrations "offer a stylish subjectivity presented with great technical skill." She engaged in postgraduate studies in printmaking at the Central School of Art and Design in London. Handsewn case binding of printed paper over boards with a cloth backbone. Printed in monotype Spectrum on Somerset mouldmade 100% rag. Edition of 125. $150

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