Hex Presse

The Seasons Cemented is here!!

2010-11-14T12:29:00.000-08:00

THE BOOKS ARE IN!!!

The Seasons Cemented
by Amanda Ackerman

Amanda Ackerman lives in Los Angeles where she writes and teaches. She is co-editor of the press eohippus labs. She is a member of UNFO (The Unauthorized Narrative Freedom Organization) and writes as part of SAM OR SAMANTHA YAMS. Her collaborative book Sin is to Celebration has been recently released from House Press. Her work has also been published or is forthcoming in in flim forum: A Sing Economy, String of Small Machines, The Physical Poets, WOMB, Moonlit, Source Material: A Journal of Appropriated Text, and Area Sneaks.

Read a poem from this collection here: http://www.wombpoetry.com/skeins/ackerman.html

Read a review by Vanessa Place at the Constant Critics here: http://www.constantcritic.com/vanessa_place/poets-without-products/

The Seasons Cemented

2010-08-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hello! The first mini-run of Amanda Ackerman's chap was provided to the author in May, and the rest of the run should be available soon (you can see some preview pics here). I'm just waiting for a few printer issues to be resolved. xo M

FORTHCOMING: Amanda Ackerman

2010-01-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

The Seasons Cemented

by Amanda Ackerman

Amanda Ackerman lives in Los Angeles where she writes and teaches. She is co-editor of the press eohippus labs. She is a member of UNFO (The Unauthorized Narrative Freedom Organization) and writes as part of SAM OR SAMANTHA YAMS. Her collaborative book Sin is to Celebration has been recently released from House Press. Her work has also been published or is forthcoming in in flim forum: A Sing Economy, String of Small Machines, The Physical Poets, WOMB, Moonlit, Source Material: A Journal of Appropriated Text, and Area Sneaks.

Fluorescence Buzz by Elizabeth Bryant

2009-07-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

A *new* chapbook from Hex Presse, published as part of the Dusie Kollektiv. Many thanks to Author Elizabeth Bryant and Dusie luminary Susana Gardner.

*1/4 letter size

*double-bound with chiyogami paper and vellum, cloth, or iridescent tissue paper, or lace. Every single copy is unique.

*printed in an edition of 100 copies. Only a very limited number are available for purchase, as the majority of the print run has been distributed to the collective.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Elizabeth Bryant's newest book, (nevertheless enjoyment, is forthcoming fall 2009 from Quale Press. Her writing appears in many print and online journals including Coconut, Dusie #8, Bombay Gin, Key Satch(el), Gerry Mulligan, Intercapillary Space, and in the upcoming issue of Jacket Magazine. She is the editor of CR79 Books, and the ongoing writing experiment Defeffable.

She first studied experimental writing and poetics as an undergrad at Smith College, then again in the M.F.A. program at Naropa's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, with Anne Waldman, Lyn Hejinian, Bernadette Mayer, and Lee Ann Brown.

She is co-curator of the Bard Roving Reading Series. [close] Elizabeth Bryant's newest book, (nevertheless enjoyment, is forthcoming fall 2009 from Quale Press. Her writing appears in many print and online journals including Coconut, Dusie #8, Bombay Gin, Key Satch(el), Gerry Mulligan, and Intercapillary Space. She is the editor of CR79 Books, and the ongoing writing experiment Defeffable.

She first studied experimental writing and poetics as an undergrad at Smith College, then again in the M.F.A. program at Naropa's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, with Anne Waldman, Lyn Hejinian, Bernadette Mayer, and Lee Ann Brown.

She is co-curator of the Bard Roving Reading Series.

ICE IN INTERVALS: The Books are IN!!!!

2008-11-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

This super-cool collection of poetry by the inimitable Laura Goldstein is hot of the press!

