about kamini press
Kamini Press was started in 2007, named after a small village on Hydra island. The editor has had his summer house there for 12 years and the name is in homage to some former ”neigbours” in the village. In 1939 Henry Miller arrived together with Katsimbalis (the Colossus himself) to visit the artist Ghikas in his mansion overlooking the Kamini harbour. Miller describes this in ”The Colossus of Maroussi”. The ruins of Ghikas’ house are still there. The poet, author and singer Leonard Cohen’s house is also close by in the Kamini village. It was there that he wrote many of his songs and books. The beautiful photograph on the back cover of ”Songs From a Room” was taken in his Kamini house.
Kamini Press publishes fine poetry in handmade, self assembled chapbooks, usually together with original cover art. Most books also come in limited editions with watercolors. All our books are handmade: individually printed, cut and assembled. We work with Swedish paper, from Svenskt Papper.
No rush jobs, one book per year was the idea, but this is flexible and we try to keep up the tempo.
We like to present the poetry in a good way, to respect the writers. We agree with the great publisher William Packard of the New York Quarterly, who said he wanted to present the printed poem in the best possible way; he thought that ”bad printing and mediocre book design inevitably militate against a fair reading of a poem”. He even found different typeface for each poem in his magazine. We don’t do that, but we agree on his thoughts.
Thanks, Hank –
The Coopers arrived today..
A fantastic book…Fine poetry..Gorgeous design and print job..
I hope you sell out soon…
Jeffrey
I’ve tried to order via paypal as well, and it’s not working for me, either…maybe i’ll try ordering directly from Cooper as i’ve known him and his work (denander’s as well) for several years now. i’m really looking forward to reading this and seeing denander’s always interesting artwork.
john yamrus
Hi John, thanks for your order, the PayPal buttons at http://www.kaminipress.com are working, please give them a try again.
Best/Henry
Congratulations on the first Kamini Press publication. The chapbook itself is beautiful – a top class publication, and the poetry from Glenn Cooper is fantastic. I recommend it to anyone.
I highly recommend Glenn Cooper’s SOME NATURAL THINGS. A light touch, deep resonance. He writes about rain better than anyone I’ve ever read. As if rain was his dead sister. A beautifully designed little book that reads like a big book.
stevenallenmay from Plan B Press wrote a nice review of SOME NATURAL THINGS, read it all here:
http://planbchaps.blogspot.com/2008/01/some-natural-things-glenn-w.html
It’s a nice blog with many other interesting books as well.
There’s a very good review of Glenn Cooper’s SOME NATURAL THINGS over at http://www.outsiderwriters.org/content/view/748/44/. ”Highly recommended” says Christopher Robin.
Henry!
New Year’s greetings to you as well. Ronald Baatz’s WATCHING SPARROWS is a great poem, made all that much better by the exquisite Kamini Press production. Hats off to another job well done and I’m greatly looking forward to your next project. Keep up the good work! Go Kamini go!
Cheers,
Mark Terrill
Review for SMALL PRESS REVIEW.
Would love to see you do a mini-book of my stuff….
Love,
Hugh
Two Torch Singers.
By Gerald Locklin
2010; 12 pp; Pa; Kamini
Press, Ringvägen8, 4th floor,
SE-117 26 Stockholm, Sweden.
No Price given.
I just received this as a “New Year’s Greeting from Kamini Press, 1010,” and only 125 copies have been printed, but….it’s a tiny masterpiece that shouldn’t be overlooked. A water-color cover by Henry Denander of two overblown beauties, Julie London and Polly Bergen, impressionistic portraits of the torch singers in the poems themselves. The poetry is Locklin at his most direct, no-nonsense best: “In high school, when I was discovering/That music could be sexy,/There were two torch singers….whose albums I played until the vinyl wore thin/And the needles went blunt. “ (p.7). Followed by bio-data about Julie, primarily a singer, and Polly, both singer and actress, ending with a little tearful goodbye to them (and their times): “Polly was a woman worth growing up for./Polly/Was whatever a man or boy needed her to be./And God could she sing! There wasn’t any role/That woman couldn’t fill: Perfectly.” (p.9).
Reading Two Torch Singers you can see why Bukowski saw Locklin as an ignored treasure– straightforeward, to the point, emotionally on track,one hundred percent able to relate to.
i can’t find a single place to email you folk; wondering about potential review copies, & a contact for tom kryss; im working an interview series, & cd wright recommended both him & his new work; thanks
Review by Hugh Fox — for SMALL PRESS REVIEW.
So do you want to see one of my poetry books too?
Best.
HF
The Poet Tree.
By T. Kilgore Splake
2010; 46pp; Kamini Press,
Ringvägen 8, 4th floor,
SE-117 26 Stockhom, Sweden.
order@kaminipress.com
$9.00.
Splake is Señor Minimalist Surrealist. Tiny little graphic word-specks thrown at you, you’re activated, and then comes suprise specks number two, three….seldom beyond fourteen, somehow fitting into a unified, Daliesque overview. Here’s the title poem: “denander drawings/liliput poems/tibetan prayer flag colors/suffering autumn storms/ vanishing in winter blizzards/burried until spring/to be born again.” (“poet tree,” p.9).
The minimalism really works! And at times a real-world picture vividly emerges, much more effectively than maximalism because there’s no unrelated static: “first dawn/streaking gray horizon/cold steady drizzz/crossing brautigan creek/moving toward summit/early moring silence/out of body/dream dance/flating above trees/existential wholeness/ delicious poet’s / joie de vivre.” (“Cliffs,” p.24).
The philosophy behind all this captivation is very uplifting too. Negate the negative, flow into the positive, a kind of get-you-between-the-eyes buddhism that you can’t escape from as you allow yourself to fall under Spake’s philosophical-religious spell.
