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New Books - 12/06
Recent arrivals in the store include The Way It Wasn't ($25 New Directions), James Laughlin's "auto-bug-offery." This is a quirky collection of quasi-alphabetically arranged anecdotes, notes, and memorabilia from the
founder and publisher of the hugely important New Directions. Mr. Laughlin
associated with a Who's Who of literary modernism. A small sampling of the
"B" section finds Djuna Barnes, Kay Boyle, Sylvia Beach, Samuel Becket, and
Elizabeth Bishop. His visit to a bordello in Key West with Ms. Bishop and
Tennessee Williams, a social visit to a friend of hers, is told quite
touchingly. Mr. Laughlin was not without his prejudices, and he is at times
crass and harsh. Overall, though, he comes across as a kind, witty man
deeply concerned with his press and quality literature. The book features
many photos of the various greats, a couple of "naughty" pictures, and
reproductions of some of the gloriously designed New Directions book covers.
Emily Dickinson continues to be a totemic and fascinating figure for
poetry lovers (including us). The Dickinson canon has just been expanded in
an unusual and beguiling way -- Harvard University Press has published
Emily Dickinson's Herbarium: A Facsimile Edition ($125, with slipcase).
This almost thrilling book gorgeously reproduces her personal album of
pressed and hand-labeled flowers and plants, gathered when she was a young
adolescent. Also included are an essay by Dickinson scholar Richard B.
Sewall and a catalog of plant specimens contained in the album. An intimate
treasure.
While you definitely will find volumes from Random House, HarperCollins,
and other large publishers on our shelves, we are just as pleased to carry
the books of many smaller (even tiny) presses. Recently arrived is a
selection from No Tell Books of Reston, Virginia, including the beautifully
designed chapbook by Rebecca Loudon titled Navigate, Amelia Earhart's
Letters Home ($9), a charming and odd, funny and sad channeling of the
famous aviatrix after her plane crashes. We continue to receive mystery
boxes from Ugly Duckling Presse of Brooklyn, New York, and excitedly open
them to discover their latest wonderfully produced chapbooks and full-length
books, several translated from Russian, Macedonian, or French. We've
recently restocked a number of chapbooks from the letterset publisher
Limberlost Press in Boise, Idaho, including titles by Sherman Alexie, Ed
Dorn, and Jim Harrison. Yakima, Washington's Blue Begonia Press has fired
up again, presenting new work by Northwest authors as well as Weathered
Pages ($20), an anthology of poems once affixed to the Poetry Pole in the
publishers' garden.
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