ICE IN INTERVALS

Poems by Laura Goldstein
©Laura Goldstein

Published in Goleta, CA
by Hex Presse in October 2008
in an edition of 100 copies

excerpt from the collection:

Books printed by a locally-owned print shop on high-quality recycled paper. Full-color cover, saddle stitched, hand-numbered, 32 pages. Available for $7 at the Hex Presse shop.

Laura Goldstein is a writer and text/sound artist living and working in Chicago. She currently teaches writing at Loyola University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MA from Temple University. She went to Penn before that. Her sound and reading performances as well as installations have been exhibited in Philadelphia, Ireland, Chicago and Michigan. She's been published online in Otoliths, The Little Magazine, Great Works, MPRSND, Womb and PFS Post and in print in Combo, Dorothy's Elbow and XConnect.

ICE IN INTERVALS pre-order

2008-08-06T13:08:00.001-07:00

*click*

Coming Soon

2008-07-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

ICE
IN
INTERVALS

a chapbook by Laura Goldstein

Mercury in Retrograde

2008-06-09T12:23:00.001-07:00

Hit me hard. My computer crashed, and so the next issue of WOMB is being rebuilt from scratch. So, I'm hoping to have things perking by the solstice.

Without my computer, I had plenty of time to make new poetry jewelry for the Hex Presse shop. Check it out.

Hex Presse Poetry Jewelry

2008-05-31T23:42:00.000-07:00

Edna St. Vincent Millay poetry earrings

Emily Dickinson Poem 479 Locketbook

Elizabeth Bishop "Casabianca" earrings

H.D. "Helen" earrings

Sylvia Plath "The Moon and the Yew Tree" Poetry charm necklace
Sylvia Plath "The Moon and the Yew Tree" Poetry charm bracelet
Sylvia Plath "The Arrival of the Bee Box" Poetry charm bracelet

Sylvia Plath "Bee Box" Earrings

2008-05-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

now for sale at etsy

Sparkly and texty dangle earrings are both "book" and jewelry. Two copper-toned charms frame two carefully selected "windows" from Sylvia Plath's electric poem "The Arrival of the Bee Box." These windows capture both the vertical and horizontal arrangement of words from the poem. The text in these earrings is extracted from a vintage book in which the pages are the perfect color. This is the only book I'm using for these charms, so each one is absolutely one of a kind. Earrings feature blue glass birds and tiny green glass leaves accented with bright and tiny magenta glass beads. Gold-tone fishhooks. Dangles measure two inches. Elegant and intriguing.

poetry locketbooks and poetry charms in the making

2008-05-21T13:41:00.001-07:00

Soon

2008-04-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

I made this poetry locket for Jessica Smith last fall. And now I am making more for you.

photo by Jessica Smith

Unintentional Hiatus

2008-02-26T11:49:00.000-08:00

WOMB and Hex Presse have been hibernating. We plan to be all caught up and bloomy by April.

Michalle Gould reads from Resurrection Party

2007-12-11T23:18:00.000-08:00

video courtesy of the lovely Ash Smith

Resurrection Party now available!

2007-11-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

a *limited* number of Michalle Gould's Resurrection Party are now available at the Hex Presse etsy store.

*Double-bound in 1.) cold-pressed watercolor paper hand stamped on both sides with archival ink and 2.) vellum; outer cover has cutouts to reveal inner cover image and press mark.
*numbered edition of 100
*author's edition (#s 1-60) is all black and white
*editor's edition (shown here, #s 61-100) has colored vellum and is stamped with colored ink inside.
*Printed on 100% recycled paper
*Due to the nature of the handmade binding, each chapbook is entirely unique
* $10 plus 1.50 for s & h

Hex Presse Reading with Dos Press on December 1st @ Okay Mountain Art Gallery in Austin, TX

2007-11-19T18:38:00.000-08:00

Reading for Dos Press and Hex Presse @ Okay Mountain in Austin on December 1st at 7:00PM.

