Books I’m designing:

Jerome Rothenberg’s China Notes and the Treasure of Dunhuang.
(Ecopoetics. Beautiful cover inspired by the caves at Dunhuang via Jerome Rothenberg. Selections from which first appeared as a tel/let book by John Martone). Check out some prior works in Ecopoetics. Will post some working files of the cover shortly.

Yoko Danno’s translation of The Kojiki.
(A fresh retelling of the Kojiki from an amazing Japanese writer. Some amazing original illustrations).
Will post some working files later this week. Check out an excerpt from Kansai Time Out, April 2004:

The most daunting project Danno has attempted is a translation, or “retelling,� of the Kojiki, a chronicle which details the creation of heaven and earth, and the Japan archipelago, and traces the imperial line back to Ninigi no Mikoto, grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami and great-grandfather to the first emperor, Jimmu. Though the book is thought to have been based on a series of oral narratives first committed to paper in 712, the oldest surviving copy of the text only dates back to 1371.

Danno says, “The most difficult thing about making the Kojiki ‘readable’ is the translation of the names of the deities. For example, Amaterasu is rendered as ‘Heavenly-Shining-Great-August-Deity’ in Basil Hall Chamberlain’s translation [first presented orally in 1882] and ‘Ama-terasu-opo-mi-kami’ in Donald Philippi’s [published in 1968].� Her version of the text has continued to evolve over the years, after starting out as a one-act play. The complete translation, though, has yet to be published.

Also via a link on the Small Press Exchange comes Edward Picot’s “From zine to screen“. It’s a discussion of the digital revolution’s impact on the UK’s small literary magazines in the UK, including Aesthetica, Birmingham Words, Incwriters and Route. It’s from his very worthwhile project, The Hyperliterature Exchange:

“What makes the digital revolution different from earlier technological advances is that it offers not just a handful of new possibilities - like the new font-faces and graphics which came in with electric typewriters and photocopying - but a bewildering array of them…”

And last, but not least, via Lou Rowan of Golden Handcuffs:

To celebrate Golden Handcuffs‘ 7th issue, there will be readings June 22, 2006 at Spoonbill and Sugartown in Williamsburg, and June 29, 2006;at Cafe Dodo, at Peck Slip and South Street in New York City (this one a party too, with band and drinks, food).

For more information, contact info, and directions to the readings ar Spoonbill, click here.

For more information, contact info, and directions to the readings at Cafe Dodo, click here.

Stay tuned for more of the great projects we’re working on! Check out our freshest project, Catherine Daly’s Secret Kitty. Download it here.

Peace y’all!

Just arrived and hot off Jukka-Pekka Kervinen’s xPress(ed), Eileen Tabios’ The Secret Lives of Punctuations, Vol.1, filled with the wide range of forms that we’ve come to expect from this dazzling writer. Still thumbing through, but I’m already finding gems. For more info on how to obtain this beautifully designed, 176 page perfect bound volume, contact xPressed at info[at]xpressed.org.

via Dan: Hey Jess and Ahadadians—Eileen’s started a blog up to promote The Secret Lives of Punctuations, Vol.1, you can find it here. What’s more, all 2006 sales of this book will be donated to help ease the suffering in Darfur. Details in May 9 post here.

If you haven’t check out Ahadada’s offering of classic Tabios, click here. Greetz—Dan