Henry,
We at the E. E. Cummings Society would like to send you our summer newsletter, but when we sent it to henry.denander@pi.se , we received the following disheartening message: ”Delivery to the following recipients failed.” Since we would like to enjoy success at least once in awhile, could you send your current e-mail address to Michael Webster at the above e-mail address? Thanks,
Mike Webster
P. S. Gerry Locklin told me where to find Kamini Press. I hope the weather in Greece is not too hot.
JOHN HULSE
723 Longfellow Rd. Anderson, IN 46011 home: (765) 643-3606
email: jhulse23@att.net
Thank you for reading my letter. I am writing to you to seek publication for my new book of poetry
Haiku on the Bush Administration
The book is about 150 haiku poems poking fun at the Bush administration. I would also like to include 20 photographs of some of my paintings in the volume. Reviews of my last book called my work a combination of Art Buchwald and Hunter Thompson. My latest book The Best and Worst Job I Ever Had (selected poems 1985-2005) with proceeds going to The Paralyzed Veterans of America. It is my dream to do something to help those wounded servicemen and women and to honor my family and friends military service.
I am a published author of six books. Most of them are historical and political books. The last five are The Best and Worst Job I Ever Had (selected poems 1985-2005), Villains of the Impeachment: Sex, Lies and $50 Million Taxpayer Dollars, Democracy for Sale! : The Two Year Search for Extraterrestrials and Campaign Finance Reform, From the Beats to the B Sides and Teachable Movies for Elementary and Middle School Classrooms.
My short stories, essays, and poetry have appeared in more than two hundred magazines all over the world. My work has also appeared in 25 anthologies including, “Mythic America: An Anthology of New American Poetry” (Crescent Moon–England). I am also a featured poet in the 1997 through 2000 editions of The Poet’s Market and have received awards from The Bay Area Poets Association, The Southern Writer’s Association including The International Poet of Merit Award as well as The Shakespeare Trophy of Excellence.
I also have a great deal of publishing experience serving as an editor, indexer and ghostwriter on a number of projects. Titles include What’s It All About? dealing with world views on religion from the ancient Greeks to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and Nothing Sacred (Women Respond to Religious Fundamentalism and Terror) about the treatment of women in Muslim countries, Resistance to Modernization in Africa, In the Shadows of the Holocaust and Communism for Transaction Publishers, American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination for South End Press, Indian Yell by Dances with Wolves author Michael Blake, The North Korean Economy for Transaction Publishing, 79 Essays on Graphic Design for Princeton Architectural Press.
Also Easy Prey written by former Secretary of Defense, William S. Cohen about the fleecing of America’s senior citizens due to con artists and other scams. Other titles include The Best American Movie Writing 2001 edited by director John Landis, The Gangs of New York which will be the basis for Martin Scorsese’s new film, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, the autobiography of 60’s R&B singer Eric Burdon, Bonfire of the Humanities and Ludwig von Mises: Economist for Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
I did my master’s work at New York University and have made dozens of short films from 1984 to a current project, which is the completion of a documentary about epilepsy for The Sundance Film Festival. While attending NYU I won an essay contest that asked the question, “Why do we miss Andy Warhol?” My award-winning essay consisted of four words: “Because he is dead.”
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
John Hulse
723 Longfellow Rd
Anderson, IN 46011
765-643-3606
jhulse23@att.net
Katrina coming
George Bush tells New Orleans
take very deep breath
Palin did not know
that Africa was a continent
thought it was a vowel
Republicans sing,
“Barack the Magic Negro”
drink from white fountains
Wide stance Larry Craig
got arrested in bathroom
tapping feet to close
President McCain
Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Iran
not a good idea
Dick Cheney, VP
great white hunter of old men
shoots them in the face
President George Bush
did much damage to U.S.
could be al-Qaeda
Tenet, CIA
slam dunk you motherfucker
screams at Jews in pool
Dick Cheney’s secret
shouts, “Mein Furher, I can walk!”
That’s the Dick I love
Joe the Plumber’s first
love, will always be toilets
but likes McCain too
Bush ducks flying shoes
footwear of mass destruction
fitting legacy
Romney blasts China
China looks puzzled and asks,
“What’s a Mitt Romney?”
Paris Hilton’s ad
called John McCain, “Some old guy.”
Where does Britney stand?
Farewell decider
daddy put him in the White House
Hey, Hey, Hey Good-bye
The McCain campaign
is starting to eat itself
The Donner Party?
thousands for wardrobe
being a small town hockey mom
really expensive
Laura Bush memoir
searching for the right title
I Am With Stupid
Bush, the decider
a country’s blood on his hands
choked on a pretzel
Idiocracy
building smarter government
begins when Bush leaves
Palin, you betcha!
needs to look good for Russians
spying on her house
President George Bush
gave farewell address to country
says, “So long suckers!”
Bush ducks flying shoes
dodging personal danger
since the Vietnam war
The Bush recession
no effect on value of
McCain’s seven homes
Governor Palin
seven million for book deal
Neiman Marcus, happy
Bush economy
people standing behind him
just to get free shoes
Bush friends leaking names
Valerie Plame, C.I.A.
terrorists rejoice
Bush reacts quickly
not to Katrina, of course
but to flying shoes
Bush, war president
covers up Pat Tillman’s death
trying to get votes
NSA listens
to Americans phone sex
sticky, sticky mess
The Bush’s new home
segregated white neighborhood
no blacks allowed
Bush economics
employers cut one million jobs
Heck of a job, Bushie!
Condoleezza Rice
in the form of a mushroom cloud
lies us into war