Lunar Baedeker: A Hex Presse Poetry Puzzle inspired by Mina Loy

@ the Hex Presse etsy shop

ABOUT "Lunar Baedeker"

This puzzle was inspired by Mina Loys's Poem "Lunar Baedeker"

CONTENTS:

*The letters of six words from the poem: chandelier, whirl, phosphorous, ecstatic, museums, infusoria. The letters appear on brightly-colored plastic beads.

*one hematite bead

*tiny silver key

*blue yarn

*two mermaids

*zinnia seeds

*tiny silver bells

*small brown glass bottle

*bundle of bedtime tea (organic mint and chamomile) tied with iridescent organza ribbon.

*3 black licorice cats

*blue and purple sequins

*tiny blue crayon

*bitty dried flowers

*flower shaped sequins

*white feathers

*iridescent bird confetti

*small white plastic dove

*3 sea-green medium sized beads

*red glass heart

*six hexagon shaped zinc nuts

*small round mirror

Fever 103: a Hex Presse poetry puzzle inspired by Sylvia Plath

another puzzle for sale at etsy

"Sestina" : a Hex Presse Speciman Jar Poetry Puzzle inspired by Elizabeth Bishop

~*~ SPECIMEN JAR POETRY PUZZLES ~*~
for sale at the Hex Presse Shop

The letters of six words from a single poem are gathered and stored in glass specimen jars. "Sestina" comes in a triangular jar and contains brightly-colored letter beads which allow the player/puzzler to experience the letters synesthetically. Because the letters are also impressed on the beads, once can "feel" the letters, thus allowing for the experience of "feeling" and "seeing" as simultaneous acts of "reading." The puzzle jars can be emptied and their letter contents "solved" to spell the words from the poem. The letters can be used to make anagrams and new words also. In addition to letters, other materials are harvested and added to the jar for further delight and stimulation. These additional materials are carefully selected and are -- to a certain degree -- intended to conjure sensory details related to the poem which inspired the puzzle. Something for each of the *six* senses is contained in each Hex Presse Specimen Jar Poetry Puzzle. This "syntax of tangibles" can be used to create poems, to conjure new ideas, and to amuse, delight, and inspire. For students of poetry, Hex Presse Specimen Jar Poetry Puzzles enhance understanding and enjoyment of the poetry. Like Cleromancy games, Hex Presse Specimen Jar Poetry Puzzles are an exciting, surprising, and unique way to engage with poetry.

ABOUT "SESTINA"

This puzzle was inspired by Elizabeth Bishop's Poem "Sestina."

CONTENTS:

*The letters of six words from the poem. Since this poem is a sestina, it seemed appropriate to use the six end words: house, grandmother, child, stove, almanac, tears. The letters appear on brightly-colored plastic beads.

*six morning glory seeds ("time to plant tears")

*a bundle of tea tied with silver "rain" (ribbon)

*a bird-shaped lampwork glass bead

*a flower-shaped lampwork glass bead

*a tiny spool of thread

*six plastic buttons

*six plastic flowers

*six hexagon-shaped zinc nuts (to turn)

*one dried bloom from a Persian Silk Tree (albizia julibrissin)

*3 multi-colored glass beads, one oval, one rectangular, and one spherical.

*tiny silver key charm on a white string

*one tiny sprig of fresh mint

*one valerian capsule

*one white plastic dove

*tear-shaped multi-colored sequins

*a hook and eye

*robin's eggs made of plastic

*tiny silver bells

*one "White Rabbit" milk candy

*tiny pinecones

*one small round mirror

*three white feathers

*star-shaped bark from a Laurel tree

*one match

Some Things to look forward to from HEX PRESSE

FORTHCOMING CLEROMANCY GAMES:

GWENDOLYN BROOKS curated by Evie Shockley

GERTRUDE STEIN curated by kathryn l. pringle and Magdalena Zurawski
LORINE NIEDECKER curated by Julia Drescher
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING curated by Catherine Daly
AUDRE LORDE curated by Kate Greenstreet
VIRGINIA WOOLF curated by Michalle Gould
CHRISTINA ROSSETTI ("a summer wish") curated by Jessica Smith

TEST TUBE/ SPECIMEN JAR POETRY PUZZLES:

The letters of six words from a single poem are gathered and stored in test tubes and specimen jars. Because the letters are impressed on the beads, once can also "feel" the letters, thus allowing for the experience of "feeling" and "seeing" as simultaneous acts of "reading." In addition to letters, other materials are harvested and added to the tube/ jar for further delight and stimulation. These additional materials are carefully selected and are -- to a certain degree -- intended to conjure sensory details related to the poetry. The tubes and jars can be emptied and their letter contents "solved" to spell the words from the poem. Additionally, the letters can be used to make anagrams and new words. Like Cleromancy games, Hex Presse poetry puzzles are an exciting, surprising, and unique way to experience poetry.

