THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

A preview of one piece that is being assembled for the digital archive. There will be others sooner than this....

OFF TO IOWA

To talk with some people about books. Go figure. See you on Monday.

MORNING, RUTHLESS, MORNING

I feel like I am just waking up, bleary-eyed, and seeing this screen after a long, long sleep. It is 6 AM, figuratively and literally. I have been away. A new day/week/month/year of work beckons. I hope that I am up to the task.

(Too many “I”s on this blog lately. This is not about me. This is about the work. (What is “this?”))

There have been two main threads of discussion-dissection-re-presentation here lately: the series of posts on hand-mechanical processes (“Machined, or the Hand-Mechanical”) and the series on the democratic multiple (“The Return of the Democratic Multiple?”). Soon, there will be a third, untitled as of yet, about authorship and based in a close reading of at least two essays. Probably bits of more, as these things are always constellations, shimmering. And all three threads will be braided together, albeit unevenly. Albeit barely a braid. Perhaps a series of clumps. But they will be there, together. And isn’t being together what counts?

And of course all of those things will be here with these things, the documentation of and elaboration on the processes of making and distributing. And somehow all of it goes together, and we see, here, now, a system chaotically unfolding, perpetually cutting out its own heart. This is the only way for us to operate.

JUST ANOTHER DAY AT WORK

This is a shot of Pike's Peak, taken from around the corner of the building where the Press is.

IT HELPS TO HAVE GOALS

The crisis of confidence talked about in yesterday's post was and still is very real. I am working to sort everything out, to clear the channels, so that it can feel like NewLights is making progress again, is participating again.

I realized last night, hunched over my desk, with my face about an inch away from the broadside that I was cutting, that NewLights hadn't released in a book in two years. That's a hard thing to accept, considering how hard I've been working. Something has gotten short-circuited along the way.

At any rate, today was the first day of housecleaning. The Et Al journal, one of the big recent failures, is now gone. Perhaps it will return again another day. We shall see.

The other big thing is the broadside series. The end is in sight on those. They will be going off of pre-sale at the end of March, and then will reappear shortly after that at full price, $80 for a single broadside and $350 for the full set of 5.

Ultimately, moments of difficulty can and should lead to productive steps.

I’M NOT EVEN SURE IF THIS ONE IS WORTH READING, WHICH IS KIND OF WHAT IT’S ABOUT, BUT IT MAY BE SOME KIND OF LOVE LETTER

So another weekend spent thinking and re-evaluating the activities of the NewLights Press, re-evaluating the NewLights Press in general (and of course now these thoughts are always twinned with The Press at Colorado College). Thinking after CODEX. Reading the Robert Creeley-fest on the Mimeo Mimeo blog, and the “I-have-to-get-to-work” snake twisting in my stomach after I see and read about all of those books. Reading about art & economics in the Temporary Services Art Work paper. Re-reading and thinking about the “Return of the Democratic Multiple?” posts I had been doing, which I intend to continue, which are related, important somehow, in all of this. Reading submissions. Daydreaming. Figuring out a schedule. Cutting. Printing. Cleaning up. And sleeping.

The work of this press is so backed up that sometimes I feel like I’m drowning. Little by little, progress is being made. Broadsides are being cut, and soon books will be printed. I look in the IDE(A/O)LOG(Y/UE) and I see that DeCollage was begun three years ago. Other projects have been “on hold” for almost two. What happened? Where have I been?

2 weeks ago I had to declare an official moratorium on “outside” projects—projects that are not actual production of NewLights pieces. I’ve already had to turn down a few things that I would have really liked to do, that would have been good & fun to do, but hey, right now I need a few less things to do.

I want to make it clear that I am not complaining, or lamenting—I am, in many ways, thankful to be so busy. But I have not finished anything in a long time, the projects drag on, and it’s my fault. I know that I have been working, but what have I been doing? Just where is the Big Idea? Was there one to begin with?

CODEX makes me think. A fair like that, with so much work, so much good work, mostly geared towards a high-end market and library collections, is a strange place for the NewLights Press to be. I think, maybe. (That and there was nothing new to sell besides DeCollage, which is expensive and I can't sell expensive books yet.) But is it about selling? It feels that way in the thick of it. But is it really about selling? I wonder about the fine press world (all literally & beautifully laid out and mapped at that fair) and I wonder about the idea of “reception,” about democratic multiples, un-democratic multiples, and un-multiplied multiples. I wonder about accessibility, both economic and aesthetic/conceptual. What kind of accessibility, economic or aesthetic/conceptual, or both, qualifies a piece as “democratic?” I wonder about legibility, and if that is different from accessibility. I wonder if there’s anything to get excited about. I love fine press books. Why don’t I make them? Or do I, just badly? Or differently? What the hell kind of a press is NewLights anyway? Literary? Artists’ books? Academic? Private? Fine? Does it matter?

Usually I can push these questions to the background, and just do the work, thinking & feeling my way through the projects, letting the Press define its own parameters, project by project, as we go. But sometimes, like now, the questions bubble and clamor, and I need to ask them out loud. Usually things are fine and I am excited to get to work everyday. Sometimes a dark and vast Fear emerges and undermines that excitement. Fear is our ultimate enemy as we feel our way through this darkness, through this blinding light. Sometimes I forget that the space between us is so great. Sometimes I forget that we always move together. Often I forget that as an artist I should always act confident and sure of myself & my work. Honesty has always been my problem. So here’s the honest assessment of how and what the NewLights Press is doing: I’m struggling. I love it. I’m terrified. I love it. I can’t wait. I have to wait. I’m guilty. There’s so much work to do. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day.

OKAY, SO NOW WHAT?

I just got back from the Codex Fair last night. It was really great. The question now is: has anything changed? Has everything changed? I guess we'll have to wait & see, I guess we'll have to work & see.

I should be back on the Blog Horse now, so we'll resume the regular Monday-Wednesday-Friday posting schedule.

More soon.

THERE'S NEVER ENOUGH TIME

...to do everything that one wants to before a big show like Codex, which is approaching fast. Posts will be sporadic for this week and the next, as I use my mornings to make stuff.... More stuff!

BLUER PASTURES

Ah, the first day back at work. Ah, the last day of work this week. I'm hitting the road again tomorrow, heading for the blue grass of Kentucky and then off to the College Book Art Association conference in Bloomington, Indiana. I will be there through the end of the week, so posts will resume next Monday. If you're planning on going to the conference, I'm looking forward to seeing you.

ARE WE GETTING OLD?

Probably not. But perhaps just enough. A New Year beckons. Year 10 is drawing to a close, and it has been much, much different than I expected at the outset. One year ago, I was not where I am now, spatially, temporally, creatively. This is the 300th post on this blog. I guess it's existed for more than two years now. It's 5 degrees outside. It's gorgeous outside. There is a great, thoughtful interview with NewLights author and the proprietor of Cuneiform Press, Kyle Schlesinger, at Rob McLennan's Blog. Excellent reading to take us into another fantastic year.

GOIN' TO ACAPULCO

Or perhaps just the Pennsylvania, which is close, which is just as good. But I will be away from the Internet, so there will be no posts next week. We will resume our discussion(s) in the New Year. Here's to another one, another try, an even better one. See you on the other side.

GETTING READY

Everything seems so quiet lately. The move is happening this week. Posts will resume on a more regular and frequent basis once I am settled in to my new mountain fortress.

A BRIEF HIATUS

While I take care of some backlogged correspondence, grading, and a few other things.... Be back after the holiday.

PRIORITIES

Were not this blog this morning. Thanks for bearing with me.