this weekend I discovered spicy brown.

Forthcoming Cleromancies

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

@ 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 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


x-posted to hex presse blog

POETRY DICE

The lovely Shin Yu Pai passed this link on to me. Those dice are hot!

cleromancy fun times

Jessica is making some rad poems with the sets of Rossetti dice that she curated for Hex Presse.

Sestina

Fun Stuff

So far I've gotten some great submissions for the summer issue of WOMB.

I've posted a list of things that are forthcoming from Hex Presse here.

I've also found Behind the Lines: Poetry and Peacemaking

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
_____________________



























































































































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.
___________________________________

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 :)

x-posted to hex presse blog and womb blog

Ladies First

I love Queen Latifah




here she is at all of 18 years old



also Bahamadia

Hex Presse has a mission

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.


* The very last one of the *six* Dickinson sets is posted at Etsy. Cleromancy # 2, curated by Jessica Smith, will go up tonight.

gloss

rag tag

Jessica tagged me to list 8 random things. Here is a list of 8 "random" things about my reading habits.

1. I read my horoscope. I don't necessarily "believe" in astrology, but I find horoscopes interesting. I especially like reading Susan Miller's astrology zone at the beginning of each month. I'm on the cusp of scorpio/sagitarius.

2. I visit Wikipedia at least once a day. Today I read about Michael Faraday
and the squirrel.

3. I very rarely read a book cover to cover, except for novels and poetry books, and even in those I tend to read around. If I'm reading criticism or theory, I have to read with a pen/pencil and underline a lot -- otherwise, I remember nothing.

4. I read blogs, and have recently been using google reader. In addition to poetry and feminist blogs, I also read celebrity gossip blogs. Don't judge me.

5. 8 Novels I've read multiple times since I turned 18: Sons and Lovers, To the Lighthouse, The Metamorphosis, Cane, Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, Written on the Body, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.

6. 8 Novels I read multiple times as a child: Little House on the Prairie, Flowers for Algernon, The Black Stallion, The Red Pony, Misty of Chincoteague, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon.

7. I read, but do not follow, recipes. I hate being precise in the kitchen. It annoys me.

8. I hate reading directions that come with board games. I expect games to be intuitive. I hate that feeling of opening a board game and encountering some thick booklet of instructions.

oven

July Notes

reading War and Peace.



I'm especially absorbed by the section from the Poetry in a Time of Crisis Conference: Is Poetry Enough (interesting Juliana Spahr essay here. Another essay is here).



Watched Winter Soldier. I'm interested in testimony -- in its necessity.



These are sentences from Jen Scappettone and Judith Goldman:



"Poetry's role is to decrease people's capacity to absorb contradictions quiescently"



"At the same time, however, to testify to war achieving its primary aim -- which is to injure and kill -- is also a symbolic act of remembrance and defiance."

word fractions i
am one (1)
of them. you + me
the three for me
four all four the tree

empty empty

gingerly you gingered
me. 2morrow
i'll go carefully. carefully
i'll go

even we
call to crow
to care for we care
fully

careful is careful is
I tried to be careful
care ful
care fully held I
open you so care
fully care for me
care care care open
-ly opened so july
care/swoons in
june carried but
is gone