Category: Review

• Five Oceans in a Teaspoon

  

  Five Oceans in a TeaspoonDennis J. Bernstein and Warren Lehrer2019 Paper Crown Press6.875 × 6.5 × 1 in.300 pagesSmyth-sewn hardcoverOffset inside with foil-stamped cloth spine and paper cover The 1984 book French Fries by Dennis Bernstein and Warren Lehrer is a landmark work of visual literature. In the years since, Bernstein’s poetry has continued to…

  Levi Sherman

  November 12, 2019

  Review

  2019, artists’ book, Case Binding, Collaboration, Dennis J. Bernstein, dyslexia, Foil Stamp, Hardcover, Memoir, Monograph, Offset Lithography, Poetry, Smyth Sewing, Text, text and image, typography, visual literature, visual poetry, Warren Lehrer

• Everything Has a Language

  

  Everything Has a LanguageMarnie Powers-Torrey2018https://faculty.utah.edu/u0047935-Marnie_Powers-Torrey/hm/index.hml 2.875 × 6.5 in. closed“Interlocking loops” accordion structureRisograph The paper engineering of Marnie Powers-Torrey’s Everything Has a Language is deceptively simple: it is a soft cover accordion with four panels. Both sides of the accordion are printed with bold, primary color imagery and coated in wax.* Riffing on Hedi Kyle’s…

  Levi Sherman

  October 1, 2019

  Review

  2018, Accordion Book, artists’ book, Belly Band, book art, Folded, Interlocking Loops, language, linguistics, Marnie Powers-Torrey, Monograph, Monoprint, primary colors, printmaking, Risograph, Single Sheet, Visual

• Understanding Molecular Typography

  

  Understanding Molecular TypographyWoody LeslieH.F. Henderson2019Ugly Duckling Presseuglyducklingpresse.org 5 × 7 in.128 pagesBinding: Smyth-sewnOffset inside with foil-stamped wrap Editor’s note: this review contains spoilers. I struggled over how to review this book, and made the determination to identify it as a work of fiction (satire, specifically) and review it as such. I hesitate to out the…

  Levi Sherman

  September 6, 2019

  Review

  2019, artists’ book, autofiction, book art, Fiction, Foil Stamp, Humor, Monograph, Offset Lithography, Satire, Smyth Sewing, Softcover, Text, typography, Ugly Duckling Presse, Woody Leslie

• Plant Out of Place

  

  Plant Out of PlaceSarah Nicholls2019Brain Washing From Phone Towers brainwashingfromphonetowers.com 4.75 × 8.75 in.12 pagesBinding: French fold accordion, stitched into a coverLetterpress and linocutEdition of 250 Despite its unusual format, Sarah Nicholls is emphatic that her work Plant Out of Place is a pamphlet. In fact, Plant Out of Place is one of a three-part…

  Levi Sherman

  August 15, 2019

  Review

  2019, artists’ book, book art, book review, Brain Washing From Phone Towers, Documentary, Folded, Letterpress, Pamphlet, Pamphlet Stitch, Periodical, Red Hook, Relief Print, Sarah Nicholls, Text, weeds

• the THERE, THERE quarterly (Volume One, Issue One)

  

  the THERE, THERE quarterly, Volume One, Issue OneTravis ShafferFeaturing Zora J. Murff, Cian Oba-Smith, and Terrance Purdy2019theretherenow.www.theretherenow.com 10 × 12.5 in.18 sheetsUnbound, gathered in a belly bandRisograph the THERE, THERE quarterly is a new photo publication from Travis Shaffer’s imprint, theretherenow. Volume One, Issue One establishes the format: work by three photographers is Risograph printed…

  Levi Sherman

  July 22, 2019

  Review

  2019, Anthology, artists’ book, Belly Band, book review, Cian Oba-Smith, Periodical, photobook, Photography, portfolio, Risograph, Terrance Purdy, theretherenow, Travis Shaffer, Unbound, Zora J. Murff

• Lost Houses of Lyndale

  

  Lost Houses of LyndaleMatt BergstromDesign by Mary Clare Butler2018Fata Morgana Presswww.fatamorganapress.com/ 8 × 5 in.40 pagesBinding: Single-section pamphletLetterpress cover and offset inside In Lost Houses of Lyndale, Matt Bergstrom presents a history of all the recently-demolished homes along a two-block stretch in the rapidly-gentrifying Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. After a brief introduction, the book proceeds with a…

  Levi Sherman

  June 7, 2019

  Review

  2018, architecture, art writing, artists’ book, book art, book review, Chicago, Documentary, Drawing, Fata Morgana Press, history, Letterpress, Logan Square, Mary Clare Butler, Matt Bergstrom, Monograph, Offset Lithography, Pamphlet Stitch, Text

• Notes from Byzantium

  

  Notes from ByzantiumShelly Taylor and Eben Goff, ed. AB Gorham2019Black Rock Presswww.unr.edu/art/black-rock-press 7 × 9 × .25 in.60 pagesBinding: Softcover codex with sewn signaturesFoil cover and HP Indigo inside The combination of poetry by Shelly Taylor and art by Eben Goff is not an obvious choice, but then, the best books are often surprising. Both…

  Levi Sherman

  May 27, 2019

  Review

  2019, AB Gorham, art, art and writing, artists’ book, book art, Eben Goff, Foil Stamp, HP Indigo, hybrid publication, Link Stitch, Monograph, oil engraving, Photography, Poetry, publishing, Shelly Taylor, Softcover, Text, wax

• The Job

  

  The JobWoody Leslie2019Large Home Tiny Ideawoodyleslie.com 4 × 5 in.32 pagesBinding: 5-hole pamphlet stitchInk jet cover and laser inside The Job is the second book in Woody Leslie’s “Tiny Ideas” chapbook series. Through his imprint, Large Home Tiny Idea, Leslie harnesses the authority of the book form in order to examine everyday phenomena, often through…

  Levi Sherman

  April 15, 2019

  Review

  2019, Ink Jet, Large Home Tiny Idea, Laser, Memoir, non-fiction, Pamphlet, Pamphlet Stitch, Periodical, Poetry, Text, The Job, visual poetry, Woody Leslie