SPOOL POETRY

Another fun and intriguing way to engage with poetry. Spool Poems are written on ribbon and wound onto spools. To read the poem, simply unspool the ribbon. The act of unspooling/unwinding allows the reader/unspooler to engage the pace of the poem. Additionally, the spool allows for a reading experience that is distinctly different from that in which the poem is on the page. Along with the words themselves, Hex Presse poetry spools allow readers to enjoy movements of the hands and eyes that are less familiar. Unlike Cleromancy Games and Test Tube/Specimen Jar Poetry, new poems by contemporary poets are published in the Spool Poetry series.

CHAPBOOKS

Hex Presse chapbooks are printed in handbound limited editions. Our first chapbook will be Resurrection Party by Michalle Gould (read a poem from Resurrection Party here). Six "special editions" will be housed in a unique, woodburned box. Resurrection Party should be available for purchase in August.

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All proceeds from Hex Presse publications go directly back into the press. Hex Presse is committed to paying chapbook authors for their work. Cleromancy Game Curators receive a copy of their Cleromancy Game and a copy of each chapbook published by Hex Presse.

Cleromancy Poetry Game # 2, "cup-like lilies" : Christina Rossetti, curated by Jessica Smith

Now available at Etsy.

******six word dice for poetry, divination, and play******

*Cleromancy Poetry Game # 2, "cup-like lilies," is sourced from the work of Christina Rossetti
*Curated by Jessica Smith
*Six dice; each side of each dice has a different word (for a total of 36 words)
*Comes in a hexagon shaped box
*Dice and box are pyrographed and inked by hand
*Roll the dice to make poems or divinations
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Cleromancy is a form of divination using sortilege, casting lots or casting bones in which an outcome is determined by random means, such as the rolling of a dice.

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Hex Presse Cleromancy Games are a fun and surprising way to engage with the language of your favorite writers. Additionally, Cleromancy games provide a fascinating glimpse of the curators. Not only is it compelling to see what word/s the curator selects, but it is also interesting to see how she arranges and groups the words. These games are a valuable and unique way to enjoy poetry.
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Cleromancy Games are published in *very* limited editions (there will only be six of each). Due to their handmade nature and differences in the patterns and texture of the woodgrain, each Cleromancy game is entirely unique.

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Jessica Smith edits Outside Voices Press, an umbrella for Outside Voices Books, Take-Home Project chapbooks, and FOURSQUARE magazine. Her first book, Organic Furniture Cellar, is available from the Press website at outsidevoices.org

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There will be MORE cleromancy poetry games from Hex Presse. Each game will be sourced from "woman-authored texts"** and contemporary poets will be invited to "curate" the dice. Cleromancy #3 also will be curated by Jessica Smith and sourced from the work of Christina Rossetti. Cleromancy #4 will be curated by Michalle Gould and sourced from the work of Virginia Woolf.

**open to interpretation :)

Hex Presse Mission Statement

Hex Presse, the print companion to the online journal WOMB POETRY, is a feminist press dedicated to the publication and appreciation of writing by women. Hex Presse publications are multi-media and eclectic. In addition to publishing handbound limited-edition chapbooks by contemporary poets, Hex Presse also publishes games and visual/tactile/manipulative poetic materials. Hex Presse games and manipulatives are often based on, sourced from, or inspired by the work of women writers. The goal of these materials is to create alternative ways of engaging/reading/experiencing writing by women. Hex Presse is interested in presenting text as multi-dimensional, plastic, playful, concrete, mutable, improvised, cooperative, collaborative, and interactive.

My inspiration for Hex Presse publications comes from a variety of sources. I admire the tactile poetry of Jessica Smith and the tangible beauty in the design of her magazine FOURSQUARE. I am also thrilled by the curiosity, detail, and wonder of the minumentals crafted by Julia Drescher for Dos Press. Dusie's Wee Chaps and Big Game Books' Tinysides satisfy my craving for colorful poetry in miniature, and I am mesmerized by Jen Bervin's intriguing work with textiles and natural materials. I am continually surprised and delighted by Anne Boyer's visual poems, paintings, and videos, and I am intensely fond of the art and writing by the graff girls. The manipulatives used in Montessori classrooms appeal to my desire for sensorial encounters with language and text, and I am excited by the poetic strategies developed by the oulipians and surrealists. I feel an affinity with the feminist art movement, the arts and crafts movement, Wunderkammers, ancient and medieval methods of divination, and the book arts. Kiki Smith, Lorna Simpson, Eva Hesse, Yoko Ono, and Renee Stout are among my favorite artists. I maintain a fascination with dollhouse furniture, vintage children's books, kaleidoscopes, plastic animals, mirrors, wood, beads, plants and flowers, toys, games, relics, fossils, and machines. Other things I like are listed here.

More than anything, I am motivated to publish poetry by the brilliance and munificence of my peers, and by the writing and art by women who seek to create community and political change through radical critique, innovation, activism, generosity, and optimism.