Michelle Detorie (CA, ed. Hex Presse) will read/perform w/Austin drummer, Chris Cogburn.
Johannes Goransson (Indiana, ed. Action Books)
Michael Cross (Buffalo, ed. Atticus/Finch)
Michalle Gould (Austin, reading from the first book from Hex Presse)

soon

2007-10-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

NEW ISSUE OF WOMB

2007-09-22T17:52:00.001-07:00

WOMB POETRY :: EQUINOX ISSUE

http://www.wombpoetry.com

featuring work by:

Kelli Russell Agodon
Nicole Cooley
Kate Greenstreet
Luisa A. Igloria
Eve Rifkah
Jennifer Karmin + vispo
Nicki Hastie
Raina León
Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Arlene Biala
Nava Fader
C Mehrl Bennett
Laura Goldstein
Jill Alexander Essbaum
Kristen Orser
Pearl Pirie
Kathryn Douglas
Angela Veronica Wong
Juliet Cook
Lillian Baker Kennedy

Forthcoming Cleromancies

2007-07-25T23:41:00.000-07:00

I've finalized the list for the first 12 Cleromancy Games!

#1 EMILY DICKINSON curated by Michelle Detorie (june 2007)
#2 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI ("cup-like lilies") curated by Jessica Smith (july 2007)
# 3 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI ("a summer wish") curated by Jessica Smith (july 2007)

forthcoming (not necessarily in the order in which they will be published)

GWENDOLYN BROOKS curated by Evie Shockley
GERTRUDE STEIN curated by kathryn l. pringle and Magdalena Zurawski
LORINE NIEDECKER curated by Julia Drescher
JUNE JORDAN curated by Alexis Pauling Gumbs
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING curated by Catherine Daly
AUDRE LORDE curated by Kate Greenstreet
VIRGINIA WOOLF curated by Michalle Gould
EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY curated by Susana Gardner
ALICE CHILDRESS curated by Cherryl Floyd-Miller*

*Hex Presse will also be publishing a special-edition author-curated Cleromancy by Cherryl Floyd-Miller. More about this in Spring 2008.

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

2007-07-25T18:15:00.001-07:00

@ 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

2007-07-23T20:38:00.001-07:00

another puzzle for sale at etsy

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

2007-07-20T16:38:00.001-07:00

~*~ 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

2007-07-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

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.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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

2007-07-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

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
_____________________

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.

___________________________________

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.
____________________________________

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.

____________________________________

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

____________________________________

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

2007-07-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

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.

Cleromancy Poetry Game # 1 : EMILY DICKINSON

2007-06-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

is now available at etsy

here is a sneak peek @ Cleromancy # 2:

Coming Soon!

2007-06-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

Cleromancy Poetry Game

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

*Six dice; each side of each dice has a different word (for a total of 36 words)
*Words for cleromancy #1 are sourced from the poetry of Emily Dickinson
*Each die comes from a different poem.
*Cleromancy #1 comes from poems #339 ("I tend my flowers for thee--"), #479 ("She dealt her pretty words like Blades-- "), #1775 ("The earth has many keys."), #500 ("Within my Garden, rides a Bird"), #311 ("It sifts from Leaden Sieves--"), and #632 ("The Brain -- is wider than the Sky --").
*Comes in a hexagon shaped box
*Dice and box are pyrographed and inked by hand
*Roll the dice to make poems or divinations

____

Games will be available through the Hex Presse Etsy shop soon!
______

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 #2 and #3 are curated by Jessica Smith and sourced from the work of Christina Rossetti.
_____

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.

Words on dice can be used to make make poems. Here are some examples of visual poems made with word dice.

**open to interpretation :)

______

x-posted to WOMB blog and ovaries & sequins.

pyrography

2007-05-30T20:33:00.001-07:00

August 2007

2007-05-27T22:37:00.001-07:00

Look for our first chapbook -- Resurrection Party by Michalle Gould -- in August!

h e l l o

2006-07-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

Hex Presse is an outpost of WOMB. Stay tuned for updates in the New Year.